Results tagged “olivegarden”

Published earlier this month, Sara Barron’s book People are Unappealing, Even Me is what happens to a bildungsroman in the Craigslist age. It follows the author on a mad-as-hell/not-taking-it-anymore complaining spree through the dregs of thankless, low-wage jobs. Along the way, Barron makes several keen observations about the strange things people do, and also manages to canonize John Stamos as “the most flawless man who has ever lived,” which had to be done by somebody. We asked her primarily about a waitress-nightmare story told in one of the book’s chapters, which recently garnered the author some major Page 6 column space: Up until recently, Barron worked at a restaurant not-to-be named (she calls it, simply, “Hell”) where she had the opportunity to wait on a rock star who didn’t tip after an epic and fully comped, after-hours meal (for 19 people total) that dragged on until 5 a.m. No longer a waitress, Barron is the host of The Moth; her next gig is March 30 at The Bitter End.

This week in New York life is like a box of chocolates – on steroids. (Mmmm, chocolate steroids.) The wicked masterminds behind the 10th annual International Chocolate Show decided that this year the usual three day, 40,000 square foot cocoa orgy just wasn’t going to cut it. So they’ve gotten a number of area restaurants to collectively boost the city’s blood sugar levels by declaring the next six days Chocolate Week. Some notable New York...

Local One, the Broadway stagehands’ union, has never struck in its 121-year history. Since salaries for stagehands – who handle lighting, props, sets and, yes, even Tarzan's vine – currently top off at 100K, who could blame them? But The League of American Theatres and Producers, who control 22 of 39 Broadway houses, are now wringing their hands after the union’s unanimous vote on Sunday to strike. (Last week the Nederlanders, the producers who represent nine Broadway theatres, seemed to distance themselves from the League’s stance and drift toward the union’s side.)

A 26-year-old Yale graduate and Greenpoint resident got a lot of attention in Times Square yesterday - and the NY Post's cover today - by walking around naked. The Post reports that Josh Drimmer was walking in his birthday suit for "several minutes" around 11AM along Seventh Avenue between West 47th and 48th Streets. Reporter Jennifer Fermino overheard one witness calling a friend on his cellphone and saying, "Yo, homeboy's got full-frontal nudity right here!"

Times Square has always offered a nice dose of "weird," whether it be in the pre-Giuliani days or its now more Disney-fied incarnation. Now some more strange will be saturating the area, in the form a famous Odditorium. Yes, tourists will be able to see things like locks of Abe Lincoln's hair after having a nice meal at the Olive Garden.

After last year's mess of an awards show and this year's joke of nominations (where is love for Lauren Graham, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences?), we were going to swear off this year's Emmys. But then we realized Conan O'Brien was hosting, so we must watch and liveblog. And there's the hope of a good Steve Carrell bit, not to mention awkward reaction shots of Candy and Tori Spelling during the Aaron Spelling tribute.

Just two weeks ago we were telling our friend to have his birthday party at Dave & Buster's. "There is no Dave & Buster's in the city," he said. Since we had never thought to go to the place, we didn't know...we just assumed this city would have one.

Eager to reassure everyone that things were moving along at Ground Zero, Governor Pataki's World Trade Center flunky chief of staff, said that the PATH Transit Hub designed by Santiago Calatrava would offer 200,000 square feet of space for retailers and bidding will start in a few months. All hell, does this mean there will be an Olive Garden down there, to compete with the Applebee's at the Battery Park Regal Cinemas? The NY Times says the retail corridor plans, which would include another 300,000 square feet along Church Street, might face "same criticism that felled the Freedom Center"; plus Cahill's remarks were to a group of business executives, including those from Wal-Mart (of course, the Port Authority chairman Anthony Coscia had to tell the Times, "It's premature, to be frank, but if you think we're planning a big Wal-Mart, the answer is no."). At any rate, if there's one thing Gothamist remembers after September 11, it's that if you don't shop, then the terrorists win! Perhaps the LMDC can build a mall to rival the one uptown...and call it "Freedom to Shop Center."

Gothamist can recall a time before Smith Street's hip eateries - a time when Carroll Gardens was home to a myriad of "red gravy" dining establishments, with nary a stylish Thai restaurant in sight. Happily, some of the nabe's old world Italian mainstays remain, but changes are still afoot.

