Fresh Food Dinner Kits at Union Square Subway Station

A startup called Fresh Routes will be stationed in the mezzanine level of Union Square (14th street) station beginning June 12th, selling "dinner kits" with all the ingredients to make a meal at home. Each kit will include "fresh vegetables, a bold spice blend and step-by-step instructions for preparing a seasonal entree." According to their website, the recipes are from local chefs, including alums of big kitchens like Jean-Georges and Momofuku Ssam, with materials sourced from local spots like Hot Bread Kitchen and Satur Farms on Long Island.

Some of the current kits available include a BBQ Chicken Skillet Salad with greens, avocado and other veggies; a SoHo Rice Bowl with black beans, peppers and DYI guacamole; and a Tuscan Cannellini Ragout with spaghetti, olives, tomatoes and white beans. Fruits and veggies don't come pre-chopped and you'll have to already own your own salt, pepper and cooking oil, but otherwise everything's included and is ready for the kitchen.

Until now, the kits could (and still can) be ordered online and delivered anywhere in Manhattan; the USQ pop-up will operate:

Monday to Friday, 8am - 9pm and Saturday from 10am - 5pm for the rest of the summer.

Kits average around $34 each and include four portions, so I'll assume that you'd buy these if you're cooking for more than just yourself (well, that or you love leftovers). Side salads, appetizers and desserts are also available to purchase and the company says there will be at least one vegetarian/vegan option available in each day's selection.

You might hear this option and think, "Why the hell would I pay $34 for one meal for a few people when I can just go to the grocery store myself and get anything I want for any recipe I want?" Well, I suppose that's a fair argument. But also, do you live in NYC and have that opinion? 'Cause in that case, I feel like you probably don't understand how hellish and time consuming it is to enter ANY grocery store between 4pm and 7pm on any weekday night. So keeping that in mind, this is a great option for this city. And when I try it, I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. 

You're Eating Watermelon Wrong

You're welcome.

Coffee Crisp McFlurry at McDonald's

I will happily endorse almost anything that encourages more Coffee Crisp consumption in our everyday lives. I think you should know that by now. I'm not telling you to eat one of these every day or even one a week - but once in awhile? C'mon. It's not a big deal. And this particular treat IS FANTASTIC if you, obviously, like Coffee Crisp. I'm not sure if they're available in all of Canada, but they're definitely in Ontario at the moment so get on that.

“Never trust a person who openly says that they don’t like their parents.”

— #laylaadvice

Hazelnut Gelato at Whole Foods

I will always say yes to seeing a dessert menu at the end of a meal MAINLY because I have to do a once-over and make sure there isn't any hazelnut gelato listed. If you haven't had it before... that's a problem. Especially if you give any kind of a shit about Nutella, as most do. 

Whole Foods has a gelato section and nine times out of ten, they have this flavour. I advise you to eat it if you have any kind of decency within you. 

B.J. Novak's One More Thing Stories and Other Stories - A Review

Do you remember that episode of Seinfeld when Kramer gets a (fake) job at an office where he's working crazy hours (and has a briefcase full of crackers) - then his boss sits down with him to look over his recent work and the boss looks at it and goes, "I don't know what this is supposed to be..."? I could say that about this whole book.

This is not going to be an especially mean post, since I think it's great that he managed to write (and publish) something that I'm sure lots of (other) people (not me) will love. If anything, I'm a little blown away that I disliked it so intently. Remember when I was so excited to read it? What the hell was I basing that on? I'm going to assume I was basing that on his friendship with Mindy Kaling. I guess I thought that since her book was so good - well, maybe she would only surround herself with other great writers? I don't know. I hear how dumb that sounds.

Anyway, other than hating 99% of it - I did finish it. And here were my only favourite parts.

• "I have never understood flourless chocolate cake. Is flour such a bad thing? I mean, compared to the other things in a chocolate cake? Flour is probably the least unhealthy thing I can think of in chocolate cake. Is that supposed to be the point? That the whole cake is just all eggs and sugar and butter? And anyway, who cares? It's chocolate cake. We know it's not a health food. Use whatever ingredients you want. All it has to do is taste good. We don't need to know how you did it - just make it."
• The fact that he allotted an entire paragraph (and page) describing the typeface he used in the book. Man, I just loved that. Love type talk.

That's it. That's all I enjoyed. And that's pretty sad considering that first bullet point essentially sounds like a recycled and/or modernized version of a Woody Allen bit.  

Booooooooo / 10

Manhattanhenge

Manhattanhenge: when the sun aligns spectacularly with the NYC street grid.

For 2014 the dates for Manhattanhenge fall on May 29th and July 12th, when the setting Sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street grid, creating a lovely glow of light across the backdrop of the city, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough's grid. 

For these two days, as the Sun sets on the grid, half the disk sits above and half below the horizon. The day after (May 30th) and the day before (July 11) also offer Manhattanhenge moments, but at sunset, you instead will find the entire ball of the Sun on the horizon.

Half Sun on the Grid Times

Thursday, May 29 8:16 P.M. EDT
Saturday, July 12 8:25 P.M. EDT

Full Sun on the Grid Times

Friday, May 30 8:18 P.M. EDT
Friday, July 11 8:24 P.M. EDT

If you're going to check it out, then arrive a half-hour earlier than the times given above.

For best effect, position yourself as far east in Manhattan as possible. But ensure that when you look west across the avenues you can still see New Jersey. Clear cross streets include 14th, 23rd, 34th. 42nd, 57th, and several streets adjacent to them. 

“Try to say nothing negative about anybody.
a) for three days
b) for forty-five days
c) for three months

See what happens to your life.”

— Yoko Ono, "Cleaning Piece III"

Amy Poehler's Book 'Yes Please'

COMES OUT OCTOBER 28TH, 2014!

As I've mentioned before, I cannot wait for this since it'll likely be FANTASTIC. You can pre-order it on Amazon, if you so choose.

You can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.