unique new york

last night, i returned from a weekend trip to new york city...as always, it was a blast. i hadn't been in approximately 3 years, which is WAY too long considering that like 75% of my friends live there. so, a few months ago when my good friend gleni asked me to be her friend-date to a superchunk show in september, i figured it was a fantastic excuse to make my way back to NYC. highlights & pictures below!

immediately upon my arrival, i navigated the subway with a nice british woman who was on my boltbus from boston, and met up with my loooongtime friend jacob (seriously, kickin' it since sixth grade). as an appropriate first stop, we grabbed some hipster lattes and macchiatos at gorilla coffee in park slope and i felt really uncool.

after a brisket and potato salad dinner at dale talde's brooklyn BBQ joint pork slope, i enjoyed some whiskey sours and manned the jukebox with gleni at this great little bar next door called the high dive. they had all these homemade mixes, so my selections included urge overkill's "sister havana," brian jonestown massacre's "vacuum boots," and the replacements' "bastards of young." nailed it, even if we were the only ones paying attention.

on saturday, i had a mini-reunion and mega-ramen at momofuku noodle bar in the east village, with three of my friends from marist. pork buns and spicy miso ramen 'til i die, basically. it was lovely to see everyone, and the food was delicious! 

after lunch, gleni and i strolled through washington square park, where we saw a rainbow (top of the post), and this really cool dude who was entertaining passersby with marionettes he had made. in the second picture, the woman standing with him is his inspiration for the marionette! it was awesome and uniquely new york. 

then, we strolled through the west village and went to the big gay ice cream shop, which really needs no explanation. i got the "bea arthur," and gleni got the "salty pimp." solid.

we pressed on to the DUMBO art festival (that stands for down under the manhattan bridge overpass and has nothing to do with the disney elephant). it was a gorgeous day, and there were some really cool pieces!

before we headed to the show that night, we refueled with some kiiiller iced coffee at caffe vita on the lower east side. we were in search of a bite to eat (which ended up being this incredible sesame pancake with peking duck at vanessa's dumpling house) when i saw the sign below and just had to take a picture.

while i was trying unsuccessfully to get a good shot, this kid comes up to me and asks if i would take a picture with him. i did it, asking if it was for a dare or something. 

"sort of," he says. "are you in college?"

i laugh. "no! i'm old." 

"you don't look old!"

he comes back a minute later with his little posse, asking if i'll do him a big favor. 

"will you give me a kiss on the cheek?"

"it's for a skateboarding video!" his long-haired friend pipes up.

clearly, i HAD to do it at this point, right?

beaming, he walks triumphantly away, yelling, "you made my night! NEW YORK, baby!"

i'm so glad i could make this young man's cougar dreams come true, but i just know this photo is going to resurface someday. or next week. 

finally, the original purpose of this weekend...SUPERCHUNK! i had seen these guys before a few years ago, and once again, they did not disappoint.

the best part of superchunk shows is that the audience is literally all 40-something dudes trying to relive their early '90s glory days. i don't really know why. ladies, superchunk is great! listen to them. anyways, there is never a line for the women's room, and most of the guys are all married 'n junk so the creep factor is minimal. but seriously, you haven't lived 'til you've shouted along to "slack MFer" with a bunch of balding, middle-aged men. you just haven't. there were, however, 3 women in their late 30s in front of us having the BEST time, and gleni and i immediately saw ourselves in 10 years.

eleanor friedberger from the fiery furnaces came out to sing a few tunes, and i think there were 2 encores. it was crazy and fun.

we stopped for a nightcap on the way home at this laid-back bar called the magician, which had a great vibe. one of my favorite things about new york is that i can never see it all when i visit. i'll be baaaack!