Food2 Freebie Friday - Blogging from Chelsea Market Tomorrow with Tastemakers

So our friends at Food2, which includes those Whisk & Ladle kids on that Kitchen Conspirators show I mentioned a few posts back in Williamsburg (shout out to Scott Simon for giving me more details), are hosting a Food2 Freebie Friday.

What is this, you ask? Well it's a few things. Just know that if you either friend them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or give them a shout out (such as what I am doing now), you get a chance to receive some cool, quirky gifts throughout the day. You don't even have to leave the computer to get free swag!

Here's the kicker: The KCB is getting the scoop, maybe an ice cream scoop, tomorrow on some extra special Food2 goodness. There will be food, beverages, some candid photos, and general hilarity among some of your favorite New York blogging and online denizens. Can't quite let you in on it, but we'll be updating throughout tomorrow as the event goes on so visit tomorrow for some fun rabble rousing. Take that Kitchen Conspirators, I guess I AM invited!

And, I am ever so grateful to Time Out New York for their little ditty on The Feed Blog. Check it out here. TONY is still my fav!

To see details about how you can garner some shout outs with Food2 and to start seeing their beta site (with plenty of video episodes to get you through the day), go here.

The Chris Cab-tion Contest 4.28.09

Congrats to a one Szyzska for the winner of the last contest, and will receive a DVD. Good luck on your film shoot sir.

So our old friend Patrick got hitched over the weekend at The Riviera by Coney Island and of course you all are wondering, what is going through Chris Cabin's mind?

"What if this is the most handsome I'm going to get?"

Winner this time may receive a Best Buy gift certificate. But only if they can get past the next Cab-tion contest, which will also be wedding themed....

Chris Cabin is our very own resident film critic. You can see his reviews on Filmcritic.com.

Ah Food At the Ballpark

Our friend at NYC Food Guy is lookin' sharp in the black (stains won't show as easily!). He gives an excellent tour of the bites at the new CitiField, home of the Mets. Check it out!

New Food2 show: Kitchen Conspirators or Why Didn't They Invite Me!

So for all the Brooklynites out there, you'll be able to judge for yourself whether or not you really want in on this top secret supper club (how do they pick "strangers"? The KCB is on it!). I'm unsure of where they host these culinary diversions/experiments but there's always something new in the mix from the menu to a guest chef...

Does anyone recognize any of the chefs in the preview? Or what nabe they might be in?

The new, totally online show is called Kitchen Conspirators, and I'm also not sure what they are conspiring against, but if they can impressively whip up a menu on a dime (but not a real dime, the phrase....ok I'm done) and present it to a party of influential Brooklynites, I smell a contest down the line. If I were one of them I'd just make tons of noodle dishes. Oh yeah.

But enough of me digressing, here's the preview for the show:


For more on Food2 and what's to come, just check out their site: www.food2.com

According to them, they want to put the "oo" back in food. It usually doesn't take much for me to sigh like that so getting a dose of Food dos is fine by me.

Lunchtime Justice: The Model Wobble - New York Justice? Not Really But It's An Old Fav

When I first saw this video a couple years ago, I couldn't stop laughing. You won't either. Just remember you have that meeting in a couple hours. That's how much time you need to revisit this old favorite....

The Motorcycle Industry @ Don Hill's 4.18.09

Ok so it's been a while since my last post but hey, on a weekend when 17 Again is coming out, you know you gotta fill up your Saturday and Sunday with 4 viewings with an option of a 5th.....

Topical huuuuumor.

The other funny thing was that I was riding the subway from Jay Street with two persons who turned out to be friends of the drummer, Ryan Barnes. Who doesn't he know in this fair city? The bartender at Don Hill's shot the shit with me a bit about Dag Nasty as well.

Anywho, so I finally got to catch a short opener set from these guys who I wrote about a while back and they did not disappoint. The only real difference was this time there was much more bulk to the sound due to electric guitars (Don Hill's levels weren't quite so good but no worse for the wear).

With a small amount of the usual banter and a lineup switch (the bassist had one of those old Midtown shirts that I own as well, which was funny), they got right into it with Mr. Langan's disaffected yet righteous vocals, two flannel shirts, and a whole lot of distortion. I kind of liked the acoustic guitar previously used on many of their tracks, however in a live setting pumping up the songs was not a detrimental move on their part. Some neat little guitar ditties and a solid presence (I don't think I've seen Sambas since 2002), these NYU students have a formula that works well: catchy, big chords that are instantly listenable and engaging. It's just all very new school maybe, as if they took parts of a straight up skater hardcore band and slowed the pace a bit. I know other bands have took that kind of pop punk to the max. I know this is going to sound a bit weird, and I could say snotty (in a good way), but think of a really good sneeze, like with all the thick snot/boogers, but you're a fan of it in that Mucus Queen from Billy Madison sort of way. It's a lot of fun and totally bratty.

