Mexicans at the 7-11

Back when I was ten years old living in Sacramento, I saw women walking around on the streets of Stockton Boulevard. When cars pulled to the curb, the women walked over to the passenger side window, leaned in, and usually got in the car. I learned later that they were earning a tax-free living.

About the same time, I started earning money raking leaves in the neighborhood (tax free.) Sometimes after I got paid, I would go to the 7-11 on Broadway to buy Captain America or Spider Man comic books and get a Slurpee. It became my favorite store at an early age.

That was in 1986.

Fast forward to 2010. We do not have 7-11's where I lived in Kansas, but they are here in New York. I still like to go to 7-11, but now it is for a fountain soda of Dr. Pepper. Fountain Dr. Pepper is like crack to me.



Anyway, the closest 7-11 to our apartment is at the corner of 15th Avenue and 65th Street here in Brooklyn. Every time I go there are always a dozen or more Mexicans loitering around the parking lot.

I wondered why this could be. I had suspicions but decided I would wait a few months to be able to see the story unfold. One time I saw a van with Chinese writing pull over and drop several off. Another time I watched as several of them piled into the back of a U-haul.

And today confirmed everything, I think. I was driving to drop Jenn off at the Subway station at 62nd street at about eight in the morning. There were at least two dozen of them lining both sides of the street near the 7-11, where we were waiting for the light. The temperature was around 20 degrees and it was really windy. Not the worst conditions, but it seemed a little harsh to be standing on the street corner.

Suddenly, two of them started sprinting about a hundred yards down the sidewalk toward an SUV that had just pulled over on the opposite side of the road. One of them leaned into the window, a discussion ensued, and both men hopped into the SUV and it drove off. I laughed out loud as it reminded me of the Stockton Boulevard ladies earning their tax-free living.

Some people who read this will not find this funny. And in some ways it isn't. But don't think anybody is trying to do anything about it. They are out there all day, EVERY day. They were even there on Thanksgiving. Today as I was driving back home, there was an NYPD squad car in the parking lot of the 7-11. I looked around to observe the whole picture. They did not flinch that he was there, and he seemed to pay no attention to them.

America is the land of opportunity, are you seizing yours?

Carnegie Deli

Let me start this one off by saying we should have taken pictures of our meals. But man they looked so good I couldn't think to do anything but eat it! I didn't even think of it until I was looking at the pictures from our trip to the Carnegie Deli.

We stepped off the train and located the restaurant. Here is the view outside of the deli.



With this photo you get a sense of the line in which we were about to wait.



There are many places that claim to be the world's best in New York. Soon we would find out if the Carnegie Deli was one of them.



Looking around we could see the New Year's ball in the distance. We can only hope we don't have to stand this far away on New Year's Eve.



Large cheesecakes topped with strawberries make our mouth water in the display case. Look closely and you can see Jenn taking the picture.



This is not the best picture but inside you can see the Carnegie Deli Way sign along with the hanging salami sticks.



Once inside, they have people directing traffic and they sit people at the same table as other folks making for a cozy meal. Lining the walls are autographed photos of a great variety of celebrities. We sat down next to a couple from Dallas that comes to New York every year. The man said he orders the pastrami every year so I figured I couldn't go wrong with that. Jenn went with a chicken sandwich. The same couple also offered us a bite of their enormous Fifth avenue pie. Jenn tried it and said it was amazing.

The food arrived and the pastrami was everything I could have imagined. It was simply two slices of bread and pastrami layered about ten stories high. It did not need anything else, but I added their famous mustard, and it was the best mustard I have ever tasted. Jenn seconded my sentiments. My mouth is watering thinking about that sandwich again.

The Carnegie Deli is the greatest deli I have ever been to and a must try if you visit New York.

Radio City Rockettes

Christmas time in New York is touted as the greatest time of year. And nothing says Christmas in New York like the Radio City Rockettes. The show is in its seventy-sixth year and we had to make it part of our New York experience. The pictures are mostly from before and after because flashes were not allowed inside, and we were too enamored by the show to take pictures anyway.

Here is a window outside Radio City.



