Two popular restaurant/clubs in town have recently re-opened.
The Rongovian Embassy in Trumansburg has new management, but historic identity intact. The Lost Dog Cafe in Ithaca is re-opening this week as the Wildfire Lounge.
Both spots are back with a bang, featuring notable music acts.
The Rongo is hosting the Horse Flies on Thursday and Friday. Thursday's show is all ages and begins at 8 pm. Friday is 21+ and starts at 9.
The Rongo's kitchen is still closed, and last weekend the bar was not operating at full strength.
Wildfire Lounge hosts the Silent League on Saturday. The Silent League, from Brooklyn, features members of Arcade Fire, Beirut, and Mercury Rev. The 18-and-over show is at 9 pm. Admission is only $5.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Peter Stampfel, Underground Old-Time Music Legend, in Ithaca
Peter Stampfel, legendary figure of '60s folk music in New York City, will appear in Ithaca this week.
The time and place are not yet set. Ithaca Blog will have the information as soon as it is available.
Stampfel played, sang, and wrote for the Fugs and the Holy Modal Rounders when, from the Lower East Side, they brought off-color, often off-key anarchy to the Village folk scene. Their rawness - perplexing or distasteful to many - was authentic and liberating to others.
The enfant terrible pose obscured Stampfel's genial nature, able playing, and real devotion to music. He remains a fascinating and fun figure, half a century into his career.
Plans for his visit to Ithaca include collaboration with Johnny Dowd and Richie Stearns, among others.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
The time and place are not yet set. Ithaca Blog will have the information as soon as it is available.
Stampfel played, sang, and wrote for the Fugs and the Holy Modal Rounders when, from the Lower East Side, they brought off-color, often off-key anarchy to the Village folk scene. Their rawness - perplexing or distasteful to many - was authentic and liberating to others.
The enfant terrible pose obscured Stampfel's genial nature, able playing, and real devotion to music. He remains a fascinating and fun figure, half a century into his career.
Plans for his visit to Ithaca include collaboration with Johnny Dowd and Richie Stearns, among others.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Keep That Utility Social
Like many people I know, I like Facebook pretty nicely, and look at it when I am near a computer, which is often.
I don't post there very often, though - like unless I am doing something relatively exceptional.
I generally don't feel compelled to alert people to the fact that I have read Paul Krugman's latest column, and supply it so they, too, can be requisitely informed on world topics, until Paul Krugman's next column, which I will also supply when it appears; like it's a secret hard thing to get; maybe I'll send Bob Herbert's, too? Yeesh.
Maybe the reason Facebook is called a social utility is because it prevents the very unsocial in-person reaction that would come from me to any friend who finishes reading a newspaper column and then tells me I gotta gotta gotta gotta read this. At the breakfast counter I might make like James Cagney with the Facegrapefruit.
It's a finite world, so you have to wonder about the things you might have missed, but you saw that YouTube clip of the baby with a big diaper dancing to Beyonce on TV.
It's ironic that it's called YouTube because it has nothing to do with you, personally, except You can have fun wasting time there.
Luckily, for You - and Me - all we have to do to have real, personal, unique experiences is to think. To talk. To choose music we like, and play it. To write: write somebody, write in a journal, write something original for Facebook. To go outside, where it will never again be exactly the way it is right now.
The haughty bird on the lawn will be gone. The sun will be lower, or done.
The Internet can wait. And will, forever, of course. So let it.
be the boss -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
I don't post there very often, though - like unless I am doing something relatively exceptional.
I generally don't feel compelled to alert people to the fact that I have read Paul Krugman's latest column, and supply it so they, too, can be requisitely informed on world topics, until Paul Krugman's next column, which I will also supply when it appears; like it's a secret hard thing to get; maybe I'll send Bob Herbert's, too? Yeesh.
Maybe the reason Facebook is called a social utility is because it prevents the very unsocial in-person reaction that would come from me to any friend who finishes reading a newspaper column and then tells me I gotta gotta gotta gotta read this. At the breakfast counter I might make like James Cagney with the Facegrapefruit.
It's a finite world, so you have to wonder about the things you might have missed, but you saw that YouTube clip of the baby with a big diaper dancing to Beyonce on TV.
It's ironic that it's called YouTube because it has nothing to do with you, personally, except You can have fun wasting time there.
Luckily, for You - and Me - all we have to do to have real, personal, unique experiences is to think. To talk. To choose music we like, and play it. To write: write somebody, write in a journal, write something original for Facebook. To go outside, where it will never again be exactly the way it is right now.
The haughty bird on the lawn will be gone. The sun will be lower, or done.
The Internet can wait. And will, forever, of course. So let it.
be the boss -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Friday, September 25, 2009
Apple Harvest Festival, Ithaca Commons, Fri. 25 - Sun. 27 Sept.
Sometimes it can feel like "another weekend, another festival" in Ithaca, but of course this is supremely short-sighted, as the long, light days recede, and hibernation hovers. This weekend's Apple Harvest Festival is the last big fest of the year, and a nice one.
