Month: November 2007

Lodging in New York

After some research, I learned that there really isn’t a *good* time to go to New York – there are less busy seasons, sure (January – March being one of them), but because of a diminishing number of available rooms (converting to condominiums is apparently all the rage for hotel properties) and hoteliers taking advantage of visitors’ deeper pockets (due to the comparably low U.S. Dollar), rooms are routinely $250 more than other American cities. Add a 13.625% tax and a $3.50/night occupancy fee, and anything that may have been affordable becomes less so very quickly. Of course, choosing to go during the peak holiday December rush doesn’t help a frugal mindset, but to see New York at Christmas will be worth the extra expense.

Though friends did their best to suggest lodging possibilities, what’s reasonable in slower seasons doesn’t hold true for the rest of the year. However, with some digging, I came across the Pod Hotel, a newly renovated establishment named after their small, space-saving suites, and the inclusion of an iPod docking station in each room. With stellar comments on TripAdvisor with regards to their cleanliness, great location (situated just one block from a Metro station in Midtown Manhattan), free WiFi to satisfy all of Mack’s blogging needs, and a en-suite bath for less than $200 a night, including taxes, we had found a winner. The trendy, young, and hip vibe I get from the hotel (and a fabulous view from the rooftop patio on the fourteenth floor) are just happy bonuses.

For future reference, setting aside hostels and sublet apartments in favor of comfortable and more traditional accommodations, here are a few other properties worth noting for your next trip to New York. While I can’t personally vouch for them, based on TripAdvisor comments, travel guide recommendations, and a budgetary bracket of approximately $150 a night for two persons, this short list may be a place to start:

I’m counting down the days!

Quotable People: Installment Six

  • “A true friend is someone who is there for you when they would rather by someplace else.” – Len Wein

  • “Friendship is one of the sweetest joys in life. Many might have failed beneath the bitterness of their trial had they not found a friend.” – Charles H. Spurgeon

  • “A single rose can be my garden…a single friend, my world.” – Leo Buscaglia

  • “The essence of true friendship is to make allowance for another’s little lapses.” – David Storey

  • “We want people to feel with us more than to act for us.” – George Eliot

The Cooking Chronicles: Scotch Shortbread

When my coworker brought homemade shortbread cookies to the office the other day, I was reminded of a recipe I have been wanting to try for some time. So I hauled out my pink Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, and flipped to the page with directions for Scotch Shortbread.

The ingredients couldn’t be more common – butter, confectioner’s sugar, and flour – while the prep was easy and fast. I didn’t quite know how to “crimp” the edges, but as no one but my family would be sampling my cookies, it didn’t matter so much.

This recipe – while lighting quick to put together – just wasn’t good. Much too bland (the cookies are in dire need of sugar), I was not completely without fault, as I was guilty of under baking the batch. Still, this was a surprising first strike to my trusty BHG.

Scotch Shortbread

Food Notes

  • Edmontonians can breathe a sigh of relief – Capital Health has announced that the inspection results of city-wide restaurants will be accessible to the public by July 1.
  • The Matrix Hotel, besides being the home of Edmonton’s newest Starbucks, will also house a new restaurant from the L’Azia Group, called the Wildflower Restaurant. Barring construction delays, it will open in November. The Edmonton City Centre location of L’Azia used to be a favorite pre and post-movie destination for my friends and I during high school. I have found, however, that the food and service has steadily declined over the years, and haven’t been back. I hope the Wildflower is able to meet high expectations, otherwise, the Century Hospitality Group may have been a better choice to fill the space.
  • Here’s a reason, besides the cheap merchandise, to visit Wal-Mart: only available in McDonald’s restaurants situated inside the discount retailer, are cinnamon pullaparts. Rich, warm, and an instant cure for any sweet tooth, these buns are only $1.79, about half the price of those found at Cinnamon City or Cinnabon. Try it. You’ll never pay $4.50 for an icing-topped wonder again.
  • On the topic of McDonald’s, the company announced plans to breach the specialty coffee market by offering lattes, mochas, cappuccinos and espressos. But it may not be so easy – apparently many franchise owners are opposed to the $100,000 needed for initial equipment purchases and renovations. A surprising statistic from the article – about 1 in 5 Americans has an espresso based drink every day.
  • I’ve never really paid attention to either Zagat or Michelin restaurant guides, so I was happy to read a sort of “primer” article on their influences and reputations this week in the Globe. Interesting fact – Michelin stars are awarded purely on the strength of the food, and ignore service and ambiance.
  • To assist area restaurants affected by the Broadway strike, Mayor Bloomberg instigated a “Dining in the District” promotion – over 25 restaurants offering 15% off lunch and dinner menus. It was to end November 25; I wonder if it will be extended as the strike continues?

