Albion

Sad days.  Whiskey River, the fratty cabin of a bar in my neighborhood is no more.  But wait!  As Albert and I walked past recently, we noticed the dark door was suddenly open...and there was life inside!  The atmosphere is totally different.  It's no longer made to feel like a lodge and a bar lines the length of the front area, making it feel narrow and more like a hideaway.  There is almost nothing to signal the name of the place except for a sign dangling high above the bar so we stood in the street looking around ourselves for a minute before figuring out it was called Albion.

The decor is seriously boring.  Cheesy medieval-esque sconses hang on the wall and there is nothing special about the tables or booths.  BUT there is a garden area in the back that makes up for the bar's lack of decorative flair with natural light.  There is also a huge list of craft brews - 30 on tap - that will entice any beer lover.  They all ring in at about $7 but are only $4 during happy hour, which lasts until 8 PM every day.

Italian Turkey Burgers

I had some leftover pesto in the fridge and only about two days before it went bad.  It had to get used up but with an entire 9x13 casserole of mac and cheese in the fridge, I had no need for anything pasta based.  I also had some hamburger buns so an Italian themed burger began to take shape.

There are a couple ways to do this, you can mix the pesto right into the turkey meat or if your turkey burger was already pre-shaped at the butcher counter like mine was, you can do what I did and just use the pesto as a spread right on the bun.  You can do this plain or, again, follow my lead and mix it with mayo to give the spread a little extra creaminess.  I like the pesto/mayo ratio to tip in the pesto's favor, but that's just me.  For the final touch, top with smoked mozzarella.  For best results, put the mozz on top of the burger as it finishes cooking in the pan or on the grill.  Then cover it with the lid of a pan so the steam gets the cheese nice and melty.  That's how you get the gorgeous stringy cheese you see in the pic.

Summer is burger time, but that doesn't mean it always has to be as simple as beef and cheddar cheese with ketchup.

Monday Reads

1. I kinda love these drunk horoscopes.  How spot on is yours?
2. I'm proud to say I got all five questions right on the test NYC private pre-Ks are now admitting.  But I had to think pretty hard.  And I'm 29.  Who are these baby geniuses?  
3. Violence in Israel is out of hand.  Let me break it down: First, 3 Israeli teens were kidnapped and murdered.  Then, a few rogue Israelis retaliated with the murder of a Palestinian teen (the Israeli nation does not condone this).  Then things got really bad.  While I was busy celebrating the 4th of July, Hamas terrorists launched over 200 rockets at Israeli civilians.  Then Palestinians tried to burn Joseph's tomb.  There is so much rocketfire that 1,500 IDF reservists had to be called into action (and the government authorized up to 40,000).  This is terrifying and needs to stop, but I hate to admit I don't know how that will happen.  I have now learned that 45% of the toddlers in the down of Sderot, my first [and potentially most meaningful] stop in Israel, have been diagnosed with PTSD.  
4. Pitbulls are infamous in American culture.  Sure, some think of the lovable dog from The Little Rascals with the ring around his eye, but more often then not the breed conjures images of vicious fighting dogs. 

Book Review: The Goldfinch

"The Goldfinch" is intimidating.  It is a 771 page hardcover that really weighs down my tote bag on my commute to work.  I think that's the reason I put off reading it for so long.  But "long and heavy" is no longer a valid excuse when the novel is on every best list and then wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  All signs point to read.

Donna Tartt's novel is an epic with Dickensian tendencies.  Theo Decker can't seem to dig himself out of the hole that was created after he survives an explosion at an art museum.  His mother, unfortunately, does not make it out alive and Theo hops from home to home with little sense of permanence.  He first lands at the home of a friend, members of New York City's society who are happy to do the right thing but can't manage to show emotion.  He then lives for several years in Las Vegas where the one person who should care most about him practically forgets his existence.  By the time he returns to New York he is living in a fuzz of self medication.  The one constant is his obsession with a painting he saw in the museum.  As his last connection to his mother, the painting is the driving force behind every reckless decision Theo makes.

Theo, like almost all the characters in the book, is deeply flawed.  Also like all the characters in the book, he just can't seem to help himself.  He is his own worst enemy but seems to be content in knowing so.  His pursuit of The Goldfinch is his search for happiness which, like the painting itself, he may not be destined to have.