The homey festival celebrates New York's emblematic fruit in particular, and harvest in general. Agriculture is Tompkins County's second-biggest industry, after education.
There is bounty, and eating. Eating contests, even.
Of course, this being Ithaca, there is also political tabling - for single-payer health insurance, against fracking, etc. If you don't know what fracking is, here's your chance. And of course, being Ithaca, there is plenty of music.
There is Hilby the Skinny German Juggle Boy - possibly the scorchingly hottest juggler in the land right now, after a long, front-page article about him a few weeks ago in the New York Times Sunday Arts section.
There is a Ferris wheel. (Careful of your candy apple and cotton candy consumption before spinning.)
There is also the new incarnation of Small World Music, earthly home of Ithaca Blog - on the Commons, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books, sharing space down there with Angry Mom Records. Steve works there this Saturday, from 12 - 8 pm., and hopes you'll come say hi.
The festival - the 27th annual, by the way - gets going about 10:30, and goes til about 6:30. More info is available at http://www.downtownithaca.com/.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
The homey festival celebrates New York's emblematic fruit in particular, and harvest in general. Agriculture is Tompkins County's second-biggest industry, after education.
There is bounty, and eating. Eating contests, even.
Of course, this being Ithaca, there is also political tabling - for single-payer health insurance, against fracking, etc. If you don't know what fracking is, here's your chance. And of course, being Ithaca, there is plenty of music.
There is Hilby the Skinny German Juggle Boy - possibly the scorchingly hottest juggler in the land right now, after a long, front-page article about him a few weeks ago in the New York Times Sunday Arts section.
There is a Ferris wheel. (Careful of your candy apple and cotton candy consumption before spinning.)
There is also the new incarnation of Small World Music, earthly home of Ithaca Blog - on the Commons, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books, sharing space down there with Angry Mom Records. Steve works there this Saturday, from 12 - 8 pm., and hopes you'll come say hi.
The festival - the 27th annual, by the way - gets going about 10:30, and goes til about 6:30. More info is available at http://www.downtownithaca.com/.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Ithaca Hours Live on National Radio, Friday 25 September
On Friday 25 September, Joe Wetmore of Autumn Leaves Books will talk about Ithaca Hours, the local currency, on the Thom Hartmann Radio Progam, the #1-rated progressive radio talk show in the U.S.
The program will broadcast live from Ithaca College. The Ithaca Hours segment is scheduled for some time in the 1:00 hour.
Hartmann's program has over 2 million listeners nationally. It airs locally on WNYY, 1470-AM.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
The program will broadcast live from Ithaca College. The Ithaca Hours segment is scheduled for some time in the 1:00 hour.
Hartmann's program has over 2 million listeners nationally. It airs locally on WNYY, 1470-AM.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Get Sleep, Not Sick
Regular flu and cold season is approaching, with Ithacans already concerned about the prevalence in town of the H1N1 flu.
One hears the sensible advice to get vaccinated, and wash hands. A recent report by the Archives of Internal Medicine also stresses the importance of sleep.
Their research claims that people sleeping only 5 to 7 hours a night are three times as likely to get sick as those sleeping at least 8.
The main reason seems to be that the body produces more disease-fighting white blood cells in sleep.
Of course, it might also be that, in bed, one is isolated and safe.
Years ago, as a youth at Cornell - now the site of hundreds of cases of H1N1 flu - the smart guys I knew all recognized the value of sleep in fighting sickness, although some of the preferred methods of inducing sleep were probably counter-productive.
One that seemed to have the stamp of medicine was to drink an entire bottle of Nyquil, and then go to sleep for a long, long time, and wake up feeling fresh, but my guess is that the Archives of Internal Medicine did not even consider this an aspect worth studying, and without such reputable research, I can certainly not recommend it.
Instead, we are recommending simple common sense, such as the idea that you won't get sick while sleeping. So forget David Letterman, and go to bed.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
One hears the sensible advice to get vaccinated, and wash hands. A recent report by the Archives of Internal Medicine also stresses the importance of sleep.
Their research claims that people sleeping only 5 to 7 hours a night are three times as likely to get sick as those sleeping at least 8.
The main reason seems to be that the body produces more disease-fighting white blood cells in sleep.
Of course, it might also be that, in bed, one is isolated and safe.
Years ago, as a youth at Cornell - now the site of hundreds of cases of H1N1 flu - the smart guys I knew all recognized the value of sleep in fighting sickness, although some of the preferred methods of inducing sleep were probably counter-productive.
One that seemed to have the stamp of medicine was to drink an entire bottle of Nyquil, and then go to sleep for a long, long time, and wake up feeling fresh, but my guess is that the Archives of Internal Medicine did not even consider this an aspect worth studying, and without such reputable research, I can certainly not recommend it.
Instead, we are recommending simple common sense, such as the idea that you won't get sick while sleeping. So forget David Letterman, and go to bed.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Rhine Fest Looks Back, and Forward, On Ithaca's West End
The first annual "Rhiners Festival" celebrates the history of Ithaca's west end waterfront area on Saturday, 19 Sept., from noon until 1 a.m.