I spoke with Ryan for a little bit after the show, chatting about NYU, playing in Brooklyn, etc. They have a couple shows upcoming at Retox in East Williamsburg including a show this Friday, April 24th (as of this writing Retox seems to be undergoing a bit of a hiatus after their current slate finishes, hopefully will be back up soon).

The great thing is, you can download their entire album for free on their website: www.themotorcycleindustry.com

For their MySpace, go here. Can you hear that? It's the sound of their friends list almost doubling since I last visited them.

Downtown gets some groceries....awwww right!!

I was pining for just one grocery store so I didn't have to lug the granny cart around and compete with actual grannies in Aisle Takeover at Key Foods, but now we're getting two!

Concord Market, who according to their comment on the Brownstoner post, is insistent that they are going to be an improvement over the Associated that was there on Jay and Tillary.

"Concord Market is going to be a modern/upscale & affordable food market that will address the needs of the upper/middle class residents of the Concord Village Co-ops, in addition to the local office workers & college students of Downtown Brooklyn.

Construction is well underway and should be completed in the next few weeks."

I should be fairly impressed, but for my purposes, I think I'll try the Brooklyn Fare (check out their cute site) opening on April 22nd right by the Hoyt-Schermerhorn stop at 200 Schermerhorn. Gothamist has brought me this good news, great news in fact. They deliver in fun cargo vans that aren't shady at all. Well until someone takes some paint to it. And a real sushi chef? I mean, most markets have a "sushi chef" but when they say real, it could be a quick sushi fix on the way home. With a to-go section with sandwiches and stuff, I could learn to love it more than Garden of Eden.

Oh and on top of just shopping there, they are setting up a cafe and restaurant in the future thats....BYOB. Imagine buying good beer and then just being able to enjoy it on the spot? How novel. A couple chapters into the novel, that is.

Getting the necessary store and supply support in the area to fix a more neighborhood vibe is a good thing, I believe there's lots to benefit from having something within real striking distance in downtown.

Crab Burger? Point me to the horseradish....

The friends at Eat It: The Brooklyn Food Blog have taken the time on this Excellent Friday to totally eat meat at Apt 138 in Cobble Hill. Steak Sandwich? Check. Burger? Check. Seriously, if you click on the burger picture and stare at the fries, which you can see the hot grease on, you can smell them. Smell the greatness. Not only that, the burger, which appears normal here, can actually be made up of crab. There's nothing like lump crab, except maybe lump lobster...

Tasty pictures! Good Friday....more like Steak Sandwich.

For the full article, go here.

T-Sides Reviews: Akron/Family @ Union Pool 3.29.09

I'm a little late on this but a good friend Colie and her mista Josh came to visit and see Akron/Family at Union Pool about a week and a half ago. Our friends at T-Sides did up a lovely review of the show which you can totally read here: Akron/Family review.

It's got set list, pictures, video, and downloads for a rising band that has been described to me as funky-groovy and folk at the same time.

Bar Spotlight: Pacific Standard

Pacific Standard
82 Fourth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217


There has been many a good time had at Pacific Standard in the two years it's been around. A product of, you guessed it, West Coast thinking, half of the credit can go toward Jon Stan, formerly of one of my favorite spots of all time, The Spotted Pig. Yes, they enjoy West Coast teams on the projection screens as well as their ever changing list of brews that will certainly put you on your patoot very, very quickly. A lot of the brews are not for the faint of heart, and as a fan of dark, full bodied ales this is a place to park.

PS is quite well lit, making it very welcoming and a good companion to the other great bar on the block, 4th Avenue Pub. It's clean, with light wood stylings and a separate back library filled with books, some tables, couches, a projection screen, pub quizes, and often times, readings. You can play board games or indulge in the bathroom. There's nothing special about the bathrooms, but I have been walked in on and embarrassment was an understatement considering I actually went into the subway station only to come out because I wouldn't make it. At all. That's another thing: it's two blocks from the Pacific side of the Atlantic-Pacific stop which makes it an easy choice for most train lines and certainly has plenty of seating up front and a laid back vibe filled with cheer. And beer. I remember meeting Mandy, who is the sister of the roommate of John, the other brainchild behind this. She worked at a post-production house that specialized in wedding videos I believe. It was a fun conversation I had with her and Christopher Cabin, our resident film critic.

Anywho, throw in the cheese and meats and you have the makings of a hilarious night right? WRONG. There's so much more. 3 more, in fact. 3 more facts, in fact.

This is the only bar in Brooklyn that I can think of that does a Frequent Drinkers Program. There are some awesome prizes, as well as some hilarious obstacles to overcome.

