Tuesday, December 6, 2011

pulino's and dexter on bowery




pulino's bar & pizerria at 282 bowery.
according to yelp, some says the food is overpriced and bland, some says the food is awesome. the consistent comments were the drinks are terrible and way way overpriced. bloody mary taste like a glass of salsa, dusty rose taste like pureed strawberries and martini taste like olive juice.
p.s. this is one of mcnally's restaurants. he has opened these restaurants: the odeon, cafe luxembourg, lucky strike, pravda, balthazar, pastis, schiller's, and minetta tavern.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

brinkley's





brinkley's restaurant 406, broome st. between cleveland pl. & centre st.
go in for a drink or two with friends and enjoy the bar/pub atmosphere. do not expect super delectable food as they offer diner-quality food. but the staffs are friendly.

Monday, October 10, 2011

the standard hotel and kaws




photo taken at meatpacking district.
the standard is a boutique hotel located at the meatpacking district. the hotel is situated above, beneath and around the highline. outside the hotel plaza, is currently exhibiting the giant sculpture by the famous artist brian donnelly, aka kaws.
kaws: passing through at the standard
kaws: passing through is the artist's first outdoor sculpture. his signature character, companion is depicted in a contemplative seated position. first exhibited in hong kong at harbour city, it then spent time at the aldrich contemporary art museum and then moved on to the standard, new york.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

jackson pollock inspired outfit


photo taken in soho, mulberry and spring street.
i spotted this guy outside
spring lounge. fashion is very subjective, some may think his outfit is hideous while others may think it's cool and fashionable. for me, it just reminded me of the great american painter, jackson pollock.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

christopher st. & sheridan sq. subway station


first photo from NYTimes subway photos taken in 1978, electricians on a break at the sheridan square station. below photo taken by me in 2011.
this underground station was opened on july 1, 1918. i am not sure if these two photos were taken in the exact same spot, because the space for posting the large poster ad isn't there anymore. the plastic chairs were replaced with a wooden bench and part of the bottom white tiles were also replaced with color tiles.
in 1994, artist lee brozgold and the students of P.S. 41 designed the 12 framed mosaic murals entitled greenwich village murals and it depict the history of greenwich village. the names of the panels are: bohemians, rebels, founders, and providers.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

storefront




photo taken in soho, kenmare street and cleveland pl.
storefront is a contemporary gallery regularly displaying the work of emerging architects. there are two things i love about this gallery. 1. it is right next to
eileen's (my fave cheesecake place) and across la esquina (the popular mexican restaurant) and 2. their wall panels flip out to display the interior during nicer days.
i caught the guy working on the sign of their current exhibition: "sacred spaces in profane building"

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

man in suit on bike


photo taken next to the d train station, grand street.
i don't have a zoom lens still, so i manually zoom in* to take this photo of a cool man in suit on bike waiting on a red light in grand street next to the d train station. which means i was only 2 feet away from him while taking this candid photo.
* walk closer to the object = zoom in, walk further away from the object = zoom out

Monday, September 12, 2011

190 bowery, the mystery gem


photo taken in front of 190 bowery.
at first look (or look after look after look) this building may seems abandoned or forgotten. almost every inches of the base walls cover up with graffiti and paste-ups and posters, the windows are dirty and never open, the front door is beat-up. and the front steps are always occupy by the homeless people, one of their preferred hangout spots. no wonder many of us think this building is abandoned. but we are wrong. three new yorkers are currently living in this six-story, 72 rooms, 35,000-square-foot single family-home-building. the building was once belong the germania bank, built in 1898. photographer jay maisel bought the building for $102,000 in 1966 and still lives there with his wife and daughter. think about it, who won't want to live in this bohemian wonderland? in 2005, 190 bowery became an official landmark. maisel says "if you have a windows that needs fixing, you fix it. if i have a window that is broken, i have to repair it, with approval, the way it was done in 1898." so i guess upkeep this historic landmark is not an easy task after all.
p.s. it is not impossible to take a tour inside the building. jay maisel conducts photography workshops in his wonderland. if i have $5,000 to spare, i would sign up for it.
for the interior pictures, click here.
for the new york magazine article, click here.

Friday, September 9, 2011

café select



i never dined in this
eatery before, but i heard by word of mouth that the food is pretty good. i like to take (candid) photograph with people in the photos, with people just make the photos so much more lively!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

frolicking in the rain


yesterday i took a day off from work, brought my camera and a nyc guide book pretending to be a tourist and wandered around in the village. at first i felt the non-stopped raining very bothersome and troublesome because my goal was to snap as many photo as i could and the rain just makes it harder to do so. but then everything seems worthwhile when i stumbled upon two kids frolicking in the rain and

a conspicuous foreigner who happened to take shelter from the rain at amy's bakery with me.
---

not all new yorkers are aloof, some are very hearty depending on which part of the city you are in. yesterday while i was wandering around like a tourist, two very friendly new yorkers asked me if i was looking anything specific or lost. i thanked the first woman with "no". minutes later, i encountered another friendly gentleman asking me if i was lost even in the heavy rain. i was indeed lost looking for the no. 75 1/2, new york's narrowest home. (maybe it's too narrow, i had passed it couple times and missed it. ha)
me: i am looking for this house (showing him my ny guide book)
gentleman: i don't have my glass. if you tell me where you want to go, i can show you the way.
me: i want to go to 75 1/2...
gentleman: oh, the narrowest house? it's right at the corner (pointing at the alley i'd walked pass a couple times)
me: oh, thank you!
gentleman: where are you from?
me: (hesitated for a second, because i almost forgot i was a tourist.)... (not showing what i replied here, because someone might think it's offended)

gentleman: welcome to new york!
i thanked him again as we parted.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

heller gallery


heller gallery. photo taken at w14 street and washington street in meatpacking district.
not so long ago, the trendiest thing worn in the meatpacking district was blood-stained apron. now, gansevoort market (as the district is officially known) is new york's most fashionable neighborhood, chock full of hip restaurants, exclusive clubs, and paycheck-draining boutiques. despite the haute onslaught, the neighborhood has managed to retain its blue-collar edge, thanks to the many wholesale meat companies which still operate out of the warehouses between gansevoort and west 15 streets. by night, however, the district is transformed, as butchers and meat-clutters disappear, and magazine editors, models, and a stream of sarah jessica parker look-alikes take their place. -by jon steinberg

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

the general electric building and earthquake


picture taken at the corner of 51 st and lexington ave. in midtown. the general electric building, also known as 570 lexington avenue.
yesterday at around 1:50pm, nyc had a little quake. a minor one. the epicenter of the quake was only about 300 miles outside new york city.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

la esquina



photo taken in kenmare street and cleveland pl. in soho-nolita border.

la esquina, also known as the corner is a famous mexican eatery.