#194 - my last day of freedom.

mom. dad. hi. you've previously mentioned to me that you occasionally check out your favorite son's blog posts...even the ones on that website with a swear word in the name. that makes me extremely happy but in this case, i'd like to take this opportunity to suggest ahead of time that you skip this one. i mean, i wouldn't want you to think that i'm some sort of debaucherous lush or anything & when you're done reading, you probably will. sorry. i completely understand if you decide to go further though. after all, parents are pretty must just like kids, so when you tell them not to do anything, they usually do it out of pure curiosity. anyway, don't say that i didn't warn you.

...so after a calendar year that i was fully employed for about a quarter of, yesterday i started a new gig...one where i have to WEAR A TIE & report to work BEFORE 10AM. i know...OMG! for at least a half decade now, i've just slapped on a pair of jeans & rolled into work any time between 10am & 11am. yay, adulthood!

with my impending first day of work just three days away, on friday around 2pm i met up with an old friend (who will remain nameless) in midtown at lexington brass for a lil' "last free weekday" food & drink action.

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five questions: robicelli's.

over the past year or so, i've gone from cupcake hater to cupcake appreciator & one of the main reasons for that change in attitude is the cupcakes from brooklyn's robicelli's. run by the husband & wife duo of matt & allison robicelli, they've been distributing their cupcakes to various shops around the city for a while now & this past summer opened up a sweet-looking physical location in a shipping container at dekalb market. their cupcakes are creative & unique & the lineup is constantly changing. a cupcake with a piece of chicken on top? you've got it with their chicken n waffles cupcake. they've got not one but TWO sweet ptoato cupcakes on the schedule for november. nuff said. it doesn't hurt that they seem to be good people too. good people get my snack dollars.

earlier this month, on their oft-hilarious & less-oft-but-still-oft-poignant tumblr, allison declared that "matt will not stop until he’s created ONE BILLION MILLION PUMPKIN TYPE FLAVORS THIS FALL. or something of that nature." i'm not sure if that was a statement or a challenge but it intrigued me so a few days back i stopped by their booth at madison square eats (which is now closed for the season) to sample a few of their pumpkin cupcakes. bonus: allison was kind enough to answer a few pumpktastic questions for eat!drink!snack!

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a smorgasburg of pumpkins.

as i've mentioned a bunch of times in the past, three-quarters of the parow children now live in new york city, so we get together every once in a while. when we do, it's usually over food. last weekend, my doctor sister was celebrating her 35th 25th birthday so on a windy saturday the three of us & a few of the bro's pals met up in williamsburg at the god-awful hour of 11am to eat a bunch of food at brooklyn flea's smorgasburg market. it was the first time i'd returned to the market after visiting there for fucked in park slope back in may for its opening weekend. in preparation for our familial gathering, the bro had purchased three passes from gilt city that were each good for five entrees, a drink & a dessert, so we had some serious eating ahead of us. i, of course, was on the hunt for pumpktoberfest treats.

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interview! matt barclay, bierkraft.

logo via bierkraft's facebook page

over the last two pumpktoberfests, i've bought a good portion of my pumpkin beers at bierkraft in park slope, brooklyn. during pumpktoberfest, they always seem to have around a dozen different pumpkin beers on hand, so if you're looking to get your pumpkin on this holiday season, they've got you covered.

last week, i sat down with matt barclay of bierkraft to get his thoughts on the pumpkin beer phenomenon, what makes a good pumpkin beer & which horror films rule.

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pumpktoberfest #30 - robot overlords.

film: deadly friend
beer: sixpoint autumnation

the 80's were a pretty sweet time for horror director wes craven. during the decade, craven launched the nightmare on elm street franchise & directed a total of nine films including such classics as swamp thing (1982) & the serpent and the rainbow (1988). amongst that success, he directed a few questionable films, including halloween of '86's deadly friend, which was based on the novel friend by diana henstell. the plot's pretty simple. paul, a college student studying neurology, moves to a new town with his mom & his remote-controlled robot named "BB" (voiced by comedian charles fleischer). eventually, things take a turn for the EVIL. coincidentally, what other robot-centric film came out five months before deadly friend? that's right...the KING of all robot films, short circuit.

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