COMFORT FOOD FOR < $15.

Even in the dead of summer, sometimes a nice warm-ish meal is still necessary on a depressing day. Below are two really great options for a summer comfort meal that won't heat up your body temperature but still warms the belly and the heart, both for under $15!!


The grilled cheese sandwiches from Artisanal are phenomenal! The bread is crispy and the cheese is gooey. If you are ordering at a table, make sure you request a bar menu so you can order these bad boys for dinner. I opted for the 18 month Comte Reserve with white truffle honey. A perfect grown-up twist on a childhood favorite.


Next up are the dosas from Hampton Chutney. I have been here twice within the past 7 days and I cannot get enough. Those of you who are dosa snobs and only eat dosas from Curry Hill, Jackson Heights, or Edison, NJ can calm down, take a breath, open your mind, and embrace the concept of cheese being on dosas. It's good, I promise. I ordered the Breakfast Dosa (pictured above) which is filled with two eggs, spinach, roasted tomato, jack cheese, and avocado. The second dosa I ordered a few days later was the Masala Deluxe which has the traditional Indian potato filling with spinach, Jack Cheese, and Roasted Tomatoes. What great meals - the crispy (yet soft???) texture of the dosa and the mushy, flavorful filling are perfect for chasing away the summer doldrums.

Best of all, both of these meals cost less than $15 each (grilled cheese is $14.50, dosa is $11) so you won't have to be depressed about your bank account (on top of all other matters) after the meal!

GIGANTE STUPIDO.

Today we headed to East Rutherford, New Jersey to attend a NY Red Bulls vs LA Galaxy MLS match. East Rutherford is home to my now most hated stadium in the entire world - Giants Stadium. Whoever made up that "No Backpack" rule for the stadium is an idiot and whoever enforces that rule is an even bigger idiot.

We walk to the security entrance as a group of four people - one male with no bag, two women with large handbags, and one male with a backpack. A security guard informs us that no backpacks are allowed and that no lockers are provided on the premises to store backpacks. They suggested we leave the backpack in our car. Well we had arrived via an NJ Transit train and then a charter bus from Secaucus train station. There was no car for us to store our backpack in. I argued that my Speedy could hold just as many contents as his backpack - yet why was I allowed in and my male friend not??? Security guard retorted "Because women are SUPPOSED to carry bags. Men are not." OH WOW!!!!!! So now we believe that all women were made to carry bags!??!!? And that men aren't allowed to do the same!??!!?? Now we are just bordering on gender discrimination. No, we haven't bordered it. WE WENT THERE.

So by now I am internally flipping out and we decide to try another gate. This time, we figured it might be best if one of the females carry the backpack. Because women were created to do this. We try to argue our way through, but apparently backpacks are just not allowed. We see some man walk in with TWO backpacks and we start flipping out. How come he got to enter and we didn't!?!?!??! We were asked, "Well, where's your passport??" EXCUSE ME? "Your passport." NOW WHY THE HELL WOULD I CARRY A PASSPORT. "Because only foreign bags are allowed. I can only allow you to enter the premises with a backpack if you are a foreigner." OHHHHHH WOWWWWWWWWWWWW. So this is like BEYOND racial discrimination. This is NATIONALITY DISCRIMINATION. Apparently anyone holding a U.S. passport is NOT ALLOWED TO BRING A FUCKING BACKPACK INTO GIANTS STADIUM!?!?!?!?

So then we argue that the backpack is this female's handbag - and it's not fair that she cannot bring HER handbag in because it is not a conventional shape of a handbag. I ask what constitutes a "backpack" and a security guard replies, "Anything that you strap onto your back." WHAT IF I CUT THE HANDLES OFF. DOES IT STILL COUNT??? "Yes." IDIOT.


