Small Meal Big Cultural Affair

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Sherrina Navani

I heard a soft roar as I stepped onto the three story escalator. By the time my feet hit the crescent of the escalator, the soft roar had turned into an all out ear piercing noise of chatter and clanging dishes, usual fare for one of New York’s biggest and busiest Chinese Dim Sum restaurants. “It is always like this on the weekends, but their table turnover is quite quick.” said Angie Yee, a long time dim sum lover and regular at the restaurant.

Visiting the five thousand square foot establishment on Elizabeth Street in Chinatown, Jing Fong, is like being transported to the center of Kowloon City, Hong Kong, on a Sunday afternoon, where most tea houses serve the dumpling style steamed and fried delicacies as a popular weekend brunch option.

Dim Sum is not just small appetizer size food that is served in small bamboo  baskets on carts that are pushed by servers around the room, it is a cultural institution for most Chinese. Patrons at at Jing Fong experience the culture of community eating and drinking tea, in an open banquet hall type establishment. Yellow uniformed clad waitresses, whose English dictionary primarily includes “you want chicken or shrimp,” shuffle around tables of hungry customers, from all ethnicity, who simply raise their hand to ask for their next dish. One quick mark on the bill, that sits on the table through out the meal, and you are served a dish.

Served in Bamboo Baskets

 

The red and gold, dragon walled clad, restaurant seats almost 300 people and talking at a whisper is just not an option. Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, English, and at our table Hindi, could be heard buzzing around. There is a head maitre d’ who oversees about 4 tables at a time. She or he works as a translator and a quality control inspector, ensuring waitresses know what dim sum specialty the customer has ordered and making sure the appropriate charge has been added to the bill.

Our maitre d’, Lucy Ping was completely enamored by my five year old’s love of the pork, shrimp and fish dim sum. “Most children don’t like our food, they think it is smelly,”she said. “Your daughter is good she likes different things.”

Types of Dim Sum

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Chelsea gets some new Cuban at Coppelia

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Chase Lindsay Rosen
After nearly a decade, Son Cubano, the Cuban hot spot in the Meat Packing District has relocated. The cobble stone area was left dry of ropa vieja and ceviche for a few months, but a new Cuban 24 hour restaurant has emerged. Coppelia, a 24 hour Cuban diner opened on April 4th on 14th between 7th and 8th avenues.
Chef Julian Medina (Yerba Buena and Tolache) opened this luncheonette to feel like you’re truly in Havana. The walls are painted yellow and colorful blue tile backsplashes. and crafted a menu full of Nuevo-Latino comfort food. With only 70 seats, the space is small and cozy. On opening night, the blue shiny banquettes were full with 20-something’s chatting over fish tacos, beef nachos and arroz con pollo.

“It’s very cool how they’ve taken the classic American diner concept with comfy booths and bar stools and out a Cuban twist on it,” said Evan, a 24 year old native New Yorker munching on ropa vieja and cheese empanadas.
Like the typical American diner, breakfast is served all day like, huevos rancheros and blue corn meal pancakes. Though they don’t have the spinning display, pastries are also a highlight of the menu. Deserts include chocolate dipped churros and tres leches torrijas.
When I went for dinner, I enjoyed tilapia tacos, cheese croquettes, ropa vieja and obviously, a Cuban sandwich. The food was fresh, hot and service was impeccable. The best part about the experience was the waiter that was able to explain all the different ingredients to me and help to pick things with compatible flavors. Unfortunately I was too full for desert, but am looking forward to my next meal at Coppelia.

Open 24 hours, there is always something for someone to eat, despite the time. The food is fresh, unique and in an area of Manhattan rich with nightlife and culture. Until my next trip to Cuba (I wish), I will be at Coppelia to fix my Latin taste buds.
*Photos courtesy of Eater and Time Out NY
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Nathan Sawaya’s Lego Art – 3 Questions with Nathan Sawaya

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Brianne Garcia

Let’s be serious: we all toyed with Legos when we were wee little kids, pretending we were architects constructing new worlds with those little colored bricks. But former lawyer Nathan Sawaya’s Lego art is architecturally amazing. He molds life-size sculptures using one of the most non-malleable materials ever made; Legos have four corners and cannot be shaped, construed or folded, and yet he manages to mimic the human form with fluid scaling and an eye for proportion. The shadows cast by the shapes also give his human and face sculptures an extremely life-like appeal…and yet, the irony is that these sculptures are made out of a child’s toy.

