Bradley's Old Fashioned Weblog

Category: New York City

Posts about living and daily life in New York City.

  • The Beginning of New York City’s 2014 Snowpocalypse

    The Beginning of New York City’s 2014 Snowpocalypse

    Because we have a dog, we have plenty of opportunities to go out and experience the weather, even when we don’t particularly feel like it, like tonight, with wind and fairly heavy snow. I think this will be the last dog we own while we live in an apartment. It wouldn’t be bad if I could just open a door and let the dog out into the yard to handle his business, but owning a dog in New York City is time consuming. We walk him about three times a day and that eats up anywhere from an hour to an hour and 15 minutes per day.

    Anyway, pet woes aside, the weather is nasty. Earlier today I was out shopping and I saw that someone had created a check-in on Foursquare called Snowpocalypse Winter 2013-2014. I don’t think it will be quite as bad as the snow cleanup fiasco in 2010, though. That was crazy. I even saw snow plows (or what passes for snow plows here, trash trucks with plow blades attached) getting stuck in the snow.

    That’s not to say the weather outside is nothing to be concerned about, though. It’s ugly, and there was a weather alert earlier. Not that I understand the reasoning, except perhaps to convince people to not travel, but express trains were set to begin running local stops at 5:45 PM. Some dude even got on TV and said to not go outside if at all possible. That should go without saying anyway. Nothing says fun like getting blasted in the face with ice and snow, right? Better to hang at the house with a hot cup of coffee.

    So, I took these photos:

    Hopefully, the city is able to stay on top of the snow build-up, or people might be sad on their way to work tomorrow.

  • Clarke’s Standard (replaced goodburger at Union Square)

    It was with great regret that my wife and I saw that goodburger at Union Square had closed. We used to eat there frequently because the food was good, fairly quick, and it was convenient. It was somewhere between McDonald’s and Wendy’s, which was too junky, and a sit-down, pricey restaurant. Not that it wasn’t a little on the pricey side, but it filled a need we had.  I guess not enough people needed a good burger at that price, though, so one day we went there for dinner and found the place boarded up.

    Interior of Clarke's Standard at Union Square
    Interior of Clarke’s Standard at Union Square

    About two weeks ago, we were shopping at Petco and I decided to go around the corner and see if anything had replaced goodburger yet, and we saw that Clarke’s Standard was open. A new burger joint. We decided to try the place out, hoping it would be our new goodburger. Unfortunately, this place is not going to fit the bill.

    Clarke's Standard Menu
    Clarke’s Standard Menu
    Brooklyn Au Poivre, Honey Mustard BBQ Grilled Sandwich, French Fries, Sweet Waffle Potato Fries
    Brooklyn Au Poivre, Honey Mustard BBQ Grilled Sandwich, French Fries, Sweet Waffle Potato Fries

    The biggest problem we had was that the sauces used on the burgers are either made with mayo or ketchup (or something with a very similar taste to ketchup) that we didn’t care for. If you want a burger without mayo or ketchup here, you lose most of the flavor of the specialty burger. Besides that, the sauces are very runny and soak into the bun, making them mushy and sloppy. Some people may like their buns saucy and squishy, but I like my buns firm.

    I had the Brooklyn Au Poivre. Besides my sauce and bun problem, I found the meat to not have any real taste to it. It seemed to be too wet and slightly undercooked on top of that. It didn’t have a grilled or “real” flavor to it. My wife said the honey mustard BBQ grilled chicken sandwich was good, but the flavor was drowned by the ketchup, which was leaking out of the bottom of the sandwich in gobs.

    The only redeeming things about our meal were the French fries and sweet potato waffle fries. They were both outstanding, but they aren’t enough to bring us back for more.

    Huge roach on the floor at Clarke's Standard
    Huge roach on the floor at Clarke’s Standard
    Huge roach on the floor at Clarke's Standard
    Huge roach on the floor at Clarke’s Standard

    Finding this giant roach on the floor under our table (waiting for leftovers?) after we finished eating finished killing our meal experience. Honestly, the price isn’t that much different than goodburger and the quality and variety of the sandwiches isn’t that impressive. We won’t be going back. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area. We’ll just have to walk a bit further to get to them.

  • Late Last Night, after the Snow Turned to Rain

    Late Last Night, after the Snow Turned to Rain

  • Snow Day



    Snowy street in Washington Heights earlier today.

  • Spaceship for Sale

    Spaceship for SaleA little late to be posting this, but perhaps he has an extra?

  • Happy Chanukah!

    A Hanukkah poster hanging in the lobby of my mother's apartment building.
    A Hanukkah poster hanging in the lobby of my mother’s apartment building.

    This is a bit delayed, it being the fourth night of Chanukah, but better late than never!

    I saw this poster hanging in the lobby of my mother’s apartment building when we went to visit her for Thanksgiving. I wasn’t aware there were enough Jewish tenants living there for the management to recognize the holiday. Maybe they put up signs for every major religious holiday? Regardless, it was very well done and a nice gesture.