Words For Your Consideration

I couldn’t resist posting a section of today’s “Telescope“, a weekly column in the Edmonton Journal‘s Sunday Reader. It’s just too clever to be missed:

“Drop the first letter of an existing word to create a new one, and then supply a definition for it. Readers of the Washington Post‘s Style Invitational were asked to do just that. Here is an alphabetical sampling of the results:

  • Amburger: My realization about myself as I’m kidnapped by cannibals.
  • Amished: Hungering for a simpler way of life.
  • Assover: Any holiday dinner at which an unwanted in-law makes an appearance.
  • Bracadabra: A good boob job.
  • Brupt: Really, really sudden.
  • Egotiation: An I for an I.
  • Eminar: Eminem’s fifth child.
  • Etard: A person who constantly replies to “all” in e-mails directed to only one person.
  • Gonize: To kick someone in the groin.
  • Hardonnay: You can guess.
  • Ho’s Who: National registry of prominent hookers.
  • Iarrhea: Running on about oneself.
  • Ickpocket: A place to put your used Kleenex.
  • Irates: After 15 consecutive losing seasons, what’s left of Pittsburgh’s baseball fans.
  • Kin-diving: Incest.
  • Mnesia: Forgetting a mnemonic device.
  • Ngland: Vietnam.
  • Ooperstown: Home of the Bill Buckner Hall of Fame.
  • Ouch-and-go: A dominatrix’s house call.
  • Oxtrot: A particularly ungraceful Dancing With the Stars performance.
  • Pectacular: Unbelievably chesty.
  • P-portunity: Rest stop.
  • Rackdown: The inevitable result of the battle between breast and gravity.
  • Rankfurter: Hotdog from the back of the refrigerator.
  • Riminal: A man who doesn’t clean up his toilet dribble.
  • Riskies: Chinese-made cat food.
  • Unich: German city voted World’s Safest Town for Women.
  • Urple: The colour of vomit. “For feeding the baby, Mom always wore her urple sweatshirt.”
  • XY-moron: A man.”

“Sex and the City”, Complete

I recently completed my DVD collection of Sex and the City, at just $19.99 a pop for the seasons I was missing. In most cases, it is cheaper to wait for the release of the series collection (Costco had the complete West Wing on sale for just under $200), but that wasn’t the case for the chronicles of Carrie and company.

I actually did not become a full-fledged fan of the show until it was already into its last season. While I’ve managed to catch most of the back episodes in syndication, I can’t say the “safe for non-cable television” versions are quite the same as the HBO uncensored variety. Though understandably changed to reflect more tasteful language and image restrictions, the amount of content that needs to be cut from a 29 minute episode to fit into a 22 minute format is substantial. If anything, the full versions allow me to appreciate the show more – in its extended character development, humor, and of course, envelope-pushing subject matter.

Given the amazing official website, with detailed episode summaries, fashion guides, and a newly added map plotting memorable Manhattan locations, one would think some of that information could have migrated into the DVD sets. Between cheap plastic cases and a lack of accompanying paper guides with episode listings, I am disappointed HBO didn’t put more thought into the design of the poorly packaged products.

Though the extras are also sparse, I did enjoy listening to the commentary provided by Michael Patrick King. It is evident, however, that he is completely biased towards Sarah Jessica Parker – he adores her so much I wouldn’t be surprised if his close connection with her was what sabotaged an SaTC movie immediately after the show’s finale. It was rumored that Kim Catrall had wanted more prominence on the show, but with the production stranglehold held by King and Parker, that would have never happened.

After watching the evolution of the show from start to finish, I now fully understand the appeal of Mr. Big. Chris Noth does a fantastic job (he simply exudes charm) but with his abrupt shifts at the end of Season 1 and mid-way through Season 2, I think the writers committed convenient character assassinations for the sole purpose of complicating Carrie’s life. Season 2’s “La Douleur Exquise!” was lovely though, melancholic in a cloud of bittersweet sadness, while Big’s friendly departure for Napa in Season 4 was quintessential New York romance – scored, of course, by Mancini’s “Moon River”.

We’re planning on going on the Sex and the City tour while in New York (fingers crossed), and I am certain it will be just as surreal as I imagine it to be.

As Seen on TV: Koutouki Taverna

Ever since The Family Restaurant aired on Food Network Canada, my Mum and I have been itching to visit Koutouki – not for the food necessarily, but in order to see the venue of a television production in person. As I had heard dinners at Koutouki was quite pricey, we decided to swing by for lunch instead.