They purport, and it's been in the works since the opening, of a drinking robot that will challenge you, or your friends if you don't like challenges. I've been waiting for a few blue moons, but alas no word has come across my ears that has relieved my anticipation.

Last but not least, you can purchase a growler (a half gallon jug, it's awesome). You're going to want one, really. Especially since walking down 4th Ave. can be somber. You purchase a growler and fill it up with a nice brew (or for 10 "yards" on the Frequent Drinkers program you can get the crap overflow from all the beers in the drain) and take a walk outside and possibly extract a few sips. I've found walking from Pacific Standard to Union Hall on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon is absolutely wonderful. Bring back the growler each time for another refill of goodness. You'll get a slight discount, but no discounts on the amount of happiness achieved.
For more on PS, go to their official site where they have their weekly schedule up.

Have nothing to do this weekend? Open bar in Greenpoint: Getting "a couple chapters into the novel"

Don't worry folks, it's really not a novel. In fact, it's more like a photo book. Which is great because when I have several cocktails in me, I can't read straight either.


Abrams Books is on a bit of a hot streak, with some fun stuff in the works but the streak really consisting of Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which has reached the hearts of 5th graders everywhere. Graffiti Kings looks really interesting especially when said graffiti was and is such an integral part of the urban vibe. I remember a terrific documentary called Style Wars (click on the link to watch the entire film on Google Video) about the graffiti culture made in 1983 , a sound bite of which ended up on the Dillinger Four record, Situationist Comedy. "Is that an art form? I don't know, I'm not an art critic. But I can sure as hell tell you it's a crime."

Come on, it's classic hip, it's an integral part of the urban culture of New York, and there's free drinks. Afterward you can walk to the Levee or something.


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The Chris Cab-tion Contest 4.7.09 - Chris Cabin Stars In...

Congrats to Mike for winning the first Chris Cab-tion contest. Here's this week's edition. The winner receives...a free DVD of Encounters At The End Of The World either on standard or Blu-ray. Oh and a free beer from Trader Joe's: Simpler Times Lager.

Chris Cabin is our very own resident film critic. You can read his reviews here.

Ever wanted to do something not lame during dinner time? Check out Reflections @ Monkeytown with DJ Slouch and KRTS

I know I know, usually most days it's sometimes a bit odd to be strolling to an early event during dinner time (I guess I don't do Broadway shows that often) but you won't be disappointed nor will you get seats if you don't grab tickets to Reflections @ Monkeytown on May 2nd featuring local favorites DJ Slouch and KRTS. It's all from the folks at Powerstrip Circus. They'll be performing simultaneously, which means both your hemispheres should be sufficiently blown for the night. You could literally stomp on other people's parades later in the evening and still come out on top. It starts at 7:30, which gives me enough time to digest some fish and chips at Spike Hill at the Bedford L. To go along with the funky fresh sounds (or as KRTS put it, his most "emotional show" which has to involve a lot of moments of "UNGH! YEAH" aka some soul people), you got visuals that will trip you harder than a soccer slide tackle from VJ's Firefly and Sima.

RSVP to powerstripcircus@gmail.com or as Powerstrip Circus says, go to the Monkeytown website. So maybe that seared duck breast will pull me away from Spike Hill or the free pizza down the block...

It's The Moment? More like It's The 2 Hours It Took To Compose The Shot and Mise En Scene

So downtown BK has a new little marketing scheme to get some buzz going. It's called It's The Moment, where a nice clock tells you what time it is. Oh and they have several "moments" best of which has to be the Mark Morris Dance Group.

It's part of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and yet another way to metropolize the area and push the pace and feel of the neighborhood. Is it working for you? Are you sold on these made up moments?

Gold Fiction? Sounds like a Newberry Award that books used to win back in the day

Gold Fiction is a new piece of construction featuring a Mr. Charlie Pino and Galen Criscione on vocals, guitars, and keyboards. You'll enjoy their dusty sounds, twangy jangles, and feathery strands of singing (Mick Jagger-lite?) across two songs on their MySpace: "Something Great" and "Texas". Throw in some dissonance and introversion and you just might end up drinking a little bit slower and wondering about that girl across the room.

Gold Fiction is playing in lovely Greenpoint, at Red Star on 37 Greenpoint Avenue, which is one of the more sporty and less hipster spots to go to, complete with a nice backyard if I'm not mistaken. It's their debut show, so please come out and support!

Also on the bill are their friends, No Lindsay and Joanna Levine. Come join the event on Facebook or become a fan here.


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Ok This Is Just Scary and Unnverving: CADIE

Google has launched CADIE. It's incredibly freaky.

For more information, go here.