We walk away to plot our next step, and we then see all these stupid women carrying these dumbass MINI BACKPACKS walking in. I thought a bag was considered a backpack if you strapped it on your back!?!??!? So of course I come running up and pointing out all the backpacks I can identify - THERE'S A BACKPACK. OH, AND THERE - THAT WOMAN - BACKPACK. SPORTY BACKPACK HERE. THAT LOOKS LIKE ITS A STRAP ON A SHOULDER. ETC. Needless to say, everyone with a mini backpack or stupid nylon SACKPACK was able to enter the stadium and my point was being taken less and less seriously by the sentence.



OH and BTW, I totally just tried to go to the Dick's Sporting Goods website to try to find the above picture of a SACKPACK for you but accidentally went to www.dicks.com and found out that that is the COMPLETELY incorrect URL. WHOOPS. And FOR THE RECORD, the sackpacks are listed under BACKPACKS in the menu drop down of their online shop. SO A SACKPACK IS A BACKPACK!!!!nsjegnlsegnARHGHGHGHGHGHGHGH, the insanity.

Sadly, I didn't win the fight and we even came across the same problem later on in the evening with a BRIEFCASE - which, in my mind, is certainly not within the same classification as a BACKPACK. Tonight, Giants Stadium has proven itself discriminatory against FEMALES and also males that wish to wear bags, AMERICANS, and also people with a FASHION SENSE. Is there someone I can talk to about a lawsuit!?!?! REALLY!!?!??!


After the backpack fiasco was behind us, we were finally able to sit down and enjoy the game. My senses returned and once again my muscles remembered how to smile. Despite David Beckham's LA Galaxy team beating the NY Red Bulls 3-1, the sport was still very much fun to watch and at least we scored one goal so our side could scream GOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLL once throughout the evening. Very important in a soccer match.


Here we all are - sans backpacks and suitcases - after the game. What is a night without verbal assault and throwing down for your friends????

NO SUCH THING AS A FREE EVENT.

OK so you know how everyone is always like "OMG, I adoreeeeeee New York in the summer time!!!! There are all these amazing free events in the parks and there is something new to do every day of my life and I love ittttt!!!!" Being that it is now nearing the end of July, I couldn't help but feel a little bit upset as I have been away from from the city for a good majority of the summer thus far and I felt I was missing out on my share of the typically New York summer. So this week, I happened to jam pack my schedule with some conventional New York summer activities.

Well, I now officially hate free events in New York!! You are just SETTING yourself up for disaster and the possibility of being touched by strangers. As if New York is already not annoying enough with its small sidewalks that are entirely overcrowded - you are just putting yourself into an even smaller space with even MORE people. That's so funny, THANKS NEW YORK CITY!! Pick the tiniest crevice in the city, offer free popcorn, and laugh from atop the Empire State building as you observe hundreds/thousands of people trailing over like ants and spilling atop each other like the sprinkles in that Verizon commerical.


For example, last night I arrived at the Great Lawn in Central Park for the New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Park series and was faced with this MOB upon arrival. OK, so this picture isn't really doing the whole situation any justice. Basically every square inch of this 13-acre area was completely SATURATED with New Yorkers, their dirty blankets, and their cheap bottles of vino. It was literally a lawn made of people. Doesn't that seem like some kind of sick joke??? A great location for anyone conjuring up a terrorist attack??? My group smartly opted for a spot on the outer ring of the perimeter (slightly less crowded), could barely hear the symphony orchestra, and also happened to sit in a location where the fireworks were blocked by a large row of trees - AWESOME. Furthermore, when you go to events like this be prepared to feel the need to GAG yourself because everyone thinks this is a really great "DATE IDEA" - so ingenious and romantic - and makes out all over the grassy fields.


So at least sound waves travel and eventually and to some extent we were able to "enjoy" music. When it comes to watching free movies in NYC, be prepared to get nasty, cut people, and leave your conscience at home. Hudson River Park projects several movies throughout the summer at Pier 54 - which happens to be a FLAT piece of CONCRETE. The movies begin at dusk...and we arrived around 8pm (a little late) and not surprisingly faced feet upon feet of massive, tightly spaced crowds leading up to a tiny projection screen. The screen is entirely too small to see if you set up shop anywhere from the middle to the back of the pier, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and just started walking towards the front. Aimlessly.


