Photo from burritoblog.com

I went to Cosmic Cantina, looking for some tasty Mexican food and was not disappointed. Initially surprised to find that you order and seat yourself (the outside had looked like a traditional restaurant), I sat down and looked at the rather complicated menu.

The menu is set up in categories - tortillas, vegetables, salsas, etc. You pick the array of things you want and order. Everything on the menu is completely organic. I ordered a quesadilla with cheese, mushroom, and avocado. They made it pretty quickly and called my name when it was ready. The tortilla was home-made, the vegetables fresh, and everything was delicious!

I’d definitely go there again, though I might choose a different seat. I sat at the tall tables with stools and ended up with a back ache that night!

Photo from wikipedia.org

So I’m riding what I think is a digital N train from Astoria, when all of sudden it stops at 28th Street. I thought it must be running local or maybe the W and N trains had switched routes again. (That happened my first year in New York - one day they permanently swapped which was express and which was local, landing me in Canal instead of Prince Street on my way to work).

But no - it was a W. A shiny, modern W. I like it! They look clean and new, they show the time, and they even have a little video screen showing MTA messages. I wonder if this means that all older W and N trains will be disappearing sometime soon…

They’ve got a good prix fixe lunch menu, too - $8 for a small dish and a large dish, along with $1 drinks. I got the Thai iced tea, cucumber salad, and delicious Basil udon with tofu. It was delicious food at a sweet price!

Photo from nycgmc.org

Last night, I attended the Gay Men’s Chorus concert called Vibrate. As usual, they put on a fabulous show.

The concert began with a rousing rendition of “Feelin’ Good”. They launched into a series of diverse music - everything from Latvian 19th century songs to jazz to a contemporary song called “Vibrate”. My favorites included a tingling piece called “Tree of Peace”, the joyful “Take the A Train”, and “What a World” (a song which begins with the lyrics “Men reading fashion magazines”).

After an intermission, the chorus took the stage wearing rainbow shirts with glow sticks and sang “Maneater” . The audience was treated to the Youth Pride Chorus - a group of very talented young people who gave a lively performance of some contemporary music. The chorus then sang a series of South Africa songs, my favorite being “Revival”. The show ended with a hilarious version of Gwen Stefani’s “Wind it Up”, complete with lederhosen and drag queens.

With talented singers and a fun repertoire, the whole concert was such a treat. The chorus will be performing on Saturday, June 14th at the Brooklyn Pride Parade.

Photo from pps.org

Yesterday marked a favorite yearly event - the Museum Mile Festival. Every year, 5th Ave shuts down to cars in the evening and the museums open their doors for free. It’s always a nice opportunity to get to the museums (which I, like many New Yorkers, don’t often do). Plus, it’s just fun to walk down the middle of a street usually filled with traffic.

Last night, the weather was perfect for the occasion. I met up with some friends at the Museum of the City of New York - my first visit there. With a grand entrance and historic appearance, the building is beautiful. We checked out the Maritime exhibit (which showed a historic look at downtown ports), New York Interiors (lavish displays of historic interiors), and a theater exhibit (with costumes from major musicals, including Rent). Definitely worth a visit.

As usual, there wasn’t much time for more than one museum. We headed down to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum courtyard, always a nice spot, and watched a cool glass-blowing demonstration. After that, there was only a little more time to walk along 5th and admire the chalk artwork covering the street.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming free events in the city - movies and concerts in the park. There will be free live music this weekend at the annual Madison Square Park barbecue event.

Photo from cityguide.com

An inconspicuous Korean spot in the West Village, Wawa caught my eye when I saw its customers in the window eating delicious-looking noodles. Noodle-junky that I am, I had to try it out.

Their menu, while not too extensive, contains a selection of salads, dumplings, bibimbop, and (of course) noodle soups. I got the Udon, and it was yummy - thick noodles, tasty tofu. I’m not a huge fan of the broth, but it’s still a delicious dish.

The place is very small, but I haven’t yet had trouble finding a seat at lunchtime. I like the clean, white interior and the music they play - old school jazz and interesting indy. Definitely a good spot to get my noodle fix.

Photo from i6.photobucket.com

In this summery weather, I met up with some friends at a Manhattan beer garden for a change: DBA. Located in the East Village, this spot has a large beer selection and a laid-back atmosphere. While it can’t compete with the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria for space, it serves as an enjoyable Manhattan alternative.

The bar consists of one completely outdoor section, which, during our visit, was frequented by at least two cats who appeared to be regulars at the establishment. They hopped on top of tables and slinked through customers’ legs with no one seeming to mind. Then there’s a covered area, which offers a little more shelter and comfortable seating. Lastly there’s the interior, which I found a little crowded and noisy for my taste. At 11 pm or so, the outdoor areas shut down due to an unfortunate noise ordinance. Rather than squeeze into the stuffy interior, that’s when we left.

Tomorrow marks the 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge opening. When it opened in 1883, this monument was the longest suspension bridge in the world and its Gothic towers were the tallest structures in this hemisphere. Today it serves as a celebrated landmark - appreciated by locals and tourists alike.

Whenever I have friends coming into town, I like to take them for a walk across the bridge. The view of the city and the sight of so many people enjoying this monument (joggers, bikers, a wedding party I saw taking pictures there once) serves as a great NYC experience.

Birthday celebrations started last night with fireworks and a Brooklyn Philharmonic concert. The festivities continue throughout the weekend with free movies, lectures and walking tours. For details on this weekend’s Brooklyn Bridge events, click here.

Photo from northforkwineclub.com

I decided to forgo the traditional male strippers and penis straws for my bachelorette party in exchange for something a little more low-key. Having had a blast in Sonoma with a friend a few years ago, I decided on a trip to Long Island Wine Country.

These bachelorette wine tours are becoming more common, now with specific companies basically devoted to chauffeuring around groups of ladies to a few vineyards. We went with North Fork Wine Tours to three vineyards around Greenport - Duck Walk, Osprey’s Dominion, and Pindar Vinyards.

Greenport is about a 2 hour drive from the city. Only limited public transportation options exist to the area. There’s the LIR, but it doesn’t actually run out there that frequently. And then, the Hampton Jitney - not the cheapest way to travel, but it does get you right in the area. The scenery there is lovely - farms, vineyards, and the ocean.

We began the tour near the adorable Greenport downtown, at the Townsend Manor Inn - a comfortable (though not upscale) hotel with apartment-style rooms. Our guide told us that the region was very similar to Bordeaux and discussed some wines in the area. We boarded a small van which took us first to Duck Walk Vineyards, where we tasted some delicious wine and had a modest lunch. The next spot we hit was Osprey’s Dominion, which had a lovely outdoor seating area where we split a bottle of pink champagne. We ended the day at Pindar, a popular (and crowded) vineyard with live music playing. Another bottle of sparkling wine outside and our time was ended.

The whole day was beautiful and a wonderfully relaxed way to catch up with old friends. I don’t know much about what makes a good wine, but I did enjoy the Rieslings and this yummy dessert wine called Aphrodite from Duck Walk. With the summery weather, I wasn’t in the mood for anything like Bordeaux.