Gratuitous Meat

What a hot, hot time to be in NY. With a record breaking heat wave over this 4th of July weekend, it was a good time to seek out some quality BBQ. Below are photos from the northern tip of Manhattan to the southern coast of Brooklyn.

Big Bob Gibson's Pulled Pork

This first shot is actually from the Big Apple BBQ, but it’s so delicious that I had to post it. Big Bob Gibson came all the way from Decatur, Alabama to make their signature pulled pork. After waiting in line, this was definitely worth it.

Nathan's Hotdogs

Next up is Nathan’s of Coney Island which needs no introduction. Pictured here is one Chili Dog & one Chili Cheese Dog with Onions. Both were messy and what you would expect from loaded up hot dogs. If I had gotten it with cheese & bacon, I’m sure the deliciousness would have been off the charts.

Bacon Cheese Fries

While hot dogs are supposed to be the main draw, I found the Bacon Cheese Fries to be the undeniably best tasting thing there. Perhaps if I had put bacon on the hot dogs, the match up between the hot dogs and fries would have been fair. Is it possible to have too much bacon? To give the fries some more credit, they were a thick, hearty cut that remained crispy even after being soaked in cheese for a while.

Dinosaur BBQ Swag Sampler

The very amazing Swag Sampler plate from Dinosaur BBQ is up next. The sample consisted of deviled eggs, spicy shrimp, wings, and fried green tomatoes. How amazing was this? After eating the simply decadent deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, and wings, I tried the shrimp – and I never eat seafood (due to mild food allergies). I was so impressed by the first three that I had to see how well they could prepare the shrimp, but the shrimp let me down as there wasn’t much flavor to it.

Dinosaur BBQ Sauces

Does every BBQ joint get into selling sauce nowadays?

Ribs with sides

Pictured here are the fall-off-the-bone ribs with their Mac & Cheese and BBQ Fried Rice. Their ribs were simply amazing, and they didn’t need any sauce as they were already wonderfully flavored. After consuming the appetizers and nearly 3/4 rack of ribs, I wasn’t very impressed with their sides. I had ordered the BBQ Fried Rice, Mac & Cheese, Cole Slaw, and Pork & Beans. The sides were all as to be expected, but only the Mac & Cheese stood out to me. Perhaps I didn’t enjoy the sides since I was stuffed from the ribs? I ordered the BBQ Fried Rice since I admit, I was curious as to what it actually was.

Kojima @Uniqlo NY

Went to Uniqlo SoHo today, the line was insane. The checkout cashiers told me that people waited as much as 19 hours (overnight basically). While I would expect a big turnout for Kojima, I underestimated a city that has people wait at Apple stores for no reason than to get some publicity for their free time (see iPad launch).

Kojima signing things on the mezzanine

Uniqlo is an affordable Japanese clothing brand that carries everyday basics.

Kojima's surround

A closer shot of Kojima surrounded by press, staff, and security.

The signing event was Noon – 2pm. I was there during the first hour, but I don’t know how long he stayed at Uniqlo. From people in line I spoke to, you had to get in line before 9AM to stand a good chance of having your stuff signed.

Yes, he's in a clothing store

Autograph line on the ground floor

This line continued out the store, around the block (and around a few more blocks?). Uniqlo isn’t even the corner store, FYI

Kojima with a fan

He must be used to signing stuff and his rockstar status among gamers.

Retail display about MGS Peace Walker

There were a variety of MGS shirts on sale for just over $15. I liked the MGS designs, but I don’t necessarily like the “Peace Walker” logo on the backside

MGS T's for sale

Kojima himself was wearing one of the Uniqlo shirts that said “BIG BOSS.” I got one of those for myself, but I don’t know how often I would wear it out

Cardboard boxes don't get any better than this folks!

Gotta love being able to hide from super serious, genetically enhanced guards in a cardboard box

Event postcard

This event had great turnout as expected. Kojima has so many fans, and I’m glad that he was able to come out and promote MGS for the fans

Peter Luger

Peter Luger opened in 1887 Williamsburg. They are known for their Porterhouse steak cooked expertly. The menu is no frills and they are cash only (unless you are ballin’ with the official Peter Luger credit card that is totally unnecessary).

This post is going to be mostly pictures and will provide the goods.

Very simple, pick how many people the steak will feed

Hearty cut of bacon appetizer

The porterhouse tilted so that the juice flows to one end. This was very well cooked as you would expect

The plated meal: porterhouse, creamed spinach, German style potatoes

The ice cream sundae. The chocolate cow is a very nice touch

This is a NY institution that is worth the reservation.

2009-2010 CA High School Rankings

Oh, neat. There’s just updated API data for CA schools earlier this week on 5/13.

I’m finding all the information both pleasant and frustrating. Pleasant that it’s available for all so easily, yet tricky to understand in plain English.