The line to get in.



Merchandise for sale inside Radio City Music Hall.



A picture of one of the staircases.



Isn't she cute?



Statue located inside the Hall.



Ye olde phone booth.



View back down to the Lobby floor.



The stage from our seats. We had the front row of the third mezzanine.



This four level piano was belting out Christmas tunes before the show.



After this was where we couldn't take any pictures. The orchestra stage rose out of the floor and the show began. There was a 3D opening showing Santa flying through some of the main sights of New York City such as the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and on into the Radio City Music Hall. There were a total of twelve scenes and our favorite was easily the Toy Soldiers, and this is one that has been around the longest. The ladies also performed a tap dancing rendition to the twelve days of Christmas that was breathtaking. The show ended with a nativity scene for the ages. We were in awe of the whole show, and if you are in New York for the holidays, you have to come see this.

A Family Affair

All K-Staters know about the family atmosphere in Manhattan, Kansas. The football stadium is called the Bill Snyder Family Stadium and was done so because Bill Snyder views K-State as a family. Frank Martin has brought another family atmosphere to the basketball team and is seemingly beloved by the community as much as Snyder is.

So when a friend told me about a pizza place owned by Coach Martin's sister in Brooklyn, I was excited to give it a try.

Below is a picture of the outside taken with my phone.



LaylaJones is a small restaurant specializing in pizza, press, and pasta that seats between 20 and 25 people. When we entered the establishment on 214 Court Street, it was busy inside. We took the last seats and took a look at the menu. On the back of the menu there is a description of the family and we found out the place is named after the owner's kids, which I concluded are Martin's Niece and Nephew.



We have been to many pizza places around New York but immediately saw this place was different. They sold pizza by the slice and offered carry-out and delivery like the rest, but the food we saw being brought to the tables looked like a step above. We ordered 2 slices of pizza and a CalJones.

One slice was a Margherita which is fresh mozzarella, plum tomato and fresh basil. The other one was the Fresh Farmer which has fresh mushrooms, sweet onions, plum tomato and green peppers. The CalJones is their name for a calzone made out of homemade pesto, foccacia bread stuffed with ingredients and baked in the pizza oven. We chose the Chicken, Spinach and Mozzarella combination.

As we waited for our meal, the owner (Coach's brother-in-law) noticed the K-State polo I was wearing. He asked if I went to K-state and of course I said I did. We began talking K-State basketball and I was blown away by how much this fan from Brooklyn knew about the Cats! He then told me that there are several converted Cats fans in the neighborhood and they sometimes gather to watch at a local bar called Cody's Ale House.

The food arrived and the pizza truly had fresh veggies on it. Most places use canned vegetables, so we were pleasantly surprised. The CalJones was about twice the size we expected and we dug into our feast. After tasting the food, I asked for a small cup of pizza sauce for crust dipping. The employee brought me a soup-sized bowl of sauce with parmesan and basil sprinkled over the top of it. It's hard to find places that go the extra mile like this.

We thoroughly enjoyed our food and looking back, should not have been surprised that a family member of Coach Martin owns a place that brings its A game.

Thanksgiving Day Parade

Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday. Food, football, family, friends, and fun have been a staple of this day for years. But there is one tradition that I always tried to avoid, and that was watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It began when I was a kid and Mom would watch the parade pointing out floats she thought we would like. When I felt I was "too old" for the parade, I just told them to let me know when it was over so I could watch football.

Wouldn't you know that I am engaged to a girl who loves the parade as much as Mom did? And since we are in New York, that meant we had to go see it in person.

We began the morning on the Subway and rode it from our place in Brooklyn to 59th Street in Manhattan. It is amazing to us how much nicer the Subway stations are near Times Square than everywhere else.

After exiting the Subway, we surfaced onto the street where there were thousands of people lining the parade route. It is suggested that people watch the parade from 61st through 72nd St to get the best view. It is far away from the media and craziness of Times Square, so that is where we went.

