Hello world, well it’s been a great year for food, and I have been (thankfully and fortunately) able to eat at some of the city’s best restaurants. (Sorry McDonald’s, you didn’t make the cut this year despite all of your mcnugget goodness and crunchy fries). The Zagat’s food guide has recently created their 2010 ratings, and I have been very interested in their opinions of various restaurants. Therefore, I thought it would be time to review my gourmet adventures in a numerical way. The Zagat guide rates their restaurants in three important ways: food, décor, and service.
Now, we all know that only one of those numbers matter. I’m talking, of course, about food! (no offense to fans of service, and décor: I can take it or leave it, as long as the food is top-notch). However, I strive to be as official as possible, so the following list contains all three ratings of restaurants that I have reviewed since I started writing this blog:
(All of these restaurant ratings are out of a maximum of 30 points, and they rarely get beyond 27 or 28).
Restaurant name: food décor service
dinosaur's (One of the top two barbecue restaurants in New York City): 22 15 17
sandro's (scrumptious Roman cuisine): 25 15 20
primehouse (Go for the outstanding brunch, one of the top 5 hamburgers in New York City): 24 23 23
union square café (On one hand it’s a bit touristy, and is one of the most popular restaurants in the city, but has a very nice hamburger and fried (I know) calamari): 27 23 26
rare bar and grill (This place ranks among the top 10 for hamburgers in my opinion, for your information it is inside of a hotel): 21 14 16
socarrat (I am proud to be one of the first bloggers to write about this outstanding Spanish restaurant, their paella is top two in the city, long waits so get there early and enjoy!): 24 17 20
flex mussels (A fabulous restaurant offering big mussels with 23 different sauces, by the way, if you don’t like mussels maybe this is not the right restaurant for you): 22 17 19
sparks (Many say this is the best steakhouse in Manhattan, I liked it and think it is top ten but far from the best): 25 20 22
lucali's (This excellent restaurant is top two for pizza, great calzone!): 26 16 19
As I said, it’s been a great year for food, I guess you can understand why I am always complaining about the scale and how much I weigh! (Don’t worry, it’s actually alright, I just plan to continuously work out until I work off all of the bad stuff). (Side bar: I have been getting into eating more create your own salads at cafes and restaurants, it has not resulted in any weight loss but I do feel good after finishing a healthy salad). I want to thank all of my readers for this opportunity, thanks to my great family, outstanding friends, and any strangers who happen to be checking out my blog (advertising campaign to come).
Dan
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
diary of random thoughts
Dear diary:
I have tried to learn to live with regrets, with things that I have done wrong in my life, there are days when I feel that I make more mistakes than most. For example, on a day like today, I sit in front of my computer, thinking, wishing I had more friends. In a perfect world, I would have stayed in contact with friends who don't live in New York anymore, and I never would have ever done anything dumb to alienate anyone. Some people say that life is short, maybe even you think that. Right now, however, this adventure that is called life can feel awfully long. I never really understood how much friendship means to me until I almost didn't have any friends at all, and that was a scary place to be. So I just want to thank everyone who reads and/or comments on my blog: in one way or another, whether you are a friend, acquaintance, or robot?, all of you are meaningful to me.
I'm sure that all of you are expecting me to go on some kind of enthusiastic rant about the Yankees and their success so far in the play-offs. Well, sorry, I'm a little more cautious than you expected.
Yes! We're going to the World Series, isn't that great? Ok, back to reality, we still technically have to beat the angels, but I am sure that we will.
Random thought of the day: Don’t let Braille die! (If that makes no sense, I mean to say that I believe that Braille literacy is very important and should not be replaced by electronic, CD, mp3, or any other formats).
Please stay tuned for my next blog, where we will examine the fascinating question: What makes my diary so dear?
Dan
I have tried to learn to live with regrets, with things that I have done wrong in my life, there are days when I feel that I make more mistakes than most. For example, on a day like today, I sit in front of my computer, thinking, wishing I had more friends. In a perfect world, I would have stayed in contact with friends who don't live in New York anymore, and I never would have ever done anything dumb to alienate anyone. Some people say that life is short, maybe even you think that. Right now, however, this adventure that is called life can feel awfully long. I never really understood how much friendship means to me until I almost didn't have any friends at all, and that was a scary place to be. So I just want to thank everyone who reads and/or comments on my blog: in one way or another, whether you are a friend, acquaintance, or robot?, all of you are meaningful to me.
