Gizzi’s Cafe on 8th street near 5th Avenue. You can sit and eat or get it to go.
Modest selection of bottled beer and soft drinks.
Sandwiches are made fresh. Mine was on forsacia bread and served on a yellow plate with a pilsner for my beer.
Quant place is how I would describe it. Service is pretty good. I didn’t have to ask for fork or napkin and when I was done my dishes were cleared away.
Lunch with beer was $10-$20
Posted from purple iPhone.
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E-Book
Pub. Date: April 2009
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Non-Fiction, True Crime
When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold left for school on April 20, 1999 it was a day much like any other. By the end of the day Columbine High School and they would be infamous. They walked in with bombs and guns with the goal of blowing up the school, leaving “a lasting impression on the world.” The bombs didn’t go off but they succeeded in committing the worst school shooting in American history.
There were many rumors and conflicting accounts. Dave Cullen takes us through the process that resulted in turning rumors and speculation into ‘well known fact’. The book follows two timelines, the lives of the young killers and starting with the shooting and the aftermath, immediate and long term. Showing how with the shooters dead, the anger and blame turned on their families.
Truth be told, I was not overly familiar with the details of Columbine. In addition to being one of the reporters covering the incident when it happened, Cullen also interviewed the people involved extensively This book is very informative, after the book is done, Cullen details for the reader where he got all his information, who he spoke to or what newspapers he drew his information from.
For a comprehensive view of what happened and the aftermath, what the Trench Coat Mafia really was, and to find out if there were any criminal charges filed against anyone who may have helped the killers obtain their weapons and ammunition; this is the book to read. The is the true account, who Eric and Dylan really were, not the loners we thought they were. I gave this book 4 stars and recommend it.
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In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by Dave Von Drehle
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Yorkville Crêperie
1586 York Avenue (between 83rd and 84th St)
New York, NY 10028
Tel: 212.570.5445
Link Facebook
This is the second time we have been here, both times we used Groupons, which they are very happy to accept. This is how the crêpe looks when brought to your table. We were seated in the section known as bar seating, which is where we were seated the last time. This time we were right next to where the crêpes were being cooked. I was going to shoot a video of them being made, but Em stopped me. I think she was a little embarrassed I was taking pictures of everything.
Em got a Picnic panini, with salad, the salad had a balsamic dressing. The panini was made with turkey, sliced apple, carmelized onion (no onions for Em), and Brie. It was huge and she said it was quite good and she said she should have only eaten half of it but it was so good she couldn’t help herself. I got Spartan crêpe which is listed under the savory portion of the menu, it is made with spinach, garlic, roasted tomatoes and Ricotta drizzled with EVOO. For dessert we had a strawberry crêpe. Total price around $30
The food here is very flavorful and satisfying. They are open from breakfast through dinner. We were here for lunch both times. It takes a while to get your food, but it is prepared fresh and when it comes it is hot, so it’s not from poor service. Our water glasses were refilled without us having to ask, we told our server we wanted to share the strawberry crêpe and he brought us both fresh silverware. Our only mistake was trying to squeeze lunch here in before Em’s nail appointment. We had to cab it back to mid-town. Overall, I would recommend this place for a good lunch but not a quick lunch.
This is what they cook the crêpes on. The batter is pre-made and in a squeeze bottle, after he pours it on the surface he smooths it out with a tool that looks like a dowel stuck on the end of another dowel, then after it has browned on one side he slides what looks like an icing knife under it and very carefully picks it up and flips it over. For savory crêpes, the filling is piled on top and the crêpe is folded over it. For sweet (dessert) crêpes the crêpe is folded first, the filling put on top and the sides folded over.