Well we made it to the "front" - at least until we hit this strange area in the front with rows of chairs. I am assuming these seats are for people that arrived at 8pm the night before.


The massive blob of people that we screwed over, who have probably been waiting there since 5pm.


But in the end no one won because this was my view of Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona once I sat down. Heck yea, I got the sweetest view of the top left corner of the screen the whole night. Coming to these types of events are great practice for your IMAGINATION as you will need to VISUALIZE the entire movie in your head. OK so can we all agree that free events in New York are a no-win situation?? And that they are a waste of time??? For everybody???

Well at least we got to stop by Co afterwards for pizza. I have been meaning to try this place for the longest time!!


We opted for the Popeye pizza - with pecorino, gruyere, mozzarella, spinach, black pepper, and garlic. A little too salty and a little too heavy on the spinach. This pizza was screaming for better balance - in both taste and ingredient ratios.


But the Bird's Nest pizza was a winner - with raschera, parmesan, shaved asparagus, quail eggs, and shaved black truffle. This pizza was indulgent!! There was a great balance between the crispness of the asparagus, the strong earthy flavors of the truffle, mixed with the delicious cheese, and I loved spreading the runny yolk over my slice for a little extra richness. If this pizza didn't exist, I would have had nothing nice to say about Co. And it just so happens it was the most expensive pizza on the menu. Which teaches everyone a lesson - sometimes it is worth it to pay for happiness and the good things in life.

BE THE HIPSTER GRIFTER.

This Sunday, I decided to see what it would feel like to be a hipster grifter in Brooklyn. OK - so actually I didn't really decide on this. I just happened to be in Williamsburg and thought it might be funny if I ran into that sly Kari Ferrell somewheres on the streets. What do people in Williamsburg do??? They always seem so busy looking for vintage clothing, designing new tattoos, and not eating. But when they do eat - they are probably eating something VEGAN. Which is exactly what I ate at Bliss Cafe. Bliss Cafe is so hipster that they don't even have a website...whoaaaa, totally retro!


I ate the Bliss Bowl - which was essentially steamed vegetables, seaweed, black beans, cubed sweet potatoes, kale, a mound of brown rice, and some grilled tempeh topped with lemon-tahini miso dressing. It was one of those meals that you feel good about eating because you're just stuffing yourself with nutrients. Hipsters are sooo healthy and definitely get their recommended daily share of fiber.


Next up we were off to Hugs for a scroll show, because that's what hipsters do. You've probably never heard of a scroll show before and its probably because you're not a hipster. Basically, hipsters think that movies are like scrolls aka movie reels aka we all knew that aka a scroll show is just a movie. Hipsters are sooo revolutionary and post modern! Anyways, I am being mean and actually their scroll show (atleast the one that I caught) was super hilarious. Also please note that my camera is AWFUL but above is the picture of the scroll show. I'm sorry I'm not a rich hipster and can't afford one of those really expensive Nikon cameras and also all the necessary equipment for making scroll shows/movies. HOW DO HIPSTERS MAKE ALL THIS MONEY!?!?! OK, back on track here - so there was a movie playing on a projection screen in the background while we listened to this hilarious muppet's monologue about tomatoes. You give him a diced tomato and he will vomit. Give him a whole tomato cultivated from someone's garden and he might consider eating it. Now he's going to plant his own tomatoes in his own garden, he's going off the deep end. OK that doesn't sound funny but it really was.


Then we went over to the Cameo Gallery, which is this "hidden" bar in the back of Lovin' Cup Cafe - ohhhh those hipsters are sooo secretive!! - and watched the DAS RACIST show!!!!!!! You know how much I LOVE their Pizza Hut/Taco Bell song!!!!!!! The show was really small - only about 24 people were there. 20 of the people were their actual friends...the remainder were the 3 people I came with and myself. So it was an intimate gathering. Das Racist was hilarious and I rocked out the way hipsters do. By now it was 2am on a Sunday and being a hipster had made me tres tired. So I took the L train home...the opposite way of the hipsters.