I'm sure that all of you are expecting me to go on some kind of enthusiastic rant about the Yankees and their success so far in the play-offs. Well, sorry, I'm a little more cautious than you expected.
Yes! We're going to the World Series, isn't that great? Ok, back to reality, we still technically have to beat the angels, but I am sure that we will.
Random thought of the day: Don’t let Braille die! (If that makes no sense, I mean to say that I believe that Braille literacy is very important and should not be replaced by electronic, CD, mp3, or any other formats).
Please stay tuned for my next blog, where we will examine the fascinating question: What makes my diary so dear?
Dan
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Bringing it back to the best barbecue!
Hello ladies and gentlemen, I have recently returned from my favorite barbecue restaurant in New York City: Dinosaur’s. I have tried many different dishes there and like some more than others, which makes me wonder: what is the difference between my first-place choice, Dinosaur’s, and my very close second-place winner, Blue Smoke? Well, let’s get some of the obvious out of the way:
1. Dinosaur’s is an eternally crowded restaurant, with strange décor, in the middle of nowhere (in Harlem, which itself is not an isolated area; however the restaurant is on 130th street and 12th avenue). On the other hand, blue smoke is a fancier barbecue establishment easily accessible on 27th street between park and Lexington avenues.
2. Dinosaur’s allows you to create combination platters, with either two or three different meats (I pigged out and got 3 last time). Blue smoke only offers one item at a time, with the rare exception of a rib sampler and maybe one other such dish.
3. Blue smoke has better side dishes, however you pay for them separately while you get two free with your entrée at Dinosaur’s.
4. Blue smoke has a great selection of different ribs, while Dinosaur’s has only one kind, (oops I mean no offense to the Korean ribs, but I came to a barbecue establishment after all), but their one type of ribs happen to be very tasty.
Bottom line: you can’t go wrong with either one of these fabulous barbecue restaurants. If barbecue food is not for you, well… I guess you could order a salad, not my first choice but everyone is entitled to their own opinion (mine happens to be right, sorry).
The next thing that I will say might be a little controversial: I generally do not like cafeteria-style restaurants. You know what I mean: you stand in line, get to the counter, order your food get on yet another line to pay, then get your own napkins and utensils and sit down. I bring this up because I am noticing a trend towards creating new barbecue “restaurants” that are merely cafeterias: hill country, daisy Mays, and now the number 1 rated (according to Zagat’s) barbecue restaurant in the entire city, you guessed it, it’s a cafeteria too!
In closing, I apologize to any of you whom I have offended. In fact, if you prefer that I review a different kind of food, then please comment below. Next stop: Italian food, Yankees, college stuff, I have so much to talk about!
Let me know your thoughts, as always, take care.
Dan
1. Dinosaur’s is an eternally crowded restaurant, with strange décor, in the middle of nowhere (in Harlem, which itself is not an isolated area; however the restaurant is on 130th street and 12th avenue). On the other hand, blue smoke is a fancier barbecue establishment easily accessible on 27th street between park and Lexington avenues.
2. Dinosaur’s allows you to create combination platters, with either two or three different meats (I pigged out and got 3 last time). Blue smoke only offers one item at a time, with the rare exception of a rib sampler and maybe one other such dish.
3. Blue smoke has better side dishes, however you pay for them separately while you get two free with your entrée at Dinosaur’s.
4. Blue smoke has a great selection of different ribs, while Dinosaur’s has only one kind, (oops I mean no offense to the Korean ribs, but I came to a barbecue establishment after all), but their one type of ribs happen to be very tasty.
Bottom line: you can’t go wrong with either one of these fabulous barbecue restaurants. If barbecue food is not for you, well… I guess you could order a salad, not my first choice but everyone is entitled to their own opinion (mine happens to be right, sorry).
The next thing that I will say might be a little controversial: I generally do not like cafeteria-style restaurants. You know what I mean: you stand in line, get to the counter, order your food get on yet another line to pay, then get your own napkins and utensils and sit down. I bring this up because I am noticing a trend towards creating new barbecue “restaurants” that are merely cafeterias: hill country, daisy Mays, and now the number 1 rated (according to Zagat’s) barbecue restaurant in the entire city, you guessed it, it’s a cafeteria too!
In closing, I apologize to any of you whom I have offended. In fact, if you prefer that I review a different kind of food, then please comment below. Next stop: Italian food, Yankees, college stuff, I have so much to talk about!
