+1 on Harvest Cart.

More than anything, I miss Lombardi's. Now there isn't a single decent pizza place in Downtown.

Bueno Appetito is a good, recent, alternative. But still not as good as you can find, well, anywhere else in New Jersey.

Quote: Go to B&H, DO NOT buy a Holga on the web, particularly on eBay or from Urban Outfitters. B&H sells them for $20-35, while most websites (particularly auction sites) sell them for upwards of $50, and on eBay they tend to go for around $70. I think Urban Outfitters' price for a Holga is $80. Don't believe the hype. Also, a good (though pricey) place to get your 120 developed is Digital C Lab on 36th & 8th. They do really great work and are very pleasant and knowledgeable.

Madbernal, Ian, maybe the three of us all got the same crappy waiter? If so, it's a shame that one idiot is generating so much bad press. I can't wait to go back, but man, I guess I'll keep an eye on who serves us this time.

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The bit about biting into a lime is f*cking classic!

I agree with JSalt. While I appreciate that Taqueria's authenticitiy, it's not the authenticity that brings me back there week after week. It's the deliciosity. And the lard, probably. And the huevos rancheros. And the salsa verde. Oh, and the tortillas. Those are some good tortillas.

It's funny, when Fang and I were in Austin last week, we had plenty of authentic Mexican and Tex-Mex food. Some of it was good, some of it was really really good, but even though some of it was as good as Taqueria, nothing was better than Taqueria.

I feel comfortable saying this, because this is my 126th post, so I don't have to worry about being accused of crypto-blogging.

Oh, and the hot chocolate! I almost forgot the hot chocolate.

I miss the old Ale House. I've only been to the new one twice, but I really didn't like it. The crowd was different -- younger and more fratty. It used to have a kind of "Cheers" feel to it; it wasn't cliquish to me, just comfortable; I go to bars to drink with my pals, not meet new people. Of course, it wasn't like Lucky 7s used to be, where you were best friends with the whole crowd within ten mintues of walking the door.

I found the TVs (I don't care how big they are) and the music distracting from my actual intent -- drinking with my friends. Had I gone there to watch real sports (ESPN the first night) or fake ones (Pro rassling the second), I might feel different.

Finally, the new owner and bartender struck me as kind of annoying. I never knew Maggie by name, and I never shared more than a few pleasant words with the rest of the staff, but they were always amiable and polite. The new guy shook my hand and introduced himself, but felt sort of pushy at the same time; I guess he was just trying to build his regulars.

Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon. But what I want out of a bar is somewhere I can drink, with friends or alone, without having to yell, and ideally without a TV anywhere in sight. Does that make me sound like a mean old man?

Probably.

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I'm confused....they found a car in his locker?

Maybe it was one a them, er, compact cars.

Well, yes, clearly leaving the embankment as is isn't a realistic option, it's just my blue-sky vision of the future (Jesus, now I'm using officespeak on a Sunday).

I'm all for the park, but mainly because it would protect the embankment from destruction.

Not so say that I'm looking forward to that park, I'm sure that if we do it right it will be beautiful. But I'd much rather look out my window and see what I see now: a big old Ben Grimm of a wall, standing there so long that full saplings have grown between its bricks.

I know someone's inevitably going to call me a romantic or a luddite for saying this, but I agree with Kindelan.

What I want more than anything is for the embankment to stay as it is: A big, hulking relic with no real purpose or explanation.

With that description, you'd think the JC politicos would be sympathetic to its plight.

Fang and I went down there last weekend to do the same thing. The black and whites haven't come back from the lab yet, but here's a Polaroid of 111 that I particularly like:



All in all it was a pretty fun day. Cold as nordic hell, but well worth it. Here's the rest of the set if anyone's interested.

Like I said, more will be added when I get the prints back from the lab, and I'm sure Fang will be posting soon enough with her set.

I strongly suggest people go down there at least just to take a look around while they still can. It's a real shame.

Sure this thread seems to have been dead for a while, but I can't keep quiet (even though almost all this stuff has been said before). I think it's really great that, despite all our bellyaching, so many people have been contributing to this list. It's been a great read.

So, without further ado (and in no order):

*The absolutely beautiful architecture
*Living in a 130-year-old building, with all its charms and challenges.
*Breathtaking neoclassical public buildings: The post office, town hall, the courthouse, the library, etc.
*My (mostly) very pleasant neighbors . . . and living in what's really a nice neighborhood.
*All the cool people who live here, even if I haven't met most of them yet.
*The embankment
*Lots of nice doggies
*Hell, even lots of nice (stray) cats, and the quirky people who feed them (even if I wish they wouldn't throw out their cat food tins in my trash cans)
*The PATH -- makes the MTA look like a bunch of rickshaws. And $.50 cheapter to boot!
*All the parades.
*Mr Softee, how I adore thee!
*And the walk-up window at Torico's.
*Delicious pizza at Lombardi's
*All the other great places to eat.
*The vast amount of diversity, from the Phillipine War Memorial, to the Cubans and Polish and everyone else living together.
*All the aweseom food that comes with that.
*Cafe con leche
*Fantastic butcher, fishmonger, and vegetable shops, not to mention the fancy-schmancy farmer's markets.
*Lots of art.
*Beautiful tree-lined streets
*Seeing the NYC skyline from the waterfront, or outside Exchange Place, or (the best) seeing the Empire State Building rising over the Target parking lot.
*Miss Liberty welcoming me home after I visit Central Jersey.
*The Liberty Science Center
*WFMU's record sales
*Living in a UEZ.
*Looking down Sixth to see how the setting sun reflects off that giant disgusting glass office building, like a orange tower against a blue sky.
*And, of course, the "naked mayor." That's a name I hope will stick.

I've of course left out obvious stuff like the cheap rent and easy access to work, and bad stuff, like how all my snobby Brooklynite friends seem to think I live 700 miles away, but even that's kind of awesome. I like that JC is a diamond in the rough.

Most of all I like that JC has let me take a job in in Manhattan but stay a New Jerseyan. Happy New Year, everyone.