Last week, Burger Garage, a new burger restaurant in Long Island City, finally opened up for lunch. Before that, they’d been serving only dinners as they prepared to serve the significantly larger lunch crowd. Let’s face it. The area close to Court Square hasn’t been a huge hot bed of restaurants – but this seems to be changing little by little. The restaurant has a retro feel to it – it makes me think of the restaurant growing up we’d go to which was 50?s themed, and my girlfriends and I would wear our poodle skirts, too infatuated with an era we didn’t know to find it cheesy. Perhaps it’s that which has caused retro-diners, or that feel, to be one of the exceptions to my food-over-catchy-set-up rule. From the moment I walked in, I knew that this was a place I’d be back to based on feel alone.
Turkey Burger - Burger Garage
I actually usually prefer turkey burgers, so for my first visit I went with their turkey burger with swiss cheese. For sides, they actually offer several. There are the standard hand cut Idaho potato fries, which are thicker cut french fries. They also offer sweet potato fries (these are so what I’m having next time) as well as fried onion strings. For $3, they also offer a combo side – half fries + half fried onion strings – for the diner who wants a little of all of the above. I really liked that they would allow you to do either the Idaho potato fries or the sweet potato fries in the combo deal. I had to get the onion strings for my first visit – I could not resist.
Verdict? The burger was tasty, though from watching them come out before they were packaged up for the customer, it looks like the beef is probably the way to go here. I like with the traditional beef burger, you have the option of a smaller-sized single, versus the obviously larger double. Witht he turkey, it looked to be slightly larger than the single-sized burger. The meat though was nicely cooked – not overcooked as to be dry. Very moist and flavorful – I could even make out seasoning throughout the burger. I like my burgers a little more chargrilled than this, but I was very pleased. Excellent quality from the meat to the cheese to the bread to the toppings. No step was overlooked.
So many fried onion strings…
The onion strings were good, although they were so thin, that the more that you ate, they almost got lost in all of the breading. Not that crunchy fried goodness isn’t enjoyable, but I found myself wishing for a bit more onion in the mix. It was also a big portion size for one person (not that I let many go to waste – I felt more guilty throwing them out than in giving them a home). I’m really looking forward to trying the sweet potato fries next go ’round. As well as their extensive dessert menu. Their list of ice cream shakes includes vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, banana, coffee, black & white or there’s also another fabulous option, their ice cream root beer float. They also have dessert specials. I’m not even sure where to start…
There are some unique touches about Burger Garage which I really liked. They have fabulous fresh brewed iced tea, which I enjoyed. One being that unlike most casual burger spots, they offer gluten free buns. There’s a slight surcharge, but kudos to them to adding this into their standard list of items to stock. They even offer wheat buns. So many options! I also really liked that they offer Abita Root Beer on tap. That’s definitely a first. Looking forward to going back and watching this one continue to settle in. I see the restaurant as becoming a dependable staple in the neighborhood restaurant scene (thank goodness!). Welcome oh welcome!
Burger Garage – 25-36 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City – 718.392.0424
From 2000 - 2010, I’ve had my hair cut in one place: Astor Place Hairstylists. You descend the stairs into the basement of a building at 2 Astor Place, you tell the guy at the front desk you want a haircut, he looks around the large room for an open seat, points you in the right direction, you sit down and listen to the buzz of the hair trimmer for ten minutes while your locks fall to the floor, then you get a paper receipt that you bring to the front, and they charge you $15 bucks. It’s efficient, it’s cheap, it’s easy.
In contrast, my friend recently took the subway uptown and spent $80 at a trendy salon to get his head shaved. Shaved! I would have gladly done it for $40. Then again, I would have probably buzzed a funny word into the back of his head.
But last weekend, my girlfriend told me about a little place she’d heard good things about, somewhere between the chop shop and the palace of hair. Neighborhood Barbers, a men’s hair only joint on 9th street in the East Village. We walked up to it and I peered inside. Only a few chairs lined up in a place the size of a boxcar.
Normally, trusting my hair to somebody new would make me more nervous than a cat in a cactus patch, but the kudos posted on their window, from Playboy magazine and other respected men’s publications, gave me confidence. I felt even more at home when I discovered the latest Playboy magazine among their reading material. Kelly Brook = Hot. Although she’s way hotter in the movie Survival Island.
I felt so comfortable, in fact, that when I sat down in the barber chair and saw the guy next to me getting a shave with a straight razor… I asked my barber, Mike, for one too.
