stephanieNY

I just ate the most delicious stuffed eggplant...brought to me by Meridian Market in East Boston.  They're set up at St. Anthony's Feast this weekend, which at 9:30 on a Sunday, is showing zero signs of ending.  There's an all-out party in 1/2 the North End tonight and it's about 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the neighborhood.

Whoa! The building across the street was just on fire! A real live fire. Way too many engines were pulling up outside for it to be a simple oven malfunction, so I watched to find out. Then flames started pouring (no exaggeration) out of the 11th floor, so I got my camera (don't judge). They NYFD worked faster than me, because I missed the flames but got the subsequent stream of smoke and water spray. The crazy thing about it is just as I was standing in my living room window watching it all, lots of people were doing the same exact thing, except from the building that was on fire. I guess NYC fire codes don't require building-wide alarm systems in these old places. Yikes.

Now my room smells like smoke because my window was open. It usually smells like the restaurant right below us...and not of what they're cooking, but more like what they're throwing away. Is it awful that I'm kind of enjoying the subtle smell of a burning building right now? It's only because it doesn't make me think of dumpsters and rats as I fall asleep.

This past weekend was the Fisherman's Feast in the North End. We went Friday night for some rice balls and had some drinks at one of the restaurant's outside patios that they set up on the street for the weekend. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera that night and missed photo and video ops of Jay Seigel and the Tokens as they ended their set on the bandstand with their famous The Lion Sleeps Tonight. It was awesome.

Last night Jill and I went for dinner and to see the angel fly. Every year, three little girls dress up as angels and put on a little act from the fire escapes of apartment buildings on North Street, and one of them "flies" down to greet the Madonna as she finishes her day-long procession through the neighborhood. Here's a little taste:

However, the most entertaining part of the feasts is usually the crowd. The festivals in the North End are like summers on the Cape...the population skyrockets each weekend in August. The crowds are made up primarily of the "suburban Tony Soprano type". It's fascinating and amusing and a little bit intimidating. I hope I never tire of August in the North End.

The Mirabella Pool in the North End used to be a beach. How cool, right?! The public pool sits right on the water amidst the neighborhood's ball fields and looks out over the Charlestown Navy Yard across the harbor. Although not the height of luxury with its concrete floor and big greasy crowds, the pool is an amazing and cheap ($15 for the whole summer!) amenity to have right across the street from you in the city.

The entire site, including the area of the ball fields, was a huge public beach in the early 1900s. This tiny picture was all I could find online. I also read that the Boston Floating Hospital sat in the harbor right off the North End beach on a boat starting in 1894. Daily trips out to sea was thought to be therapeutic for patients. Now I see why we call it Boston Floating Hospital.

Here's my grandma and me checking out the pool last summer:

And me chillin poolside last week:

I don't spend too much time in the water when I'm at the pool due to the big greasy crowds, but I think bathing in the water at a beach in Boston Harbor might be even less appealing. I'm sure it was much cleaner a hundred years ago.

Along some of the smaller streets in the North End, there are all these little alleys, courts, and side-ways in between the buildings. The front stoops of some apartment buildings are situated down these courtyard-like alleys. They're so pretty and charming and comforting.

They are not for cars, but only for walking and sometimes for old ladies to sit in lawn chairs. They feel like an urban neighborhood equivalent to a driveway or maybe a cul-de-sac. Like a tier down from the street you live on, an intermediate semi-private stretch before your full-out private home. I live/stay down this way to Adam's apartment now:

I'd like to live up this one some day:

It's not an alley, but a set of stairs running up the side of Copp's Hill Terrace:

and looks out on this:

mmmmmm.

You may remember that Adam and I went to Rack and Soul in my neighborhood a few weeks ago for barbecue. The whole front part of the restaurant had been boarded up for a couple months, but the back part around the corner was still open. I assumed they were renovating. Nope. The plywood walls came down the other day to reveal a brand spankin' new Verizon Wireless outlet. Yuk. I can't described the reaction I had when I was faced with the pristine composite stone siding of the new building. I swear I could smell the new carpet from outside. Look at poor independent-business, R&S back there trying to survive. Sad. Doesn't Verizon Wireless already rule the world? Why's it gotta rule the block?

Adam came to visit this weekend and we both had/have loads of work to do, so we spent most of the time sitting at the table across from each other on our computers. I got a lot done on my portfolio, but not so much on school work. That's what Monday mornings are for I guess. Saturday night we went to Rack and Soul for the BBQ that I had suspected might be really good. And it was!

It was soooooo warm and sunny out yesterday. And while I mostly just watched other people enjoy the weather through my living room windows this weekend, we did go outside for a while yesterday after lunch when we walked through Riverside Park. Our destination was General Grant's Memorial at 120th-ish Street. We took a trail that we thought would lead us there. Alas, we ended up at the edge of the parkway and had to scale the side of a hill. It was like Class 2 hiking in flats. We recovered on the steps of the memorial where we watched what had to have been the NYC Unicyclists Association's spring meeting. There was a pile of literally 20 or so unicycles in the corner of the plaza, a few of which were being ridden by cyclists of all skill levels. It was hilarious. Oh and there were skateboards, pogo-sticks and batons involved too. 'Figures.

We went into the memorial where the guard clarified for us the answer to the trick question, Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?...Nobody, because Grant and his wife are in fact entombed there (not buried). Wah-hah-hah. It didn't originate as a trick question though. Groucho Marx would ask it on his game show to ensure that no contestant left without getting a question right. And there you have it.

Even though we worked a lot, it felt like a real weekend since I stayed away from school for a whole two days. And now it's raining, Adam will get on a bus soon, and I'll go up to school again. Boohoo. Sounds like I've got a case of the Mondays.

I didn't realize how important I was until today. The girl that was ringing me up at the market noticed my school ID in my wallet and told me that I should have a VIP card...a Garden Of Eden VIP card. Important people get 10% off their purchases!. I walk by a myriad of markets daily along Broadway, but Garden of Eden is my favorite. It's on the pricier side, so sometimes I stay away. Not anymore. Think of all the tens of dollars I could have been saving since the fall of '07! Things are about to change.

I just like how they call it a VIP card.

My favorite sushi restaurant and #1 take-out place closed their doors last week. As I walked by Tomo on my way to school one day last week, I was stupefied by the site of newspaper pages covering the storefront. (see photo) I prayed that the posted notice would ensure a temporary closing for renovations. No dice...closed for good. When I called my backup across the street, Tokyo Pop, to place an order tonight...no answer. Sure enough, I looked out my living room window to find a similar newspaper-clad storefront. Two in one week! My conclusion: Sushi is not recession-proof.

Every Sunday and Thursday, a farmers market sets up on Broadway right outside campus. At this time of year, inventory consists mainly of apples, potatoes, pies, bread, honey, and more apples. The baked goods are largely apple-themed. I guess I was inspired today, because I walked away with three apples, a large hot apple cider, and apple biscotti. Mmmmmm.