I wanted to get Jenn a good view and a place to take many pictures, so we began checking out streets and they were all severely crowded. I noticed that across the street in Central Park didn't seem to be as crowded, so I made it a mission to cross the parade route and find a place to watch at Central Park. We would have to go past 77th St to pull it off, which is where the parade began. These guys were everywhere keeping the crowds under control.



As we searched for our opportunity, we found a street where some of the balloons were waiting their entry into the parade.



It was 9:00 and the parade had begun. While we missed the beginning, we found another treat. Gladys Night was smiling beautifully as a fan snapped a photo.



The Daily News Float prepares for its departure.



We found our opportunity to cross. The police barriers were no match and Jenn snapped an opportune photo.



Here we are weaving our way through one of the bands as they wait to enter the parade.



Kung Fu Panda enters the parade at 77th St.



We finally found a place where Jenn could see. I had to help her climb over a wall and then help her balance on it, but it provided for a good view of Shrek.



I couldn't see behind the bleachers where she was standing so we climbed back down the wall and walked up to 67th Street and made our way through the crowd to find a place to watch the rest of the parade. The view wasn't as good from the front side of the floats and balloons, but it was the best we could do.

Spidey does his best to clear the trees.



Oh Yeah!



Still going!



Below you can get an idea of the crowd in front of us, across the street, and even in the buildings.



Santa rose up and excited the crowd as his sleigh brought up the rear.



The final three balloons follow Santa.



After the parade passes, people disperse and begin walking down Central Park West, following the parade.



The cops are trying to close off the streets and sections are blocked off. Before being asked to leave, children play in the shredded paper used to simulate snow.



The end of the parade for us happened at around 11:00, about an hour before Santa arrived at Macy's and in your living rooms.

Pastry Week

Jenn just finished her favorite week at school so far. As a result I have been inundated with baked sweets and it makes me long for one of her many cheesecakes. For those of you who have had any of her creations from Nini Cakes, you know what I am talking about.

The week began with cakes and Jenn brought home this masterpiece:



It was a vanilla cake made with whole wheat pastry flower, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, coconut oil, maple syrup, water, vanilla, apple cider and vinegar. The carob coconut frosting consisted of unsweetened coconut milk, agar flakes, sea salt, vanilla, maple syrup, and carob powder. In addition to the visible decorations of strawberries and edible flowers, the cake packed a powerful fruit explosion on the inside with two layers of cherry filling. And to top it off, it was all vegan, which means there was no eggs, butter or milk used.

Next on the list was pies and everyone in the class made apple gallete on Wednesday. On Thursday, the students drew to see what pies they would bake. Jenn drew the classic pumpkin. Both recipes were considered standard with exception to the vegan crust. In this case, it was made with coconut oil instead of butter. Below is a picture of the many pies baked to perfection by the students on Thursday.



The week of class ended on Friday with gluten-free baking. The students made a wide variety of desserts such as muffins, cakes, tarts, scones and cookies.

After the gluten-free class, Jenn wrapped up the week by helping prepare the Friday Night Dinner. Every Friday the Natural Gourmet Institute puts on these dinners for forty dollars per person. It is a three course vegetarian meal that is planned and prepared by guest chefs, school instructors or the students themselves. Each student is required to work two dinners during their course to aid others before helping to plan and prepare their own as part of a final project. In this case, Jenn helped the class that will graduate ahead of her in preparing their dinner project.

The menu was planned over a month in advance. Each table was stocked with bowls of marinated olives with lemon and herbs and each patron received a scarlet elixir for drink.

The first course of the meal was an arugula and watercress salad with grilled fennel, ruby navel oranges, spiced pecans and citrus vinaigrette.

Second came the main course consisting of autumn vegetable polenta strata, sauteed rainbow chard, lemon trouffle brussel sprouts, roasted herbed carrots, and shiitake mushroom sauce.

Sweet cranberry tart with vanilla bean cashew cream, dark chocolate ganache and cranberry reduction capped the evening.

The sample plates of the nights creations:



Once Jenn was finished with her service, she brought me some of the food to try. The carrots were sensational and the autumn vegetable polenta strata resembled lasagna in texture, and the flavor was excellent. I will now spend the weekend curing my sugar cravings with all of the baked goods she brought home.