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E-Book
Pub. Date: August 2006
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Non-Fiction, True Crime
The Shocking True Story of a Woman Who Murdered a Pregnant Mother to Steal Her Child
Synopsis
THE MIRACLE OF LIFE
When Lisa Montgomery presented her husband Kevin with their new-born baby girl, he was ecstatic. Naming the child Abigail, the couple brought her to their local pastor. Miles away, police were investigating the brutal murder of a pregnant woman…THE HORROR OF MURDER
Twenty-three year old Bobbie Jo Stinnett was found by her mother, lying in a pool of blood, looking as if her stomach “had exploded.” Investigators soon determined: Someone had strangled Bobbie Jo to death—and then cut her fetus from her womb…THE WOMAN ACCUSED OF KILLING FOR AN UNBORN CHILD…
In late 2004, two women met in a dog-breeding internet chat room. When Elizabeth Montgomery came face to face with eight-months-pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett, prosecutors claim she already had a plan. Investigators knew that Bobbie Jo had fought desperately for her life—and that her fetus, alive or dead, was gone. Investigators scrambled after a killer. An “Amber Alert” went out for an hours-old infant. And this horrifying case was about to shock neighbors and a nation: of a woman accused of murdering for a baby…
Like most true crime books, this book covers the lives of the suspects and the victims. Diane Fanning also gives us the history of the town, background information, the search for Bobbie Jo’s baby, how this case changes certain laws. Included in this book are accounts of other women who stole babies from their pregnant mothers and other tragedies that happened to the family.
There was not much on the trial, and I took a star off because there is no resolution to the case. The book does not tell us if Lisa was found guilty or not. It could be the trial was not over when this book was written. Also there was a conflict between Bobbie Jo’s mother and Bobbie Jo’s husband over visiting the baby. This is also mentioned, then we are left hanging in the air.
This was an enjoyable, well written book. If the things I mentioned in the last paragraph won’t bother you, I recommend this book.
E-Book
Pub. Date: June 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Non-Fiction, True Crime
4 stars
The True Story of a Mother’s Love, a Husband’s Betrayal, and a Cold-Blooded Texas Murder
Synopsis
Hero, Husband, Father . . . Monster?
In Creekstone, Texas, a small, quiet suburb of Houston, football was king . . . and David Temple was a prince. A former high school and college gridiron star-turned-coach, he had a fairy-tale marriage to bright, vivacious Belinda Lucas, a teacher at the local high school who was so warm and popular her colleagues called her “The Sunshine Girl.”The fairy tale ended savagely on January 11, 1999, when Belinda’s lifeless body was discovered in a closet. Her skull had been shattered by a shotgun blast at close range. She was eight months pregnant.
There was no damning evidence directly linking the brutal murder to husband David, who stood by emotionless and dry-eyed as police searched the crime scene. But a dogged eight-year investigation would expose a shocking history of cruelty and domination, infidelity and rage—ultimately resulting in an epic courtroom battle for the ages—as the scandalous truth was revealed about love betrayed and innocent lives . . . shattered.
After a brief review of the crime, including mentioning how, despite the suspicions of many involved, the case was not “solved” for 8 years, she then gives us a history of David Temple and his family, Brenda and her family and David and Brenda’s life together. She details the investigation including some things the police did that some considered mistakes.
During the time the case grew cold, she reports on something that happened to change peoples perception about whether or not a man would kill his pregnant wife. How the numbers of pregnant women to die by their partners hand is quite high. Those of us familiar with domestic violence know that the violence often escalates when the woman is pregnant. But I digress.
When the case finally goes to the trial, Kathryn takes us through it step by step. Helping us understand the personality of the lawyers and their strategy. And lastly she reports on the aftermath of everything.
Another quality book by Ms. Casey, I give this book 4 stars and recommend it.
E-Book, bought from iBooks on 10 April 2011
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E-Book
Pub. Date: November 2007
Publisher: Sterling Publishing
Non-Fiction, True Crime
4 stars
This is another compilation of true crime accounts. It covers ‘Serial Killers’, with the loose definition of a serial killer being a person who kills multiple people with a cooling off period between. There are some that have issues with that definition.
However I am not here to debate that. This book covers killers from Dr. William Palmer of Rugeley, Staffordshire, Britain, the first documented murder he committed was in 1846, it continues down to our day, the last account being of Angel Resendiz who committed his first murder in 1997. Mr. Murray has researched crime accounts from around the world for this book. There are 36 accounts in this book, some are of pair or couples that killed together.
Mr. Murray had done an excellent job of condensing the details of these crime into a few pages, the average page number is 8. I felt that he gave an appropriate amount of detail, he covers the crime, not a lot of detail on the investigation, but does tell how the suspect was caught and pertinent details from the trial and what punishment he or she received.
