Rice after Rapture

so, did I lose any friends in the Rapture experience?  Are we all here? If anyone is missing, please let me know for obvious reasons.   Another weekend of amazing sites, wonderful friends and reunions. The time however, was ecliped by the stories of waiting for the rapture  to take our loved ones or not-so-loved ones into the sky, and we definitely chose to leave the planet several times over the weekend, through music, dancing and garden parties.

First, it was reunion time and revisiting an old friend at Les L'Enfant, and the music was definitely NOT Sabo or Wiseacre inspired, but we still got down and shared old memories till 4 in da morning.  Which made making it early to the Annual Dance Parade a bit harder, and I finally motivated around 5 pm, and it started to rain, so my time dancing in the parade was short lived.

But, I made it out to Greenpoint for the Fraggle Rock Garden Party, and it was everything I could ask for and more.  If by more I mean,  asking for a glass of water, and getting a dam to bust down the wall of your apt building more.  Intense.  So, you know we brought it. At the nite of the raptor, there were about 30 people outside who believe me, if Jesus came back for the good people, he would most certainly NOT stop at our little piece of paradise.

At one point, we were on the roof, looking towards the Manhattan skyline, but it had disappeared behind a wall of fog.  We started looking up as if expecting to see shadowing spirits levitating upwards.  And just as quickly, Anna said." I think we are looking the wrong way.  If Manhattan was going anywhere, it would not be up." Which made everyone feel really happy again.

Side note; It's always interesting to invite strangers into our circle.  I get a kick out of seeing their wide-open eyes, as they survey the feathers, fur, fire-dancers and regular freak-show happening in front of them.

So, yes, Saturday nite was a good one, so it was kinda nice to have a chill brunch in Dumbo, at a lovely place called Rice. Again, unlimited mimosas ruled the choice, and it had plently of vegan and vegetarian offerings.  The service was..harrumph...ok, the frittattas had a bit too much of.....spinach, asparagus, cheese, but the fried grits cakes were yummy delish. The benedicts looked amazing, and they included delicious freshly-made scones that had yummy fresh raisins baked inside.  Yum!

I was all set to take this party to another level, but realized I had much to do before jumping on a flight down to JamRock.

So there it is, #18 dedicated to the rapture.  I really need to create a business that will collect $128M from people who believe in an out-dated thought process, tell everyone who BELIEVES,  that they will all disappear, but then I'm the only one who does, taking all that money with me.  Business Plan, anyone?

BRUNCH #18 (Dumbo)

PLACE: Rice - Dumbo

EATS: Vege frittatta, Egss Benedict, and you know, i cant believe we didn't have all the delish rice dishes, well next time, and lots of mimosas. I tried the bloody....no.
TRACKS : The Knife - Heartbeats
OUTSTANDING WORD: Fish-net Thongs
OUTSTANDING QUOTE: "Maybe the rapture happened....I did lose a Facebook friend!"

Ditto for Scottadito

Another great day and brunch and #17 is down the hatch. Ended up as a super-chill weekend for me, since I had family in town for almost a week, there was lots o fun to be had with sisters and brothers and nieces.  BTW, Colombia University Security Guards rock!

The weekend party was THE slumber party, that unfortunately, I could not would not go to, 'cause I needed rest after said hectic day with the fam.  However, many of the brunchers went to said party, therefore, let's just say Brunch Day was a bit lite.  However, the four ladies attended, and got to have all that unlimited mimosa to ourselves.   It might not have been the biggest or booziest brunch, but it sure was the raunchiest one yet!

We got lovely seats outside and things were said that should not be said in public or by ladies dressed for Sunday Brunch.  And said loudly and clearly to anyone who could hear us.   And we loved it!

Let's just say at one point we were discussing the importance of having lube and wet wipes at Burning Man, if nothing else, in our fanny packs, 'cause you just never know when you might need them.

There were so many quotes that just one would not be enough, so here is just a taste of our conversation:

"1:30 pm is the perfect time for brunch, 'cause you can get home to freshen up from wherever you ended up the nite before"

'There are some nice men in prison, it's the visiting them that's hard"

I felt good about going back to work, because at least I wasn't on peyote"

"I am being chaste.....if you mean being chased, then yes."

Our conversation was interrupted by the sounds of "Get Ready for Armageddon on May 21" bellowing through loud and scratchy speakers out of the back of a giant truck,  driven by a very stern and crazy lady.  Damn, she was driving so fast, we couldn't get a picture of the signs saying that the world is coming to an end in a week.   This led us to sing, of course, "It's the end of the world!"  Which led to chants of "Where's my lube? Where's my lube??!!"  Of course, we got stern looks from the owner and servers, but hey, we were on our third round of mimosas by that time, so, hey.... "Where's my lube??"

