Me Rikey New Noodles and Soup: Naruto Ramen in Park Slope

I love noodles. I love pasta. Barring several favorite foods, I think I could eat any form of noodles at any time. I just ate some pasta salad tonight. It was extremely awesome.

I was walking down 5th Ave. and noticed that a new Naruto Ramen (there's another one in Manhattan) whose "grund opening" this week on Sept. 10th (yes it's complete with typo on the door) is awesome punk rock music to my ears. It's no St. Mark's noodle house (the dishes are a little more expensive but hopefully just as good) but definitely something new to bring to the neighborhood to liven up the food options. The menu is somewhat limited in comparison as well but think of it as something to take out or a quick bite of what I kind of call Asian soul food.

There's just something to the idea that you can have something chewy and soft and in the case of long noodles, a large, unending type of food that sauce and other collective ingredients adhere to, along for the ride into my tummy. Carbonara, chow fun, whatever it is. Bowls and bowls of noodles. Noodles noshing around yum yum yum yum...

Here's the front of the takeout menu:

Fish cakes and boiled eggs, that's not what Maryland does.

Speaking of delicious, here's some Hi-Standard with special appearances by Fat Mike and No Use For A Name:

Lunchtime Justice: J&R Santa Fight - New York Justice? I THINK SO!!!

I've shopped at J&R many a time, especially when I was living down on Water Street (which I hear is really getting lively around the seaport, in a good way, less tourists, more real establishments other than that number one selling Abercrombie store).

I picked up a lot of good DVDs for cheap, and it's like Sam Ash in that they separate things into different sections and you have to kinda strip mall yourself into different mini-stores. It's still the only DVD section where I've actually found Crime Story Season 1. Anywho, there are computer parts that I've bought that have lasted me to this day, but it's also sort of uncouth, for lack of a better word.

Anywho, as a New York establishment, and since Christmas shopping comes once a year but starts about now, here's a classic Lunchtime Justice commercial from last season. Instead of our God is better than your God, it's our Santa is better than your Santa, because we have an additional elf throwing knee strikes.

Oh and the "spit" at the end is a nice wet touch.



For all your electronics needs and a healthy dose of cramped New York style (but not cramping your style), go to J&R's official site for their latest deals.

Not Doing Anything This Weekend? Free Hip Hop Docs (and happy hour drink prices) from The Kings County Cinema Society

This Sunday July 19th, the friends at the Kings County Cinema Society are blasting serious beats this weekend in Gowanus at the newish performance space Littlefield located on 622 Degraw Street. The double bill includes the Beastie Boys concert documentary at 6pm , Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That! and at 8:30pm Rock The Bells, which chronicles the reunion of the Wu-Tang Clan for the Rock The Bells concert back in 2004. All Eastern times folks.

In between there will be BBQ for you foodies, as well as happy hour (aka recession era) drink prices, very cheap, very awesome, Gooooooowanus! And, to get you in the groove between, before, and after the par-tay, is DJ empanadamn. Yes that's a combo of two words if you want to think of it as such.


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The Kings County Cinema Society is doing Brooklyn right, check out their site and look for more events every week!

Bar Spotlight - Kili

(photo by Mr. Wonka)

So I haven't done a Bar Spotlight, Poster Critique, or Fah Q. in a while. But now I'm back with an edition of the former-est, and I'm focusing on low-key Kili. Some bars have the unique distinction of being "nestled", and those are some of my favorites. It's a bar that's either off the beaten path, or tucked away on a small block. Another example would be if you were to walk by it and not even notice it's there.

Kili is situated on Hoyt right before you hit Atlantic (when you get around betwen State and Schermerhorn and Atlantic there are some really cute mini-blocks). If I don't feel like traveling a couple blocks to Brooklyn Inn I can just stop at Kili. It has a dim glow to it in the evening that is perfect for settling in for a drink or two. It's a small place separated into two parts (with drapes shrouding it in a little mystery). First is the bar to your left, where you'll find several seats but not too much room. You can order a nice cold 2-clam PBR (happy hour is until 8pm last I checked with a discount on the usual) and make your way to the lounge area, with a ring of fire chandelier more akin to Schwarzenegger's (ok ok Matrix's) lodge in Commando:



I guess another example would be Michael Caine's pull-my-finger palace in Children Of Men.