Let me know your thoughts, as always, take care.
Dan
Friday, October 2, 2009
NEW food critic review: Sandro's Restaurant
Hi everyone, I apologize for my delay in posting a new food review, but here we go:
Sandro’s
306 E. 81st Street
New York NY
4.25 out of 5 stars
It was certainly a unique experience to try the delectable Roman cuisine at this small yet comfortable restaurant. A friend of mine has praised this restaurant's cooking to me more than once, so I decided it was time that I tried it out for myself. I was warmly greeted as I entered Sandro’s, and the wait staff were extremely nice and courteous during my meal. On the table, I found long and narrow breadsticks, Sandro’s makes these in-house, which were crunchy and tasted just a little like rosemary. Sandro himself came out to greet us and he was a very charming and friendly person. For the appetizer, I tried a special: calamari stuffed with mushrooms and, surprisingly, more calamari! This dish was entirely new for me, so I did not know what to expect. I was very happy with the result: three pieces of calamari, filled with a calamari stuffing and accompanied by a few kinds of delicious mushrooms. This appetizer turned out to be quite excellent: the tender calamari were perfectly matched with the various mushrooms, (I liked the taste of each one) and the subtle sauce brought all of the dish’s flavors together. As an entree, I ordered a pasta that was recommended to me by a friend: Bucatini Amatriciana. This dish consists of a homemade pasta, which looks like a thick spaghetti with a hole in the middle, served with tomato sauce onion and pancetta. I really enjoyed this pasta, I especially liked how fresh it tasted, the menu even says that they use organic eggs. It is very difficult to describe the tomato sauce, it was a bit rich but also showed me that it was different from many other sauces that I have tasted before in other typical Italian restaurants. In addition, I found the pancetta to be particularly Delicious, this is another kind of food that I do not eat so often but its saltiness accompanied the tomato and onion flavors well. For dessert, I tried “Grandmother’s apple cake”. I was served a piece of hot cake, which seemed to have more apples than cake (which actually was a good thing), along with some slices of fresh strawberries and a little whipped cream. By this point, I was extremely impressed by this restaurant, so it should not be a surprise to any of you that everything about this dessert was superb. In addition, the waiter brought out some small hot cookies with the flavor of orange zest.
Finally, I was brought a tiny glass of a digestive drink called grapa.
Normally I do not like this drink because the taste is so harsh, but actually this kind of grapa was smoother and was a very nice way to end a great meal.
I would like all of my blog readers to know that Sandro's is not an inexpensive restaurant, the pastas, for example, can cost as much as $22. However, everyone deserves a nice meal, and if that is what you are looking for, then I definitely reccomend Sandro's.
Dan
Sandro’s
306 E. 81st Street
New York NY
4.25 out of 5 stars
It was certainly a unique experience to try the delectable Roman cuisine at this small yet comfortable restaurant. A friend of mine has praised this restaurant's cooking to me more than once, so I decided it was time that I tried it out for myself. I was warmly greeted as I entered Sandro’s, and the wait staff were extremely nice and courteous during my meal. On the table, I found long and narrow breadsticks, Sandro’s makes these in-house, which were crunchy and tasted just a little like rosemary. Sandro himself came out to greet us and he was a very charming and friendly person. For the appetizer, I tried a special: calamari stuffed with mushrooms and, surprisingly, more calamari! This dish was entirely new for me, so I did not know what to expect. I was very happy with the result: three pieces of calamari, filled with a calamari stuffing and accompanied by a few kinds of delicious mushrooms. This appetizer turned out to be quite excellent: the tender calamari were perfectly matched with the various mushrooms, (I liked the taste of each one) and the subtle sauce brought all of the dish’s flavors together. As an entree, I ordered a pasta that was recommended to me by a friend: Bucatini Amatriciana. This dish consists of a homemade pasta, which looks like a thick spaghetti with a hole in the middle, served with tomato sauce onion and pancetta. I really enjoyed this pasta, I especially liked how fresh it tasted, the menu even says that they use organic eggs. It is very difficult to describe the tomato sauce, it was a bit rich but also showed me that it was different from many other sauces that I have tasted before in other typical Italian restaurants. In addition, I found the pancetta to be particularly Delicious, this is another kind of food that I do not eat so often but its saltiness accompanied the tomato and onion flavors well. For dessert, I tried “Grandmother’s apple cake”. I was served a piece of hot cake, which seemed to have more apples than cake (which actually was a good thing), along with some slices of fresh strawberries and a little whipped cream. By this point, I was extremely impressed by this restaurant, so it should not be a surprise to any of you that everything about this dessert was superb. In addition, the waiter brought out some small hot cookies with the flavor of orange zest.
