Digital Diary: Travel, Photography, Music, Politics, Humor and General Life around me
I took some co-workers and clients out in the West Village and we ended up at Burp Castle taking down the clock sampler – a sample of 12 brews placed around a clock to be sampled in order from light to dark/heavy. This spot gets high marks for being one of the most unique beer halls with a great selections of brew with a friendly staff.
Wearing Uggs and toting the latest US weekly, you can spot the lines for the latest crazed food trend (and I say latest as if it was April 2007) before getting to the store front… Frozen Yogurt is back baby! I never thought I would see it again since my sister worked at TCBY back in high school and I would OD on their flat tasting mix with stir ins and toppings.
This time around the trend springs from Korea and contrary to popular belief, the originator is Red Mango, but the popularity storm has been fueled by celebrity sitings at the first “real” frozen yogurt shop in the US, based in the mecca for all things material: LA. Pinkberry is the brand and the rumors that the original flavor’s secret ingredient is cocaÃna are not far from the truth after you get a few tastes of this white stuff.
Pinkberry took over the nation and quickly opened up shop in LA and now 3 shops in New York (Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Little Italy), but Red Mango is making a claim from it’s Asian fame but quickly following this trend and opening up right behind them. In fact a Pinkberry and Red Mango have each opened up on either side of each other on Bleeker St. in Greenwich Village. I decided to give each one a shot for the first time this weekend to see what all the hype is about.
The whole experience reminded me of the TCBY days, only slightly better tasting with more emphasis on the whole experience (decor, color, scene) than just the yogurt itself. Also both claim to be “real” yogurt, however, only Red Mango uses real yogurt cultures (it’s not noted on Pinkberry’s site so we shouldn’t assume they do too). Red Mango tastes a little more grainy, maybe becuase it’s made from yogurt powder imported from Italy and Pink is smoother. Red has a stronger sour taste to it (better), and Pink is sweeter (maybe because it has 25% more sugar than Red). I really can’t pick a favorite when they both don’t do it for me… I’ll wait a day for the withdrawals to kick in and then let you know….
Pinkberry has a no photos policy… so what do most people do? Take photos:
Invited weeks ago, I attended a piano recital by fiancé reminder for Julian Lawrence Gargiulo; and Italian-born classically trained pianist living in New York. When I think of recitals, I go back to the days of elementary school, when the C-Pod would be hallowed out and filled with rows of chairs for supportive parents to come and watch their kids perform on the riser stage. I had pursued the drums so there wasn’t much I could do as a solo artist in the drumming field except annoy the neighbors with my off beat rhythms.
This show was more personal, located at the Yamaha Hall or better known as the Piano Salon in mid-town, a comfortable venue for about 100+ listeners, professionally designed to sound more like Carnegie Hall than an apartment flat. Much like a recital, the audience had close friends, friends of friends, admires of Julian, his work and even his mother. This was the CD release party for his latest of 5 professional recordings.
I’m a fan of most music live; I’ve even been to my share of some country concerts so this wasn’t something I’d be adverse to. Electronic music has it’s roots in classical composition and art as a deep form of expression in sound and rhythm without the necessity of vocals or time constraints tied to the majority of contemporary music. Julian has a solid understanding of the music he’s playing with the charisma of a true performer for people – engaging directly his audience between tunes.
Yes that was me closing my eyes in the 5th row, but only to shut down one of my senses to concentrate on the story of the music. I fully enjoyed the show, and would recommend anyone that’s into classical to check him out. The full program from the recital is below.
Manuel de Falla: Ritual Fire Dance
Felix Mendelssohn: Capriccio No. 1 Opus 33
Claude Debussy: Feux d’artifice
Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne in C-Sharp MInor
Alexandre Scriabin: Vers la flamme
— INTERMISSION —
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 23 Opus 57 in F Minor ‘Appassionata’
-Allegro assai
-Andante con moto – attacca
-Allegro, ma non troppo – Presto