Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Top 10 Restaurants in Hoboken

okay, so after living in and around the area on and off for a few years, I have to admit that the better restaurants survive in Hoboken. here are the top 10...

The Dining Room at Anthony David's
111 Tenth Street at Bloomfield St.


Brass Rail
http://www.thebrassrailnj.com/
they have a great wine list and i've had some solid dinners here.

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LUA
http://www.luarestaurant.com/
1300 Sinatra Drive North, Hoboken, NJ
hands down, this is at the top of the list. I don't think I've ever had anything there that I didn't like. though the place is a little loud the few evenings I've been there, the Sangria is consistently the best I've ever had.  Normally before my second glass, I know that calling a cab is a good idea.
Empanada Trio & Hummus Platter


Charrito'shttp://www.loscharritos.com/
best Mexican I've ever had. If you bring some good red table wine they also make a killer sangria. These pictures unfortunately don't do it justice.
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Court Street
http://www.courtstreet.com/
This place has some salads I really dig and when you go there for lunch on the weekends, the Irish Soda Bread is something you will never get tired of.


Maxwell's
http://www.maxwellsnj.com/
i had an awesome cosmo there on a saturday night.
they also have a solid menu of things they make really well & their shows rock and it's an intimate venue. What's not to love?

La Isla
http://www.laislarestaurant.com/
probably the best Cuban in NJ.

7 Star Pizza
they have the best pizza.
forget about all that nonsense about other places having gi-normous slices.
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Qudobamexican grill
If you don't eat the whole burrito in one sitting, you will thank yourself in the morning.


The Madison Bar & Grill
http://www.madisonbarandgrill.com/
This place has some top notch steaks and salads. I've spent a New Years dinner here. I've never had a dish here that I didn't love.
Their $25 jazz brunch is awesome too!! Viva creme brulee french toast!

Margherita's
The best Italian in town.

Cucharamama

malibu
when i missed dinner because i was working late while in college, this place always saved me from major cranky tyraids. they have great pancakes, coffee (much love to Lacas), and hamburgers.

Tokugawa Sushi
1120 Washington Street
BYOB what more can I say asesome seaweed salad, awesome sweetheart dumplings, new favorite sushi place in Hoboken...
If you weren't counting, there were actually 12! Ha! I'll update with pictures if I come across them...

Sweet Seattle

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Shelf Milk

I never tried shelf milk (i.e. Parmalat) because I thought the concept was a little strange, but this makes me want to try it out:

http://itotd.com/articles/220/milk-in-a-box/

Sunday, March 02, 2008

scrapBlog

So I created my first scrapBlog using the pictures I took in Seattle. I didn't think I'd get too into it but this brings back the fun back in the days of prints!

It's much easier/fun to see/read when you view it full screen - let me know what you think!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Need Some Hope

Life's been to insanely busy to really write anything these days. I've seen a couple of great shows. A few CDs that have been on repeat include Delta Spirit's Ode To Sunshine, which is an AWESOME CD! And Josh Rouse's Subtitulo ..both of which I'm psyched that they are so good because it's been such a long time since I've been able to listen to a whole CD from start to end over and over (and over). I saw Delta Spirit open for Dr. Dogg at the Maxwell's a few weeks ago and they brought down the house so to speak. It was amazing. When I was at the show I couldn't help but comment how I felt like I was in a room full of mountain people; but I don't want to bucket the whole room into one category because I do admit that I think I also saw a fisherman, a hunter, and a blacksmith in the mix. So it was to no surprise that the liner notes in the CD said:
Recorded in a cabin.

So I've been addicted to this wine from Australia - Hope. I've had a lot of Hope these past few weeks. A new wine store down my block was sampling a few bottles and this was one of them. So what if I have a problem? I'm beginning to think I need help. What ever happened to the corporate limit? Wasn't it 2 drinks?

My boss came to town a few weeks ago and after a dinner with the team [after a few drinks] I vaguely remember dessert. In fact, the next day my boss commented to me that we went over what the average per person rate was, as to which I responded:

Me: How did we go over? Didn't we only do the $22/person package?
Boss: You forgot the incidentals.
Me: What incidentals?
Boss: The Merlot?
Me: The Merlot??
Boss: You DON'T remember the Merlot??
Me: OOOH! The Merlot? Yeah...(I did remember, it was pretty good...)
Boss: Yeah! After your second glass you started talking to Matt in Spanish!
Me: I don't even know Spanish.
Boss: Well you were also to the waiter in Spanish and you two were having a conversation.

