His Onlyness | Activity

My Grandpa Turns 90!

hisonlyness

Published: August 10, 2009

The whole reason for my trip was to celebrate my Grandpa turning 90. We had three days of intense celebration during which time I learned that I’m distantly related to a mobster and a boxer. I also learned how my grandparents met: My grandmother went to party at a friends apartment and my grandpa was there and there were no more chairs left to sit in so my grandfather said she could sit on his lap. They got married a few years later. High school sweethearts! More about the mobster later….

The 90th birthday cake

New York Philharmonic on the Great Lawn in Central Park

hisonlyness

Published: August 10, 2009

The New York Philharmonic plays on the Great Lawn in Central Park in July and its awesome. We brought big blankets and a picnic from Zabars (of course) and laid back and watch the fire flies and listened to classical music. You can bring wine too! If you’re in New York during the summer it would be foolish to miss this.

Traci staking out our territory

Lots and lots of people

The Chesapeake – True Relaxation… and Fresh Blue Crab

hisonlyness

Published: August 10, 2009

I spent a night at the Chesapeake with my mom and some family friends. We kayaked, caught crabs, cooked, gorged and relaxed. Who would have thought catching crab was so easy?

reminiscent of "The Birds"

the Chesapeake jellyfish infestation

the elders on the Chesapeake

extracting the captured blue crabs

dinner!

simply prepared - they don't stay blue...

watching the Chesapeake sunset from my kayak

breakfast

Ms. Bordow adventuring in her sturdy ship

Hearst Corporation’s Green Headquarters

hisonlyness

Published: August 8, 2009

The Hearst Corporation’s headquarters it he greenest building in New York. To build it, they gutted their old building, reused most of the materials and built their new building up from inside it. It’s really very cool. We couldn’t go up passed the lobby but the entrance was pretty interesting to see. Two escalator move diagonally through waterfalls that flow at random rates throughout the day. Sometimes the water flow is loud and sometimes it is soft and tranquil. The guard at the front gave us the rundown on the building, telling us that the water was used to cool the building as well as give the entryway character. On the wall above the escalators and waterfalls is a giant finger painting made from mud found at the bottom of the Hudson River.

the entrance waterfalls and finger painting

Hearst Corporation Headquarters

Bierkraft of Brooklyn: so much to try, so little time

hisonlyness

Published: August 8, 2009

I hung out in Brooklyn for a day with Sam and he took me to Bierkraft. I have never seen so many different kind of beers and ciders in my life. They also had these cool Growlers that you could buy, fill up and then return or refill once you drank all the beer.

Bierkraft's huge selection of beers

Bierkraft's Sandwich Nook

We got delicious, huge, house-made roast beef sandwiches. Unfortunately they didn’t have a liquor license that allowed us to drink inside, so we did without the beer. This place is definitely worth a look, I give it 4/5 Onlies.

Bierkraft sandwich presentation

Bierkraft homemade roast beef sandwich

The Roof at the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art

hisonlyness

Published: August 8, 2009

This was a pretty cool piece of work: a system of metal tree-branch-like tubes winding and jutting around the roof of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

New York Met Roof Exhibit

Delicious Artichoke Pizza

hisonlyness

Published: August 7, 2009

Artichoke Pizza is a great late-night spot to get cream of artichoke pizza, crab pizza or a whole baked artichoke. I went back twice and although I’m moderately lactose intolerant, it was definitely worth it.

Artichoke Pizza - The Spot

I got the classic artichoke pizza both nights. It’s the best thing on the menu. If you have a chance, try to have a conversation with the proprietor of the joint as well. He’s a trip.

Artichoke Pizza

Arlene’s Grocery Live Karaoke

hisonlyness

Published: August 6, 2009

Not many places have live band accompaniment for karaoke. Arlene’s does. Check it out on Monday nights at 10 if you’re ever in New York! Thanks Kelly for taking me here.

In honor of Bastille day, this crazy guy decided to sing “With a Little Help from my Friends” in his sweet green banana hammock. What a treat.

Arlene's Grocery Indian Guy in Underwear

Eldridge Street Synagogue

hisonlyness

Published: August 6, 2009

This was pretty cool to see and it’s smack in the middle of China Town. An interesting place for a synagogue. Check the pictures and check out their website to visit. I’ve never really seen a synagogue like this before.

Eldridge street synagogue exterior surrounded by China Town

Eldridge Street Synagogue

eldridge street synagogue - window

Momofuku New York

hisonlyness

Published: August 6, 2009

I had to try Momofuku Ko and the Ssam Bar. So delicious. The pork buns were ridiculous and the Ramen at Ko was incredible. This is a must if you’re in New York. Check the menus below from Ko and the Ssam Bar and some food shots… The Spicy Rice Cakes were also pretty interesting tasting.