Gramercy Tavern

My cousins Grace and Patrick treated Penny and I to a very nice lunch today.  So yummy.  The better pics were taken by Patrick, lol.  Tomorrow night we'll hit Momofuku.  Miss Audrey Allure and Andres will be coming along with us.

 On the way to the train we saw this funny little snowman.  Makes me want to make one in our front yard as well... hehe.  Is that a cigarette?

 Here we are!

Shot of the front glass.

Shot from the inside.

Menu

Hmm, what to have....

Penny says, "One measly piece of bread!?!"

Kathleen says, "Don't be greedy."

Patrick agrees.

Hmm, everything looks so good.

Still can't decide.

Patrick documenting for his blog.

Grace orders the Ginger Swizzle, Patrick ordered the Lemon Thyme Tonic of which I didn't take a picture.  I was too involved in trying to decide what to have for lunch.

I decided on the Calamari and Carrot Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts and Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette

Penny's appetizer:  Red King Crab with Sunchokes and Apples

Patrick's appetizer:  Red Kuri Squash Soup with Brussel Sprouts and Apples

Grace had the Cauliflower with Red Quinoa, Prunes, and Peanuts

For my entrée I had the Sea Bass with Squash, Pumpkin Seeds and Currants

Penny opted for the Pork Croquette with Red Cabbage, Aji Dulce Peppers and Spiced Port Sauce

Patrick ordered the savory Braised Lamb Shoulder with Heirloom Beans, Wild Mushrooms and Brussel Sprouts

And finally Grace, a girl after my own heart, had the Roasted Hanger Steak with Fingerling Potatoes, Red Russian Kale and Bourbon Sauce

I had a cappuccino with my dessert...

My dessert being the Warm Chocolate Bread Pudding served with Cacao Nib Ice Cream

Penny chose the Sticky Toffee Fig Cake and Coffee Ice Cream, which she said tasted more figgy than toffee'y, lol.

Grace ordered the Dried Cherry Cheesecake with Black Pepper Butter Cookie and Cherry Lemon Sorbet

Finally Patrick's dessert, Peanut Butter Semifreddo with Chocolate Macaroon.

Since we ordered coffee to go with our desserts we were served some petits fours with it.  I can't remember what they were but the round ones in the middle are peanut butter something or other with a crisp shell covered in chocolate.  The Squares had an orange peel something or other and the other lighter color ones were some type of macaroon.  So yummy.

I had a wonderful time with my sister and cousins.  I recommend lunch or even dinner here for something nice.  I wouldn't recommend it for an everyday lunch thing but for a special occasion it's really nice. 

Dad Workin' the Snowplow

The tree is in the way but you can see dad pushing the snow into the neighbor's yard.

Shoe Odor Remediator

Hmm, I think I know a few people that might benefit from this... hehehe.

Shoe Odor Remediator: "

Wear a pair of shoes for the entire day while making 10,000 steps, and you can be sure that the pair would stink the moment you take it off – not to mention your socks which would probably be able to smell enough to send Osama bin Laden packing from whatever rat hole he is hiding in. Good thing we have modern technology like the Shoe Odor Remediator which helps lessen the negative impact of your shoes’ smell, relying on UVC-light, a similar technology used to sanitize hospital surfaces, to eliminate 99.99% of the bacteria which causes unpleasant odors in shoes. Forget about sprays and powders that merely mask odors, the UVC light is capable of penetrating bacterial membranes, impairing their DNA, and killing the microorganisms which cause unpleasant smells and athlete’s foot. Not only that, the UVC light does not leave residue and it reaches into shoe crevices that sustain germ vitality, quite unlike chemical cleaning agents. The sanitizers can easily be slipped inside the footwear and sanitize the shoes in just 45 minutes, being powered by an included AC adapter. Just make sure you have placed the order for the right size before parting with $129.95 for this!

Sunshine Buddies

I can't believe these things are still so popular! They are cute though.

Sunshine Buddies: "

When it comes to toys or compact electrical equipment, there is always the issue of batteries. Surely parents who had kids in the late 1980s and early 1990s would have realized just how much money they have pumped in to sustain their child’s Game Boy habit? Well, good thing the advent of solar powered technology has changed the landscape by quite a bit – today, we have the Sunshine Buddies which retail for £9.99, coming in an extremely cute design by nodding his head (or should we say, it’s? ) as long as he/it receives enough sunlight. Supposedly meant to induce a very calming effect, the Sunshine Buddies would make for a decent gift for someone whom you want to reach out to, never mind that Christmas day is over – you can still give out gifts regardless of what day of the year it is, right? These have been around in Japan for quite some time already, and is starting to spread its own brand of happiness around the world as well.

De Ja Vu

I took a similar pic last year...

k@t

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Wow! Just overnight! Who would've guessed...

I hear in Jersey there's about 2 feet...

k@t

Christmas 2010

Christmas was at Miss Audrey Allure's house again this year.  Auntie Amel & Co., Grace, and Patrick were there as well.  It was a nice time.  Of course Penny is home for the holidays.  Good food and good company.

Computer Guru

So PY had come to NY with a wireless connection issue. Everyone was trying to fix the wireless network adapter. Sometimes the simplest of people can fix a problem without looking too much into it. Hehe. It was just a matter of turning the wireless antenna back on. Damn Dell laptops. Make everything so complicated.

There's the culprit.  Apparently there's a wifi button on there that turns itself off when the battery goes into critical mode.  Why it doesn't turn itself off when it the battery is back, I have no idea.