Finally, I was brought a tiny glass of a digestive drink called grapa.
Normally I do not like this drink because the taste is so harsh, but actually this kind of grapa was smoother and was a very nice way to end a great meal.
I would like all of my blog readers to know that Sandro's is not an inexpensive restaurant, the pastas, for example, can cost as much as $22. However, everyone deserves a nice meal, and if that is what you are looking for, then I definitely reccomend Sandro's.
Dan
Saturday, August 15, 2009
chapter 51: yankees, dreams, and... read on!
If you didn’t come here to hear about sports, and in particular the New York Yankees, then I encourage you to press alt f4 and exit this page immediately.
Now, is everyone gone yet? Good:
How can I express my feeling of satisfaction due to the Yankees’ latest success? I am not sure, but I will start my story here:
Once upon a time, I had dreams of baseball. I spent time thinking about the day when I would be announced as manager and could pick my own line-up, one that would bring wins and a world series to New York City. I hoped that one day we would actually finish first or second In our division (I became a Yankees fan in the 80’s so that is where my frustration came from). When Torre started as the manager of the Yankees, he brought my dreams to reality and my thoughts soon changed: let this guy handle it, I no longer need to worry about being the manager. Long story short, I have been a huge fan of this team for my entire life. Therefore, I am extremely pleased with the way that the Yankees have been playing this year, especially after the all-star break.
There is another reason why I like this team so much. The following is a chart which explains how I rank my interest in each sport.
1. Baseball
2.
3.
4.
(just imagine pages of blank space)
(finally you will get to the bottom of the list and find everything else)
I really enjoyed “watching” the Yankees in the late 90’s because I felt they had a great team chemistry (this is when I began to route for Jeter and he is still my favorite to this day). Each player was not playing for his own statistics (can you say A-rod, oops), and I truly believe that this was missing for several years. However, presently, it certainly isn’t 1996 anymore, but we are improving.
Yes, I know some of you are wondering, do I really watch the game? (What I mean is, as someone who is blind, do I physically watch it?) I technically listen, but I find it so natural to say watch. Sometimes I use the television like the Yes channel or ESPN, sometimes on the radio on WABC, either way I tend to say that I watched the game.
This summer has been quite busy for me. In fact, Monday will be the first free day that I have had (besides weekends) since June 1! Take care everyone, the birthday blog will be posted around the 24th.
Dan
Now, is everyone gone yet? Good:
How can I express my feeling of satisfaction due to the Yankees’ latest success? I am not sure, but I will start my story here:
Once upon a time, I had dreams of baseball. I spent time thinking about the day when I would be announced as manager and could pick my own line-up, one that would bring wins and a world series to New York City. I hoped that one day we would actually finish first or second In our division (I became a Yankees fan in the 80’s so that is where my frustration came from). When Torre started as the manager of the Yankees, he brought my dreams to reality and my thoughts soon changed: let this guy handle it, I no longer need to worry about being the manager. Long story short, I have been a huge fan of this team for my entire life. Therefore, I am extremely pleased with the way that the Yankees have been playing this year, especially after the all-star break.
There is another reason why I like this team so much. The following is a chart which explains how I rank my interest in each sport.
1. Baseball
2.
3.
4.
(just imagine pages of blank space)
(finally you will get to the bottom of the list and find everything else)
I really enjoyed “watching” the Yankees in the late 90’s because I felt they had a great team chemistry (this is when I began to route for Jeter and he is still my favorite to this day). Each player was not playing for his own statistics (can you say A-rod, oops), and I truly believe that this was missing for several years. However, presently, it certainly isn’t 1996 anymore, but we are improving.
Yes, I know some of you are wondering, do I really watch the game? (What I mean is, as someone who is blind, do I physically watch it?) I technically listen, but I find it so natural to say watch. Sometimes I use the television like the Yes channel or ESPN, sometimes on the radio on WABC, either way I tend to say that I watched the game.
