costliest cities for public transport
New graphic from the Economist. The cost for Hong Kong is interesting, given that its MTR was completely privatised in 2000. Compare with New York’s MTA, which is a (government owned) public-benefit corporation. To be fair, the way trips are priced is different for the two cities: in Hong Kong your fare varies by distance (paid for using your trusty … Read More
fudge cake
I made a fudge cake yesterday that was so good I had to share the recipe. It’s from Joy of Cooking. I pared down the amount of sugar (as I usually do with this book) and it turned out great! Here is my edited version: 1 3/4 cup flour 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 … Read More
west harlem piers park
I do most of my grocery shopping at fairway market, this huge grocery store just past 125th that offers a gigantic selection of organic, non-organic, and otherwise edible produce–and all at high prices. (to be fair, everywhere in new york has high prices so this is not a distinguishing factor in itself.) anyway, despite the chaos of going to fairway, … Read More
graffiti hall of fame
106th St. & Park Ave (west of the bridge)
coney island
An article on the impending gentrification of Coney Island just appeared in the Economist, and coincidentally a friend and I went to check it out a few days ago. […]… Read More
thai home kitchen
New Yorkers really love their Thai restaurants. They also like being seen to be trendy. Finally, they seem to have pretty bland palates. Because most of the Thai places I’ve been to suck–unless you like eating vaguely Asian-like food in a dimly lit hipster bistro. […]… Read More
alaska + william shatner
I’m now back from a few weeks of traveling–to Anchorage for a wedding, Toronto (incl. a trip to Niagara Falls) and Fredericton to see friends and family, and finally Albany to complete the swearing-in for admission to the NY bar (and gain the pompous title “Esquire”). […]… Read More
times square lawn chairs
last week, I decided to check out the new pedestrian area of times square. it’s a public space experiment running until the end of the year, when the city decides whether or not to make the change permanent. I had expected the entire area to be completely pedestrian, but traffic is still allowed to go cross-town: only Broadway is closed … Read More
xi’an in flushing
the best food I’ve had in NYC was in a Flushing food court. actually, the term ‘food court’ is misleading. it’s more like a collection of half a dozen Chinese food stalls in the basement of a place called Golden Mall (also a misnomer because the ‘mall’ appears to consist entirely of this basement). after hmm-ing and haw-ing awhile between … Read More