What I looked at is the API data files 2009-2010 (2009 Base API-Data File DBF). Below are the top ten CA High School rankings without looking at special education, alternative models (ASAM), small size, or charter schools.

2009-2010 CA Base API High Schools

  1. Gretchen Whitney High
  2. Oxford Academy
  3. California Academy of Mathematics and Sc
  4. Mission San Jose High
  5. Lowell High
  6. San Marino High
  7. Monta Vista High
  8. Saratoga High
  9. Miramonte High
  10. Troy High

Note that Lynbrook is next at #11 after Troy High.

For comparison, here is the same list based on the Growth API instead of Base.

2009-2010 CA Growth API High Schools

  1. Gretchen Whitney High
  2. Oxford Academy
  3. California Academy of Mathematics and Sc
  4. Lowell High
  5. Mission San Jose High
  6. San Marino High
  7. Monta Vista High
  8. Saratoga High
  9. Miramonte High
  10. Lynbrook High

Troy is #11 in the growth basis.

The list is largely unchanged between the base and the subsequent growth API update.

I think it’s interesting since I attended Monta Vista High and students largely hold a grudge against MV for being so book focused and competitive. Parents, on the other hand, do whatever they can to get into the school so that their children will have a (theoretically) better future.

Disclaimer: I am not familiar with CA school rankings so my analysis may not take into consideration something that another person may view as key.

Housekeeping

As I’m settling into NY, I find that I’m eating out less as a tourist with my DSLR. I’m eating in more by buying groceries to save money.  Getting groceries is a very different beast in NY than elsewhere. In this mega-urban setting, it’s popular to order groceries online or pay for delivery service at the store. If I buy something, I have to physically carry it back – as in walk it all the way back to my residence. Contrast this to anywhere else where you simply load up loads of food in your car. This makes getting milk, juice, or enough food to last a week annoying.

There is also a distinct lack of generic supermarkets. As in Safeway, Lucky’s, Costco, etc. Real estate is simply too expensive to find large supermarket chains with even larger parking lots in front. There are Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s scattered around the city, but they have their weaknesses. There are also small mom & pop corner shops, but the selection is not as convenient as a supermarket. Have you ever waited an hour in line at Trader Joe’s? Even Whole Foods can easily have a half hour line zig-zagging throughout the store. The other downside to not having generic supermarkets (such as Safeway) is that you can’t get cheap nationwide brand name staples like cereal, snacks, frozen foods, etc. Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods carry their own private labeled food for good or for worse.

All this above is my way to say that I haven’t been posting much on this blog. With the weather getting nicer, I should be out more and able to take more pictures. This is a good thing.

Note that I’ve disabled comments for this blog. For the time being, I don’t need hundreds of dead-obvious link spam comments piling up each hour. And to think, this isn’t what I would consider a trafficked blog.

2AM Cuisine

Some more low-res iPhone photos. I find myself carrying around my DSLR less and less to food places the longer I’ve been here. I hope to reverse that trend by shooting more photos in general.

First up is Crif Dogs, recommended by Lag.

Crif Dogs Counter

This place has an interesting menu. See the next photo below. Crif dogs is a great late night food binge place. Overpriced hotdogs are common throughout the city, I mean you can get a dozen hotdogs at the supermarket for the price of one hotdog at an establishment.

I won’t deny that hotdogs are delicious, but they are also nutritionally void. Without editorializing much more here, Crif Dogs were delicious and come with exotic toppings.

Crif Dogs Menu

I tried The Crif Dog and the Philly Tubesteak. Not a surprise, but adding cheese and onions to a hotdog made it VERY delicious.

Not shown in detail on the menu are The Crif Paks. It was explained to me that at each price point $10 and up, you get served whatever the kitchen wants to give you. And it will be a lot of food. This sounds like it would be good for the stoner demographic which I assume wants to eat a lot during odd hours. Note that The Crif Paks previously were called Stoner Paks.

The Crif Dog & Philly Tubesteak

Very delicious. There is a lemonade on the top left of the photo. The damage for this was $11 with tip.

Cheep's Falafel Pita

Continuing to walk around the St Marks Place, I found Cheep’s. Cheep’s has a $2 falafel pita which is worth it. Period.

It’s 4 freshly fried falafels with lettuce and white sauce. The pita is a good, large sized, and you can continue to add all sorts of veggies from their free salad bar into your pita. According to Yelp reviews, this place opened within the past week. In NY, being able to find something edible for $2 is amazing, let alone something this fresh, delicious, and large.

Burgers and Brunch

A place that can take on In-N-Out? Impossible you say?

While In-N-Out will always have their incredible Double Double (with onions), Five Guys has great burgers and better plain fries. In-N-Out’s animal style fries are another story.

Five Guys in Brooklyn Heights

There are various locations throughout the east coast.