What was the first piece of artwork you created using Legos?

NS: When I was 8 years old, I asked my parents if I could have a dog. When they said no, I built one out of Legos.

How did the art world receive you when you first broke onto the scene?

NS: I got some nasty responses at first, but then more prominent people and celebrities started buying my work and a gallery show in Chelsea soon followed.

What’s the oddest request you’ve ever received?

NS: Someone asked me to create a lifesized nude woman with a cat face.

Watch out for more from this guy. Soon the world will be pixellated.

(And I apologize; these photos were taken on my cell phone since my G12 is in the shop being fixed. Thanks for your patience)

 

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Brooklyn’s Booming Food Industry

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Jennifer Hamblett

Tasting Brooklyn from Jennifer Hamblett on Vimeo.

Last Tuesday down under Manhattan Bridge, pans sizzled and mouths chewed on come of the best local cuisine Brooklyn has to offer. The restaurant owners here at Tasting Brooklyn are part of a hot trend soaking up Brooklyn’s love of food. Surprisingly the restaurant industry in the borough has been thriving and weathering well despite the recession. Could this be unique to Brooklyn? Why do Brooklynites value their food so highly?

Matthew Robicelli, of Robicelli’s cupcakes, remembers the struggle of the downturn.

Matthew Robicelli, owner of Robicelli Cupcakes

“We had a gourmet market that opened up 4 days before the recession hit and then we lost everything.  We actually started our cake company on $30 we had left in our bank account after losing almost everything.  We have been going strong for two years and it’s a fight, but you can’t give up on what you love.”

Statistics released from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce show that during the recession the food services industry actually took on more employees than expected with a 6.8% rise in employees of food services over double that of the citywide rise.  You need look no further than the 20+ tables at the Dumbo Loft to confirm the reality lives up to the numbers.

Jumana Bishara, owner of Tanoreen Restaurant

Jumana Bishara, owner of Tanoreen Restaurant, Bay Ridge, says they have just moved to a larger space and subsequently doubled their staff. Cheryl Smith who cooks ‘soul food’ at Cheryls Global Soul says she will also be hiring again as the summer approaches.

So when then going gets tough why does Brooklyn go out to eat? Perhaps it is because the boroughs restaurants offer more than just food.

Cheryl Smith, chef and owner of Cheryl's Global Soul

“It’s a neighborhood, that like our restaurant, is eclectic,” says Smith, “there is a lot of blending of people of all ages, and for us we are near the Brooklyn Museum so we are like a cultural center, which I think is also what Brooklyn is.”

“There is a lot of love in Brooklyn…everyone is looking at it more like home cooking compared to some larger scale fine dining experience,” says Robeselli.

In fact for Bishara, home cooking is exactly the niche Tanoreen began to fill 13 years ago using her grandmother’s recipes. “It was my mother who started it and she did it as a tribute to her mom. It was a hit and it took off,” she says.

Sharon Beason, who organized the event, sums it up in her motivation for the night: “I was really just listening to the culture of Brooklyn.”

 

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Brooklyn bar brings in comedians

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Sarah Ewald
Dive Comedy graphic. Image courtesy of divecomedy.tumblr.com.

Dive Comedy graphic. Image courtesy of divecomedy.tumblr.com.

From the outset, Freddy’s Bar looks like pretty typical. But there’s more going on inside on the first night of each workweek.

The Park Slope bar, which reopened on Feb. 4, boasts stand-up comedy performed every Monday night. And it’s great for a cheap date: It’s free.