CRYSTALLIZED.

HELLO WORLD. I officially, hands-down, have a favorite store in Manhattan - and it is the SWAROVKSI CRYSTALLIZED concept store in Soho. It is, honestly, the combination of almost everything I have ever loved:

1. DO-IT-YOURSELF CONCEPT (I love all things hand-made and especially made by MOI)

2. BLING BLING Swarovski crystals (UHHHH do you recall my recent obsession with the bedazzler??)

3. BEAD STORE (I grew up with my bead box and string box being my two most precious possessions and taking trips to STRUNG OUT - our local bead store - was a common occurrence)

Top it with ice-cream and place it on a beach and I would most certainly be in heaven.


This is only the entrance of the store - you are greeted with a wall gleaming with an array of beads!!!!!!!!!! They come in alllllll different colors and sizes and shapes. This is beyond being a child in a candy store..this is a child in Willy Wonka's factory.


WHAT I WOULD DO TO GET THIS WOMAN'S JOB!!!!!!! To be surrounded by beautiful crystals all day and to help customers choose which crystals to purchase is a dream job. I treated my visit to Crystallized as a first round interview and immediately began taking the reigns in Shalini's Necklace Adventure. I already had a vision. And all Shalini had to do was buy the beads. MUAHAHAHAHAHHA


After running rampant around the store and drooling in every drawer of beads, I finally calmed down and selected the beads we would use for Shalini's project. We walked over to the lounge in the back where there is plush seating for your creation-comfort and a bar that serves desserts and beverages. TRES LUXURIOUS, no?? The woman-who's-job-I-will-soon-have came over to help us start the jewelry making process.


Needless to say, I disregarded everything she said - demanded a pair of tweezers - and started BEADING!!!!!!!!


The end product - BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! And it looks PERFECT on Shalini's skin and easily matches many different outfits and colors.


If I was not already overwhelmed with happiness and content, we then walked by Baked by Melissa's stand of mini-cupcakes!!!!! Of course we could not pass up the offer of 3 mini cupcakes for $1.


But Melissa's not kidding - they are REALLY MINI. I am quite disgruntled. I would tell you what my peanut butter and jelly cupcake tasted like...but it was so tiny I forgot I was eating. But that's ok - you also have the option of buying 100 mini cupcakes for $70. Next time.


To end our perfect Sunday afternoon, we dined at Gobo, a vegetarian restaurant in the West Village.


The roti canai was absolutely delicious - really flavorful, soft, and moist like a croissant.


The seitan skewers with green tea mustard sauce had a great meaty texture and tasty flavors.


The eggplant stuffed with herbed tofu cheese was probably my most unfavorite dish of the entire meal. It wasn't BAD, it's just that everything else was just SO GOOD. I think the watery-ness of the dish also put me off.


The natural seitan medallion in sizzling spicy citrus sauce was the one that tasted the MOST like real meat but when something is fried I guess it all kind of ends up tasting the same. Real excellent, indulgent dish.


The soy protein & spinach roll with jade mushrooms was my FAVORITE dish. Very homey and comforting - it is like the vegetarian version of a meatloaf. The spinach and soyprotein roll is unlike other things I have eaten...and it is sitting atop a bed of mashed potatoes. NOM NOM NOM.

Beading, cupcakes, and vegetarian food...what more could I want..really.

AN ODE TO TO.