So folks, looks like I know Spanish. There's Hope for me yet.

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So a new favorite restaurant as of recent is the much admired and respected Cuba, where we ate more than we should but, nevertheless, the Oxtail was excellent as well as the Sangria. Think of a home cooked meal. Think Martino's up a few notches and less heavy (i.e. not an evident amount of oil and butter).


I also saw a reunion tour of Superdrag a few weeks ago at the Filmore (formerly known as our beloved Irving Plaza). That was a way awesome show as well and was one of those shows that got me listening to all their songs again.

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Another satisfying meal was on a biz trip up to the evar-exciting Rochester where I stayed at the Marriott. By the time we got there (we drove) we were so drained that we ate at the hotel restaurant, which is not a bad thing since it is known for being really good anyway.

I has some filet - medium rare and boy did they do me right!

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Somewhere along the hustle and bustle, we also paid some guy on the street $5 to write us a poem. Can't say you do that everyday, but if he ever published it into a book, at least we can say we have an original!

Other than all that, nothing too new and nothing too exciting. I'll leave you with a picture that I really like. The kids were really hyper at this shoot. I would wear these socks to work if it wouldn't be such a career killer. Maybe I could use the cold weather as an excuse...I'm not a fan of the 80s fashion comeback, but I'd do these legwarmers...

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Monday, August 20, 2007

Vacation Starters

It's not everyday where you get to enjoy your home and where you live. Especially when you spend so much time working....so, anyways...

I finally took a ride out on Saturday to check out and photograph some parts of New Jersey. I visted a very pretty neighborhood by the beach with some of the most beautiful houses I've ever seen!
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It was SUCH a nice day! Picture perfect! (Too cold for beach weather though.) Some kid who said he was going to be famous one day asked if I was a photographer and asked that I take his picture because he almost signed a record deal but had to go do some time for something that happened. He's mixing again though so watch out world!

The evening brought about an early Weston show at
Maxwell's. I've never seen them play before but it was one of the funnest concerts I've been to. It was actually the earlier show we saw because the late show was sold out.

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Sunday I had an awesome bran muffin at
Malibu that made we want to drink a gallon of Lacas. (I was just impressed to see that they had a web site just now...). I can't even remember the last time I had Lacas coffee or where it was I use to go to to drink it. It may have been Felix #9. I digress, but I'd buy Lacas coffee by the pound. Anyway, the day turned out pretty dreary but I managed to get in about half of a photoshoot that I had planned as well as get my jeans soaked up to my knees. I didn't really mind it so much though because the temperature wasn't too cold or hot.

On Monday Loren stopped by! Lana is SO CUTE! :)

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She couldn't stay for too long because she had a few other things going on, but I was so glad I was around to see them! So cute Loren!!!

We walked all the way down to Hoboken and split ways at 23rd Street. I went to Adorama to get some supplies (*sigh* => ) followed by a 5:30 meeting at Union Square to get to THE BEST PIZZA EVAR (
L&B Spumoni Gardens)!!!!


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Yes, no doubt that the CitySearch reviews caught my eye with so much feedback while maintaining a five star average. The long haul was worth it! I've never had such a good slice of Sicilian pizza, chicken parm (which came with the best knish evar!), a bottle of Riesling, coffee, and tiramisu. I think this was the only meal of our day. And make no mistake that when i bit into the lady finger at the end, I almost fell off my chair.

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Highly, seriously, highly recommended. You can thank me later or just bring me with you and buy me a slice. hehe... and just for the record, a picture of us in Brooklyn's own Ave. V.

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Getting off at Canal to run around some more, we stopped by a place called
Cachaca to catch some jazz show that we saw an ad for at Maxwell's.

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I forget how much I miss riding the Subway. It's such a different frame of mind and it's more relaxing because you have more time to think and, if you're brave enough, nap.


You know you've done it.

Seriously though, you don't need to spend a lot of money going to far away places, although it's awesome, when you live near NYC. You can go into any neighborhood and find some of the best food, music, shopping, and culture that you can't find anywhere else.


Also, my hand still hurts...should I be charging a claim against the building insurance since it was the door that hurt me?