    Chanukah is a commemoration of the reconquest of Jerusalem by the Maccabees and the rededication of the Temple to God. The oil they had available to light the menorah in the Temple was only enough for one day, but they lit it anyway, while they got to work making more, which was an eight-day process of pressing and purifying. According to tradition, the oil vessel miraculously refilled itself every night allowing them to keep the menorah burning for all eight nights. That’s why Jews today light a menorah each night of the holiday, in commemoration of not just the rededication but the miracle of the oil.

  • Veteran’s Day Dinner 2013

    PVT Elma and Me July 30 1999 Fort Lee VA, AIT
    “PVT Elma + Me. July 30, 99 Fort Lee, VA (AIT)”

    Ever since I enlisted in the Army and businesses started offering Veterans Day promotions, I’ve tried to make it to a participating business each year. I’m not one to pass up free food, especially when it’s from a place like Olive Garden. I’m just being practical. Besides, I’m a veteran, and in a way, I already paid for it. That’s what the day is about, and I’m glad businesses have decided to give back to the veteran community one day a year in a show of appreciation for the efforts and loss that some people went through, or are still going through, for those on active duty.

    The first time I remember going to a restaurant for a free meal on Veterans Day was when I was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. I think I went to a Golden Corral or a similar all-you-can-eat buffet-style restaurant with a group of guys from my unit.  This year, like last year, my wife and I went to the Olive Garden in Times Square. In addition to the free entree for veterans, the restaurant was offering 10% off for family members. I’m not sure if that was 10% off the rest of the bill, or just the other entree(s). I forgot to check and tossed the receipt already, but it doesn’t really matter to me. A discount is a discount.

    IMG_3072

    The entree options for veterans were limited, but they offered a nice variety of choices. I went with the cheese ravioli. We also got the stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer and my wife ordered the capellini pomodoro, which she said tasted delicious.  It looked delicious. I also ordered a new drink they have, a blood orange blackberry iced tea. That tasted outstanding.

    Blood Orange Blackberry Iced Tea
    Blood Orange Blackberry Iced Tea
    Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce
    Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce
    Capellini Pomodoro
    Capellini Pomodoro

    These guys were outside the Olive Garden. I thought it was pretty cool, so I want to share the photo:

    Mounted NYPD
    Mounted NYPD

    We finished the evening off at Starbucks, which was offering a free tall brewed coffee to veterans and family members.

    The evening wasn’t completely free, but the discounts at Olive Garden made our evening out more affordable and gave my wife and I an opportunity to be thankful for my coming home in one piece, to remember those who didn’t, and gave us another reason to just spend time together out of the house. We’re looking forward to doing it again next year.

  • Rockefeller Center and the Christmas Tree for 2013

    My wife and I went to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular yesterday night and while we were in the area we decided to look around Rockefeller Center. There are Christmas lights up already, which is nice, and the tree is already in place, but it is surrounded by scaffolding. Judging by the pile of branches on the ground nearby, the tree is being trimmed and shaped prior to being decorated for the holiday season. Maybe I’m just getting used to being around tall structures, but the tree doesn’t look as big as usual this year.

    We also walked past the NBC today studio set. It was closed up for the night, but it was still interesting to look in and see where the teleprompters are read.

    NBC News Studio by Rockefeller Center
    NBC News Studio by Rockefeller Center
    Looking into the NBC Studio news set from outside.
    Looking into the NBC Studio news set from outside.

    I didn’t know Christie’s, the auction house, was by Rockefeller Center, but we saw that too. The big balloon dog sculpture in front of the entrance is pretty cool. I sort of wish there were miniature versions so I could buy one and keep it on a shelf.

    Balloon Dog Sculpture at Christie's Auction House
    Balloon Dog Sculpture at Christie’s Auction House
    A close-up of the balloon dog sculpture.
    A close-up of the balloon dog sculpture.
    Christie's Auction House window displays.
    Christie’s Auction House window displays.

  • Twitter Banner on New York Stock Exchange on IPO Day

    My wife took these photos this morning. She said it was ok for me to try to take credit for them. 😉

    Twitter Banner on NYSE for IPO
    Twitter Banner on NYSE for IPO
    Twitter Banner on NYSE for IPO
    Twitter banner close-up.
    NYSE with Twitter Banner
    Around 4:30 PM.

    I’ve seen a lot of people saying they think Twitter’s stock is overpriced, but didn’t a lot of people say the same thing about Facebook? I was under the impression that turned out ok. Maybe the difference is that Twitter hasn’t found a very effective monetization method, yet. But, I think they’ll do ok. I wasn’t really keeping up with this until my wife sent me these photos. Now I wish I’d planned ahead and jumped on the bandwagon early. Maybe next time around.

  • Key Shop Cat

    IMG_2911

    This fat, happy cat was watching very carefully as I walked past his key shop with my dog. I’ve been in there before to ask a question about deadbolt lubricant and didn’t see him then. He must have just been napping, because he obviously knows where home is.

    IMG_2910