So it turns out you can pretty much see all of Toronto in about 12 hours. Which is why Craig and I decided to forgo our last day in TO and head back a day early to our beloved New York City. Toronto is interesting because every area kind of reminds you of another city - it was a mixture of NY, DC, ATL, Bean-town, SF, and Pittsburgh with just the slightest touch of Europe. There were so many high-rise residential buildings, but I felt like the city was empty. Thankfully, I managed to observe a few people that DID traverse the streets of TO...and below are my TOP TEN GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT TORONTONIANS:

1. Everyone in Toronto likes to drink caloric beverages.

2. Everyone in Toronto drinks coffee late in the evening, like 10pm and onwards.

3. Everyone in Toronto shops at really amazing, organic, Dean and Deluca-esque grocery stores because apparently those are the only types of grocery stores that exist in Toronto.

4. You are more likely to find everyone in Toronto shopping in a grocery store or for electronic goods at 11pm on a Friday night than out at a bar.

5. Everyone in Toronto who wears glasses wears glasses that look like this. With the "invisible" lenses and douch-ey side frames.

6. No one in Toronto carries a designer handbag.

7. Every man in Toronto walks a dog that is meant for little girls.

8. Everyone in Toronto walks around wearing a cap and/or a tshirt that represents a city in which they do not inhabit.

9. Everyone in Toronto speaks normal English until they either end their sentence (which is signified by the term "eh") or says the word "out."

10. Everyone in Toronto likes to eat icecream.

Now that I have accurately described every person that lives in Toronto, let me begin my account of CRAIG AND JEAN'S BUDGET ADVENTURE IN TORONTO. Uhm, YEA I used the b-word because GUESS WHAT EVERYONE. My AMEX bill arrived in my email inbox (GO GREEN!) and guess who no longer has ANY MONEY and needs to resort to selling her ivy-league eggs to the highest bidder?!?! It was imperative that I made the most of my every CAD.


Upon entering Toronto, we took a 40-minute AIRPORT EXPRESS bus ride to the Global Village Hostel, which is located conveniently in downtown TO. We wanted to book a private double room but unfortunately they were all booked, so we had to settle for a 6-person DORM ROOM. But this actually fit better into our BUDGET-trip anyways. Look at the ominous Torontoan sky. And also please note the CN Tower, second highest building in the world.


After a short nap, Choz-Trillionaire and I headed down towards the Harbourfront because naturally we love a water feature. We found this funny man-made beach and decided it reminded us of a Seurat painting.


We then bravely entered their metro station and found our way to the Yorkdale Shopping Center. You know how much I ADORE the suburbs and going to cheesy CHAIN RESTAURANTS!!!!!! So naturally I needed to get back in touch with my childhood youth and revisit the RAINFOREST CAFE!!!!!!!! Got seated right next to the fountain and had myself an order of fish tacos (which is a new addition to their menu).


It took all my willpower to NOT order the CHOCOLATE VOLCANO from Rainforest Cafe...and I opted for dessert from YOGEN FRUZ, which is Toronto's pitiful attempt at New York's Pinkberry/Red Mango. The yogurt comes in weird astronaut spacefood-like blocks...which are unwrapped, thrown into a blending machine, mixed around, and then squirted into a cup. I don't get it. Why did it have to come in those blocks??? Why couldn't it have already come in the soft-serve machine??? Pre-blended??


Well anyways - this is what it turns out looking like. Tastes pretty good, just don't understand the additional labor necessary in creating this dessert. Americans are all about efficiency.


Afterwards, we took the metro back down and went to take a closer look at the CN Tower. Going to CN Tower is one of those things that you have to do with your Asian tourist family because a single, young tourist is NOT going to shell out 35 CAD to wait on line, ride an elevator, stand on a glass floor, and induce nausea. I don't find overlooking any city very exhilarating anyways. BUDGET-trip, come on!!!!!!!


We then walked around discovering other little parts of Toronto, namely Church Street, which is Toronto's gay district. Gay men in Toronto are of an older variety...and typically look like cowboys.


We began our tourism on Saturday by first purchasing a weekend Metro pass - which is potentially the best bargain in all of Toronto. Originally a day pass is 9 CAD. On weekends, you can SHARE the weekend pass with someone, so the price of your weekend pass becomes 4.5 CAD. Brilliance. We happily took the metro up to see the CASA LOMA. We got off at the wrong station...I mean...we took a scenic route there....