If you’ve never had another man’s soft, smooth fingers massage your face, you’re really missing out (this is not a sentence I thought I would ever type). I could feel years of tension melting away as the barber wrapped a hot towel around my face, took it off, and rubbed a cool shaving cream all over my furry chin. This must be the pleasure that women feel when they get a nice hot wax.*
*Update: I’m told that female hair removal is not as pleasant.
The idea of the barber holding the straight razor against my neck, having the power over my life, made my heart race, but eventually, I let the fear go, feeling a sense of peace overcome me after I finally trusted freely.
Mike did offer up a “facial massage machine,” for extra, but I thought that sounded a little sci-fi for my tastes. I’m just not comfortable with robots touching my face for some reason.
About the only thing I did wonder was how much everything would cost. I didn’t ask at the beginning.
I was shocked when the barber said $24 bucks. $24, for all that? Suddenly, Astor Place seemed expensive. Indeed, a regular cut was only $14 dollars here.
I was left with a good haircut and a chin as smooth as the day I was born, both things the girlfriend appreciated.
One of the things I loved most about New York when I moved here was all of the specialty shops. Cooking something requiring the most authentic of Greek ingredients? It might take a bit longer to get there, but there are plenty of specialized Greek grocery stores ready to stock up your shelves. Decide you want to have a very specific diet? Vegan? Gluten-free? Organic only? Even on my block, there are stores such as Health Nuts which are more than capable of meeting those needs (they even have my favorite – Almond Breeze’s unsweetened chocolate almond milk – oh yes).
More often than not, I fall prey to the easy option. Click, click, click on the keyboard as I scroll through FreshDirect.com. Today though as I left the theater after seeing Eat, Pray, Love (really enjoyed it – oh how it makes me want to travel right now), I decided to stop by a small upscale market to fill in my FreshDirect “holes”. You have to buy herbs in insanely large quantities. Same with garlic. I might love my garlic, but I don’t quite need enough for an army.
Walking up to the store, I saw all of their fruits. I picked up a Granny Smith apple. That’ll be good with the maple spread I picked up from Maple Grove Farms in Vermont. I grabbed a lemon. Maybe some slices of that will finally get me drinking more water at work. I’ve heard it can help get you in the habit. I walked in and picked up my herbs to make my hummus (a small bunch of parsley as opposed to enough for six rounds of hummus). And then I saw it off in the distance.
A mecca.
An oasis.
Behold, glorious cheese… Almost instantly, I saw a wedge of tetilla, the likes of which I have been dreaming of since two visits to El Quinto Pino. I found another brie-like variety which I thought would pair nicely with either the blueberry preserves I bought at Brieremere Farms in Long Island or the raspberry honey from the Savannah Bee Company. (Note, after trying both, the honey pairing wins. The preserves though held their own when they flew solo … aka scooped up in all of their glory in nothing more than a spoon).
In one night, we covered Savannah, Vermont, and Long Island. No stamps in my passport stamps involved, but all-in-all, not half-bad. And I think I’ll be stopping in the local shops more often. My, how I’ve missed so much.
You know summer is coming to a close when Rooftop Films has their last event.This Friday at the Old American Can Factory, they are screening 10 short films, appropriately on the topic of endings.As always, the night opens with great music and ends with free Raderberger.Tickets are $10, and if you haven’t gone yet, make it happen.
If you are feeling like youneed to make the most of the summer coming to an end and want to party you’re in luck because it’s time for another Crooked Disco celebration. This time it’s for the pop icon, Madonna!Join DJ’s Kester and Morsy this Friday for a Madonna filled dance party.There will be free drinks for the best dressed but also there are some great drink specials.Party starts at 10pm at Le Poisson Rouge and its free!
If you are a history geek and love the New York Transit Museum, this Saturday, you will be able to relive some mass transit history.The Museum will host its first ever nostalgia train and bus ride, where you can ride on cars from 1930s and 40s to the Rockaways in the morning, then take one of the eight buses as they shuttle from Rockaway Park to Jacob Riis beach every 20 minutes.You can then catch a vintage train back home.It sounds an experience you could cross off your bucket list.The ride comes at a price.$45 for adults and $20 for kids, no strollers please.RSVP at718-694-1867
Irene Ross is a NYC-based Health Coach, CHHC, and AADP. For more information, visit her website at www.eating4achieving.com
Every Thursday, lucky commuters, together with the approximately 200,000 shoppers, tourists, office workers, area residents and various other people can find fresh local produce and vegetables, baked goods, sandwiches– and even wine–at a farmers market in the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Seriously?Port Authority?