During a recent Monday night, six comedians took to the stage for seven minutes each to engage the audience. Nick Mariatio recounted getting arrested while toking up on his lunch break. Dan Goodman compared the U.S.’s world status to that of other countries, drawing parallels using “Happy Days” characters.

Different emcees presents shows on alternate weeks. Hosts Giulia Rozzi and Brooke Van Poppelen co-produce the Dive Comedy Stand-Up show on the second and fourth Monday of each month. They took turns performing their own material and playing off each other before introducing the next comedians.

Rozzi started performing stand-up 10 years ago. She and Van Poppelen have been good friends for years.

“We’d done stand-up a long time, and we wanted to do a show together,” she said.

The two used to perform at Hank’s Saloon on 3rd Ave., but moved to Freddy’s when it re-opened. There’s at least one point in Freddy’s favor.

“It has a separate room from the bar, which Hank’s didn’t have,” Rozzi said.

Comedian Calvin Cato started performing five years ago while at Wesleyan University. This was his first time with Rozzi and Van Poppelen’s show, though he has performed in the bar with Pat O’Shea’s show, which runs on every first and third Monday night.

Cato said the two shows differ in format, with O’Shea acting as sole host.

“Pat’s show has been around for over 5 years so I think it’s taken on a very distinct character,” he said. “Brooke and Giulia’s show is fantastic as well and a lot of fun, and it has a more casual vibe.”

Comedian Sean Donnelly has been performing for five years.

“I had wanted to try it, so I gave it a shot and I loved it,” he said.

He tried out some new bits on the audience Monday night.

“It was maybe 25 percent new,” he said. “It depends on the show, the amount of new material.”

The next night, Donnelly was scheduled to perform at Caroline’s on Broadway.  Since it’s an esteemed established club, Donnelly said he’d be playing it safe with his material.

But that’s not the case with all venues.

“With the bar shows, you can do whatever you want,” he said. Donnelly tests out new material with these crowds.

This was Donnelly’s first time performing at Freddy’s. Rozzi and Van Poppelan contacted him.

“Brooke and Giulia are two of the funniest comics in the city,” he said.

Comic Bryson Turner attended the show to see his friend Lucas Molandes, who performed. It was his second time seeing a show at the venue.

“Most shows, especially with the rapid-fire format, go on too long, but not this one,” he said. “I had a good time.”

Freddy’s stand-up comedy runs every Monday night at 8:30 p.m. The bar is located at 627 5th Avenue between 17th and 18th streets, off the Prospect Avenue subway and B63 bus stops.

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Tatum More Than a Hunk

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Women love Channing Tatum.

As a matter of fact, just the mention of his name induces a Beatlemania-esque scream.

It doesn’t matter what type of film he’s associated with, from an ‘80s inspired action romp to a Nicolas Sparks’ book turned flick; he can do nothing wrong.

Because of that, most men and women that want more than a good-looking face on-screen aren’t big fans of his work.

That, however, is about to change with his participation in the new HBO documentary “Earth made of Glass.”

Co-written and co-directed by award-winning documentarian Deborah Scranton, the film tells the story of Rwanda’s rebuild after the 1994 genocide and how one man found a way to stop the cycle of pain and destruction in his own family.

Now why does Tatum, the guy known more for being the guy from teen-pop classics the likes of “Step Up” and “Fighting” have anything to do with this?

He’s the film’s executive producer.

How did he get involved in this?

Tatum became fascinated with the political turmoil and genocide in Rwanda friend Reid Carolin [who worked with Tatum on the MTV film “Stop Loss” and produced the film] went abroad to film and told Tatum what was going on.

“He did this for the better part of two years and he came back with this amazing footage,” said Tatum. “It was so educational for me. I didn’t know anything about it.”

Now, was not only intrigued by the project, but wanted to be a part of it.

“I didn’t get a lot of my education from books and school,” he said. “I got it from TV and the news. This was so foreign to me, but it was so compelling and close to home. I’m from the South. Race and difference and rage are so real down there. For me to see a different country, where everyone is the same race, just killing everybody, is unbelievable to me.”