Just a little side story, at work I'm supposedly the resident tech person. Every time something goes wrong with the computer they call me and I just stand next to it, for some reason it just starts working again. Too funny. So now it's just a running joke. All I have to do is "look" at the computer and it works.

Christmas photos to come in the next post.

k@t

Kackel Dackel is the crappy toy for this holiday (double meaning here)

Haha! This is hilarious!

Kackel Dackel is the crappy toy for this holiday (double meaning here): "

This toy is made for those parents who can’t get their kid to clean up after their dog. Yes, Kackel Dackel makes a game out of it.

I’m not certain of the rules of this game, but you can see in the attached video after the jump how some kids stuff clay into a Dachshund’s mouth only to have it clump out like a Play-Doh toy. I’m not certain what the object is, but it comes with some appropriate shovels.

Just to let you know, the video is in German, and it is pretty funny. I have no idea what Kackel Dackel tranlsates to, but if you know, please feel free to leave a comment.

You know what is really strange? I can totally see kids wanting this crappy gift. Just like Donnie Darko always regretted not getting Hungry Hungry Hippos, some kid is going to have a terrible Christmas because they didn’t receive a Kackel Dackel.

This toy reminds me of a Hasbro creation in the early eighties known as My Puppy Puddles. I still remember the jingle: “My Puppy Puddles, yes he loves to drink his water. My Puppy Puddles only puddles when he oughta.” Yes, it was a toy where a plastic puppy dog urinates. There was no game out of it.

Anyway, Kackel Dackel can be purchased on Amazon for about $46.

Source

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Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool

[ Kackel Dackel is the crappy toy for this holiday (double meaning here) copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Hello Kitty Hannibal Plush

Haha! Hilarious!

Hello Kitty Hannibal Plush: "

Since anyone living in Hello Kitty Hell knows never to underestimate the lengths that a Hello Kitty fantatic will go to create Hello Kitty tattoo combinations that will almost certainly haunt them (and us) for the rest of their lives, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some of these fanatics will take the horror they create a step further. While it’s obvious to anyone with even an ounce of sanity that the Hello Kitty Hannibal Lecter tattoo should have been the end (or rather, never even contemplated) of this evil feline mashup, we are talking about a Hello Kitty fanatic here. Thus, the obviousl next step was to create a Hello Kitty Hannibal Lecter plush:

Of course, the scary part of all this is that despite already having gone way past anything that makes a rational human being comfortable, this is not likely to be the end (although we all should hoping that Hello Kitty does eventually end up in these restraints). I am expecting to see Hello Kitty Hannibal Lecter standing proudly by Hello Kitty Darth Vader next October…

Left by Raquel Schleimer on facebook (via her website Monsterami)

Christmas time in Edison

That's Mike's Mom giving treats to the dogs...the dogs in sweaters....

k@t

Momofuku Baby!

 

The owner of the business that I work on the weekends invited me out to their "office holiday party." In quotes because there are only 2 other employees. Lol. Anyhow, we went to Momofuku. He reserved a table of 6 and ordered the roast pork shoulder it was so tender and yummy!

So you're supposed to take the lettuce leaves place the pieces of pork inside with the condiments and maybe some rice if that's your thing. Wrap place your raw oyster on top, then eat.

It was a good time, I get along with the people at my weekend job more so than my regular full time job. Sad but true.

I'll be going back here with my sister Penny and my cousins Grace and Patrick. That's if they make it here with all the snow and all that's going on over there. Fingers crossed!

k@t

Lunch

Having mushroom barley soup for lunch. Yum.

k@t

YikeBike foldable electric bike now available for the low, low price of $3,595 (video)

But how do you sit on it? And how do you steer it without looking like you're doing something weird? Lol.

YikeBike foldable electric bike now available for the low, low price of $3,595 (video): "

The first time we saw the YikeBike we couldn't help but think it was a little too stylistically shaped, a bit too svelte, and a lot too carbon fiber to actually exist in the real world as anything but a prototype. But now, over a year later, here we are looking at a little green 'Add to cart' button on the company's website. Yes, the 6 mile range, 15mph top speed foldable cycles are starting to roll out of the warehouse with an estimated ship date of just one week. The best news? The price is $3,595, far from cheap but about $2,000 less than they were originally estimated to cost and a downright bargain for something that offers this unique blend of bizarreness and fun. How much fun? Get a refresher course in the video after the break.

Continue reading YikeBike foldable electric bike now available for the low, low price of $3,595 (video)

The Porsche Design Bobsled Is Here, Hope You Brought Your Credit Card

Anyone can have a Porsche at any age....

The Porsche Design Bobsled Is Here, Hope You Brought Your Credit Card: "

This isn’t Porsche Design’s entrance into the world of sleds. That happened back in 2008 with the $480 aluminum sled that loosk more like something that a crafty dad would make than something from one of the top design firms ever. This time Porsche Design cut the price, and by the look of it, increased both the function and ergonomics. And yes, we’re talking about a sled here: The Porsche Design Bobsled.

Looks a tad familiar, right? Well, the plastic sled design took cues from downhill skies. The runners even have a slight bend for increased steerability. The seat features a concave design with conveniently-placed handles.

Is this sled faster and “more efficient” than the standard Toys-R-Us special? Probably. But the more important question is will this sled provide $225 worth of entertainment when a $25 sled accomplishes the same task of going down a snow-covered hill? Probably not. [Autoblog]