Brooklyn Heights

Here is a view out of the front of the restaurant.

Five Guys Decor

The decor inside is somewhat similar to In-N-Out with a retro, red & white tile fast food theme.

Cheeseburger

This cheeseburger had a good heft to it, and the ingredients were noticeably fresh. Between this and In-N-Out, I would say both are good choices. I do cherish the thousand island sauce from In-N-Out as that’s what I’m accustomed to.

French Fries

Portion-wise, you get a lot of fries. One regular order of fries is enough for 2 or more people. Plus, they have free peanuts before you get your food.

Brunch at Alice's Tea Cup

Moving onto Manhattan, this was a nice brunch from a small tea house. The food was prepared well and I think it shows.

Poached eggs on ham & cheese scones with Potato-chicken hash

Martin, how does this compare to your eggs benedict? I’m sure both meals can stand up to a food challenge. What struck me as amazing is that the potato-chicken hash is so homogeneous. The chicken pieces and potato bits looked nearly identical.

Mixed fresh fruit crepes

The crepe had an excellent texture to it, but I would consider this plate more of a snack or light meal. Not exactly your hearty American breakfast.

NY from Atop

Some scenic NY shots. I don’t think you could point a camera at this environment and not have some nice looker photos.

Midtown Buildings

Daytime around midtown.

40th Floor Tricycle

Someone’s kid has their own patio space to bike around. This was 40+ floors up. Kind of dangerous?

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir

Overlooking the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir (aka Central Park).

Guggenheim Museum

View of the museum across the reservoir.

Midtown at Night

Aside from the watermark and resizing, none of these images were altered in any way.

Midtown Sunset

This is a view of the Hudson River (from NY to NJ).

Hudson River Dock

A close up of the Hudson River docking area.

Collecting Useless

This post is about the human nature to collect/hoard imaginary points that have very little possibility of benefit. For example, there are Xbox achievements, PSN trophies (a copy of said achievements), Foursquare badges, points (from any web 2.0 website), etc. It’s fair to say that no person needs these things.

The are many possible reasons a person chooses to earn a virtual score: 1.) self-esteem, 2.) social signalling, 3.) point redemption, 4.) site loyalty, and so on.

  1. Self-esteem
    After investing so much time in an environment (Xbox, Foursquare, etc), a person wants to feel like they have accomplished something. If a person has a high user score or rank to show for it, a person can validate their time spent in an environment with a high standing. See level 80 WoW characters.
  2. Social signalling
    Similar to #1 above, a person wants to have a high rank to show off to others. For example in PSN, a person can compare their trophies against their friends. This is a direct 1-to-1 rights to brag feature, where a person can see how many trophies they earned over their friend, and vice-versa. This is known as e-peen on the internet.
  3. Point-redemption
    In certain environments, a person can take points that they earn and redeem them for actual goods. This makes earned points more useful. For example in Club Nintendo, a person earns coins that they can use to redeem for Nintendo merchandise. In other environments, a person is able to redeem points for special features like premium avatars or a better title.
  4. Site loyalty
    With any point program,  a person has a further incentive to keep using the site. They’ve already built up some points, so why would they want to throw that advantage away? By rewarding users for continuing to visit, this drives traffic and revenue (directly or indirectly). Think of Foursquare giving a person points each time they check in at a location. As a Foursquare member who has superuser status, why would that person want to give that all up?

So there are many reasons a person would have to earn points.

Part of human nature is being rational. Being rational entails preparing for the future. So in an effort to be in a better future position, a person may opt to earn points on as many web services as possible. Who knows what is going to be the next Wikipedia or Twitter? If a person was involved early on, they could have been a Wikipedia moderator or gotten many Twitter followers. Yes, most people don’t think like this, but among technology early adopters, this mentality is more prevalent. Finding and using the next cool web service (ala Facebook) before everyone else did is a sure-fire way to increase their e-peen.

In a situation where a person has two choices: 1.) get points or 2.) get no points, a rational person will choose #1 every time. It’s human nature to collect things, store them, and wring some benefit out of it when possible. Even if there is a 0% chance of benefit to having points, it’s likely that a person would want to get points for the sake of it. In video games, earning points and leveling up is addictive for the sake of it.

It makes sense to earn points with credit cards that have conclusive future rewards. It may make sense to earn points in a video game where the only possible future benefit is virtually nil. People simply like getting things in our materialistic society where most people have the basics (food, shelter, clothing, etc.). When a person and their circle of friends don’t have to worry about food, what can help distinguish them from everyone else? Number of Facebook friends? Joining Twitter before Oprah did? Listening to such and such indie rock band before they hit mainstream and sell out?

I write this because I am addicted to PSN trophies, Foursquare badges, and get so focused on this BS aspect. When you play games and are no longer having fun just to earn an achievement, it is BS and you have no one else to blame but yourself.