Hunters Point in Long Island City

The inner borough community of Hunters Point defines the Long Island City image of traditional working class neighborhoods and warehouse districts that have become havens for Manhattan-centric tower-dwellers. Just one stop off Grand Central Terminal on the 7 train, I ascended into Hunters Point from the Vernon Boulevard/Jackson Avenue station at 50th Street. A variety of inviting restaurants includes the cozy Tuk Tuk Thai(having scooted from its former location in Brooklyn), Waterfront Crabhouse, several Asian fusion joints, pizzerias, pubs, and so forth. In warmer weather, the young-and-entitled gather at Water Taxi Beach to play.
One standout is Café Henri, a Queens outpost of the West Village bistro featuring light French fare. The atmosphere is cast with distressed ochre walls and high-backed benches around the walls, with small tables and wicker café chairs about. Their Le Petit Dejeuner menu has fresh croissants and eggs Benedict with salmon. I sampled the Saucisse Pimentee – brown crepe wedges filled with spicy sausage and a mixed green salad with a sharp cheese vinaigrette served up by the attractive waitress du jour, Lydie.
Visit Hunters Point for the food, the galleries, or to stroll the waterfront and its spectacular mid-town views.

Tags:   french, hunters point, long island city, queens, thai, water taxi

TwoWheeler on Eyewitness News, Monday Feb. 22

WABC-TVs Tim Fleischer just left my office after an interview about older Americans searching for work. (older American at 46? Hrumpf.) Anyhow, it was a terrific interview and may air on Eyewitness News on Monday, February 22 in the 5:30 to 6 p.m. segment. It was a good opportunity to pitch the 5 O’Clock Club, a career coaching and outplacement service that has been central in my ongoing job search.
As it happens, I’m not currently unemployed, which is why I’ve been absent from posting since the holidays. (Hopefully I’ll correct that.) In fact, my day job at Staten Island’s Project Hospitality has been a great experience, heading up their Tax Prep Plus program for the NYC Dept. of Consumer Affairs, which provides inexpensive tax services to low-income earners at 3 locations here on Staten Island, as well as in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. And when I’m not saving money for countless New Yorkers, I moonlight selling luggage to tourists nine stories above Herald Square (stop by and pick up that nice Tumi suiter anytime).
This project takes me through April, so if you need a soulless flack to carry out your evil spin (for a good cause, preferably), please feel free to drop me a line.

Tags:   brooklyn, flack, macys, project hospitality, staten island, tumi, wabc

Facebook? My NYC.com blog is on Blog Networks

If you are a FACEBOOK user, you can follow my NYC.com "Outer Limits: Blogging in the Boroughs" using the Blog Network application. 

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American Buffalo Stampedes onto Broadway

David Mamet’s play, "American Buffalo,” takes plays in a dusty curio shop filled with the material culture of our nation. A cacophony of useless minutia is strewn across the set in a microcosm of society. Likewise, the language of the marginal losers who inhabit this world is filled with empty rhetoric made poignant by desperation. The ill-thought plans of the characters form a conspiracy of fools wallowing in their own clichés. Like Mamet’s other play currently in revival, “Speed the Plow,” the action is centered around the bantering of three scoundrels pursuing an elusive American dream.
John Leguizamo storms across the stage as Walter “Teacher” Cole like the Q-Train barreling into Times Square and dominating the scene with hyperactive rawness. Meanwhile, Cedric – the actor, as shop owner Donny Dubrow, grounds the play, punctuating the dialogue with the terse, understated comeback. Youthful Haley Joel Osment (Bobby) holds his own among the titans, as a scruffy apprentice scum, tempest-tossed in despair and longing for acceptance.
I envy the set designers who must have had a ball scouring countless Salvation Armies, yard sales and their neighbor’s curbs on bulk pick up day for decayed Americana. The set takes a beating, and some props ended up in the audience. The script is tight, uncensored and very witty. The off-stage plot is difficult to follow, which is not surprising since the characters are as clueless about the real world truth as the audience. The wisdom of the night is when Teacher declares in sincere-yet-ironic terms: “one thing matters above all the rest – know what you’re talking about.”

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An evening with Mamet

If you get the chance to see David Mamet’s “American Buffalo” at the Belasco Theatre, stampede over for an evening of great theatre. John Leguizamo is a force to be reckoned with onstage and Cedric, the Entertainer (now Cedric, the Actor?) grounds the show with confidence. Follow the link to read my full review: American Buffalo.
Also check out my take on Jean Claude Baker’s tribute to dear old mom, Josephine Baker, at the very Parisian Chez Josephine.

Tags:   broadway, cedric, chez josephine, jean claude baker, josephine baker, leguizamo, mamet, play