Amsterdam Avenue...A Foodie's Dream!

From 1/6/10
Okay, now I have been totally rejuvenated! The plan was to go straight home today and maybe have a glass of wine and catch up on some of my reading. But I felt so guilty about it. I ended up going to Amsterdam Avenue instead. If you're looking for great food and drinks, Amsterdam Avenue has a plethora of restaurants and bars. It's a foodie's dream I tell ya!





I'm already familiar with Amsterdam Ave. since my favorite vegetarian Indian restaurant is located there. I'm no longer vegetarian but enjoy the preset menu's they offer. They follow the practice of Ayurveda. I'm not going to go into a history or health science lesson but Ayurveda is all about balance and health. Ayurvedic cooking involves combining foods in a specific way and include all the different tastes sweet, salty, sour, bitter, astringent, and pungent. There is way more to it than that, but I'm not an avid follower of Ayurveda. I just think Ayurvedic cooking tastes great (how American of me, I know).Thai, Mediterranean, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Indian, BBQ, Steakhouses and I'm sure there were other types of restaurants. I think I could blog about visiting every single one of these restaurants in the near future (hmm...wheels turning).

I also ran into another familiar restaurant "The Shark Bar". I've been to the Shark Bar maybe 2 or 3 times but that's not how I became familiar with the spot. I read about this restaurant so many times in modern black literature. Authors like Eric Jerome Dickey and E. Lynn Harris have mentioned The Shark Bar many times. Apparently there is a Shark Bar in almost every major city. They serve southern, Cajun, and creole food. It's been a few years, but I remember the food was very good. (This is starting to sound like a restaurant review article...hey so what).

The names of some of the little stores, bars, and restaurants were quite clever. It was like anything goes. What in the world was "The Dead Poet"?? So of course I had to step inside and see. Turns out it was a pub. But apparently the owner had a special place in their heart for literature, and this place was sort of a "ode" to writers I guess. Quotes are all over the walls and stuff...pretty nice. I imagined that it might be fun to be intoxicated and try to read the quotes on the wall all while trying to sound all dignified and British. hahaha! Hmmm...must do it! I ran across a card store named Cardiology and it's logo was a big neon heart. That's classic isn't it?












I got overly excited about a little craft place called "Make". At first glance, I thought is was just a place to buy pottery or get pottery custom made. Then I saw the little tables and workstations and realized you can go in and design your own stuff. Imagine going in and decorating your own set of plates or canisters. Whoever came up with this concept was right on the money.










Random Thoughts: What's up with 7 Eleven's popping up all over the city. It's quite confusing. When I think of 7 Eleven I usually associate it with southern states. States where it makes since to put a sign on the door stating "Shirts and Shoes Required". I was tickled because the 7 Eleven on Amsterdam Avenue had the sign on the door. Awesome!!! They are staying true to their roots I guess. And what's up with older beautiful buildings being turned into something so commercial like a drug store? Just wondering (in Seinfeld voice).

Oh I must mention one of the hazards of Amsterdam Avenue. Where there is a high concentration of restaurants, what else do you get? Delivery guys on bikes. Man! They will definitely run you over and they throw all traffic rules out the window! So crossing the street was never a simple task. Consider yourself warned LOL.

OK. Amsterdam Ave was definitely a mood changer. But I guess anything would have been more entertaining than 2nd Ave. I still haven't updated my music but decided to try out the new application I put on my phone called Nutsie. I went to the menu and selected 100 Greatest R&B/Soul Ballads. "Solid as a Rock" started playing and I laughed out loud. Ashford and friggin' Simpson??? Wow I hadn't heard that song in years! So of course I resorted to singing out loud without a care in the world. It was around this time I hit 88th street. There seemed to be no shortage of little old shrunken ladies with canes. I looked around for a senior citizen's center or something. Nope...didn't see any. I kept singing and one of the miniature women stared at me and shook her head. Hahaha...don't be mad at me. I'm enjoying life, enjoy the last bit of yours lady.



Streets Walked
Amsterdam Avenue (72nd-96th streets)
96th Street (Amsterdam-Broadway)