Even though it's June, on fall television show we're excited about is Kitchen Confidential, the Darren Starr spin on Gothamist favorite Anthony Bourdain's seminal "life of a working chef" book of the same name. Zap2It has an interview with Bradley Cooper, who will star as the Bourdainish character and explains the premise:

"[My character] got addicted to cocaine and blew it all up my nose, lost everything. Now I'm a line cook at an Olive Garden-esque restaurant. This guy Pino, this Italian guy played by Frank Langella, just fired his chef last night. He's got 300 on the book for tomorrow. He has no chef, no food, nothing. So he hires me and takes a chance."

How do you deal with crossing the street?

Today we wrap up our discussion with Steve Hurst, the guy who makes you look back at the television screen during the local forecast on The Weather Channel and ask, "Is that... Moby?" If it weren't for him, we'd still be listening to the Windham Hill New Age library during our local forecasts. But instead, Steve has mixed it up and given us something a little more interesting to listen to while we evaluate our weather-conscious wardrobe for the day. Recently however, the music has been getting drowned out by the addition of an automated voice-over reading our forecast to us. Gothamist isn't a big fan of the voice, but we asked Steve about it as well as come other questions about the on-air personalities, security, and his favorite things about our wonderful city.

It's always an issue. Where do you go to eat after the theater? You want a unique dining experience, and not to end up at the Olive Garden. Here are some recommendations:

You can tell a lot about a year by seeing which posts were popular, and from Gothamist's standpoint, it's been a banner year for our readers who are perverts or nerds (we're hoping the loyal readers are both). Here are a few of our most popular posts: Thoughts on the Matrix Reloaded; 100 Best Songs; when we pretended to know all about friendster messages; Paris Hilton sex tapes and her SNL appearance; Nicole Richie's racial identity; What not to do when you blog; Jelly Kelly; Best Movie Sex Scenes; Michael Jackson's mugshot; Nudist camps for teenagers; Blackout Edition; Lever House Restaurant; Metrosexuals; Hating Lauren Weisberger (related, Weisberger on her boss Anna Wintour ), Jayson Blair, Blair Hornstine; Larry Wachowski's possible sex change; anything on teenaged stars, speficially Hilary Duff (related, her nutty fans); the New York City Blackout Edition; and our Events page, brought to life by editor Mindy and intern Willa.

The NY Post gives date suggestions for where to take girls, whether they be trend surfer, a highbrow glamour-puss or a proud bohemian" - apparently proud bohemian also means "cheap date." (And it seems like the Post doesn't think the Olive Garden is a good date option. D'oh!) Some of the usual suspects are named: Sumile, The Sanctum at Tribeca Grand, the new cafes at the Met. But, if you want to show someone a Gothamist good time, our top picks are:

The bitchiest NY theater critic in town, Michael Riedel at the Post, asks a panel of "four cranky New York drama critics" (no word if Riedel is one of them) what they are dreading this new theater season. Some priceless excerpts:

The Observer goes to check out the scene at the Chelsea Olive Garden four months after we do. Coincidence? We think not.

Gothamist was wearing a sweater and puffy coat during this week in June. There are so many things wrong with that. Anyway...

The Times' Marian Burros tries to understand why, in a city of so many wonderful and inexpensive restaurants, some New Yorkers would want to go to Applebee's, Olive Garden, Outback, or Red Lobster. Restaurant consultant Clark Wolf tells her, "New Yorkers as a group are not at the cutting edge and that's the dirty secret. As brutal as it sounds, these chains reflect the expectations of the community."

601am.com has a great, thoughtful response to some person on Craig's List who is unhappy in NY. Gothamist would just like to add one thing: You have to read the Post and Daily News to know what the upcoming episodes of Law & Order will be about! Plus tabloids' coverage of sports, gossip, and local issues are unparalleled...you need to read extreme, crazy, poorly fact-checked articles. It's a way of life!

Josh's Kobe Beef Burger Birthday Gothamist celebrated Josh's birthday at one of the city's temples of beef - The Old Homestead Steak House.

Olive Garden Insanity
Chelsea Olive Garden has been open for a couple months, but Gothamist only made it there last night. The purpose: To understand how a chain restaurant like Olive Garden can fit into our urban lifestyles.

William Grimes came up with a better title for his Howard Johnson's restaurant review: HoJo's to Go? Say It Ain't So Apparently the old HoJo's in Times Square is thinking about packing it in, probably to make room for another Olive Garden restaurant or something like that. I love HoJo's- it was the hotel of choice for my poor pinko parents back in the 1970s. And I disagree with Grimes about the clam strips- I think they are just rubbery enough.

My favorite Vogue writer is featured in the New York Times today. Of course Jeffrey Steingarten writes about food, not clothes. Tania and I saw him a few weeks ago and I tried to convince him to go to the Olive Garden.