bacon bits: April 2009

4/30/09

portraits

a looser (ahem... my favorite) interpretation of chad h. circa 2009

HAD to post kate's self portrait!

cartoon dre

my friend matt at work sent me this link and i am addicted!

http://www.sp-studio.de/

you can create your own south park character. this is me and a few of my favorite things! ice cream, burger, and my cat eek! too bad his butt is in my ice cream :(

last night after making a batch of brownies complete with cream cheese frosting i attempted to watch 'bride wars' w anne hathaway and kate hudson. i love kate hudson, anne annoys.... anyway, the attempt was of course met with doom when promptly at 11:30 (which is when it happens every night??) i fell victim to the drowsy coma state. i am going to seriously look into this issue if it does not subside soon! the movie was pretty damn cute from the hour i made it but snoozed during the last 20-30 mins an so i am determined to go finish it after work! we all know brides can be nuts-o but these bitches are INSANE and hilarious, hopefully the ending is satisfying.

i also would like to stop by one of my fav stores in the world (target) during lunch today to see what they offer in cheap patio furniture- i need some! for our awesome little balcony that i have not properly used bc g-d forbid i stand up on 2 feet for more than 6 minutes at a time :)

on a total tangent- i am interested to see what happens with brooklyn bowl 61 wythe ave near n 11th 718.963.3369 the 16 lane bowling alley opening in a few weeks (was supposed to open in march) that will serve foods "designed" by the famed blue ribbon team. i can't speak on this bc i just realized i have yet to eat at a blue ribbon!?? how, i do not know but perhaps my first taste will be this place? actually i think that's a bad move and that i should promptly make plans to dine at blue ribbon in brooklyn (tonight?). i am curious how this spot will do what with bowling, a music venue and blue ribbon food (aka sushi-oh and

according the a quote on the website up for a teaser "multicultural foods"). its kind of a hipster meets architectural digest type of combo goin' on here no? we'll seeeee.

it's almost friday!

4/29/09

very important meeting...

here are some pics from our very important meeting yesterday (concering j. harty's b day!)

swine and sweets

last night we went to fette sau 354 metropolitan ave (near havemeyer) 718.9633404 as usual twas delicious. the weather was amazing and people were out to grub swine by the boat loads! (insert finger licking sound here). here's a pic of my dinner:

as for the other three in my party- i can't remember what they had bc i was so into my platter that i went into a trance of sorts ;)

after, we ventured to dressler 149 broadway (near driggs) 718.384.6343 for some fantastic desserts. this was after we were rudely turned away from peter lugey. i say lugey on purpose bc that about what their steak tastes like! i HATE that place and their attitude which needs some serious adjusting! as usual- i wasn't at all shocked when they told us we couldn't sit just for dessert and that if we wanted to have drinks and wait for a table it would be an hour (mind you there were no people waiting in the lobby). blah on them... dressler on the contrary was a pleasure. its such a cute spot w a great ambiance and a great sidewalk set up! they have a sweet pastry chef tht has just written her own book so she aint no joke! we had a berries and cream dish and the chocolate soufflé w vanilla ice cream-both were tops! we had great convo and great times. i love the warm weather!

4/28/09

note to self- enter taco eating contest

considering tacos (and tex mex in general) are some of my favorite things on the planet - i am highly considering entering the contest mentioned below on ny mag's website *would also be imperative (and really cool) to have a rad nickname like the folks below! please give me suggestions!

This year’s world taco-eating competition, at Zocalo in Grand Central from 10 a.m. till noon on May 5, won’t be a contest so much as an attempt by competitive eaters Timothy “Eater X” Janus, Crazy Legs Conti, and Pete “Pretty Boy” Davekos to devour a record-breaking 36-foot taco made from 82 overlapping tortillas. Which is just kind of dumb. Without a genuine competition here, this is more of a horse show than a race. What a gratuitous, disgusting display!! [Full disclosure: Mosca Maurer downed 24.5 tacos in eleven minutes at the 2004 championships —booya!]

in other news savalas 285 bedford bet. grand and s 1st 718.599.5565 hosts happy hour frm 5-8pm every night. well drinks for $4 and draft beers for $3. niiiiice. they o

nly have a small front porch type thing but its great for sippin' beer w your homie and allows for intimate hipster viewing as they stroll by bedford ave! people also bring their over-hyper (pug/frenchie mix) dogs and chill on the porch. this little gal jumped full force in kates lap about 12 times (her owner had zero control).

then it was off to williamsburger 342 wythe ave bet s 1st and s 2nd 718.486.6969 where i finally tried the chicken burger. it was pretty good but the burgers are clearly the money. that and the AMAZING shakes (drool). perhaps i was slightly turned off by the 10 lb nugget of ginger they topped my chix burger off with?) who's ta say but none the less its always a great meal at this spot! oh- their pickles are from heaven!

