ASK A GABBNEB

a bar showing the NH primary results.

no i want to eat in the park!

7. TONY “THE DRAGON” DRAGONAS
62nd St. nr. Madison Ave.
Even people who don’t eat street food eat Tony Dragonas’s street food. In a typical lunch-hour line, you’ll find an oddball assemblage of Bloomberg number-crunchers, fashionable Madison Avenue retail clerks, stout delivery guys, and traitorous cooks from nearby kitchens including Aureole, Amaranth, and Nello. Speaking of Nello, says Tony, “he wanted me to go into business with him.” He’s not the only one: “You’re the best! You’re the best!” barks a man wearing a black T-shirt, cargo shorts, and a mullet one recent afternoon. “I tell ya, Tony, I’m working on capital; we’re going to take this enterprise national.” What’s the reason for all the hoopla? Chicken breasts, shish kebab, burgers, sausage, steak, and an excellent prosciutto-mozzarella-and-basil sandwich. But the juicy char-grilled chicken is the thing, marinated overnight and available wrapped in a thick grilled pita or as a platter with yellow rice. A tinfoil container with a crisp romaine salad, all of it drizzled with homemade tsatsiki, it must weigh about five pounds and goes for $6, up from $5.50 the last time we checked. “Inflation,” Tony says resignedly.

how about something in the 70s or 80s

my father-in-law likes this place:

Beyoglu
1431 Third Ave., New York, NY 10028

With a chorus of raves drawing crowds for sublime Turkish meze at Beyoglu, its creator, the irascible Orhan Yegen, disappeared. But his amiable crew and enticing menu remain, having been relocated to the ground floor. So far, fans are finding the same sprightly tarama, hummus, and eggplant purée, along with the meaty doner kebab and daily seafood specials—braised tuna or striped bass grilled whole with herbs and a last-minute olive-oil drizzle. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld
Recommended Dishes

Doner kebab, $14.50; striped bass, $16.50

14.50 for a doner kebab wtf?!

Doner kebab, $14.50

holy shit!

bear in mind that it's a proper restaurant, not a street cart or takeaway place.

like, i'm not saying that it's cheap but i don't think it's out of line.

ok, not in a restaurant, no

14.50 would be extreme for a cart, even in nyc!

if i'm gonna spend over $10 for a sandwich, i will finally try pastrami queen

but i'm not going to spend over $10 for a sandwich because i am poor

i think it's a plate of meat w/ rice and stuff, not just a sandwich. but since i've started bringing my lunch $14.50 is more than i spend per week!

gabbneb why are you ignoring me

this hurts

i'm just going to end up at hale & hearty soups again ;_;

pastrami queen is not a bad choice, food-wise; haven't been inside the new one, but the old one wasn't too attractive

beyoglu is one of the best not-too-expensive places for dinner on the upper east side, but is more serviceable these days than special like it was when yegen was in house, the super-hot hostess was up front, and you could eat in the apt/lounge-like space upstairs

the short answer is to go to Eli's. this is the answer to most questions you could ask me, actually.

if that's too far, go to E.A.T.? Third Avenue is more my style than Madison, tho.

How's about a westside coffee shop with free internet? Anywhere between 14th street and Zabar's? It's nice out here in the middle of 9th avenue but the sun makes it hard to see the screen.

Tal Bagels, 83rd and Lex, are some of the better ones on the island

I don't know the answer Ed, sorry. the west side is flyover country.

there's also Dean and DeLuca at 85th and Madison, for the goyim

finally, a response to the gabsignal

there's a branch of cafe grumpy in chelsea. i don't know if they have wifi but the coffee is a+.

i hate that dean & deluca. maybe i will go to E.A.T. though it is still kinda $$

to eat with the ladies and girls who lunch, Viand at 78th and Mad. people like the turkey there.

Eli's is cheaper than E.A.T., I'm assuming

it's on 3rd and 80th?

i will walk by. i might go to sables tho.

3rd and 80th, yes. you can graze in the cafe/at the bar, which at night is a great place for simple food at ues prices, but the real deal is the store, which has soups, sands, salad bar, sushi, etc. etc. etc. it is the lifesource par excellence.

there's Sarabeth's at the Whitney, but it's not cheap and not as good as the other Sarabeth'ses.

this place - http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/lexington-candy-shop/ - is far from cheap, especially given the quality of the food, but it's worth experiencing once.

probably too much of a walk, but if you've got the time, it's worth it - http://www.chow.com/places/13646

there's this trendy little railroad cafe/tea shop just east of madison on the north side of... i can't remember. it's between 76th and 78th or 81st and 84th.

there's a branch of cafe grumpy in chelsea. i don't know if they have wifi but the coffee is a+.

