I would have to agree with Yelp.com

This week, I tried two cheap eateries based on my cravings and reviews on Yelp.com.  I'm not actually a member and I can't remember how I first came across the website, but I visit Yelp.com from time to time to read reviews about businesses, mainly food establishments.

After having banh mi twice last month, I was craving the sandwich.  At first, I was going to try Baoguette on St. Marks Place*, but after reading reviews that referred to Banh Mi Saigon in Chinatown, I decided to try it out.  I've actually walked by this place several times, as it's on Mott Street.  Just as people said, the establishment is a jewelry store in the front, and the food service is in the back.  The Yelpers didn't lie when they said there's really no clear line.  After being unsure at first, I finally made eye contact with the man taking orders and requested #1, the pork sandwich.  He asked if I wanted it spicy.  I said, "Not spicy!"  He told me my order number, and I only had to wait a few minutes, and he just motioned me to come forward when it was ready instead of calling my number.  For $3.75, the sandwich was very satisfying -- I actually couldn't finish both halves.  The bread was tasty and just the right amount of chewy.  The fillings were delicious.  Would I get it again?  Most likely yes, but not all the time.  Essentially you buy the sandwiches there, but there are no tables and chairs -- just benches for waiting for your order.

Last month I had dinner with Alexa in Soho.  Before we met up, I wandered around the area because I arrived a little early.  I came across this pizza place selling Roman-style pizza.  I stopped to look inside the windows and made a promise to myself that I'd return.  When I was with Rome with Mom and Dad, we tried pizza in a couple different places.  I can still remember how much I loved the rectangular piece of pizza with delicious, delicious potatoes as the topping.  Yes, potatoes!  Well, I haven't made good on my promise yet, mainly because I forgot the name of the place and haven't been able to find it online.  I plan to just wander around Soho again one of these days and I'm sure I'll find it.

In my quest for cheap eats, today I decided to try 2 Bros Pizza on St. Marks Place.  Yelpers said the best thing about it was that it's a $1 per slice, but there's not much more to it.  I was really hungry by the time I walked to St. Marks Place from Seventh Avenue and 12th Street, where I got off the 1 train.  Once again, the Yelpers didn't lie.  It was okay but nothing special.  But yay for only spending $1.  Would I get 2 Bros Pizza again?  Eh, not the plain.  I would want to try the mushroom slice, which is $1.50.

*Is it "St. Marks Place" with or without an apostrophe?  I've seen it without in many places, but I'm always tempted to put an apostrophe there.  Sigh.

Al(l)i in the Jungle

Are you there, Blog?  It's me, Allison.  I have decided to resurrect this blog.  A chain of events has led to this decision.  I won't go into all the details, just today's chain...


On Facebook, I saw a posting from Lifehouse that I could listen to all tracks from their new album, Smoke & Mirrors, on their MySpace page.  What a great album!  I wish I could buy it, but I am on a strict financial budget right now.  So thankfully, I can listen to the new songs for free when I'm online.


Listening to new music made me think of my most recent song obsession, which is "Ali in the Jungle" by The Hours.  I actually didn't know the title of the song and the band's name until I looked it up today, but if you've been watching the Olympics, then you've probably seen/heard the Nike commercial with the song where the lyrics go "Everybody gets knocked down.  Everybody gets knocked down.  How quick are you gonna get up?  How quick are you gonna get up?"


Those lyrics resonate within me.  The driving beat of the drum and brightness of the piano are inspiring and energetic.  I can't stop listening to "Ali in the Jungle."  The best part of the song isn't even in the Nike commercial, so check out the clip on MySpace... or watch the concert footage of The Hours on YouTube.  Ain't the Internet grand?  

Huh.

I need to stop believing that my world order revolves around the status of the dryers in my building. Seriously, when they stopped working last month, life was pretty rough. And then at least one of them was repaired last weekend, and all was well. Now they're all broken again, and things seem pretty dour again! Hmmmm... I guess it would help if I went downtown, but construction on the C line is affecting the A, and I really don't want to have to experience what I did yesterday. Too much transferring and waiting around. Maybe I should clean my room and apply some feng shui to things. I've been meaning to do that. Cross your fingers for those dryers.

A few months ago, it was cornbread

Now I'm craving suman. Mmmmmmmm... suman.

BRRRRRRR

My gawd, it was brutally cold today! Ugh. And to add ice-cold insult to injury, our office was also freezing. I wore my gloves as I typed on my computer. I tried thinking about the Philippines (riding in the motorized tricycle thingies) in my T-shirt, shorts and flip flops. Yeah, it didn't help much. :)

Back to (Broadway) Basics

I hadn't seen a show since January 13th... way too long in my book. I'm here for Broadway, baby. Wanted to get this week off to the right start and saw Hairspray. Ashley Parker Angel wasn't in today's matinee, but the understudy was great! Sounded like a Link to me. Had a fun time laughing and wishing I could actually dance. Diana DeGarmo was fantastic as Penny. She's leaving the show next Sunday. Guess who her replacement is. Just guess! Alexa Vega from Spy Kids! Huh. (Janice is probably laughing while remembering my Spanish homework assignment about Carmen y Juni.) Well, it turns out that I may have to return to Hairspray later this year, for APA and AV.