Subtracting a point because the last few pages literally spell out the book's themes for the reader.

4 out of 5 stars.

Zoodles with Pesto and Meatballs

Have you heard about zoodles?  They're alllll the rage on Pinterest; right up there with paleo this and DIY that.  Zoodles = zucchini noodles.  There is no actual noodles in zoodles, making this innately carb-free and healthy.  They are super easy to make: just use the julienne setting on your mandolin.  If you haven't bought a mandolin by now, get on it!  I've told you time and again how great it is for making potato chips and slicing radishes.  Mine cost me a whopping $13 at Bed Bath and Beyond so there's no excuse not to own one.

When the zucchini is sliced like that it doesn't take long to cook, especially if you like your zoodles al dente.  That means this whole dish will only take as long to prepare as it takes the meatballs to cook.  I made my meatballs by getting one pre-formed burger from the meat counter and rolling it into 8 small balls.  If you like big balls (and who doesn't wink wink), you can split the burger into quarters, but the small ones will cook quicker.  Because the burger was already prepped, you have built-in portion control.  Once the meatballs are almost done cooking, throw your zoodles in the pan and cook with some pesto sauce.  Takes no time to cook, tastes delicious, and healthily satisfies your pasta craving...are you convinced you need to try zoodles yet?

3 on Thursday

This past weekend included 4th of July in the city, a rager of a birthday party in Connecticut, and then margaritas back in the city on Sunday night.  It certainly felt like summer with lots of good time vibes.  This weekend should be just as packed with fun since it's Rebekah's wedding weekend, which is shaping up to be quite the classy Manhattan affair.

1. I love movies in general, but I also really like that living in a community like New York City affords me the ability to see small independent films I wouldn't get to see if I lived elsewhere.  Lately, Albert and I have been enjoying these indies at small, intimate theaters like the Angelika.  We recently saw "Supermensch," a documentary about legendary manager Shep Gordon (his life - wow) and this week saw "Snowpiercer," in which the US has frozen over and the only survivors are those who boarded a train that serves as a 20 car microcosm of all society.  Both are worth a watch.
2. On Sunday Albert and I went to Captain's Cove, a marina in his hometown.  There is a large, two story restaurant on the premises and all of Bridgeport seems to go there on Sunday in the summer to dance to live music, play cornhole, and eat baskets of fried seafood.  It reminded me of my favorite place in Savannah, which is something I very rarely get to say up here.
3. I thought my 4th of July party would attract 15-20 guests but wound up with about 40.  I felt so popular!  The best part was that I had some special guests.  I get to see my cousin Amy often since she lives here in the city, but her sister Natalie was up for a visit so I got double trouble.  My cousin Aaron was also in town so our fam was in full force.  We are a super close and tight-knit bunch so I was over the moon to have them there.  

Hill and Bay

I was so excited when I saw the Hill and Bay construction in my neighborhood.  I was so not excited when it looked like it would be a little overpriced.  It looked cute but not cute enough to warrant what looked to be a very limited and slightly overpriced menu.  I mean, as much as we want to be cool, us Murray Hillians are never going to be East or West Villagers.  We crave unique, independent restaurants, but we know our place.  We don't need anything fancy before heading across the street to see the latest X-Men movie at that giant theater.  What we do need is something with good food that's a step or two up from a dive bar.

Hill and Bay got the message because when I walked past recently it looked like they added some items to the menu, thereby expanding the price range.  The large plates still average $23, but I would just stick to the starters.  They may still seem expensive, but when you realize they're actually large enough to fill you up, the price is justified.  I would have been happy to pick one off the apps and eaten it as my entree, but we were hot (rosé to cool off was necessary) and very hungry, so our group of three shared several of the starters.  We got the buttermilk fried boneless chicken (good, but just call a spade a spade - it's chicken fingers, just like my brother loved to eat when he was 6), meatballs (a good amount of fresh shaved parm), some creamy mac and cheese, fish tacos, and the kale caesar (a good salad but the dressing was a vinaigrette that took it away from caesar-land).  They may have fancified the names, but most of these dishes are just good plain comfort food and that's exactly what I want to eat when I leave the movie theater.