NYC - Pancakes and Paincakes

Clinton Street Bakery

I used to say that I could live anywhere that had a newsagent and a bakery.  It's a lovely little saying, but when I really think about myself (which I love doing) and things I need to survive, that is a really dumb thing to say.  I must have been young.  With hair.  No theatre?  No movies?  Let's be honest, I'd literally die.

BUT

(and it's a signifant, J-Lo-esque but)

Then I found the Clinton Street Bakery.  It's not so much a bakery - more like heaven dressed up as a bakery dressed up as a restaurant.  It's not totally expensive (it could be if it wanted to be - know this) but, oh boy, the Pancakes with warm maple butter with wild Maine blueberries is maybe the best $13 I have ever spent.  I'm not much of a food photographer but I do have Instagram which, like very special pills that we don't talk about, makes everyone think that they have a good eye for all things visual art.  Thus:

THE Blueberry Pancakes

Worth mentioning:  It is SO popular, there are no bookings.  There is sometimes a 90 minute - 2 hour wait for a table, especially on weekends.  Handy hint:  Firstly, make sure that you have shocking desynchronosis and you are sleeping from 4am - 1pm.  Wake up, have a long, warm shower and catch the subway to the Lower East side.  Wear a scarf and walk slowly - East Houston Street is wide, windy and cold.  Wear lip balm.  By the time you get there it will be 3.00pm and no-one else is really having breakfast anymore.  Also, if you are on your own, you will get the lovely seat in the window.  Recommended.

TKTS

I love the idea of TKTS.  Here is their mission statement:

TKTS Mission Statement:Theatre Development Fund, a not-for-profit organization, was created with the conviction that the live theatrical arts afford a unique expression of the human condition that must be sustained and nurtured. TDF’s twofold mission is to identify and provide support, including financial assistance, to theatrical works of artistic merit and to encourage and enable diverse audiences to attend live theatre and dance in all their venues.

Well, that's just terrific, I think.  So they basically collect up all of the unsold Broadway (and Off-Broadway) tickets, sell them at half-price and then collect a fee and make donations to the theatre community.  So good.  I do feel a bit sorry for the TKTS booth that used to be in the WTC and then reopened in South Street Seaport, only to be bowled out by Hurricane Sandy.  It will have to be just Times Square and Brooklyn booths for the moment.  For TKTS beginners -  there is a play express line - it's way shorter, but people in it tend to be dumber.

Relative calm at the TKTS booth in Times Square.  Nice teapot head, lady - you're rocking that unnecessary flower.

Today's events:  I am in the 'play express' queue.  There is a much longer line for musicals over on the other side of the booths.  That queue today was full of people desperately trying to see the Broadway greats like Mamma Mia and the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular (or, as I refer to it, Radio City High Kicks Association with Tinsel).

1. Man at front of 'play express' queue:  "2 tickets to Newsies".  Firstly, Newsies is a musical, you moron.  This is the play line.  A musical usually has songs and dancing in it.  A play doesn't usually have much of that.  Musical vs. Play - it seems pretty simple if you ask me.  Lady in booth,  "Newsies is a musical, Sir, and this is the play express line".  Man at front of queue, "How about Phantom of the Opera, that's my second choice".  Well, my second choice was to gash him across the face with my credit card. I didn't.  As a side, he didn't know what Blue Man Group was, either.  Arrested Development should be compulsory viewing.  Did you know there is a Season 4 coming?  Is that true?
2. Next customers couldn't speak English.  Nothing wrong with that - I think the global community is something that we should be celebrating.  I often wish that I didn't speak English.  Anyway, they wanted tickets to Glengarry Glen Ross.  That's interesting.  Firstly, it's expensive (only 30% off) and it's a David Mamet play.  It has a LOT of dialogue, heaps of naughty words, and it's fast.  I almost need subtitles and cliff notes to keep up with the actors and I think I'm a pretty mature play-goer.  Now, these people couldn't figure out US Dollars.  I think their tickets were, like, $170 for two and the man just passed across a $100 bill.  You can imagine that the lady in the booth was pretty fired up - she couldn't communicate to him that he needed more money.  When she was asking for more money, he thought that she was changing the price to a higher amount.  Awkward.  It was initially fun to watch, and then I started to get all kinds of angry.  How are people like this going to enjoy a play like that?  Will they even be able to find the theatre?  Did other people deserve those tickets?  Is that bad 'Broadway Karma'?  Will they be late and disrupt others? Will they have to leave during it, disrupting others on their way out?  Will they unwrap food during the play because they're bored and can only think about eating?  Will they tell their friends that it's bad because they didn't understand it?  This is all a great shame.

Seriously, what is wrong with people?

Also, what on earth is this:

Ew.  Enough said.

Back to me - It was worth the wait in that 'play express' line.  I scored a cheap ticket to the 2nd preview of the new MTC production, The Other Place starring Laurie Metcalf.  It was fantastic.  More to come, but here's a preview: