The zucche are back in season – round squash with bright melon-like flesh and ivory-colored bulletproof rinds. I see heaps of them in a plastic milk crate at the market and think about it for a heartbeat, but then remember the toughness of that rind, my desperate awkwardness with knives and, above all, the fact […]
America
Pregnant
On the platform of the Q train, heading out to Queens. A crush of people; all of us staring down the train tracks. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I think that girl pregnant. I turn to my left and it’s a middle-aged woman; short sandy-colored hair and a soft Eastern European accent. Smiling at me, speaking in […]
The Long Island Railroad Montauk Line Travel Guide
Gia and I are headed to Islip for the wedding of Jeremy and Ellie. We’re going together, but I’m boarding the train at Penn Station and she’s boarding it at Atlantic Avenue. It is our plan to meet when the train hits Atlantic Avenue, which we figure will be the first stop after Penn Station. […]
Lemonade
From the 15 bus window, on the Upper East Side, an enterprising New York City youth selling lemonade on the sidewalk. No coins on the table. A wrinkled brow. No customers. It’s always the little guy that gets hurt. Sorry, friend. If I weren’t on this bus right now, I’d buy a cup. This post […]
- America
- ...
In a New York State of Mind
Dinner with Diego at Caracas Arepa Bar in the East Village. Four arepas – the Playera (white fish with onions, peppers, and herbs), the Guasacaca (guacamole with paisa cheese), the De Pabellón (beef, black beans, white salty cheese and plantains), and the Los Muchachos (chorizo, spicy white cheese, jalapeños and peppers). Pacifico beer for him, […]
- America
- ...
Let Them Eat Cereal
Nothing tells you what the people want like browsing their country’s supermarkets. Japan: every single part of the fish. Ireland: industrial-size burlap sacks of potatoes. And America? Sugar-coated goodness as far as the eye can see.
- America
- ...
Got Crabs?
Ladies and gentlemen, the following collage of photos illustrates why I continue to return to Florida after all these years*. Florida seafood – there ain’t nothin’ like it. Git yerself to a crab shack, sit yerself down, and git dirty. Last night, my parents took me to a crab shack on the side of the […]
- America
- ...
Home Super-Sized Home
Returned from Ohio yesterday; my first foray into the flat, green fields of the American Midwest. Quite beautiful… as was the smorgasbord of chain restaurants. Taco Bell. Wendy’s. Chik-fil-freaking-A. Golden Corral. Bob Evans. Steak and Shake. Cracker Barrel (!!!). At the groom’s house the day before the rehearsal dinner; hamburgers, beans, macaroni & cheese, and […]
Tourist Yourself
The last days at home must be touristy – getting in everything “classic” before you go from being a New Yorker to being a person who used to live in New York. Strolls by the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, a dip into Bloomingdale’s, and a nice hot slice of ultra-touristy Grimaldi’s pizza. Even so, an […]
Your 171-Word Mini Florida Culture Lesson
There are any number of vermin, reptiles and insect life here on the great limerock state of Florida. I hate most of them, especially the snakes. They are horrible and beady-eyed, writhing sickeningly through the grass. They often blend in with the blades so that every step on a lawn could set off a flickering […]