Lunchtime in NYC is an especially busy and bustling time. Since we moved to our new office space on 6th @ 20th, it has become an everyday adventure to discover new lunch places. The choice is so large that I havent even covered 30% of the eating options in the two months that I have been here.

However, every eatery I go into, is damn crowded. This was never the case at my previous neighborhood joints in the East Village.

Here, the chains are the most crowded. There is a Chipotle and a Cosi on adjacent blocks on 6th Ave. And both are extremely crowded at lunchtime. Today, I waited for about 15 minutes to get a chance to place my order. The same is the case with Cosi.

What surprises me is how popular these chain restaurants are. They are not cheap. And they serve regular food with a unique twist.

There are a lot of mom and pop indi joints too, but not as crowded as these chains.

In a city that has so much variety and generally shuns big chains in any walk of consumerism (Walmart No Nooo !), this is a bit intriguing.

Since most of the people in these eateries are locals, does that mean that we as a population, are losing out our soul to consumer eating ??

Hope not.

Where did you have your lunch today ?

image courtesy of Photobucket.

Since tonight is going to be the BEST night of the week (as far as the weather is concerned), I figured I might as well get some lovin’.

Tonight is the Central Park Makeout and I think that I’m just going to have to head over to Sheep’s Meadow around 7pm to check this out. This is a no brainer people – free public PDA without glares from bitter onlookers. I’m not saying that you’re going to find love at first kiss, but it’s GOT to be more entertaining than the VMA’s.

Oh, and if you’re shy, head over to the The All State Café before you lock lips with a stranger. They’re offering up drinks on the cheap before and after the party.

When: Tonight at 7pm
Where: Sheeps Meadow (enter at Central Park West and 66th)

Have you ever driven down the L.I.E. on a cool summer night, cool like fall though, with your windows down? And electro pop music blasting through your windows? At 90 mph? Experiencing a natural high like no other?

Neither have I. Sounds like it’d be fun though, no?

i went for a walk around 10pm tonight because really, i had nothing better to do. i had spent the day shopping in soho, and came back pretty much empty handed. so i went down to madison square park. i bought a small shake at the shake shack, which pretty much spent the only $5 i had on me. i felt like the biggest loner possible, everyone else was in groups and here i sat alone on a bench drinking a shake. but i guess i really wasn’t THAT alone…
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Right now I’m in upstate NY, and every time I travel to any upstate location that’s further than Albany I notice a distinct drop in the number of fans of NY baseball teams. The bigger drop is in Yankee fans – people who are into the AL in upstate NY seem to veer either towards Boston (eastern NY) or random other teams (western NY), especially Toronto for Buffalo residents. NL fans vary between Mets loyalty and a mix of other, mostly east coast NL teams. So what’s up with all the upstate player hatin’? Are the two NY teams only relevant to NYC and the immediately surrounding areas? Should NY teams make a more concerted effort to woo their potential upstate fan base? What do you think?

As seen on the door to Relish in Williamsburg.

BTW–Relish is an awesome, converted shiny 50’s diner with fantastic high quality diner food and rocking drinks. I highly recommend the baked spanish eggs, the veggie burger, or the buffalo chicken sandwich, with a Relish Greyhound to wash any or all of them down.

And they have a very entertaining and pleasant waitstaff. As you can see, they have quite a sense of humor…

10. Parades! Zeppoles!
9. Yards and landscaping
8. Crazy street people much rarer
7. Quick escape over Verazzano Bridge
6. Block after block of family homes
5. Reasonable rent in pretty cool apartments–er, except none are currently available! Hear me?
4. No roving hordes of club people or celebrities
3. Dearth of hipsters
2. No Ratner building going up here!
1. Owners of bagel place, pizza joint, dry cleaners, laundromat, and grocery store all know our names, our “usuals”, and feel comfortable teasing us unmercifully.

I’m only kidding. I made all that up! It’s a horrible place to live. Really terrible. Don’t bother entertaining a single thought of moving here, because it’s not worth it. We’re all scum and we’lll cut you. I’m being serious.

After a good lunch-time work out there’s nothing I like more than balls in my face. I was sitting on a locker room bench, after getting out of the shower, smiling my smile while Sly and his Family Stone echoed in my head (twas a damn fine shufflin’ sesh today) when out of nowhere some lumbering ballsack almost clips my forehead. ” ‘Scuse me man, can you do that over there,” I asked, pointing to the other bench on the other side of the locker room area. With this, he merely shifted further down the same bench — a leg propped up on it — wiping himself with the diligence of a schoolboy tracing cursive letters on wide-ruled paper. I thought I’d wait a hot minute for him to finish so I could get through to my locker, but this fucker, oh man.
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i finally made it here. i moved in on friday but am still working on putting things in my room. i’ve been waaayy to busy. it’s been pretty gray & humid since i’ve been here, but nonetheless i love it. my room is on the 14th floor, and i have an EXCELLENT view of the empire state building & chrysler building from my windows. i’m living with a bunch of kids that are a few years younger than me, so it’s a little hard meeting people. hopefully once i go out to the bars i will meet some people? i can’t possibly be alone in new york city for long. right?

I am a cat lover, always have been and always will be. I rescued a stray once in Houston Texas from the parking lot of ‘Eddie Minnelli’s’ restaurant. I gave my cat the name ‘Minnelli’ and loved him dearly until that horrible day my stupid ex-boyfriend let him out of the apartment. My next kitten ‘Minou” was so small he fit in the palm of my hand. He could flatten himself and squeeze under my bedroom door. When my daughter was born, I found Minou a nice home with a woman who really wanted him. My last cat ‘Sunshine’ liked to slept on my head at night. She did not ‘meow’ like other cats, instead she thought she was a bird and made cute swallow sounds everytime I looked into her turquoise eyes. The point? In ten years, three cats, and I knew them all well.

As a cat lover, there are certain behaviors that leave me wondering what in the hell some people are thinking.

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