-- lauren, Tuesday, January 8, 2008 8:26 AM (32 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

coffee snobs: they have two Clover machines

pizza
Pintaile's, 91st/Mad-Fifth - whole wheat thin crust, lots of toppings
Pie, 2nd and 80th - same as the one on univ pl

fast food
papaya king, 86th and third
sassy's sliders, next door on third

chinese
Wu Liang Ye, 86th/2nd-3rd - authentic stuff
Tang Tang, 3rd and 76th - cheap and decent
Lili's, 3rd/84th-85th - fast and fun

also Shanghai Pavilion, 3rd/78th-79th, is supposed to be very good. maybe more of a dinner place?

there's a burritoville on 2nd between 77th and 78th

worth a walk if you have the time - http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/taco-taco/

Alice's Tea Cup, 81st/2nd-3rd
Corrado Bakery, Lex/90th
Siegel's Kosher Deli, 2nd/85th-86th

i went to eli's and got a delicious pate sandwich!

http://esum.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/serious.jpg

i think i will go back and buy more pate after work.

coffee snobs: they have two Clover machines

-- gr8080, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 19:03 (3 hours ago) Link

So is this Clover thing as good as they say?

Grumpy has really great espresso, obv.

Also is Doner Kebab the same thing as Adana Kebab?

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/images/mycousinvinny6.JPG

N-No More Questions.

hey gab,

i refuse to open any of the political threads. can you fill me in on when veep announcement is gonna be? like, speculation? nytimes was RONG so i don't trust anything they say anymore.

thanks!!!!
tza

fyi tza both political threads are actually just gabbneb posting over and over with vp announcement speculation and very little else

srsly gab, i wasn't being a jerk, i am really interested in this!

hi tza,

did the nyt say when obama would veep? i know some sources have said that it would happen as early as wednesday morning, but i don't remember anyone pegging it to a specific time.

anyway, per the fantasies of Mark Halperin, who is a famous political journalist who knows everything about politics, or at least a guy who knows all the insider-y washington people and does a mean al gore impression, it will be tonight at 3-3:30 AM.

that is, unless it is tomorrow at 9AM. or tomorrow at noon. or the middle of the night Saturday. or Saturday morning. supposedly, we will definitely know by Saturday mid-day, because Obama is supposedly appearing with his veep then. supposedly.

we will definitely know who it is by next wednesday, because that is when the veep will veep all over the stage at the democratic convention. that is, unless they do it from behind a curtain with a darth vader voice or something.

hope this helps, and stay strong in the meantime,
gabbneb

I hope it's tusk!

E,

I am a mover. Found it hard to see from the seats, so kept looking for an elevated spot; finally found one before the Ex. Where were y'all?

G.

gabbneb -

why didnt you answer my question asshole

dn.

Al,

Dunno!

Don't stop thinkin' about Obama,
Neb

dn,

Perhaps you already know the answer?

Sorry,
gab

most people drop the douche sctick on their ask me threads but whatever

Dear Gab,

the answer was a pastrami and kraut sandwich and a cel-ray

Ed

Ed,

Excellent choice.

Gab

cel-ray!!!

A cel-abratory treat because I have achieved my first target weight on my diet ahead of time.

lol! good for you! cel-ray is awesome!

gab,

when you say "a work of mahler" might replace beet 7 as yr favorite, did you have a particular work in mind? mahler's awesome, but i fear i am more familiar with his vocal works than symphonic, though one of his works for voice + orchestra is one of my favorite all time pieces.

happy weekend!

t

t,

i'm afraid no more answers are available at this time.

gotta run,
neb

DENIED

Dear tehresa,

These are busy times here at Gabbneb Industries; we apologize for the delay.

To follow up on your most recent query, you are referring to Das Lied von Erde, yes? While quite possibly my favorite "work of Mahler," and one of my favorites in general, I don't generally think of it as a symphony per se, and I did not have one particular work in mind.

Good issue-spotting,
'neb

P.S. There is no game here. Not on my part, at least, lol.
P.P.S. I'm not a "game" kind of dude; too "self-important" (or selfless - you decide) for that.

gabbneb,

really?

De quod non curat lex?

Dear MW,

Your questions are important to us, but we speak American here at ASK A GABBNEB.

Parochially,
'neb

gab,

i was actually thinking of Kindertotenlieder, not Das Lied von der Erde, though those are nice as well. No, they are not symphonies, but they do fall under "classical works" though i guess if you really wanted to be a stickler they're not from the classical period, but you know, generalizations.

i am confused about the game thing?

-t

Minimis, my dear 'neb!