4/27/09

invisible building!!

i have been meaning to snap a pic of this building in china town. its an optical illusion of sorts but really cool and freaky (eeew spooky). it looks like a facade where its only the front- like a movie set, but alas! its real (just shaped like a triangle). you have to catch it at the right angle. weird right?

why do i insist on taking these pics...

you know, the ones you take by yourself that always cut your head(s) off bc your arm isn't long enough!? as you can see SOMEONE was fed up with my little game! :)

beautiful sunshine weekend

this weekend temps were close to the 90's! and i loved it! now back to work locked inside :( here's some of the weekend's festivities:

friday night was dinner at veracruz 195 bedford between 6th and 7th 718.486.3333 pretty darn good tequilla shots and chicken enchiladas! then on to videology 308 bedford between s1st and 2nd streets 718.782.3468 this is a rad video store unlike b buster where they no longer even care to alphabetize or stock decent flicks! videology has any off the wall movie you can think of! you can rent for 2, 3 or 5 days and if you bring movies back before your alloted time they give you a credit(s). i rented about 4 flicks - 3 were subtitled! the one that wasn't was a recco from imbd based on me liking other flims i was looking up and well, lets just say i'll never take their recco again! it ended up basically being gay porn?! (mysterious skin was the title). needless to say my viewing partner was less than thrilled. i like the other i rented though one of which was called 'i've loved you so long' about a woman who comes out of prision after 15 years to live with her sister and their family. it was a nice film and i won't ruin it by telling you why she was in the big house.

saturday i went to brunch at what is now one of my fav spots in brooklyn- tom's diner 782 washington ave 718.636.9738 (yes like the song, in fact it was written there by that chick who's name escapes me at the moment) with alli and m. YUM on their waffles and their bacon and sausage!

next was prospect park with my favorite man in the whole world:

(and m also :) it was an amazing day and tons of people were out enjoying as well. i gots a MEAN v neck tan/burn! then we ran around and then we laid around and then we met the

awesome and hilarious j-pack (james and jared) for dinner at my moon. another one of my fav spots in williamsburg. good times and good food and a great bloody mary as well! they are also good at night-- not just at brunch :)

sunday we ate at a little cafe on dekalb ave that i happened upon called catherine's caffe 184 dekalb 718.858.3712 this spot is super cute and cafe-ie. i like it a lot! they have great food and an amazing outdoor patio with sun and a water fountain. m had an avocado melt and added ham (impressive if i did not tell him this before!) i had an egg white omelette called the meat lovers with ham, sausage and bacon! and some really good yogurt w granola and fresh fruit. then we ventured to the bronx! wave hill to be precise. wave hill is a historic home that is now owned by the city. it sits on the bank of the hudson river on amazing grounds with beautiful gardens, a gallery and cafe with nice benches all over the property and terraces etc... http://www.wavehill.org/home/ then we bummed around dumbo with big head and got a slice and some greta ice cream from the brooklyn ice cream factory (which i stood in line for 45 mins for). after all this i was pooped and we laid like broccoli and i watched half of 'the notebook' like a moron bc i cry every time! now its monday-- blah!

4/24/09

i'm a bore

nothing much to report this am. however it will be around 72 degrees today! all it takes is warm and sunny and i am a happy camper. i guess most people are this way but its a survival thing for me. i will someday most likely move to a coastal area (i take after my pop he's the same way and was born/raised in miami). we may break record this weekend with a high of 88 on sunday!! that's tops for me, 88 is perfect! i am never too hot! in fact i keep my office around 80 (can't tell you how many people walked in yesterday and told me it was "so hot in here" murhahahah *only not for long bc my office mate comes back from vaca monday) i may be going to PA for some nature and some amazing pie from my favorite spot on the way :) oh yea, so in love with my bathroom i can't stop talking about it! i'm in that stage also where i clean every little water spot on the counter/mirror- dunno how long that'll last. well shit, i AM a bore today....

felis friday!!!

4/23/09

i think i need a yellow submarine!

i may have to purchase this! its a radio!! found on uncommongoods.com- i am in need of a radio in the tub/shower when i am chillin and this just seems too good to be true!

its a miracle

i finally made it through 1.5 movies last night! m rented frost/nizon and i hate to be a debbie downer but i wasn't in the mood for politics so i did fall asleep during that showing, BUT i put in 'elegy' (ben kingsley and penelope cruz) and made it through. now that's not to say that this ended up being a fantastic flick- bc unfortunately it didn't but it was good enough to keep me focused and then have me say the famous "that's it!??" at the end! i love ben kingsley, and penelpoe and i are getting along better these days so i decided to give this a whirl. the film: old (really in shape) dude and young ridiculously hot grad student fall in love. i won't ruin anything else and truthfully there's really not much else to report except that there's some heartache and some underlying infidelity themes throughout- only proving as well all know, that men can't ever keep the salami in the casing for too long! my rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars.