So, just a side note....the world is coming to an end this Saturday May 21st.  SO, if Jesus comes back for the world, this therefore will be the last brunch, and I must say, it was a good one.  This will be my FINAL entry and the project of 52 brunches in 52 weeks will be no more.

IF however, Jesus decides to go detonate another earth, and the religious zealots are incorrect, which they so rarely are, but , just in case there is a May 22nd,  I look forward to another day, another brunch, another moment, and more lube.

BRUNCH #17 (Park Slope)

PLACE: Scottadito

EATS:Italian-style omelet with truffle oil, black truffles and goat cheese, eggs bene, poached eggs with pesto sauce, and lots and lots and lots of mimosas
TRACKS : REM - It's the end of the world as we know it
OUTSTANDING QUOTES: "I am being chaste.....if you mean being chased, then yes."

Sweet Family Affair

the Oval

Sweet sixteen was special and funny and poignant. There were plenty of events happening in my world.  The first miss was THE annual family affair party in LA, and everyone was going to be together for an amazing bash at the Downtown Standard, and I couldn't be there because it was Mother's Day. The second miss was THE fundraiser for two amazing Burning Man camps, Disorient and Kostume Kult,  happening in NYC, and yes I couldn't go, because of said Hallmark holiday.

So, there it was, and so began the weekend, with a drive to New Hampshire to be with my folks and have brunch in the cozy town of Milford. The crew in New York got together for a NYC brunch so we had duel action, sweet!

It was the beginning of a great weekend, with my monthly party at the Sapphire Lounge, and a good time was had by all.  This made the drive  a bit rough on Friday, but it felt so good to be out of the city, and the weather was amazing.

Pork with a side of meat

Milford NH is a town of 10,000 people, and it's funny that my Jamaican parents have found a home in this cold part of the country, but they truly love it, and yes, when the weather warms up, the beauty of the blossoming trees, mountains and meandering rivers are something to see.

We had Mother's Day brunch at Riverhouse Cafe, a revamped spot on the Oval, with views of the Southegan river, natch.  It's been a favorite of Presidents who visit NH to drum up support, and it's been redone to bring it to the 1980's.  I had to bring a bit of the city with me, by ordering the restaurant's first bloody mary of the day. Now, it couldn't be a boozy brunch per se, due to my parents staring at the lovely drink when it arrived, but I had to get my bloody on!

veggie bennie

The food was organic, fresh and delicious. I had a veggie benny, that sat on sweet sliced tomatoes instead of bread, and the hollandaise sauce was creamy and fattening, so , yeah, yummy. Mom got the veggie omelet, and Sis had the scrambled with bacon. Organic goodness!

Milford Prices

Of course talk had to go to pole dancing and the benefits of having strong legs to hoist and spin. Creating the image of my Father helping my Mother up the pole for a twirl, using her vagina muscles to stay put, is an image that will stay with me forever. Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

After brunch, it was back on the road to meet up with the ladies, and let's just say the unlimited mimosas they had consumed for four hours at Azul, made for an interesting conversation. I tried to catch up, but I'd have to do tequila shots to get there, and that was NOT happening.

However, we did go to the Bowery Hotel for a ginger concoction, and after talks of Osama, Obama and Trump, it was time to call it a nite.

All I know about the brunch at Azul was that the bartenders were hot, the drinks kept coming, and one bruncher had to go home instead of back to work. Sounds like it was exactly what was needed! Another brunch over and out, byatches!

BRUNCH #16 (Milford, NH)

PLACE: Riverhouse Cafe

EATS: three egg omelette, roasted squash and sweet potato with Vermont goat cheese, Veggie Benny with organic eggs, sauce, asparagus, and tomato, scrambled eggs with a side of bacon and 1 bloody mary.
TRACKS : Bob Marley - Three Little Birds  ,  Bobby Byrd - I know you got soul
OUTSTANDING WORDS: punanny sucker
OUTSTANDING QUOTES: 'I don't know how to quite say this, but God, on this point, you're wrong.'

Azul Sweet Sixteen - NYC

Written by Christine O'Heron


52 brunches sweet sixteen fell on Mothers Day and while there were no mothers at Brunch ... there were certainly the ladies.

As co-host I got there early to scope out a good table and feel the vibe of the resturant before everyone arrived. The bar tender had seen the film Mesrine: Killer Instinct the night before and kept a classic french track Paroles, Paroles by Dalida on repeat.

Azul is a a small Argentinian restaurant located on the corner of Stanton and Suffolk in the LES. Known for its sizzling meat plates I was unsure how the brunch would go down with our vegan and veggie members of the crew. The menu was filled with a few options and surprisingly not a lot of meat. The cheese empanadas however were definitely a hit. 

