Three meals at the same restaurant in one week? Something special is brewing on the corner of Bedford, Nassau and Lorimer, mere blocks from our place, and it's called Five Leaves. Known beyond the Greenpoint borders and the place the late Heath Ledger was a co-owner of, it boasts an already lived in vibe of Brooklyn hipness. Part of the immediate success was hype (celebrities were reported to be guests to a rather obnoxious sounding friends and family soft opening) and part is the interior, decorated by John McCormick who is also behind the similarly comfy and chic Moto.

Atmosphere is fine, but if the food doesn't match, who cares? On that front they are often great, but imperfect. They offer a burger Australian style with a fried egg, beets, and pineapple with a bun strong enough to mostly hold the delicious mess together. Ruby's first introduced me to this regional delicacy and I have to admit, they beat Five Leaves' version, but just barely.

For one breakfast I had a chocolate croissant from Soho bakery Ceci Cela, (which can never be bad) and a side of bacon, avocado and tomatoes. I think providing avocados and tomatoes as a side is brilliant. Jim's ricotta pancakes were also a success.

The next week, another breakfast, but unfortunately this time the newbie's inconsistencies were evident.?I ordered the sage egg sandwich which was pretty good with cheddar, sage and garlic alioli (making it a not so light breakfast) but a friend's order of the same dish had barely any eggs at all. The place was consistently filled with smoke, a result of totally burnt toast and bacon that we were served and it took a long time to get our meals.

Seems like some of the quirks need to be worked out still. But the good outweighs the bad for me right now and it's worth noting too that their coffee is excellent. Very strong, it made me feel like coffee is supposed to, suddenly more awake and aware without major bitterness.

The menu claims they serve oysters, but I've yet to see them on the menu but the prospect is beyond exciting. But even without the mollusk, it's packed every night and poor Lokal across the street has to watch and wonder where they went wrong.?In fact, it's almost too packed, making one feel very aware of the size of their butt sliding in and out of the booths. Mornings fair much better, as it seems that no one in the area is awake before 10.

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Posted on October 6, 2008

My good friends Luke and Ashleigh, known as The Awesome Brothers, are going on a tour this month. Please make an effort to go and see their wild and inventive show if you can. You will not be disappointed:

^{Oct 6 2008
9:00P
Empty Bottle
Chicago, Illinois ?br/>
Oct 7 2008
9:00P
Mixtapes
Moline, Illinois}

Oct 8 2008
7:00P
Picador
Iowa City, Iowa

Oct 9 2008
9:00P
Uncle Brothers
Omaha, Nebraska

Oct 10 2008
9:00P
Rhinoceropolis
Denver, Colorado

Oct 11 2008
8:00P
tba
Salt Lake City, Utah

Oct 12 2008
9:00P
The Beatles Revolution Lounge @ the Mirage
Las Vegas, Nevada

Oct 13 2008
9:00P
Luigi's Fun Garden
Sacramento, California

Oct 14 2008
9:00P
21 Grand
Oakland, California

Oct 15 2008
9:00P
The Smell
Los Angeles, California

Oct 16 2008
9:00P
The Smell
Los Angeles, California

Oct 17 2008
9:00P
Che Cafe
La Jolla, California

Oct 18 2008
9:00P
The Casbah
San Diego, California

See more: Spend a Couple Hours

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Posted on October 6, 2008

There are a lot of casualties of the nineties. Unable to get beyond the decade of grunge and post-grunge, we see Dave Navarro, a reality TV whore who rivals only Michael Jackson and Joan Rivers for awry lady mask face plastic surgery.

Parry Farrell meanwhile is fairing much better, sure he's shilling for shoes but, he looks pretty good and has actually done some good in the world (according to wikipedia “In December 2001, Farrell risked his life by flying into politically troubled Sudan with other members of Christian Solidarity International to negotiate the release of Sudanese slaves. Jane's Addiction donated their earning from one concert for the redemption of over 2,300 people. Once the redemption agreement was signed, Farrell started up freedom parties at various redemption sites.”). With all this do-good-ing on one side and lameness on the other, it's easy to forget how influential, inventive, cool and seemingly dangerous they once were.

The band was a literal symbol of rebellion for me in junior high and high school. When learning pointillism in art class, I painted the cover of Nothing's Shocking in tiny dots. When my mom wouldn't allow me to buy and wear the same shirt, Bill, who had a crush on me at the time, daringly got it for me for my birthday. Ritual de lo Habitual's cover was also controversial, sparking Walmart to demand a “clean” version on which they printed the first amendment.

It's been awhile since I've held teen angst inside and almost as long since I've spent anytime with a Jane's Addiction album and I am happy to report that the music stands up. Short and sweet and cohesive, Ritual de lo Habitual, which was written in honor of a friend, Xiola Bleu who died of a heroin overdose and it's appropriately haunting and pretty spacey… and still sound like something that could terrify parents (“so get your f-ing piss cup out of my f-ing face”).

Some songs here are genuine masterpieces like the epic Three Days that still makes me want to become a drummer when I listen to it. Of Course is still stirring in it's Eastern influence. The album is also home to the band's biggest hit Been Caught Stealing. Was a number one hit for a few weeks, with it's popularity surely helped along by it's trippy video which was directed with hyper color splash by Farrell's then girlfriend and muse Casey Niccoli.

See more: Albums

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Posted on October 6, 2008

The Blue World is classic Jack Vance; a society descended from interplanetary castaways lead a relatively untroubled life on an inhospitable planet, but one of willing servitude to the Kragen, huge native sea monsters. See, the “blue world” is just that, a planet covered completely by water where the humans get by with only a few natural resources and the wisdom of their forefathers (which, in the great tradition of Vance's always wry sense of humor, they fail to fully comprehend).

Everything is fine until the mighty King Kragen, the largest of the sea monsters, begins to demand more and more from the colony in return for protection. When one man has had enough and defies the planet's semi-theocratic codes, everything falls apart. The population divides between the rebels and the complacent and major civil strife erupts–but if the rebels really are to destroy the beast, how can they do it with no source of metal for weapons, no knowledge of combat?

It's a fun, quick read full of Vance's signature speculative anthropology that fans will truly enjoy. The uninitiated could probably be swayed by this one (my friend Mike was), but maybe start with the jauntier Showboat World.

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Posted on October 6, 2008

Paul Newman was a rare human being: a creative talent with a perfect face and a kind and giving soul. Through his company Newman's Own, he gave over $250 million to charity and as a philanthropist he donated his time, money and name to many organizations. I was very sad to hear of his recent passing and was reminded of this song, Plastic Jesus, which Mike and I had just talked about as a fitting song for this week's somewhat prison inspired picks. Now that Newman is gone, it's even more appropriate.

In the classic anti-conformist film Cool Hand Luke, Newman sings this song when he learns his mother has died; Ernie Marrs lent his voice for another version in the film but the folk song was originally recorded and written by Ed Rush and George Cromarty.

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Posted on October 6, 2008