Our schedules finally aligned, and with a day off on Friday, I made a reservations for my parents and I at the southside Taverna (10310 45 Avenue). Stepping into the low-ceilinged building, I found the space cramped, but in a comfortable, “get to know your neighbour” kind of way, similar to TZiN. I loved the overhanging ivy-like plants, with twinkle lights looped in-between pots – they would, as my Mum commented, be a nightmare to water, but really elicited feelings of romanticism and escapist possibilities. Even more than Blue Willow, pictures of the family behind Koutouki lined every wall (including patriarch Yianni Psalios with Kevin Lowe, and even Muhammad Ali!) and served their function of making diners feel like a part of the establishment’s growing history.

While I can’t claim to be a huge fan of Greek cuisine, I probably haven’t sampled enough of it to really make a fair judgment. It turns out Koutouki doesn’t offer a separate lunch and dinner menu, so my delay was for naught. The waitress spoke of two specials, one of which sounded good to me – a pork donair-esque dish ($15.95) that I can’t remember by name. My parents opted for the second special, a rack of lamb, also priced at $15.95.

While waiting for our entrees, we were offered bread and Greek salad (feta, tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, olives) lightly tossed in olive oil. It was a light, refreshing way to start out our meal, and I didn’t even mind the feta in the dish.

We did get to see Yianni and his wife Kally – Yianni stepped out to survey the dining room at one point, and Kally was busy refilling coffee and water throughout our time there. Everything seemed so normal and commonplace that it was strange to think a full television crew was once stationed here.

Our entrees arrived and I immediately knew I wouldn’t be able to finish the large portion, especially given that this was my first meal of the day. The cubes of pork within my donair tasted tough and overcooked, but I was willing to overlook that if not for the overpowering lemon used in both the sauce and the potato side dish. The citrus was so pervasive that everything actually tasted sour. And though I’m not averse to parsley, overuse of the fresh herb was too much for me in this case. My parents thought the lamb was all right, though they would have happily accepted steak knives instead of the butter knives provided at the tables.

While we were treated to attentive service during our time at Koutouki, I can’t say I’ll be back. The food really played second-string to “celebrity-sighting” this afternoon.

Restaurant interior

Menu

The Psalios family

Yianni with Muhammad Ali

Certificate from Premier Ralph Klein, congratulating Yianni and Kally on their grand Cyprus wedding for daughter Dina

Greek salad

Donair

Rack of lamb

Avalanche vs. the Oilers: 0 for 2

For my second Oilers game of the season, I wanted to see Ryan Smyth play for the opposition. He distributed pucks to fans before leaving the warm-up, as he always did, and the “boo birds” did greet him when he touched the puck (though I think, to a lesser extent than his Edmonton debut in a Colorado uniform last month).

Though these seats were much higher than the last time around, I was able to see much better from this height and perspective. Of course, given the outcome was the same (loss), I guess it didn’t matter much. It is nice to see the veterans returning to the score sheet (Hemsky!), but sitting in the basement of the conference is not at all reassurring.

On the bright side, it was fun attending a game with a larger group than usual. Thanks for organizing the tickets, May!

Me and my sister

May and her coworkers James and Nathan

My Dad and Mack

Doug and Jared

BrightNights on the Square 2007

One of three locations of the annual BrightNights displays (the other two being the Legislature grounds and Hawrelak Park), Churchill Square is given a holiday trimming with lights all along its east side. In addition, the City has also set up a giant Christmas tree, which will be lit nightly, along with the rest of the displays, until January 6.

While not worth visiting unless you’re already in the area, it isn’t a bad detour to take en route to the Citadel, Winspear, Stanley Milner Library, or City Centre Mall.

BrightNights on the Square

With City Hall in the background

Tree (I’ll be comparing this to the Rockefeller Tree)

Holiday Vantage Point: Three Bananas Cafe

Needing a quick bite to eat downtown, and not in the mood to jostle with the Friday night food court crowd, I was pulled towards the reliably quiet Three Bananas Cafe on Churchill Square.

Several months have passed since I last stopped by, but not much had changed about the place. As I mentioned in my previous post, however, the cafe is a tad on the dim side in the evenings, with only a few ill-placed spot bulbs overhead. Surveying all available tables, only two were bright enough to allow for comfortable reading. I was lucky to snag one, and thumbed through a free weekly while waiting for my Traditional (pepperoni and mushroom) Pizzette. Not exactly cheap at $8.95, I figured I was paying more for the venue and the view – great for people watching in the summer, the windows are an even better vantage point in the winter, opening up to the BrightNights displays on the east side of Churchill Square.

My pizza required a wait of about fifteen minutes, but arrived hot and very cheesy. It wasn’t as good as I remembered, but considering the last one was consumed as I was moving back to solid foods upon recovery from my wisdom teeth extraction, a less than fantastic second trial was to be expected.

If you’re around the Square to take in the holiday decorations, why not stop by Three Bananas for a warming mug of hot chocolate?

Traditional Pizzette