M

M,

"Matters of small concern should be treated seriously."

*gong*
'neb

I have a trivia question for gabbneb:

In which two states did Ross Perot finish 2nd in 1992? In one, he got more votes than Clinton; in the other, he got more votes than Bush.

How do you know he's not gonna just look it up?

Well, that wouldn't be very fun, would it?

I forgot that it's past 6 PM in NYC, though.

like that means anything. i'm not gonna look it up, but i don't know off the top of my head. give me a little while.

states that immediately came to mind were Alaska, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Texas. AK, MI and NH in particular I feel like I remember something about. then i focused on the actual placement. Texas would certainly make sense for more-than-Clinton, though I feel like it might have been Alaska, and there's a bunch of plains states that might qualify. Montana could make sense for more-than-Bush? Or Michigan? I think Perot probably did pretty well in Texas and Michigan, but I'm gonna go with Alaska and Montana, figuring that it's easier to get to second in smaller states.

ME and UT. Fail, tho UT should count among the 'bunch of plains states' (I shoulda said Western - was thinking Wyoming maybe)

and they are small states

I'd surmise AK and NH.

jaymc is just pissed he couldn't go to the pub quiz tonight

Who is a better poster: you or LouJag?

no one beats you, Dom

GHETTO QUESTIONAIRE

1. ARE YOU A PLAYER
YES / NO
2. ARE YOU A HUSTLER?
YES / NO
3. DO YOU HATE ON OTHER PLAYERS AND HUSTLERS?
YES / NO
4. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD?
YES / NO
5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
YES / NO
6. DO YOU GET HIGH?
YES / NO
7. HAVE YOU SEEN MORE THAN FIVE GEE'S AT ONE TIME?
YES / NO
8. DO YOU HAVE A CAR?
YES / NO
9. IS NO LIMIT RECORDS YOUR FAVORITE RAP LABEL?
YES / NO
10. DO YOU OWN A GUN?
YES / NO
11. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO JAIL?
YES / NO
12. DO YOU PRACTICE SAFE SEX?
YES / NO
13. DO YOU LIKE RAPPERS THAT RAP ABOUT OTHER RAPPERS?
YES / NO
14. DO YOU LIKE GANGSTA RAP?
YES / NO

If you answer yes to 1 2 4 5 12 - you are a No Limit Soldier.

If you answer no to 1 2 4 5 12 - you are a suckar.

Not 9 though. Weird.

ethan, i am most certainly not a no limit soldier.

as to LJ, i find the dude often unreadable, but generally don't feel the need to post about that fact as long as he isn't in my face, and imagine he's ok irl (if not my type, most likely), tho suggest he keep his private life mostly off of ilx.

am weirdly touched

oh shit private life posting again ;)

Don't ever change
Don't ever change from the
way that you are now
If you ever change
I would be sad 'cause I wanted
you just as you are

so tell us about your KINDA DATE, neb

we have daets all the time and are volunteering for mr. obama on monday, but i do not talk about private life here as per upthread

gabbneb: which USA nat'l park (that you have not already been to) would you most like to visit and why?

awwwwwww

as an occasional poster and constant reader, and in the spirit of keeping it positive, i would like to say that ilx would be(/is) a poorer place without either LJ or G-nebb.

my q though:

how many posters has a gabbnebb suggestbanned?

dan m,

that is an excellent question that i have thought about often in the past. there are a great many worthy contenders, but my first instinct/default response is Glacier National Park, because i like mountains v v much, and the glaciers are generally recognized to be in remission. i hope to go there within the next 2-3 summers, perhaps spending several days backpacking. to provide context for my answer, it may help to know that i have already been to yosemite (once), the grand canyon (several times) and the parks of western washington (numerous times), not to mention a number of urban NPS units, including our great national mall, on which i have watched many fireworks.

keep it wild,
neb

Upt0eleven,

I cannot give you a precise number, but would estimate that i have sb'd approximately 1/4 the number that have sb'd me, while cautioning that i may fail to recollect a number of intemperate sb's of the past.

sb'ed

thx. i have sbed maybe five times. three of which were for lol reasons, one of which was for saying Wall-E was overrated, none of which was you. or roxy.

gab (aka ben) you will never be sorry you spent time in Glacier NP. I hope you have glorious weather and there are no big fires burning nearby.

see ya in 24 days, dom

see ya in 12, gabbneb, louis, and ethan

you know what it's called when you don't mean to troll but you're trolling anyway? trolling. you know what's it's called when you're trolling but you think you can get away with it? being a troll.

e-mail me with all your apologies and extensive praise of my mercifulness in the face of all your insipid meta bullshit