This summer has been quite busy for me. In fact, Monday will be the first free day that I have had (besides weekends) since June 1! Take care everyone, the birthday blog will be posted around the 24th.
Dan
Thursday, August 6, 2009
turning thirty
What can I say? In two and a half weeks, on august 24th, I will be 30 years old. This feels like a very significant birthday for me, and it will begin a new phase in my life (not old, but headed towards middle adulthood in the Erikson’s stages of life). Depending on who you talk to, 30 can be viewed as young or old: last week a 23 year old girl at the VCB institute called me “over-the-hill”. On the other hand, people who are 40 or 45 years old thought that I was still pretty young.
Overall, I feel satisfied with the fact that I have done so much by the age of 30: I’m graduating from lehman in December with a BSW (and currently a 3.9 GPA, sorry I don’t mean to brag, actually yes, I do), , I owned a business, made a few close friends, and found and lost love. Isn’t that quite a lot of things to accomplish early in life?
I have big plans for the future: (trust me on this one, I wouldn’t just say “big plans” without really meaning it): first, I plan to get my masters degree in social work by the end of 2011. Next, I want to find a job where I can help people with disabilities like myself. Next, I will start hanging out with Bill Gates in order to try to get a part of that Microsoft fortune (just kidding, maybe).
All joking aside, I am proud that I am totally blind and totally independent (well, maybe not totally, but I can at least manage my little money, cook a little and be somewhat self-sufficient). I don’t want to become a statistic, one of those people with disabilities who is unemployed. No matter how long it takes, I have a firm belief that I can find the right job with ambition, motivation, perserverance, and connections? (For me, it’s not who I know but what I know, that’s why I watch Jeopardy).
Stay tuned for the next exciting and action-packed episode of: blind blog!
Dan
Overall, I feel satisfied with the fact that I have done so much by the age of 30: I’m graduating from lehman in December with a BSW (and currently a 3.9 GPA, sorry I don’t mean to brag, actually yes, I do), , I owned a business, made a few close friends, and found and lost love. Isn’t that quite a lot of things to accomplish early in life?
I have big plans for the future: (trust me on this one, I wouldn’t just say “big plans” without really meaning it): first, I plan to get my masters degree in social work by the end of 2011. Next, I want to find a job where I can help people with disabilities like myself. Next, I will start hanging out with Bill Gates in order to try to get a part of that Microsoft fortune (just kidding, maybe).
All joking aside, I am proud that I am totally blind and totally independent (well, maybe not totally, but I can at least manage my little money, cook a little and be somewhat self-sufficient). I don’t want to become a statistic, one of those people with disabilities who is unemployed. No matter how long it takes, I have a firm belief that I can find the right job with ambition, motivation, perserverance, and connections? (For me, it’s not who I know but what I know, that’s why I watch Jeopardy).
Stay tuned for the next exciting and action-packed episode of: blind blog!
Dan
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
employment and technology institute: the good bad and strange
Hi everyone, well I recently came back from the Visions employment and technology institute. I had a great time despite the weather and food? (that question mark was intentional, not a typo) Anyway, I attended several workshops and seminars including confidence building, interview preparation, cell phone accessibility, and affordable assistive technology. I am very interested in technology, probably more than most people I know. Therefore, I learned more from some of these workshops than from others. In addition, I was able to network and meet new and interesting people with whom I hope to stay in contact with. The best part was that I won the highest merit award: (not bragging, sorry, just stating what happened) I won an ipod! Pretty awesome, I think. However, now I am returning to reality and I am back to work.
The Yankees finally lost! (I know, we had a great winning streak going there for a while) When I was young, I was a big fan of offense and of hitting, I always valued hitting more than pitching. However, now that I am more mature and grown up, I realize that maybe pitching is what makes the difference in the end. I noticed that during our winning streak, the thing that really stood out was our dynamite pitching staff! Yes, the offense helped us out, but what really won games was pitching.
That’s it for now, please comment on this blog and let me know your thoughts. Thanks. Dan
The Yankees finally lost! (I know, we had a great winning streak going there for a while) When I was young, I was a big fan of offense and of hitting, I always valued hitting more than pitching. However, now that I am more mature and grown up, I realize that maybe pitching is what makes the difference in the end. I noticed that during our winning streak, the thing that really stood out was our dynamite pitching staff! Yes, the offense helped us out, but what really won games was pitching.
That’s it for now, please comment on this blog and let me know your thoughts. Thanks. Dan
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