www.ntyamb.com has reached 2000 visits since it's debut in September, 2005. That means my parents and that weird stalker who has been following me are spending way too much time on the internet.
Thanks to all who read and leave comments. It's lots of fun.
Oh, the itch to move to the Big Apple is greater than ever. Colleen, Brandi, Kyle and I had a fantastic weekend in New York.
The weather was warm but breezy up the Hudson Hotel's rooftop terrace. The Hudson is definitely a scene, with the whole building turning into a massive nightclub after dark. The rooms were small but tasteful, and the bar outside had futons by each table so you could lounge while you sipped your $14 cocktails. It's a little too hip, but I would stay there again - great location on at the southwest corner of Central Park.
We met up with our friend MC for dinner at my favorite Manhattan restaurant, Blue Hill, in the East Village, and then enjoyed live jazz at the Garage. Blue Hill did not disappoint, serving produce from the owner's farm in Westchester.
On Sunday, after napping in the park, we had brunch at Jane, and spent the afternoon wandering through Soho and Washington Square Park. Jane is a very popular spot, but serves an average brunch. They did make the spiciest, tastiest bloody mary I've had in a while, and they also make great lemonade.
Click here to see more pics from the trip.
Ok, this is fun ... here's more:
11. Never do situps on a fitness ball after three Coronas in a small space. If you lose your balance, all hell could break loose and you could crack your skull.
12. If an old person wants to tell you a story ... listen and take notes.
13. The people who annoy you the most are usually a lot like you, so they are the ones to whom you should give the most grace.
14. Tevas are over.
15. Every person should know how to make at least three dishes that don't involve pasta, ground beef, or tortillas.
To see the complete "More of Ken's Rules to Live By", click here.
Here is the beginning of what will become a growing, comprehensive list of the rules by which I live. It may appear to be a list of opinions, but trust me people, these rules are universal. They are in no particular order of importance:
1. Dudes over the age of 12, gay or straight, should never ride together on a bicycle or a moped. For some reason it's not as bad on a Harley or a cafe racer, but still inadvisable.
2. Unless you are driving in your car, on an actual call, take that ridiculous Bluetooth earpiece off your head. Do not walk around with it in place. Do not wear it to the dinner table on a date. Earpieces are the modern-day calculator watches: useful, perhaps, but super-nerdy.
3. Only frat boys drink Vodka and Red Bull.
4. Driving a bright yellow vehicle says something about your personality that you don't want to communicate. I don't care how good you think it looks in the showroom, don't do it.
5. Only extremely cool or extremely dorky guys wear bow ties. You are probably not in either of those camps, so forget about it.
6. My Four Seasons Rule: It is very imprudent to propose, or agree to, marriage before dating the person through all four seasons: someone who is utterly delightful in the fall could be a bitch by winter. How do I know this? Because anyone who falls in love with me in the spring is sure to have a rude awakening when they discover how ornery I am by the end of a hot, humid summer or a dark, grey winter.
7. A first date should never involve a movie, and no date should ever involve painting your own pottery.
8. Law or no law, it is unbelievably rude to smoke indoors with other people in the room.
9. Real men do not follow rules about what "real men" should or should not do or like. Quiche is delicious and flowers are for everyone.
10. Post Jerry McGuire, if you have ever, in seriousness, uttered the phrase, "you complete me," to your significant other, you are an idiot.
For the entire list, click here.
It took a brave date to get me there, but I have a new favorite place to hear jazz.
Don't get me wrong, I still loves me some HR-57, but as a lab for jazz musicians, the music throughout a set can vary dramatically depending on the skill of the musicians rotating in and out. Just one dud can turn a tight jam into a car wreck, and lately I find myself wincing more than grooving at HR-57. And that ain't cool, man.
Cavern is for the pros, and it has been since the late twenties when Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway were regulars. After a 30-year hiatus and an extensive restoration, the Cavern is back and it's a really fun time.
The top two floors of the massive building serve as a restaurant and a modern dance club, but jazz lovers want to go to the basement where, after paying the $10 cover, you enter a cozy, open room with walls and ceilings covered with rock and tiny halogen lights to create a very kitsch, but acoustically superior decor. The petrified wood chairs and white leather sofas are silly, to be sure, but comfortable.
But what matters is the music, and the music is outstanding. This is a listening room, not a pick-up bar, so you are expected to keep the chit-chat to a minimum so that everyone can enjoy the music. I've only been once, so I guess the quality of the music depends on the night, but regulars "The Young Lions" are fantastic. They play next on Friday, June 9, at 9pm. Hope to see you there!
Note: Once inside the club, you'll find a friendly and safe, diverse crowd of jazz lovers of all ages. But ladies should cab to the front door of the club or go with a group. U Street is becoming a wonderful melting pot, but 11th and U is just beyond the area where many unaccompanied folk would feel comfortable.
I'm not happy.
I want to love Bistrot du Coin. On almost any given evening, there is a party of people livin it up down the street from my place at Bistrot du Coin. It's a great place to saddle up to the zinc bar for a carafe of boujoule and chat with the beautiful people over the roar of the crowd.
And I love the food, LOVE IT. The steak and pommes frites are top notch. The mussels are the best around. The French house red is cheap and delicious.
But I just can't tolerate rude wait staff and bartenders, and they are legion at BDC. On my first dozen visits, the cool ambivalence of the hostess and wait people was almost funny, given the cliche that the French are rude. But on my last few visits, the treatment has gone just a little too far.
When you say 10 minutes for a table and it takes 45, you do whatever you can to make up for it, not act annoyed when I ask what's how much longer. When I ask for medium rare, and get medium well, you should apologize and bring me another steak. When the carafe is so greasy that you can see the bartender's handprints on it, you apologize and bring us a clean bottle. And the next time you snap at my date because she accidentally stepped in your way on the way to the ladies room, I'm going to take you down, you arrogant jerk.
Look Frenchies, you can only rest on your laurels for so long until the backlash begins. And it is starting ... right now, right here, on www.ntyamb.com. My arm is long and my wrath is fierce. Start treating the neighborhood regulars with gratitude and respect or else.
Remind me to take the stairs.
Thanks to James M. for this hilarious pic of a bunch of Apple fans stuck in the glass elevator at the new flagship store on 5th Avenue in NYC.
Apparently they were in there for 45 minutes. They look young and able-bodied -- that's what they get for not taking the stairs.
By the way, we're planning a weekend trip to the Big Apple over the weekend of June 24. Wanna come along? If so, email me soon.
