The 'West Side' Mangler

 

While I applaud my favorite local sandwich shop, Giacomo Fine Foods, for getting new and clearer signage, there's no way a business on the Upper West Side of Manhattan can allow this to stand in good conscience. While I'm tempted to start picketing to get it re-made, I don't dare say a thing given my turbulent relationship with the establishment.

Still, such protests have been known to work before in this neck of the woods. :-)

The Upper West Side's Grammar Table weighs in!

'Tis the Season

Sunday brunch has been eaten. Christmas tree has been procured. Time to decorate! 

Friend of a Farmer is in the spirit

Holding on by a Strand

 

While it's certainly depressing that Shakespeare & Co. has twice failed to make a go of it on the friggin' Upper West Side of Manhattan -- is there a place that buys more books? -- I'm happy to see that Strand Books stepped in to keep the location up and running. Do you still have a local bookstore near you?

June 13, 2024: In more Shakespearean times.

Sunset People

 

Spectacular evening on the Upper West Side.

From where we sat a week ago to this? The fight for democracy will take it.

Tinsel and Lights

This house near our apartment building never disappoints, whether it be Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Still, it's a little early in the season for Santa to already be passed out drunk!

UPDATE:

Someone's just out of rehab! 

Season’s Greetings From the Upper West Side!

 

Got our Christmas tree last night from our favorite French-Canadians on Broadway between 72nd and 73rd streets. We'd hoped to get our tree last Sunday when I returned from Thanksgiving in Arizona, but inclement weather and jet-lag proved too insurmountable. The tree is beautiful and very fragrant -- it's a Fraser fir that we let breathe overnight so we can trim today -- with the only hiccup being that I left my debit card in the ATM on the way there. (These garçons are cash only!) The finder/keeper successfully spent $130.37 at CVS and attempted to spend $120.41 at Duane Reade before this weeper was tipped off by the bank's fraud department. (To be honest, I didn't think you could buy anything at Duane Reade for less than $150, so the whole thing was confusing.) Luckily it's been straightened out and a new card is on its way! 

Follow HERE.

Joe My God!

Who says going to the office is a total waste of time? 

Noticed a new coffee joint this afternoon on my way to the subway -- and cannot wait to check it out, even if I fear for its longevity. (Its predecessor was a Jewish deli of sorts that somehow couldn't make it ... on the Upper West Side of Manhattan!) 

According to Patch, Picky Barista has Balkan roots:

Self-described as a “family-owned, cozy and hip coffee shop with a European vibe,” Picky Barista offers Stumptown coffees, avocado toasts, egg and cheese croissants, prosciutto mozzarella and pesto sandwiches and overnight oats, plus pastries ranging from apple cakes to cinnamon rolls to vegan banana-walnut muffins. 

“All of our pastries are homemade on premises and are inspired by the recipes of Mama Bulic, who also helps out in the kitchen,” reads the café’s website. “Coming from Serbia, you will notice a big Balkan influence in our menu. Allow yourself to be transported to that magical land with our Balkan coffee, our burek, or our baklava." 

“We live by the mantra ‘coffee is always a good idea,’ and think you will too after you relax and unwind with a tasty beverage and pastry at Peaky Picky Barista coffee shop.”

As best I can tell, the shop -- which also has locations at 102/Broadway, 92nd/Columbus and 82nd/Lexington -- recently changed its name from Peaky Barista, although I'm not sure why. (Cease and desist order from Steven Knight?) 

Excited!

Full menu HERE. And check 'em out on Instagram HERE.

UPDATE: A little bit of a bummer. Seems it's just a soft opening for now. Ice machine wasn't working -- I'm an iced latte queen -- and the kitchen isn't up and running, so just pastries in the display case. I'm told things will be fully function in two weeks, so I will definitely be going back for the full experience. 

West of Eden

I just wrote to Joan Baez on Threads to ask how we get her fab-looking new documentary into a theater on the Upper West Side -- "where all of your fans live!" -- and now my friend Laura has shared this bit of UWS humor, which I completely appreciate, thus solidifying my post-Chelsea residency! 

She writes:

I love this very Upper West Side story. A new Dunkin' opened with a misspelled sign, thus riling up the neighborhood to the point where the company apologized and corrected it. Happy ending, right? Welp . . . still some objections on X, where somebody points out that the lines are no longer aligned, and another somebody points out that it is still missing its THE. No reviews of the coffee thus far.

UWS Living With Wraparound View

Contact me privately if interested.

Candle Bar Flames Out

   I've always believed Julius' was the oldest gay bar in New York, but REPORTS of the Candle Bar closing say it was. (Wikipedia explains the discrepancy HERE.) Either way, sad to hear. My Upper West Side days were mostly at The Works, which feels like it's been gone forever, but now I'm wondering if the area has any gay haunts at all.

Man Disguised as a Construction Worker Robs UWS Antique Store at Gunpoint

  It's my understanding the victim had no problem picking the robber out in a police lineup. Read HERE.