I just had possibly the greatest job interview ever. I didn’t want the job, she didn’t want to hire me, we parted on amiable terms, and she told me to follow my heart (i.e., follow it down to the lobby and out the door, because you ain’t getting benefits from us).

It’s a beautiful fall day and down on Wall Street the suits are standing in line at the lunch trucks, most of them with their jackets off and identical from behind (white shirt, black pants, closely-cropped hair). It’s like a Museum of Business down there, I almost laughed. I only have experience at not-for-profits and everything about Wall St. seems antithetical to everything I’ve experienced in a job. This where the Real Work gets done. I thought, tourists should come here instead of Times Square. Then I turned the corner and the NYSE was in front of me, and between me and it there they were, taking pictures, taking turns passing the camera around so they could each get a shot with them in front of the building. Beat me to it.

Unless avian flu kills off the other candidates in the next few days, I most likely won’t be working on Wall Street, but it is a nice place to visit, to remind me of the uselessness of my Liberal Arts degree.

Lots of news this morning on the K-Rock Radio front. For those of you not in the NYC Metro area, K-Rock one of the only semi-palatable radio stations within a pretty large radius. Here

When moving to New York, the last thing I expected to have trouble finding was a good coffee shop. After five months here I can easily count the number of good places I’ve found on one hand. Now, I realize much of my problem is living in Harlem where coffee is scarce outside of bodegas and our Starbucks (by the way, I vote for 125th/Lenox to be one of the most surprising place to find a Starbucks). Sure I can live on Dunkin’ Donuts or favorite bodega for morning coffee but I can hardly sit down with a book in either place and get comfortable.

Now when I’ve been looking for a good place to get good coffee I’m willing to travel. I’ll make an evening of it if I’d really like to sit down and enjoy a nice mug or two and dig into a book. After fruitless wandering, I decided to research online and googled the hell out of every combination of relevent words as well as utilizing the standard nyc websites. Most frequently I find a nice enough place that is relatively comfortable with the one or both of the following major problems:

1) table service
2) their coffee sucks

If your menu consists of beverages and a handful of pastries scrawled on a chalkboard you DON’T need a fucking server. Nobody ever gives me the bum rush but having a server checking on me while I drink and read doesn’t give me the impression I should stick around. Next, I realize more and more people drink all sorts of coffee based beverages I can’t even begin to comprehend but if you are a business dealing in coffee you should have coffee that is at least palatable when consumed without additives, a selection would also be nice.

The other night I finally found a real winner at ‘71 Irving Place.’ Stepping in from the perfect fall evening, I immediately knew I found what I had been searching for. The place was tiny and packed (possibly a drawback for some) but couldn’t be more inviting. A broad selection of beans for sale with four varieties brewed and a decent selection of food. The packed seating area leads to a friendly atmosphere where you’ll more than likely chat with a neighbor before you leave.

We’re getting into the perfect coffee shop weather so I’d like to find more nice places like ‘71′ but I’m tired of the search and will more than likely make the trek back the next time I feel like settling in to read on a quiet night. Let me know if you’ve got any reccomendations. I think this entry has made it relatively clear about my rather picky tastes when it comes to enjoying a good cup.

A friend of mine turned me on to the cooking classes at Josie’s. Actually, the classes are at held at Citrus, but the listing of events and classes are on the Josie’s site. The great thing about the classes is that they give you healthy alternatives to what you may be used to.

I took one of the classes a few months ago and I really enjoyed it… for a number of reasons.
1. Because it’s an easy course.
All I have to do is sit there, watch Louis Lanza cook, while they bring out all of the nights recipes to us.
2. Louis is very personable.
A lot more than some of the chefs that you see on the Food Network.
3. The food is delicious.
Lots of yummy noises from the crowd.
4. All of the food is healthier and possibly tastier than the what you’re used to.

The other great thing about the class is that it’s only $50. For that you get great cooking tips, great recipes for about 3-5 courses – that you also get to enjoy, and lots of wine to compliment the meal.

Tonight’s menu was Italian.
We had a Rocket Salad with Portabella and Parmigiano-Reggiano, Spaghetti with Clams, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil, and Halibut with Cherry Tomato, Lemon Zest and Basil Concasse with an Eggplant and Cannellini Bean Puree. All sooooooooooo good. And if that wasn’t enough, they made a fresh Lemon Grappina – basically, a lemon sorbet with real lemon zest, Limoncello and homemade biscotti. Yum!

They

Since I have no qualms about pimping out the fantastic authors on this site

Dear Ladies,

Flip-flop weather is over.

No, it’s true. I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but if you haven’t noticed, it’s 50 degrees out there. I have seen scarves, gloves, and knitted hats already make appearances on the street. Hipsters have begun piling their sweatshirts on under their blazers to protect against the cold. It’s time to switch to your fleece-lined Louis Vuitton bag to shove your tiny little dog into so he won’t get hypothermia, and it’s time to put your damn feet away. I don’t care if your pedicure from a week ago still looks fresh, or if it’s so fresh you’re still walking around with toilet paper twined between your toes. There will be no more flip-flops from here on, until at least Memorial Day.

In other words, bring out the Uggs.

That is all.

Sincerely,

Nora

First, when you go anywhere outside of New York, no matter how hungry you are, never buy more than one slice of pizza at a pizza stand. Even if the place is called Ray

I moved in about 2 months ago and at first, I was happy about my decision.

The apartment was almost twice the size of the apartment I had on 59th (for the same amount of money), it was newly renovated, bigger closets… all good things, but now I’m thinking it may have been one of those “too good to be true” things.

Let me just sum it up.
After one month of being here, I came home one afternoon to find:
1. My super going through the garbage.
At first I thought he was just making sure things were sorted properly and then I noticed 2 things from MY regular garbage sitting on the stoop – for him to bring to his place.
2. Leaves in the apartment.
Seems I have a working fireplace and all the leaves, sand and dirt were all over my living room.
3. Dripping Water.
While in the bathroom. I felt water on my back.
The apartment above me had a leak in their bathroom and it was coming into mine.

FUN!

Since then, the ceiling has been fixed, I’m careful about what I throw out and I’ve stuffed the fireplace until they come up with a better fix.

What else? As if that weren’t enough.

I lost power in my apartment on Friday. Well, just in the bathroom and bedroom.
Sadly, the fuse box was painted shut and when I pried it open, I couldn’t get the damn switches to work.

I went to see the super, but unfortunately, he doesn’t speak much English, so when I told him about my power, he thought I had a problem with flies. Yes, flies. He came over and couldn’t figure out how to fix my problem and told me I had to wait until Monday. Great. A weekend of candlelit showers.

To make matters worse, I came out of the shower on Saturday afternoon to the sound of keys opening my front door. It was the super. He had called the handyman to come and fix the problem, and when I didn

The travel blog Gadling dedicated a whole day writing entries for and about NYC. The entries included Fall Fares, NYC cafes, best photobloggers, Greenwich village Halloween parade, Subway discounts, favorite restaurents, top 10 NYC memories and so on. Overall, a worthwhile read.

Jacob Javits Center hosts a pizza show on Nov 1-2. Besides being the largest show on the East coast, it’s your chance to attend Pizza University seminars, check out the Pizaa “Think Tank” and taste the winning pizzas in different contests! I still think Garlic Jim’s are unbeatable as far as the innovative tastiest pizzas are concerned.