Yes, it may seem strange at first but, remember, people rushing to and from New York City can pick up breakfast or lunch.And the fact that it’s indoors means people can shop despite any weather. It also means people can combine their food shopping while shopping at the many concessions, stores, and restaurants at this bustling location.
Two Farms Plus a Winery
Chances are pretty good that you’ve already tasted some of the products from Katchie Farmif you’ve attended any catered events in the city.Katchkie, a 60-acre, year-round organic farming operation located in Columbia County, NY, is owned by Great Performances catering company of New York City.Great Performances is known for its high quality, elegant events, (venues include places like the Grand Ballroom at the Plaza), environmental and social responsibility, and “farm to table” philosophy.
Katchkie Farmsells certified organic vegetables, together with sandwiches, pickles, sauces, and eggs. Stand workers tell me the freshly-made sandwiches are picked up so quickly by commuters that it’s necessary to replenish supplies frequently throughout the day.
Prospect Hill Orchards is a 55-acre farm located in Milton, NY and has been in the same family for nearly 200 years!The farm is now in its seventh generation of Clarke family owners; in fact, some of the cherry and apple orchards are part of the original homestead of Nathaniel Clarke, the first owner, who began the operation as a general farm and self-sustaining homestead.Then it included a kitchen garden, fruits, vegetables and animals. Today you’ll also find an abundance of orchard fruits!
Long Island=New York’s Bordeaux
Long Island is New York State’s newest and fastest growing wine region.So, at this market, you’ll find robust merlots, full-bodied chardonnays or other European classics from this region. The New York Wine and Grape foundation represents wines from all over the state—but, specific to this market, the foundation displays and sells wines from Long Island. It’s also part of a program called Pride of New York, developed to promote and support the sale of agricultural products grown and food products processed within New York State, and membership now includes farmers and processors, retailers, distributors, restaurants and related culinary and support associations.
The farmers market at the Port Authority Bus Terminal (42nd Street side) is open every Thursday from 8:00 to 6:00.
Special comedy showcase featuring NYC underground favorite Todd Montesi (MONTIKILLAVISION, UG! COMEDY SHOW!!) doing a half hour of no-holds barred comedic material. Featuring as well comic veteran Joseph Rocha (Jack Daniels Comedy Festival, Que Loco) and solid gritty up and comer Justy Dodge.It’s Old School ranty LES downtown standup at it’s finest!
How’s ridin’ my fellow wheelers?! Hope you guys have been out on your bikes enjoying this great, but hot summer. After hearing so much about it, this time our destination was the Brooklyn Flea.
Did you know it’s so popular, there are two locations:
1) An indoor at The Williamsburg Saving Bank (the tall building in downtown Brooklyn with the big clock you can see almost anywhere in Brooklyn)
2) An outdoor in Fort Greene, which is where we went.
Since it was Saturday, (outside flea’s on Saturday inside’s on Sunday) we went to the outdoor flea. We headed out from my place on Cortelyou Road and made our way to Bedford Ave. We took a left on Bedford Ave. Befored Ave is the class 2 lane that I’ve mentioned in previous posts and is a main thoroughfare for bikes. It runs fromWilliamsburg to Sheepshead Bay.
Each time I travel along Bedford, I notice how crappy the conditions are in the midsection area. But at either end it becomes much nicer and smoother. What’s the reason for this? Is it property taxes? Seems an investigation is in order - but that’s for another post. Right now, lets continue on our trip… So, from the crappy part of Bedford, we made our way to Lincoln Rd. We turned right at the fork where Washington Ave and Flatbush Ave meet. We headed up Washington and I was surprised at what an easy hill it was to conquor. Not only was there a reward in getting to the top of the hill, but also, I also saw and heard a dj playing some very funky house music in Dr. Ronald E. McNair Park. House music always gets me going! Read more »
Tags:brooklyn flea, Fort Greene, green markets, house music, Sheepshead Bay, williamsburg
This is a great article that was sent to us by changeofaddress.org, which is a unique organization that helps the American public with the challenges of changing an address. Click here to learn more about them.
We all have neighbors that we could really do without, right? You know the people that I am talking about… It might however surprise you that to someone else YOU are one of those people that they just can’t stand to have as a neighbor. So, you might be wondering how you know if you are one such person. Funny you should ask as I find myself in the same predicament. So, after a bit of soul searching and digging in my memory I came up with the following 50 signs that you are a bad neighbor:
Pets – Nobody has an issue with you having a cat or dog, usually if something comes up it is more how you are taking care of the pet or not that becomes an issue like:
You let your dog out of the house late at night or early in the morning and they bark a lot (and loudly).
