rathbone's for chicken bones

Since we moved into the upper east apartment, Adam won't stop talking about how he's heard the best wings in New York City are all within blocks of our apartment. So tonight, being 25 cent wing night at Rathbone's, we ventured out to try the goods. Well he did. Years of Jewish food have left me with no tolerance for spicy food.

I had a burger...it was good, but why did it need to have an english muffin for a bun. I'd much rather have a big, eggy challah roll.

Apparently the wings were delicious which is a good thing.

And there was a really sparse amount of sawdust on the floor, another thing I didn't understand. But besides all those small things, I thought it was fun neighborhood bar. The service was good, we sat in a nice booth...it was a good time.


Meanwhile, since I don't drive very often in the city, I was pleasantly surprised while driving on the FDR from the Brooklyn Bridge up to 96th street. What a nice ride, like lake shore drive.





So that's it. Here's to 2-4 inches of snow on Friday. Can't wait.

New York navigation

Here's an interesting thing I've noticed. Appropriate, but interesting nonetheless.

I've lived here for a little over a year. I can pretty much get anywhere. Unless I'm driving. Then I'm a total tourist. Simple things like which streets run uptown and which run downtown simply baffle me. The concepts of north, south, east, west? Like a different language.

All of a sudden I forget everything I knew about New York City and feel like I should just follow a cab, I'll probably end up somewhere interesting.


I say this because today I will be venturing to the thriving metropolis that is Nazareth, PA. Actually very excited, should be a relaxing drive and accompanying evening.



Side note:
The mouse has been captured...but not without a fair amount of thinking on my part. I actually had to outsmart the mouse. I had to think of a way that HE wouldn't have already thought of. I actually took a glue trap, stuck three toothpicks in it vertically, with a piece of my dog's kibble laying atop. I woke up this morning and SUCCESS.

I will sleep well tonight knowing I don't have a small furry friend dragging ketchup packets across my kitchen floor.

on lotteries; carts

So I was reading on Gothamist today about this school teacher who won a lottery to get an Upper East Side studio for $14,000. Which is ridiculous. So, good for him..but what makes me nervous is...

Where was this guy teaching that paid him SO little he had to WIN A LOTTERY for an apartment? Seriously, is my future teaching career looking that bleak? Should I be signing up for this lottery?


In other news, I'm having an issue with my grocery cart that I bring to the market. Initially, I bought it so I could fit in the with the old Italian ladies who lived near my prior apartment in Brooklyn. But because I lived in a third floor walkup, I never wanted to carry it up the stairs.

Now, I live on the ground floor, which is awesome, but I have something to say about these carts. While useful, are they made out of garbage? Seriously, within one use, I managed to break the little clip that holds it together, I've ripped the handle, and I'm feeling self conscious about it in my super swank new neighborhood.

Plus, let's be honest, if you're going to have one, you can only shop at big grocery stores, no delis or independent groceries are in your future. Navigating through those tiny aisles requires a separate driver's license.

So that's what's happening on the Upper East Side today....still no capture on the mouse. I'm starting to accept my new roommate. Is that a compromise NYC demands?

Pest up

Though I've lived in New York City for over a year, I will never get used to the inevitable amount of rodents and insects that cohabitate within your apartment. They don't discriminate against my shoebox apartment or my closet sized kitchen. But the mouse in question is exceptional. Exceptional in the sense that he/she has outsmarted me...twice.

Exhibit A- Your standard mouse trap...mouse eats bait (in this case peanut butter, as I've heard mice will accept no less), mouse activates trigger, and boom! Broken neck. Easy, right?

Not when you're dealing with my little friend. For the past two nights, he's spent his time licking the bait clean, enjoying that peanut butter, probably drinking some milk to wash it down. Meanwhile, this mouse is NOT suffering the consequences. There is no BOOM. There is no broken neck. There is just delicious peanut butter going to waste.


Exhibit B- The mouse comes out in daylight. He's fucking with me, I know. But this little guy feels it necessary to gallavant across my kitchen only at times when I can see it happening.

Result? Glue trap on the floor.

If that doesn't work? I've got backup.





UPDATE: I caught the mouse...for two minutes....and he outsmarted me again. He got stuck to the glue trap, and somehow wedged himself under the oven, still attached to the trap, and wiggled his way out. Seriously, respect.