The very best of 2022.
Read MoreSeptember Shenanigans 2022
Officially the latest monthly post I’ve ever done, I’m sorry! I promise it will never happen again. We’re right in the middle of autumn and everything is overwhelming, but a good kind of overwhelming. Here’s what went down in September (oh god that feels like a year ago).
You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.
I finally went to visit the video rental space Kim’s Video downtown.
I made a collection of my favourite photos from the summer.
I recapped what I did off my summer list of things to do.
I wrote my autumn list of things that I intend to do this season.
I did a podcast with Nathan that can be heard over here.
I know I’ve mentioned how good Aquaphor is for ashy elbows, but I’ve also discovered that it’s incredible at healing damaged pimple areas. For instance, when you pop one and it goes so wrong. I did this recently and then put some of it right on top and it was completely healed in two days.
I’ve tried the Carbone jarred pasta sauce and it was great! It’s overpriced, so I’d only buy it on sale. And some flavours can be a little too oily, but overall it tastes great.
I finally saw Nope and I think I liked it. It’s probably my least favourite of his movies, but it was enjoyable to watch. That shoe standing upright bothered me for way too long before I looked it up and connected the idea of “bad miracles” but other than that, it was all right. Love the way that man promotes a movie.
I had dinner at Fiaschetteria Pistoia and the duck ragu was really good. It’s an aggressively tiny restaurant, but the food made it worth it.
Since it’s illegal to operate any cashless operation in New York City, if you ever see a place trying to tell you otherwise - report them! To consumers@dca.nyc.gov - I do it all the time.
Some things I watched:
The Woodstock documentary on Netflix: only three episodes, great watch. You will hate all concert promoters by the end of it.
Volcano: okay, I can finally settle this debate. It is NOT better than Dante’s Peak.
Never Have I Ever (newest season): I almost wanted to hate it (why? I’ve watched all the seasons? I can’t explain this?) but I keep loving it. I can acknowledge that younger people have every right to hate this show. The supplementary characters just keep getting better and better.
The Keaton episode of New Girl: I’ve never seen this show because it looks bad and I wouldn’t like it. That being said, I watched this one because it was a Halloween episode and I also thought there was a chance of Michael Keaton being in it. God, what a mistake. This episode only confirms what a terrible show it really is. Can we retire fat suits already?
Killing Me Softly: honestly just a wild ride of a movie. Everyone should watch it.
Hocus Pocus 2: okay, let me start this by saying that this movie isn’t for me. It’s for children. And I can respect that. I just wish that more characters from the original were in this one, that would’ve made me so much more into it. Nothing will beat the original in my mind and that’s perfectly acceptable.
So I went to Las Vegas again and I got to eat at the new Martha Stewart restaurant The Bedford. Of course my expectations were high because 1) I love her and 2) she’s never opened a restaurant before. The servers are extremely well trained (which is wonderful, I love this detail) they have even been taught to say “cheers” in Polish. The attention to detail on the decor of the individual tables as well as the entire space is perfection, even the temperature was just right. However, there had to be cons. All burgers should have round buns, what reason is there to mess with that simple fact? The smashed potato (which is smashed table-side) is an incredibly stupid idea and almost seems like a joke on the white people who would actually enjoy it. Small side orders of sauces should absolutely never cost $9, that’s ludicrous. The fries were wildly overcooked in overused oil (how does one mess up french fries?) and the prices, sure, they were outrageous but that fact tracks since it’s in Las Vegas. The homemade mustard was really tasty (maybe because you never come across homemade?) and her béarnaise sauce was perfect. The oysters Rockefeller were good, if only a little bit chilly. All in all, it was an experience. One that I’ll happily never have to have again.
I also ate at Bazaar Meat By Jose Andres in Vegas and it was spectacular. I got the cotton candy fois gras, the patatas bravas and the meatball. Love this man. Love his food.
I tried the tacos at Dirty Taco (an LA street-style taco place) in Grand Central Terminal and the duck skin tacos were only all right, but the steak ones were fantastic. The tortillas were also great. Also, maybe it’s a bad idea to have the word dirty in your name?
I made these pumpkin lasagna rollups that have the exact right amount of pumpkin in them.
Also made this blueberry buckle that tasted especially good with some maple syrup on top.
I finally went to the Manhattan location of The Alamo and this theatre is great, but impossible to find. It’s also where the new Kim’s Video is hiding.
I had brunch at Sala in Astoria and just wow. I never thought I’d have the best BLT of my life at a tapas place. Everyone needs to go.
I read the Chloe Hilliard book Fuck Your Diet: And Other Things My Thighs Tell Me and… meh. Can we all make a pact to never use the phrase eating clean ever again? The book was really very okay, I think I just wish it was more about her being a comedian and less about body stuff. It’s obviously my fault since the title really does say it all.
If you aren’t watching the Halloween episodes of Bob’s Burgers this month, you may not be cooler than I am.
Some things that I’m looking forward to doing this month: oh god, so many Halloween related activities, I can’t wait to finalize our costumes, I’m definitely going to make these pumpkin cookies again, I’d love to make garlic chicken meatballs with orzo for dinner on a rainy night, I really want to walk around Central Park with Baby Dog since all the leaves are changing and I’d really love to have next month’s roundup post written on time. Fingers crossed. Oh and here’s a link to all of the fall festivals happening around NYC right now.
If you have any interest in what went on in August, come on over here. I also have an autumn highlight reel on Instagram if you care to see what I’m up to this season.
Kim's Video Store in NYC
I finally visited the reincarnation of the classic NYC institution Kim’s Video at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in the city and IT IS PERFECT.
When video stores started closing around 2010, of course it felt like the end of an era, but it was too soon to understand exactly what had been lost. When I was a teenager, every summer I would repeatedly get the 10-old-movies-for-$5-deal that Rogers Video had (and you could keep them for a week) and that’s when the beginning of my love for old horror movies began. There was something so decisive about choosing something to watch, committing to taking it home with you, and then dedicating an hour and half to it (whether it was good or bad). There was more thought put into what you wanted to watch.
I think you can see where I’m headed with this, but I’ll stop now because this isn’t about how streaming services and excessive content have ruined our watching habits today (they have) - this is about how there’s a video store in NYC and you need to go to it.
AND THE RENTALS ARE FREE. How can this place exist in a world where restaurants are charging you for bread and butter now?? Not a clue. But when something is an insanely good deal, it’s best to take advantage of it as much as you possibly can because you never know what the future holds.
I think I spent about 45 minutes just browsing and it felt… transcendent. Maybe even groin-grabbingly transcendent? (Two people will get that joke and I refuse to delete it.) There is something about the experience of physically being surrounded by undiscovered possibilities that I didn’t know how much I missed. It reminded me of a time when choice was more intentional because you had to drive your choice back home with you and maybe even convince others to watch it with you. There’s something valuable about the importance of intention. On a larger scale, we move further from this idea on a daily basis with the things that endlessly distract us that offer no substance. I might be veering off on a tangent (I am) so I’ll stop (sort of). Am I becoming a crotchety old man who laments how it used to be better? In this case, yes absolutely, but I’m not wrong.
Kim’s Video, NYC
That being said, it felt great to step into the past for moment.
The location is a bit tricky to find but once you’re inside the building of 28 Liberty Street, find the escalators going down and then keep going down until you see the Alamo sign. And once you’re inside the Alamo, you can find Kim’s down another set of stairs to the right of the front desk.
While I can’t find the exact operation hours of the place, it opens daily about thirty minutes before the first movie showing so you can easily find out when to visit. Even if you think you don’t miss video stores, you do. You gotta go.