Saturday, July 23, 2005
Keeping It Sharp
As you already know, I've been spending a lot of time on Craigslist this summer. What you might not realize is that it can be used for much more than personals or classifieds. A few weeks ago I started searching for the word "Japanese" and I found some very interesting advertisements. One led to a party down in Alphabet City last week, but there have also been assorted individual ads where Japanese-speaking people (some students, some professionals) are looking for native English speakers to practice speaking with. Some of these people never respond to my inquiries (much like my personals experience) but a few have gotten back to me and I have occasionally met up with these folks. Tonight was one of those occasions.
After a quick e-mail exchange that verified that neither one of us was busy tonight, I walked over to the Starbucks next to the Empire State Building to meet Hiro. It wasn't easy to spot him because the place was packed with young Asian folks, more so than most of the other Starbucks locations I have seen. Thankfully the first person I approached turned out to be him. We spend about an hour chatting politely, mostly in English. As we spoke we realized that neither of us had eaten dinner and both of us were hungry. Hiro suggested a nearby restaurant in Koreatown which he enjoys; being ignorant of most Korean cuisine I was happy to try some.
Barely two blocks away we walked into Mandoo Bar. As soon as we were seated we were given dishes of pickled veggies: one plain and one a little spicy, like kimchi. It may have been kimchi although there was no cabbage, just some kind of radish. I checked the menu for anything without carbs but everything had dumplings, noodles or rice. I quickly decided the new experience would be worth a little bending of my diet. I ordered an assortment of mandoo (steamed round dumplings) and Hiro ordered bibimbap (rice, veggies and meat with a spicy sauce). We each shared both dishes and they were delicious! Not nearly as spicy as last night's mapotofu either, which was a little extreme. I also find that plain pickles are very handy at killing burning spicy tastes in my mouth, so that helped a lot.
So another potentially lonely night was transformed into a new experience, thanks to CL. Is there anything it can't do?
After a quick e-mail exchange that verified that neither one of us was busy tonight, I walked over to the Starbucks next to the Empire State Building to meet Hiro. It wasn't easy to spot him because the place was packed with young Asian folks, more so than most of the other Starbucks locations I have seen. Thankfully the first person I approached turned out to be him. We spend about an hour chatting politely, mostly in English. As we spoke we realized that neither of us had eaten dinner and both of us were hungry. Hiro suggested a nearby restaurant in Koreatown which he enjoys; being ignorant of most Korean cuisine I was happy to try some.
Barely two blocks away we walked into Mandoo Bar. As soon as we were seated we were given dishes of pickled veggies: one plain and one a little spicy, like kimchi. It may have been kimchi although there was no cabbage, just some kind of radish. I checked the menu for anything without carbs but everything had dumplings, noodles or rice. I quickly decided the new experience would be worth a little bending of my diet. I ordered an assortment of mandoo (steamed round dumplings) and Hiro ordered bibimbap (rice, veggies and meat with a spicy sauce). We each shared both dishes and they were delicious! Not nearly as spicy as last night's mapotofu either, which was a little extreme. I also find that plain pickles are very handy at killing burning spicy tastes in my mouth, so that helped a lot.
So another potentially lonely night was transformed into a new experience, thanks to CL. Is there anything it can't do?
Feedback:
When leaving comments, please don't remain Anonymous. Click on "Other" and pick a name!
Be sociable! No sign-up is required!
First, your blog is very entertaining. I have never read a blog before and I really enjoy yours. I have been reading your blog for a week now but the one thing I cannot figure out is how you afford to go out in New York so much? I have a job and I can afford about 1/5 of your social life. It reminds me a little of when you watch "Friends" and they all have okay jobs but live in huge NY apartments.
# posted by 
: 23 July, 2005 20:45
: 23 July, 2005 20:45
Hi Anonymous poster, thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. In the future, you should know that you can pick a name without "signing up" for a Blogger account. Just use the "other" button. That way, your (hopefully) future comments will have a string of continuity.
The key to my success in New York this summer has been living with my father. While he and I may not always get along, he has been very supportive of me staying with him and whenever we eat out, he pays. I've also been slowly living off of the money I got for selling my car.
Other money-saving tips: Take advantage of the MTA's "transfer" policy. If you take a subway or bus, your next trip on the other service (within two hours) is free. Those $2 trips can add up over time. Sometimes it means extra walking but I need all the exercise I can get.
And, of course, there's always credit...
コメントがあります？ Type something, please. It's less work for me.The key to my success in New York this summer has been living with my father. While he and I may not always get along, he has been very supportive of me staying with him and whenever we eat out, he pays. I've also been slowly living off of the money I got for selling my car.
Other money-saving tips: Take advantage of the MTA's "transfer" policy. If you take a subway or bus, your next trip on the other service (within two hours) is free. Those $2 trips can add up over time. Sometimes it means extra walking but I need all the exercise I can get.
And, of course, there's always credit...
When leaving comments, please don't remain Anonymous. Click on "Other" and pick a name!
Be sociable! No sign-up is required!
unpaid advertising...I'm no sell out!
