Whenever I recommend a Chinatown restaurant, I feel obligated to remind the reader that this is C-town so don’t expect good service. The Shanghainese food joint New Green Bo is no exception. In fact, it can even define C-town service. On the other hand, it also epitomizes the typical no nonsense, hole in the wall that serves up delicious food. At first glance of the 100 plus items on the New Green Bo menu is completely overwhelming. Go for what made this joint famous: the steamed dumplings. Many patrons swear by the pork or the crab, but the vegetable ones are just as excellent. An order makes a good appetizer for a large group, but can be an entire meal for a couple. Give the greasy fried scallion pancakes a try as well. If there is still a bit of room left in the stomach, order a plate of mei fun for the table. Stir-fried just right, it’s one of the finer mei fun in all of Chinatown.

New Green Bo, 66 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013
[photo by: The Amateur Gourmet]

The burning desire to move out of my New York is nearing a fever pitch as of late. We’ve always had the desire to pack up and go, but no other place in US was all that appealing to us. Ideally, we’d would become expats in some far off island or in an Asian metropolis. It’s almost reverse migration. Most folks leave home to head to NYC for work, excitement, or starting a new life. Having lived here all our lives, the city doesn’t hold this sense of liberation for us. Frankly, it’s a bit tiresome to see the same subway cars, buildings, and skylines every single day. San Francisco was fun but not for us, Philly is too close, Boston is… well Boston is Boston. We hear Portland, Oregon is slamming, but the job market there is rather thin. The midwest isn’t our cup of tea either. Now we’re considering Seattle. No, it’s not for the grunge history, but we’ve been hearing some great things from a pal who just moved there.

It’s a slower pace city than NY with decent job prospects. The State of Washington seems quite progressive being the only State that had a governor of Chinese descent. Seattle is ethnically diverse. Of course, the proximity to the lush natural environment will give us change of scenery from the current daily pavement. So off we go to drop in and check up on our pal and check out the city. In about 3 weeks, it’s off to the Pacific Northwest we go.

[skyline photo by: kenofseattle/flickr]
[public market photo by: sárah/flickr]

Oh bless you Mud Truck! You giant orange former bread truck, how I love thee. I gravitate to you like children running to Mr. Softee parked in front of a playground in the summertime. You’ve spared me the embarrassment of paying almost 2 bucks for my 3pm fix. You’ve spared me from having to deal with the douchebags at Porto Rico. You’ve given me hope, and a swift caffeinated kick in the ass to get through the work day. Oh Mud Truck… will you do me the honor of getting a spot in midtown around the East 30s? You will make the happiest person in the world.

[Mud Coffee]
[photo by: wallyg/flickr]

Indie rock and baseball goes hand in hand. There’s always Brewers banter at The Promise Ring shows. Yo La Tengo are openly proud Mets fans. And of course, the hipster softball games at McCarren Park. Now the Hold Steady does a rendition “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” with some props to their beloved Twins.

[Photo & MP3 from Stereogum]

I enjoy the going to the Y to exercise my ass off, but it does come at a price. Now I think I might be able to cancel the gym membership if I get the one of these Hawaii Chairs. It’s only 6 easy payments of $70/month. Check out the video on the right on the site.

When Iben dropped me a line to head to Woodside for Thai food, I was somewhat disappointed at the choice of cuisine since I had dinner a couple days ago. He made a point that it’s imperative for us to show up by 6pm for dinner, and promised the most outstanding Thai food this side of Bangkok. So sure, why not? If for no other reason to drop by Woodside, good food is good enough for me to go. We got to the
Sripraphai a little after 6, and the place was already packed. It reminded me a bit of the old Planet Thai in Willy’B. The 1 hour wait for a table for 4 gave us plenty of time to peruse and drool over the extensive menu. It’s not just pad thai and red curry. We skipped the usual pad thai and curry and opted for a fried snapper (with the head attached), spicy beef kebabs, curried tofu, chinese vegetables, and shrimp noodles. You can get thai food almost anywhere in town, just not this kind of thai food.

[Sripraphai: 6413 39th Ave (Between 64th Street and 65th Street)
Woodside, NY 11377]
[photo by: foodite]