All of a sudden, a half-decade of appearances in teen flicks, wacky comedies and action flicks is washed away.
Tatum is a bona-fide humanitarian.

Even better, he legitimately cares about his audience and wants them to be affected by what’s going on in the world as well.

“It was really important for me to get this to my audience, which is a little younger,” he said. “They had an amazing screening of it for some inner-city kids at the Tribeca Film Festival [in 2010]. They needed to see it.

“It was just an honor to be a part of this.”

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Lynn Goldsmith: a career photographing the greats

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Juan Matossian

Bob Marley, Milan, Italy, 1980 © Lynn Goldsmith, 1980

If you were a iconic rock musician between the 60s and the 80s, chances are you were photographed at some point of your career by Lynn Goldsmith. From The Beatles, to The Rolling Stones, to Bob Dylan, to Bruce Springsteen, to Michael Jackson, to Madonna.. no one escaped from Goldsmith’s lens. Her work has appeared in more than 100 album covers, as well as in the front pages of Rolling Stone, Time, People, Life or Newsweek.

New York City’s Morrison Hotel Gallery (313 Bowery, where the legendary CBGB club used to be) is currently exhibing a selection of Goldsmith’s photography archive with a special emphasis on five artists: Bruce Springsteen, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, U2 and Bob Marley. The Clash, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Kiss or David Byrne, among others, are also featured.

Keith Richards © Lynn Goldsmith, Date Unknown

The photographs were handpicked by Goldsmith herself and show musicians during live shows, in staged sessions and also in the middle of casual moments: U2 walking in the rain in Fifth Avenue, Van Halen saluting their fans after a show, Dylan outside a grocery store, The Beastie Boys at Stromboli Pizza…

Some photographs are accompanied by anecdotes provided by Goldsmith that reveal her perception of the artist in an often very amusing way. “Some people find him distant, but I think that’s because they are afraid to talk to him. They think he is Mr. Super Smart, and he is. He is smart enough not to judge people,” reads after an image of David Byrne with sunglasses in a beach in Yucatan.

My personal favorite is the one associated with Dylan looking dreamily to the sky with the Empire State in the distance: “If you hang around with Bob Dylan long enough, someone is bound to come up and ask him if he is God, or tell him why they are sure he is God, or ask if he can help them find God.”

Bruce Springsteen, Holmdel, NJ 1978 © Lynn Goldsmith, 1978

The most featured artist in the exhibit is probably Bruce Springsteen, who Goldsmith got to know the best of all. She dated him during the Darkness on the Edge of Town tour in 1978, which is considered by fans and critics the peak of Springsteen’s live performance career. Goldsmith took thousands of photographs from that era. A huge selection of which were included later in her book “Springsteen: Access all Areas”.

“Lynn Goldsmith at The Bowery” is on view through May 5 at the Morrison Hotel Gallery, 313 Bowery

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Music Festival Showcases ‘Game Boy’ Artists

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Brooks Newkirk

Chip art, which fuses retro game technology such as Nintendo Game Boys with old school computers like the Commodore 64, is an underground movement that has spread from Japan to Europe to America. Even though the genre is gaining momentum, it is still relatively unknown and most fans have to go online to connect with their favorite chip musicians and visual artists.

But 8bitpeoples, a coalition of chip artists, has taken the art form offline and into the real world with the Blip Festival, an annual event that showcases chip artists from across the globe. This year’s festival will be held May 19-21 at Eyebeam, 540 W. 21 St. in Manhattan.

“Around the time when we organized the event’s first edition in 2006, our conscious impulse wasn’t much further-reaching than the simple fun of wanting to show off this underground, international, diverse subculture we were lucky enough to be a part of,” said one of the event’s organizers, Joshua Davis, who is also an artist who goes by the moniker Bit Shifter. “In retrospect, I think that beneath the fun impulse was probably a growing awareness that this was culturally and artistically relevant, that this artistic aesthetic could resonate with those in-the-know and newcomers alike.”

For chip artists and fans, the festival has done just that.