Casa Loma is a castle in Toronto that was once owned by Sir Henry Pellet, the man who brought electricity to Toronto and have a variety of other successful business ventures. He decided to build himself a castle fit for royalty at the cost of $3.5 million. As a result of this endeavor, Sir Pellet became bankrupt, lost all of his money, and ended up having to stay in the home of other friends and even his former driver for the remainder of his life. In the US, we scoff at numbers like because the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers spent more than triple that on their own estates in America...and managed not to become bankrupt. Take that, Canada!


They were having a RENAISSSANCE FAIR at the castle...lucky us!!


Gorgeous backyard!! Reminds me of Disneyworld...or NEVERLAND!?!?!


Afterwards we headed up to Yorkville to enjoy a bit of al fresco dining at Remy's. Cute brick-building-ed part of town with many shops and restaurants to spend away an afternoon.

We hit up CABBAGETOWN afterwards - which is supposed to be just a really multi-ethnic community. I didn't really notice anything connecting this neighborhood together...and why CABBAGE!?!? Questions I may never know the answer to. We were confused and decided to promptly leave the neighborhood and jumped on a bus heading down the hustle and bustle of Queen Street.


We then headed back down to their Harbourfront to attend the World Routes music festival. Nearby I found icecream that claimed to be the best in Toronto. It was OK.


Here we are being cute on the dock.


I'm pretty sure I was listening to Ghanian music but I cannot be sure...


For dinner that evening we went to explore Toronto's GREEKTOWN and ate dinner at Myth. It wasn't like I was back in Athens, but it was definitely an appreciated attempt.

After dinner we returned to our hostel which is actually quite the party scene and held the first live performance of the Trillionaire Troupe, made friends with some British folk, some Germans, and some Mexicans, and popped champagne.

Sunday morning we rode the Airport Express bus back to the Continental terminal and never shelled out $50 quicker to get on standby and return to the BETTER side of the border. Good bye, Toronto.

DISJOINT.

Sorry it's been a little while, blogosphere. I have been waiting for that BIG IDEA or THEME to pop into my mind to connect all of my most recent happenings together - but, alas, my life events seem to be rather disassociated. So my theme - therefore - is...disconnect.


I should first talk about the Jewish Heart for Africa Summer Gala that I attended two weeks ago. JHA is an amazing organization that takes Israeli solar power technology and brings it to countries in Africa to generate electricity and clean water for their schools and hospitals.


My good friend, Steve (pictured above), has witnessed the work of JHA first-hand in Africa and is a huge contributor to this cause. Extremely admirable.


My lovely ladies at the event :o)


African drumming entertainment during the evening after a speech from the ambassador of Ethiopia.

I also recently purchased a BEDAZZLER-type product where I can heat-set RHINESTONES to fabric!!!!! Needless to say I have been VERY BUSY with my JEWELED creations.


See the above cut-out racer-back tank that I created with our rap troupe's LOGO on it!!!!!! BLING BLING!


Wore that bad boy to Red Stripe's celebration of Jamaican music featuring music from Terry Lynn's album It Was Written. I needed to attend this event so that I could get INSPIRATION for The Trillionaire Troupe's latest JAMAICAN DANCEHALL song, Pon Mi Bananaboat.


Cases of free Red Stripe at the event.


DJ Johan Hugo hailing from the U.K.


Terry Lynn hailing from Kingston, JA.

And in other recent news, they announced the official release of the new Verizon Blackberry Tour for July 12th. Reminder to myself to PREORDER that shiz! Alright kids, I am off to TORONTO for the holiday weekend (patriotism at its' best). I plan on only wearing red, white, and blue the ENTIRE weekend. CANADA, watch out for a couple of DEADLY GORBIES wearin' BUNNYHUGS and spending TOONIES like they are worth 1 USD.