Anywho, so it has the look and feel of very homey, fireplace-laden mini-lounge where you can score points on a date. Or something. With a touch of hip (a couple pieces of art). Just make sure you're not on Tuesday nights because it's open mic night and you don't want to be distracted by Brooklyn's Got Talent. However, on the latter half of the week the DJs usually spin a groovy mix and it's just a healthy dose of laid back.

Bar Spotlight (St. Patrick's Day Edition) - Irish Haven

Irish Haven

5721 4th Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11220

Oh Irish Haven. A haven indeed, Scorcese used this crusty bar's bar to film several scenes in The Departed. I lived in Sunset Park for 2 years and this was the only bar around that I consistently went to (or the only bar for that matter around period, although later on we found several on 3rd avenue and Feeney's a few blocks away).

Go here tomorrow for some St. Patrick's Day Irish American grub (mounds and mounds of soda bread and corned beef....for FREE) and some delicious pints of Guinness, Smithwicks, and PBR.

The layout of this bar is very simple: you walk in to the near windowless abode (if you walk in after hours, you gotta knock and Tommy should recognize you) and the place doesn't really get hopping with Irish and Russian delegates until 3:30AM or so. A waft of smells hit you, but most prevalent is just the beer. A few high tables with stools, an old jukebox with tons of Johnny Cash and U2 and Chieftains and Pogues, a long, knocked about wooden bar with lots of whiskey behind it and some of the most awesome bartenders ever. The bathrooms, where friends have slipped hilariously before, are at the end of the bar, and an open kitchen that rarely gets used, if only for a sandwich, is to your right. It's like an old bar from someone's basement, if their basement had higher ceilings. You got your one TV, and through the back there is the pool table and just some open space for people to lounge around.

I have never been to a bar that has this kind of atmosphere. Maybe I haven't been to enough bars way out in Brooklyn, but you will rarely find a place that might be so dangerous feeling initially but then you realize everyone is here to have fun. Like everyone. I've never seen someone NOT having fun here. Tommy is super generous with his time of course (the man is always there) and all the bartenders are so nice and the beer flows so fast before you know it you're in 4 pints and hankering for more hilarity. The stories flow just as much, you basically can't go there without striking up a conversation, and it's a stop for the local Irish community, whether from Eireann or here in the U.S.

The Russians will feed you vodka here just because, and well, it's actually kind of a fun place to impress a date. No really. As long as they are into the darker bars.

The prices are very, very cheap, 4 bucks a pint (like Buttermilk) and 3 for what used to be Schaeffer's, now PBR, or maybe Schlitz, who knows at this point.

The advantage of Sunset Park is that it hasn't changed as much and Irish Haven benefits from that by feeling so untouched by the world around it. It's a hard bar with a lot of heart, and if you've had a few they'll love you even more.

Remember, tomorrow for St. Patrick's Day they bring out the free corned beef and soda bread, served by the loveliest elder Irish lady. Grab your food and a beer and head to the back to chat and be merry. Also check out all those 5 star reviews on Yelp.

Magnet Theater: The Really, Really, Stupendously Nice Person

I had the pleasure of catching my first show, a graduation show, at The Magnet Theater on 29th Street in the city. As a huge fan of UCB and knowing of The People's Improv, I was interested to catch the vibe from this place as I had not heard about it previously. They have 3 dollar Red Stripe, so it's gotta be good right?

Turns out, it's very unassuming. In fact, I'm kinda charmed by it. There's just an air about it that says they are under the radar, and not even in a hip way. There's a weird empathy that I have for it, as well as sympathy for some reason. Just as makeshift as most small theaters, with a table for a bar and a podium for a box office, a small lobby for people to hang, and one, ungodly one, unisex bathroom, the stadium seating is really nice and comfortable. The instructor for the class, Mr. Armando Diaz, is somewhat older and more experienced than many of the improv performers I've seen, and as well, seems really encouraging. Like taking a class is actually tempting for someone like me with limited ability. The stage is a box in front with two doors to the back, and there's a good view from any seat as members of the class sat by the bathroom to the side.

Even their website, which can be found here, is quite low-key comparatively, there's no padded patting-themselves-on-the-back or hard sell sort of thing like some of the other sites do. Doesn't seem to carry as many variety of classes as The People's, but hey, that's just fine.

With shows nearly every night, including mixers (chance for people to get, you know, really improv-y and drunk) and Thursday Night Out special (one 5 dollar ticket gets you in for the night, dollar beers), you can't get much cheaper than Magnet Theater for stripped down fun entertainment.


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