One by one we filled a table for 6. Each one of us happily wearing spring outfits that reached borderline summer when Toni my other co-host arrived sporting shorts. As soon as we sat down the pitchers of Bloody mimosas started coming. This was the first time a bloody mimosa was on the menu - champagne, orange juice and a splash of merlot - yummy! I had an hour head start.. and we kept going til 5 pm. 

At one point I remarked "this is my booziest brunch ever". Conversation was all over the place from the opening of the Hester Street Fair to Marco Brambilla's 3d extravaganza Civilization and  Rashaad Newsome's performance piece fail that took place the previous night during the New Museum's Flash:Light. We talked about must see spots in Paris and Brittany. 

Once 5 pm hit .. we headed towards the Delancy rooftop only to leave and head to Loreley to sit in the beer garden where Nikki finally was able to meet up with us after her long trip back to the city from her mothers day Brunch in New Hampshire. We caught her up to speed and continued into happy hour. Dinner could only be Freeman's but this time I left the pooch at home and then a final round at the Bowery Hotel. It was a long day but worthy of the sweet sixteen! 

BRUNCH #16

PLACE:  Azul NYC

EATS: cheese empanadas, bloody mimosas, 
TRACKS :

Dalida and Alain Delon - Paroles,Paroles

Tom Jones - Its not Unusual

Bee Gees - Maybe

Pat Benatar - Love is a Battlefield

Dont have a quote of the day... aghhhh

no sleep till Smorgas!

Imagine for a moment, that you are on a beautiful tree-lined cobbled street, walking on a crooked sidewalk that seems to give way beneath your weight.  You look up and stare at the light  from the distilled sun, as it beams on lightly-colored leaves, and you feel the slight wind dancing through still-bare branches, and there is more than a hint of spring as it sings ever closer.  Right in front of you is the most adorable little restaurant, and you know that your friends are waiting for you,  ready to start the day.  This was the beginning of my brunch on Sunday

There is one little infinitesimal detail however, that I have to underline and point out, and that is the sidewalk that felt like it was sinking.  This impossibility appearing to be possible could be happening because of choice #1 - just a side-effect of  the bucolic day, or it could be because  of choice #2 - the person walking - me - hadn't slept in a while.  I'm going with choice #2, and will try to rehash the weekend leading up to scenic walk to Smorgas Chef.

It started on Friday, as most weekends do , with a delightful dinner at Olio's, for some yum pizza served up with sort-of abysmal service, but the Manager made up for the blatant forgetting of our table,  by giving us not one but TWO bottles of semi-good red.  We killed the bottles pretty quickly, then I went home to try to get some rest for Saturday night.  I knew it would be a long one, because it was DJ Wiseacre's birthday AND Grotto's Sweet & Low monthly underground late nite get-down, so I felt I needed one good nite rest.

And what a time is was! Dinner at Grotto, followed by the best dance fest in the LES, darn it, I'll say it, the best below Houston! DJ Wiseacre and Sabo rocked out until 6:00 in the morning, and again, I attempted to leave,  to get some sleep, for brunch.

However, calls from the gang requesting my presence at a lovely roof-top garden to watch the sunrise could not be denied, and once the sun is up, it's very hard to shut the battery off, so I finally made it home at 11am, just in time to take a shower, and head to brunch, and that is why I was walking on spongy sidewalks, got it?

So, on to brunch, and what a lovely one it was.  It was the smallest we've had in a while, with six close peeps, but you know, the intimacy, the quiet corner and great atmosphere of the restaurant was really what we all needed that day, and so it was that it was good food for all.

The food was amazing.  There was the baked eggs served in a sizzling skillet, covered in  hollandaïse  sauce, and mushrooms,  The edges of the eggs were crispy, the inside soft not runny, and just a perfect mix of spices.

The Swedish meatballs were plenty and with a serving of Lingonberries, and chive-mashed potatoes. The bloody marys were absolutely delishouse, and I have to say, I was very happy with the choice.   The most surprising part of the meal?  I ate everything, all the sauce, all the eggs, the black bread, everything.  I felt really proud of me.  Gold Star!

Immediately after though, I felt a sudden surge of  food-coma approaching and went home for a good ten-hour sleep, ready and refreshed for the week, and another brunch on the way!

BRUNCH #15

PLACE:  Smorgas Chef

EATS: Two pan-fried eggs baked and served in a cast iron skillet.Classic Eggs and Salmon Benedict,
Canadian bacon, Carlsberg hollandaïse.  Delish bloodys with celery!
TRACKS : Mulatu Astatke - Yekermo Sew
OUTSTANDING QUOTES:  "I crush like a five year old."


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