I gave this book 4 stars and recommend it to true crime readers that enjoy the ‘short story’ version of true crime.
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Harney & Sons Soho
433 Broome Street, New York, NY 10013
212-933-4853 Link
On Broome Street there are two places to get good tea, that’s is, that I know of. One is Marie Belle at 484 Broome St. The focus there is tea and chocolate, heavy on the chocolate. At Harney and Sons the focus is solidly set on the tea. When you walk in to your right is a display of tea pots. On the left is the famous Wall of Tea.
Big tins of tea on shelves going up almost to the ceiling and in front of that is a tea tasting bar where you can sample select teas. In the back is the tea lounge, a few tables and chairs, a counter to the back. Here is where you can sit and have a pot of tea and some tasty treats. Like vanilla scones, this time on the menu there was Gluten-free tea cake. If that is there the next time I am getting it. Em and I got spice tea, she got the hot cinnamon and I got the Indian spice. Fred got an apple something tea. After a little bit of drinking we all kind of wished we had gotten something different. Well, can’t like everything. The scones were sweet, moist and really don’t need to have the cream and jam they are served with. I put cream and jam on them anyway.
After we ate we wandered about the store looking at stuff to buy. Em got another package of scone mix. There are also books you can buy and candles. I picked up a metal tea spoon, to measure your tea for your pot. Em saw it and had to get one, she also got one of those lovely pots pictured above. At the tea bar Fred tried ‘Tropical Green tea’, that he liked and wanted Em to get for him. She tried the ‘Golden Snail’, we both disagree with the guy at the store, it doesn’t taste like chocolate. But it is very good tea.
So of all those wonderful teas, from all different countries and will all those different flavors, what did I pick out to take home? Irish breakfast and Chinese gunpowder. Shoot me, I like plain tea.
If this review has peaked your interest, check out the Harney & Sons SoHo blog.
Bon Chon Chicken
Korean Restaurant
207 W 38th St (at 7th Ave)
New York, NY 10018
(212) 221-3339 Link
The first time I came here I was with Gwen, we had spent the day and she had her mother’s Groupons. We had used one for bike riding, one for lunch and this was for dinner. When we got there we were told there was a 45 minute wait. So we left and went to the Spanish restaurant next door. Which was very good but the dinners are enough for two.
Saturday we came back, around lunchtime, this time it was Em, Fred and me. The restaurant was not crowded, when we said we wanted to eat in we were directed to the upstairs dining area. It was kind of nice, very casual. We didn’t order drinks, just had water. For appetizer we ordered pot stickers (fried dumplings) and since it was for Em and me we got the Spicy Soy Garlic sauce. The choices for chicken were wings, drumsticks, mixed or breast meat. Since Em and I are not a fan of dark meat we ordered the chicken breast, also in the Spicy Soy Garlic sauce. It came with a side of rice and a little bowl of what I believe was Daikon Radish Pickles. They smelled like radish and were pickled. We didn’t eat them. One of the many foods that I consider yucky.
Fred got the bulgogi, seasoned beef with onions with a side of rice and a salad. The pot stickers were fantastic, the sauce was so hot we couldn’t feel our lips after a few, and after Em figured out how much we had spent versus how much the Groupon was for, we ordered more to have after our chicken. The chicken breast was breaded and fried, but the breading was very thin, the chicken was not greasy and it had the same wonderful spicy hot sauce on it. The pot stickers however were much better then the chicken, I could eat them all day. Fred is not a fan of spicy food, but he ate two pot stickers and said they tasted good. Of course he also almost hit the ceiling because they were hot, but he kept stating, “I can do it!” We took about half the chicken home, reasoning with the cool temperatures and the fact that it was cooked that the chicken would still be good. We heated it up when we got home and after having two pieces Stitch declared them excellent, spicy hot and tasty.
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I look good in black and white.
I am reading the Bible, books, magazines, online newspaper articles, blogs, jokes on candy wrappers, ads on the subway, billboards, backs of food boxes, lists of ingredients and recipes, cleaning directions, sayings on shirts, then I write and write. When I'm not reading, I'm experiencing life, trying out new restaurants and getting massages. I write about those places here, take a look, you might find something you like.
city girl drinking craft beer 