Anecdote

I'm not that familiar with Ambulance LTD, but this song is sweeeeet. And, once again, I'm running a song into the ground by playing it on repeat until I get sick of it. The vocal line right before the "punchline" is killer! Thanks for this one, Ian!

M Noodle! My Saving Grace!

The Asian selection off of Graham Avenue was a bit lacking until this joint popped up!

549 Metropolitan Avenue 
btw. Union Ave. and Lorimer St.

I first passed by M Noodle on the way back from a show at Union Pool in December. It was around 2am, and M Noodle looked like MECCA. Took a mental note, and decided to come back that Sunday. Perfect rainy Sunday for soupadoup. Apparently, the place had only opened that week! 

Exhibit A: Sliced Pork Belly Noodle Soup w/ Pulled Noodle...mmm

Killer (recommended) combos: 

Marinated Beef Stew Noodle Soup w/ Wonton Noodle
Marinated Beef Stew Noodle Soup w/ Pulled Noodle
Shredded Beef with Chili Pepper Noodle Soup w/ Pulled Noodle

Den-den Mein w/ Pulled Noodle

M Noodle has now become my go-to Chinese take-out in the neighborhood. I love the fact that you can choose whatever noodle you want for the dishes they serve, though I've pretty much stuck with Wonton Noodle and Pulled Noodle. AND, even though I haven't really utilized it, I love the fact that M Noodle is open until 6am everyday. Noon-6am, 7 days a week! Noodles and dumplings at all times of day make me a very happy girl. CHOMP.

We'll Mine Our Sparks to Shoot Us Above!

I've already listened to "Excuses" 6 times this morning, which has probably been the average number of times I've listened to it per day since Monday.  

The Morning Benders have become my recent obsession after my roommate played this video for me on Monday. Lovin' the 1960's throwback/fun vocal harmonies. I can't get over how such a strong voice comes from such a skinny half-Asian dude! I will have to go see this for myself when they play the Housing Works Hype Machine CD Swap next Thursday, February 25th. (Upon which, you should then head over to 45 Bleecker for the long awaited Father Figures Record Release Show, featuring opening act, The Relatives, back from Prague!)

The Morning Benders' new album, Big Echo, comes out on Rough Trade Records on March 9th. Co-produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear, you can guess there's gonna be some wacky accented beats and instrumentation. Until then, check out their cover of The Cardigans' "Lovefool."

Polonaise Hollandaise

Though I had my fair share of learning some beautiful pieces, the one classical piano piece I wish I learned while I was still studying is this one, Chopin's Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53. I bought the sheet music for this a couple of years ago with the hopes of one day teaching it to myself, and the process has been pretty slow going. Luckily, in the wonderful age of technology, I now have Vladimir Horowitz to show me how it's done. Check out his expression at the end; I'd feel the same if I could play it like him!

Ma Pechehhhhhh!

Expecting a great lunch or dinner and receiving lower than your great expectations might qualify as one of the "worst minor catastrophes" in the world, in the words of my co-worker.

Ma Peche, aka "Mother Peach", is the newest edition to the David Chang dynasty of pan-Asian cuisine that comprises the brand Momofuku, meaning "Lucky Peach." As a regular follower of Midtown Lunch Blog (a celebration of the wasteland that is the food selection in Midtown Manhattan), I was thrilled to hear about Ma Peche's opening in November 2009 and couldn't wait for a good reason to pretend I was fine dining ($10 lunch special, heyooo!). And unfortunately, pretend...it sure was.

Momofuku is known for their meats! They are known for having some of the best fried chicken in the city (inspired by Congee Village), the best pork buns, and one of the city's best pork ramen. It came as a HUGE disappointment to be (disappointed) by the meat in the dishes we ordered. I knew a $10 lunch special from the Momofuku Empire was too good to be true!

Exhibit 1: Banh Mi au poulet

 

First off, $10 for a banh mi and a coke is overpriced (this was expected), but the "banh mi au poulet" was half the size of a banh mi 40 blocks downtown for double the price. Really though, my main problem with this banh mi was the chicken, which is a shame because it's a chicken sandwich. I've never been keen on ordering chicken in Vietnamese restaurants (remember, never order Pho Ga, you wimp), but given Momofuku's reputation for fried chicken, I figured all bets were out the door.  The chicken wasn't fresh chicken breast. It was some sort of chicken patty/roll with a dry, block like consistency that was a bit tough. And they get away with calling it "au poulet..."

Exhibit 2: Bun du riz (aka Pork Rice Noodles)

This initially caught my eye from Midtown Lunch blog, and I pretty much knew I was going to order it before I got to the Chambers Hotel. Behind those layers of green is actually very salty ground pork. Very salty. The dish almost tasted like it could have been an Asian Box of Hamburger Helper...guh. The noodles were interestingly shaped into little cones. The redeeming quality of the dish was that they were fun to eat, BUT I usually find myself with a healthy appetite, and I didn't finish the plate. Salty pork drew my mouth-watering appetite dry.

At this point, I was ready to leave without ordering the peanut butter cookie (from Momofuku Milk Bar) which everyone raves about, but my 6'3 businessman who opened the colossal, wooden doors of the Chambers Hotel from the top of the door handles has a soft spot for peanut butter, so we stayed. 

 

As we sat in our cubicle-feeling bucket chairs placed diagonally far away from each other, my eyes drifted to the book Farm Animal Portraits placed in front of us on the bookshelf, and our waiter returned with a peanut butter cookie in a bag in his hand, almost high-fiving it over to us. Not even a plate! Just a cookie in a sweaty bag. Yipes. At least the center was chewy and peanut buttery?

Just say "momofuku" to Momofuku Midtown and get yourself over to Takashimaya on 5th Ave for the fine dining experience you deserve. Ma Peche ain't worth yer pennies!

If I Trust In You, Oh Please...

When I first started playing guitar, I ate up the two volumes of Beatles sheet music that my Dad had recently purchased at Barnes & Noble. There were two songs I remember him re-learning: "And I Love Her" and "If I Fell." I recently remembered how much I love the vocal harmonies in this song--

Little Things in My Morning Commute

Day in, day out, same morning commute. Half-asleep, over-crowded L train. Who needs a cup of coffee? Not me! Get a little morning exercise, transfer to the 6 train. And, since April, no iPod. Just lots and lots of New York mag articles and attempts at writing in my journalist looking memopad. Nope, I'm not blogging about that dry doughnut at Peter Pan! But please, tall peeps, don't read what I'm writing in this thing! It's personal! After taking the same route for almost a year now, I find a lot of enjoyment in the small things that vary in my morning commute.

Anyways, I couldn't tell you why, but all too regularly, The Righteous Brothers' version of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" pops into my head as I'm climbing up the stairs at Union Square from the L train to the 6 train. There's no justification for this! I promise you, I don't listen to this song on repeat, like I have with other songs for which I'm infamous for. This loving feeling occurrence happens in the second set of stairs, right as I round that corner. Keeping my fingers crossed that I don't trip up the stairs, and hummin' this little diddy. That's my morning.

It wasn't until watching this Hall & Oates video that I appreciated the Hall & Oates cover of this song. I have it on one of their "Best of" albums, and always thought The Righteous Brothers do it so much better. Well, this video just proved that theory wrong.