Miranda moment

Yes, indeed, I think I may have had a "Sex and the City" moment earlier this week when I had an $18 hamburger at Joe's Pub. Meghan and I went to see Erin McKeown, a very versatile and talented musician, perform. I swear there's an episode of SatC where they talk about how expensive hamburgers are in Manhattan. Somebody tell me I'm not making it up?

I can't sleep!

I think it's because I had an extended nap on the subway train a couple hours ago! Might as well catch up on things online.

Saw Dreamgirls with Keith and some of his friends from volleyball. Such a good movie. I'm glad I watched it again!

It snowed this morning! At first, as I was walking along W. 40th Street between 7th and 8th Avenue, I got really mad because I thought somebody's disgusting cigarette ash things were getting all over me. Then more snow started to surround the air, and I got really happy. :) Snooooow!! Not enough to stick but just enough to put me in a good mood before work.

I needed to buy some cards anyway...

... now I'll just make sure to go to Hallmark to get this Josh Groban CD. Oh, those marketers are good...

From FOJG:
Hallmark CD
If you haven't heard Josh put out a Hallmark CD for Valentines Day. The album is only available at Hallmark Gold Crown Stores and is titled 'With You'. This exclusive album has two never before heard tracks and is a must have for a Josh fan. Head over to your local Hallmark Gold Crown store or check Hallmark.com for more details.

Here's looking at you, 2006

Surprisingly, this didn't turn into a big rambling entry! Just a couple lists that capture a lot of things previously blogged.

Top 10 Highlights of the Year

1. Landing my job at TMG – The Marketing Group

2. Moving to New York City

3. Reconnecting with friends through MySpace and Facebook

4. Setting a new record for the number of musicals seen in one year (see below)

5. Visiting the Philippines for the first time

6. Seeing Anna Nalick in concert twice and meeting her twice

7. Working for Pacific Northwest Ballet as a media relations assistant and watching more ballet than I ever have before

8. Going to New York in May for informational interviews and meeting really cool people in what is now my industry

9. Writing original songs after being inspired by professional musicians, musicals and books

10. Seeing my name in a Broadway Playbill

The Year in Numbers

240: the number of times the song listened to the most on my iPod/iTunes, "Home," has played (acquired this track in early 2006 from Anna Nalick's special CD released in Australia)

20: books read (5 short of my goal for the year)

29: the number of musicals I saw this year (shatters the previous one-year record of 15)

Rockefeller Center

Got to take a picture of the Christmas tree last weekend before attending the Drowsy Chaperone holiday party. :)

I am so there (part 2... or the prequel I guess!)

Josh Groban
Awake Tour
February 24, 2007
United Center

:)

Some things you can't explain

I have developed a craving for cornbread and honey over the last five minutes. But this craving will go unsatisfied because I don't have ingredients to make cornbread nor would I know how to make it if I did. Oh, and my dinner will consist of tomato soup because I don't have anything else to eat and it's too cold to make a run to the grocery. Such is life.

Cornbread and honey... mmmmm. I can almost taste it now. Almost.

Ay ay ay, it's cold outside

High of 33 today. Last night, as my roommate and I were walking to the subway station from Studio 54 -- where The Apple Tree starring Kristin Chenoweth plays -- the cold winds were brutal. Today is the arctic blast the weather people kept talking about on TV earlier this week. Yikes!

Didn't have my performance review yesterday. But I had a nice lunch meeting!!

...

I think I'm sick. My stomach's been bothering me all day, and I get an itchy cough sometimes. I tried to take off as early as possible after Alexa finished her concert tonight. And now I'm home, and really I just want to rest and rest and not go to work tomorrow. But alas, I have to go to work tomorrow. Performance review rescheduled.

Anyway, Alexa was amazing. She even gave a shout out to the Cabellon girls who moved to New York. :)

OK, I'm going to bed.

14,782

That's how many steps I walked Saturday when I was wearing my new pedometer. :) Went to Target and downtown twice.

Yay, laundry, yay!

So doing laundry has become a weekly routine for me. I do my best to get as many quarters as I can in change over the week. Ha ha.

I'm blogging about laundry because my apartment building finally got new washers and dryers! We used to have two washers, but one was broken before I even moved in. So with one working washer, things were a little crazy. Now we have THREE washers! YAY! The price has increased by a quarter. However, on the dryers (up to three now as well!), you can put one quarter in at a time instead of giving up 5 in one fell swoop.

I'm pretty happy about it all. Ooh, gotta go put my clothes in the dryer now.

I am so there

Josh Groban
Awake Tour
March 12, 2007
Madison Square Garden

:)

My New Wallpaper!

The downside of DVR

I wasn't particularly busy Wednesday night, but for some reason I didn't watch "Lost" when it was on. I just let DVR do its thing.

Didn't watch it Thursday night because I was at the opening-night party of Grey Gardens.

Didn't watch it Friday night because I helped volunteer for Broadway Cares, collecting money at Mamma Mia.

Friday evening, though, everything was ruined when I started to flip through the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, which unfortunately spoiled the episode. Surprise ruined.

Oh well. I'm sure I'll watch it eventually.