“The Blip Festival allows people who are very talented, but not well-known in their own city a chance to get recognition,” said visual artist, Don Miller, 31, who goes by the stage name NO CARRIER. “Chip is big online so Blip also gives people who have only met online a chance to meet in real life.”

This year’s lineup includes artists from China, Australia and the New York/New Jersey area including Chipzel, Talk to Animals and Peter Swimm. Learn more about Blip Festival 2011.

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New Works at 5 Pointz, Despite an Uncertain Future

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Zachary Kussin

5 Pointz, a nearly 10-year-old outdoor graffiti art gallery, faces threat of closure. For now, though, it's business as usual--the 2011 exhibition season opens next month.

5 Pointz, the iconic Long Island City outdoor graffiti art gallery, will open for a new season of exhibitions in May. But back in March, owner Jerry Wolkoff announced plans to raze the 200,000 square foot factory building whose exterior displays hundreds of works of graffiti art to build apartments and a shopping mall–probably as soon as next year. The news not only makes resident artists worry about not having a legal space to paint in the future, but also provides them an additional sense of artistic inspiration.

“This season will have to be dope,” said 5 Pointz curator and artist Meres One (his artistic name) just after completing a roof-level Mets mural, which passengers on the 7 train can see on their way to Citi Field for home games. After all, he said, if the building comes down, he wants it to happen with a bang.

Beyond that, Meres One declined to make any more comments. He said he started negotiations with Wolkoff to preserve the building, which remain ongoing, and doesn’t want to create bad blood between the two.

But Zeso, a resident street artist from Lyon, France, said he felt angry. Not only because the painted walls could soon crumble, he said, but also because not enough members of the hip-hop community have come out to support 5 Pointz’s preservation. Since street art is considered part of the hip-hop movement, Zeso thinks there should be greater solidarity and voices to keep 5 Points standing.

“The guys like Jay-Z, Fat Joe, Marc Ecko, they make big business with graffiti, and this place gonna shut down, and these people don’t give nothing back,” he said. “They just take money from hip-hop, and they don’t give anything back. For me, that is shameful. What they gonna do? Nothing. We give them the money…and when it comes time to give something back, nothing…they just take it. If they tear this place down, I’m not gonna be surprised.”

Zeso spent almost a week finishing his mural, which shows the New York City skyline and hip-hop characters. Located on the back end of 5 Pointz, it will be on display this spring.

Eventually, Zeso got back to work. His wall-length mural–part of which shows the New York City skyline–represents the city that’s inspired him most as an artist. But if 5 Points comes down, he said, he’ll continue his graffiti work.

“We’re gonna find somewhere else,” he said. “We’re not gonna stop.”

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Hitting the Books at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Lily Rothman

While e-book sales are growing steadily, a very different kind of reading material was showcased at the Park Avenue Armory last weekend. The 51st Annual New York Antiquarian Book Fair, a bibliophile’s answer to the showier Armory art fair, showcased about 200 sellers of rare books, manuscripts, illustrations and pamphlets. The “antiquarian” qualifier was applied loosely; those hoping to shell out big bucks for a copy of the first British printing of The Prisoner of Azkaban would not be disappointed, but there were plenty of opportunities to geek out over everything from Americana to incunabula.

And there were also plenty of geeks to do the geeking. Valencia Vigil, manning the booth for Antiquariat Botanicum, a Washington-state-based vendor of botany and horticulure manuscripts, said she had been worried that no young people were interested in books. Much to the contrary, she had observed young sellers and young buyers alike.

Case in point: Bill Adelson was hunting for a book to call his name as the booths began to close on the last afternoon of the fair. The 28-year-old writer said that he is a small-time collector who has bought one book at each fair of the last five years. Last year, it was an etiquette book from the 1920s. And this time? “I’ll know it when I see it,” he said.

Adelson said he did not own an e-reader but, while his shopping motives may have been erudite, his reasons for that decision were less so: “A book is never going to run out of batteries or break when you drop it,” he said.

What do you think: is it silly to be devoted to ink and paper in the digital age, or do physical books just serve their own, different purpose?

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