You let your dog out and don’t quickly let them back in so they scratch and scratch at your door (while barking loudly).
You let your dog go to the bathroom in your yard and don’t clean up (so your yard is a mine field).
You walk your pet but don’t keep them on a leash.
You let your dog or cat roam the neighborhood (because “everyone loves them”).
Your dog has a problem with biting yet you tie them up outside your home for extended time periods.
You let your dog dig holes in your yard making it less than attractive which reflects on the neighborhood.
Your dog is outside so much the grass is worn down from their chain dragging back and forth as they run and bark at people passing by.
You don’t clean up after your dog when they go to the bathroom in your neighbor’s yard.
You let your cat or dog fight with other pets in the neighborhood.
The day following dinner at Rocking Horse Cafe, a friend and I had reservations for our next Summer Restaurant Week dinner – this time at Steak Frites. Steak Frites is just slightly west of Union Square, tucked just past Union Square Cafe. The hostess stand greets you at the door, with a bar area extending directly behind and the dining area surrounding the length of the bar and beyond. I was initially a bit taken back to see there were two large TVs on either side of the bar. Not exactly in line with a nicer steak restaurant.
Jumbo Lump Crab Cake - Steak Frites
To start, my friend chose their shrimp cocktail, and I went with their jumbo lump crab cake. The crab cake was pretty good – lightly fried and I liked the pairing with the corn salad. Nice mix of flavors. I thought it was a generous portion for an appetizer, much more so than the shrimp cocktail serving. They had some other options with the Restaurant Week menu – a salad (frisse aux lardon et roquefort), chilled regional oysters on the half shell, and icy blue P. E. I. mussels, prepared with white wine, pastis, shallots, tomato, fennel and herbs de provence.
Seared Canadian Salmon - Steak Frites
Coming in to the dinner, I felt the need to go with a steak or some sort of red meat. There was the Filet Of Beef “Oscar”, which was prepared with lump crab meat and asparagus. There was also the New York Strip, served with chopped spinach and crushed potato. However after a heavy dinner the night before, I was most interested in the Seared Canadian Salmon, accompanied with lobster, Maine crab & fingerling potato hash. The salmon was a nice sized portion, and the mix of lobster and crab made this meal a seafood lovers dream. The flavors manged to not compete, rather just softly settle alongside each other. The potatoes would make an excellent side dish on their own. They were thinly sliced, about three times the thickness of a potato chip, so not fully crisp. They were salty, clearly made with plenty of garlic. If you’re going to go into a steakhouse and order, well not steak, I think this an option clearly on par with their red meat. I would definitely recommend this dish.
Apple Tart - Steak Frites
For a grand finale, we both shockingly elected to bypass the chocolate option on the menu, Pot De Crème Au Chocolate, as well as their Profiteroles “Dame Blanche” (as much as I love profiteroles) in favor of something more fruity. The apple tart was delicious, served with a heaping scoup of caramel ice cream drizzled with caramel syrup. The pastry portion was crispy on the outside, and just the right amount of moist on the inside stuffed with as many slices of apples as room permitted. It was a nice slightly lighter way to cap off the meal.
Steak Frites – 9 East 16th Street (between Union Square West and 5th Ave) – 212.675.4700
Reservations Recommended
WHAT: The 2010 River To River Festival concludes its Seaport Music Series of free concerts by established and up-and-coming indie-rockers
WHEN: Friday, August 13th 6:00 pm
COST: FREE
WHERE: South Street Seaport, Pier 17
WHY: The River To River Festival, New York’s largest free summer arts festival, concludes its Seaport Music Series with a free concert by indie-rock pioneers The Wedding Present.
Boasting eighteen Top 40 hit singles in the UK, The Wedding Present has earned countless accolades since the mid-80s, including legendary DJ John Peel’s famous statement that they’ve “written some of the best love songs of the rock ‘n’ roll era. You may dispute this, but I’m right and you’re wrong.” Not bad for a band that has, from its inception, stubbornly refused to play the record industry’s game.
From the first full-length release on their own Reception Records, “George Best” – hailed as “an unmitigated delight” by NME – throughout a decades-long career, David Gedge and company have charted an appealing, if often eccentric, course of their very own.
The show continues an annual tradition of rounding out the River to River Festival’s Seaport Music Series lineup with a member of the indie-rock “old guard,” paying tribute to the trailblazers who have inspired today’s new acts. Previous years’ bands have included the New York Dolls, Suicide, and Superchunk.