i also finally stopped by a bakery in my hood that i have been wanting to patronize for the last few years. settepani 602 lorimer (near metropolitan) 718.349.6524. yummm i grabbed one white chocolate/choclate c

ombo mousse (amazing*) and one mini chocolate roll thingy (called roulade) and one mocha version of that roll thingy. all were fantastic! (yes i shared and there's still left over's- i'm not completely unreasonable!).

it has finally stopped raining (i think) so my wrists will remain intact for this week!

have a happy thursday

4/22/09

say it aint so

i love a good (ahem disgusting) food cart every now and then not to mention that they are a staple and a part of new york living. who'd think that this "recession" would cause the one affordable food(s) in ny to drop in their sales!? an article from grub street via ny mag: http://nymag.com/daily/food/2009/04/recession_upsets_cartography.html?mid=grub-street--20090421 reports cart owners feeling losses and "closing" all over new york (as much as 50% loss in the past year!) AND i learned reading this article that a permit (just the permit to have a cart) is around $50,000.00. HOLY guacamole! (which is served on one of my favorite carts *endless summer on bedford ave in brooklyn -at n6th st.) people must be slangin' plenty of dogs and soft pretzels and making good $$ at that, if the permit alone is 50k a year! i may think about setting up my own cart! hmmmm. the ideas are already flowing.

4/21/09

mono? sleep addiction? narcolepsy?

"hi my names andrea and i'm addicted to sleep."can't stay awake at all (even for a good movie) these days. ok, so maybe crawling into a cozy bed isn't the best situation for movie viewing bc its just asking for sleep mode, but this is getting ridiculous. i think i fell asleep before 10p last night!? am i 99 or 29? helllo. i did however finish seven pounds (the other day) which i will discuss since i can't speak on anything else that i have tried to watch. 'seven pounds' (will smith and rosario dawson) was really touching. i am an avid HATER of people who spoil a film i have not yet seen so its tough to talk about this when i want you to go rent it! its about ben thomas' (will) struggle with severe loss, regret, fault, blame and sorrow. (a real feel good flick huh?) he ends up doing the only thing he can to cope with his grief which has been causing him so much anguish he has no other alternative. his actions are beyond commendable; what he does in this film is heart braking, yet fulfilling and calming all at once. go rent it! i am a huge will smith fan!

4/20/09

i know a famous writer

my friend cannon kinnard is a writer and recently had his article published in men's journal! congrats! and with mm on the cover no less! raaaaar

me and said famous writer–––>

things i learned this weekend:

1. potting a plant inside is not the greatest idea

2. number of restaurants on delivery.com that deliver to my new apt: 1 (yes ONE)

3. i make the same face in every picture i take (esp when drunk)

4. saturday mornings at the park reading alone are a great time

5. i am getting too old to party

6. trains don't always get into penn station on time (that or your companion is pretending to know what time they get in)

7. there's no wait at houstons on 27th and park at 9pm on a sunday

4/17/09

r.i.p sammy roth

so sad... my pal sammy the pitbull passed today. i am quite upset. he was an old fella (really old at 18 years) with the best attitude and disposition ever. always waggin' his tail and smiling. his partner in crime (cole- the gangster german sheppard) was his bff and was sooo good to him!

sammy will be missed!!

all i want

is a vacation! i think i always want to be on vacation (who doesn't i suppose). i do plan on someday moving to a tropical setting and opening a smoothie stand. recently i have been researching singapore bc i may accompanying a certain someone to a wedding there! now i am OBSESSED. i found the most amazing island with a resort that seems to be the only thing on said island. i would like to keep it a secret but since approximately 3.5 people read chili i suppose i'll share. its called banyan tree (bintan) bitan is the island 30 miles off of singapore - the pics speak for themselves! is it pricey? bet your ass! but a place like this is worth spoiling yourself for a few nights. here's the link:http://www.banyantree.com/bintan/index.html i know nothing about singapore and its culture (except that chewing gum is

illegal) and hope that i get to make this voyage. oh yes, ps- that is a table for two on the rocks in the middle of nowhere! how surreal and beautiful!? i showed m this picture and he said something to the effect of "damn wonder how long it would take to get a soda or your food order for that matter"... typical. i love new fascinating places and interesting cultures. i am counting down... only 5 months or so.

happy friday!

4/16/09

was a slow wednesday evening...

not much to report except that its finally stopped raining (for now) and that i fell asleep AGAIN in a really good movie (the reader- w/ kate winslet and ralph fiennes) i also made a cup of 16 handles yogurt my bitch last night and put down a semi-impressive spread at joe's shanghai (i figured it was time- its been what, a couple of months?) kate winslet is beautiful and the flick was really quite good (i got the run down this am after passing out) its about love, life, and tough decisions. i will have to actually WATCH it to give a full review. i can't wait for the weekend! and it better be sunny and in the mid 70's as promised! *today has been an exceptionally chipper morning! hmmmm, must be the sunshine? ;)