Low Impact Woodland Home

So, are you guys really not that into The Dome Home? How about a Low Impact Woodland Home. I think I found the home I'd never want to move out of. Unless flooding became a problem.

I'd need to revisit this idea in a few months and decide if I like it as much as I'm digging it right now...

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

cookingbynumbers.com

so I stumble on this site called cookingbynumbers.com and you indicate all the items in your fridge and cupboard, and it gives you all the recipes you can make.

how psyched was i - not only can i make cheese toast, but I can make a cheese sandwich:

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Needing A Hand Here

So about a month ago, I was walking out of my buliding and I put my hand out behind me to catch the door so I could bring it to controlled close. Not knowing that someone tightened the screw on the spring, the door tossed my hand aside to close on my hand and the frame. If I lost you there, it looked something like this.

This is my hand before:


This is the position my hand was in when the door closed on me:
hand injury copy


I was in such pain that I stood there for a few seconds with my hand still in the door trying to understand what just happened and how to make the pain stop. I pushed the door open and went to my car and sat there for several minutes until the pain subsided. It hurt to drive and I had to use my left hand to control the shift.

Basically, ice was applied until my hand almost had frost bite and then it was bruised for several days afterwards. That was about a month ago. About 2 weeks ago when there was heavy rain and high humidity, my hand started to hurt when I was using it in different ways. I thought it may have been caused by what had happened with the door but thought I was just being paranoid about it. I would bend my left hand in the same angles I would my right to see if it caused the same feeling and for a day or two I thought that it was just that. Then one day while driving I realized, no, this hurts and it's not normal. So the question is do I see a hand doctor or just let it heel? I got concerned when some people were telling me their ACLs disappeared and I don't want something similar to happen to my hand. And when I was meeting a vendor and he had a stent on one of his fingers and mentioned that his doctor wouldn't comment on whether or not he broke his ligament and that he's have to go to the hospital to see a hand specialist.


So let's spend some time looking into this. I hate to waste my time because the last time I've been to a doctor, there wasn't anything he could do for me but write me a prescription for Vioxx. I think I got one 2 or 3 times from the same guy. When I told my mom that they gave me Vioxx she was concerned and told me not to take it if it's pain that I can handle. It was. Apparently, it's a strong pain killer used in the ICU for people needing to handle serious pain (i.e. surgery) and she didn't agree with the mg prescribed for me. I wasn't even there to complain about the pain, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something wrong that I was ignoring. I will keep my opinion as to why he gave me this to myself for now. Anyway, I digress and my hand is starting to hurt again, so let's continue the research.

So I go to
webMD to do some research into what I should be concerned about and it tells me that the conditions associated with my selected symptoms are:

  • Broken (fractured) hand
  • Peripheral neuropathy
  • Cervical (neck) spinal stenosis
  • Osteomyelitis (bone infection)
  • MS
  • Shingles (herpers zoster)

Let's go with the first one because with the reaction to the humidity I was thinking I may have a hairline fracture. Apparently, from their Broken Hand Overview, a broken hand could take "months" of rehab.

The hand is composed of 27 bones, including those in the wrist. Broken bones most commonly result from a direct blow to the hand [*check*] or a fall onto the hand. Common injuries include fractures of the fingertip, or of the pinkie side of the palm, or of the thumb.

Now let's list all the parts of my hand that may be involved here:

  • Carpals -the 8 bones in the wrist
  • Metacarpals - the 5 bones that form the palm of the hand.
  • Phalanges - the 14 small bones that, when strung together, form the thumb and fingers.
    -The thumb has 2 phalanges.
    -The other 4 fingers are made of 3 phalanges each.
  • PIP and DIP joints - the joints in the fingers.
    -The PIP (proximal interphalangeal) joint - the joint closest to the palm.
    -The DIP (distal interphalangeal) joint- the joint closest to the fingertip.

So I guess my self-diagnosis is that there is a lot involved here. Time to call a doctor. If you see me walking around with some cast around my hand sometime in the near future, you will know why. I'm hoping that I didn't tear/injure a ligament - I think I'd be very upset. Is a hairline fracture a lesser evil? Was/am I being neglectful by not seeing a doctor in the first place?

Sunday, June 03, 2007

SABOTAGE!


Walking in Lambertville, I suddenly felt the strange sensation of being in a Beastie Boys video...