When it rain, it pours

We came home last night to find a waterfall pouring from our ceiling all over the furniture and cabinets in the apartment. The leaks grew progressively worse as the night went on and spread through the apartment, threatening to cave in the ceiling and draining from light fixtures. Water was coming in faster than we could put empty pots underneath. The water began to pool on the floor and leak into our downstairs neighbors' apartments.

I headed upstairs to see the damage to the roof and found exposed electrical wires hanging from the ceiling and leading outside, propping the door open. I came back downstairs where Chris and I lay over the covers all night, watching new leaks spring open.

We packed our belongings and headed to Travis'. On our way out, moving vans were outside as other residents fled from the torrential downpours inside their home.

We are taking refuge here for the night.

I will update everyone as soon as we figure out our plans. Right now, we're trying to get by one hour at a time.

Brooklyn Brewery

What a Saturday! Chris (who asked to be referred to from now on as "Slim") and I walked to a few thrift/resale shops and then to the Brooklyn Brewery to sample some boss brews.

Slim enjoyed the Sorachi Ace, in which we correctly identified some Japanese notes, and the EIPA. I decided on the Oktoberfest and Blast, a West coast IPA.

The Oktoberfest and Sorachi Ace.

The brewery is open Saturdays and Sundays for visitors and offers a brief tour of the facility every hour. Slim was in beer heaven.

The tour was not too beer-geeky. It's a very scientific process filled with fermentation, barley and hops (oh my)!

We Found the Ocean and a J-O-B!

I finally started my internship, and I bought a new, fancy suit to look the part. Everything's great so far. I'm ready to work, work, WORK!

We took a detour from work-clothes shopping to find the sailboats. These were absolutely magnificent with a lot of history. A beautiful view. Chris is way over shopping for work outfits for me, by the way.

The Peking.

Good Times with More Food and Shopping

A great find in Fort Greene as we strolled from lunch. Tons of great items to purchase at reasonable rates on a beautiful day outdoors.

By now, I'm sure everyone can tell where my heart lies in this city. I love food. I love good food. Everytime I eat an exceptional meal, I think of my dear friend in Texas making fantastic fare.

I found some pretty great pizza in New York, if you can believe it. A short train ride down to Clinton Hill led us to a local eatery that uses wood-burning ovens to create a crispy crust for their thoughtful ingredients. Graziellas is all you could want in a pizzeria: a fiery chef, great food and friendly service.

My choice: gorgonzola, spinach, carmelized onions and mozzarella.

Veggie pizza loaded with olives, basil, spinach, mozzarella and mushrooms.

A Night on the Town

For dinner last night, a friend's mother came to town and took us to a fanastic Italian restaurant in Williamsburg, Il Passatore Trattoria. The spot is an unassuming, dimly-lit brick building that serves traditional Italian cuisine. Entering the small candle-lit space, a young man asked if we had reservations. We did not realize they were needed, but it wasn't a problem. After a switch of tables, we had a great spot by the window with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine for the slight inconvenience.

The food was fantastic and the service friendly (with pretty nice eye candy).

Bruschetta al pomodoro:

Insalata Mista: mixed greens with strawberries, toasted almonds, pecorino and grapes with sherry dressing.

Since I can never turn down truffle anything, my entree was the Tortelli di Zucca con olio tartufato, which was butternut squash filled tortelli pasta with butter sauce and truffle oil. I ate it all before I could grab a picture.

After entrees, I felt like I returned to the shores of Sorrento when the waiter brought us complimentary shots of limoncello. I followed it with an agreeable affogato al caffe'.

Exploring Williamsburg

After lunch with another Denton transplant at Sweetwater Grill and Bar, I spent the afternoon traveling between Berry Street and Graham Avenue. Here are some of the interesting items of the day:

Graffiti on Driggs Avenue

Boat ties in Second Stop Cafe bathroom. These will come in handy on our sailing expedition in a few years.

Somewhere in Williamsburg. Yikes.

Music in the City

As a birthday present from a dear friend, I went to see CocoRosie Wednesday at the Highline Ballroom. How fantastic! The opening act was less-than-stellar, but when CocoRosie began, it was worth the wait.

They sang a lot of new tracks, and I really enjoy the hip-hop they've brought into their act. Apparently, most people at New York concerts don't dance, so we had to dance around them. There wasn't much room, but we worked it out.

We dressed accordingly for the show. Please enjoy the video.

My tour group.

The Fierce Wolf.