The festival is sponsored by the Waterfront District Association and the History Center of Ithaca.
"The Rhine" was an ironic nickname given long ago to the flood-prone flats of Ithaca, far removed from the prosperity of Cornell. The area was home to many of Ithaca's poor, including many houseless.
The festival explores the area's neglected history, and its potential for commercial and community activity.
Ironically, the step-child status of the neighborhood persists. Festival organizes note that the relative lack of parking and bus service in the area make walking to the event perhaps the best transportation.
Details are at www.thehistorycenter.net.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
The festival is sponsored by the Waterfront District Association and the History Center of Ithaca.
"The Rhine" was an ironic nickname given long ago to the flood-prone flats of Ithaca, far removed from the prosperity of Cornell. The area was home to many of Ithaca's poor, including many houseless.
The festival explores the area's neglected history, and its potential for commercial and community activity.
Ironically, the step-child status of the neighborhood persists. Festival organizes note that the relative lack of parking and bus service in the area make walking to the event perhaps the best transportation.
Details are at www.thehistorycenter.net.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Saturday, September 12, 2009
3rd Annual Porchfest, Sunday 13 Sept.
Celebrating Ithaca life in general, and music in particular, are naturally popular pastimes here. The 3rd annual Porchfest brings these impulses together on Sunday 13 Sept., from 1 - 5:30 pm.
Porchfest is local musicians playing on their own front porches. The event takes place mostly in Fall Creek and Northside.
Participants include Mary Lorson, Hubcap, The Small Kings, The Black Walnuts, Diana Leigh Jazz Trio, The GoCats, Nate and Kate, the Yardvarks, and many more.
The event ends with a party at the Auburn Street Triangle Park. You are invited to bring an instrument to play, and a dish to pass.
Maps are available at GreenStar, Gimme at Cayuga, and www.porchfest.org.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Porchfest is local musicians playing on their own front porches. The event takes place mostly in Fall Creek and Northside.
Participants include Mary Lorson, Hubcap, The Small Kings, The Black Walnuts, Diana Leigh Jazz Trio, The GoCats, Nate and Kate, the Yardvarks, and many more.
The event ends with a party at the Auburn Street Triangle Park. You are invited to bring an instrument to play, and a dish to pass.
Maps are available at GreenStar, Gimme at Cayuga, and www.porchfest.org.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Don't Drink Bees
One of the potential hazards of summer, we realized yesterday, is bee drinking.
We were sitting on the Commons with a visitor from Japan, here to study Ithaca Hours. I had coffee. He had a bottle of Reed's Ginger Ale.
After 45 minutes of nice talk, I went back to work in Small World Music, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books.
All of a sudden, our guest comes running into the building. He had chugged down the corner of his soda, for a stinging sensation stronger than his prior sips. He spit out a mouthful of bees which had apparently descended into his soda bottle while we talked.
He wasn't sure if he had swallowed any. But the ones that had stung his tongue and mouth roof were bad enough, at the moment.
He said he didn't know if he was allergic to bee stings. He had never even been bitten by a Japanese bee.
So I called 911, and they sent all the trappings of an emergency, including a hook and ladder. Apparently this is standard, in case you get so crazy by your bee stings that you set a fire, or jump off a roof.
Anyhow, the emergency professionals were very nice, comforting, and competent. They took our visitor to the emergency room, in case he reacted badly.
We figure, for our part, we can pass along a warning for something we never even thought about before. Let summer be days of soda and pretzels and beer. Not bees.
(By the way, our visitor is fine. As he got into the ambulance, I gave him my card, with home phone, and told him to call if he needed help with anything. He called that night to say he was okay. In halting English, but very sweet, he said his name, and left a message saying, "Maybe you remember me, by, bees in the mouth. I am getting better. Thank you for helping me.")
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
We were sitting on the Commons with a visitor from Japan, here to study Ithaca Hours. I had coffee. He had a bottle of Reed's Ginger Ale.
After 45 minutes of nice talk, I went back to work in Small World Music, in the basement of Autumn Leaves Books.
All of a sudden, our guest comes running into the building. He had chugged down the corner of his soda, for a stinging sensation stronger than his prior sips. He spit out a mouthful of bees which had apparently descended into his soda bottle while we talked.
He wasn't sure if he had swallowed any. But the ones that had stung his tongue and mouth roof were bad enough, at the moment.
He said he didn't know if he was allergic to bee stings. He had never even been bitten by a Japanese bee.
So I called 911, and they sent all the trappings of an emergency, including a hook and ladder. Apparently this is standard, in case you get so crazy by your bee stings that you set a fire, or jump off a roof.
Anyhow, the emergency professionals were very nice, comforting, and competent. They took our visitor to the emergency room, in case he reacted badly.
We figure, for our part, we can pass along a warning for something we never even thought about before. Let summer be days of soda and pretzels and beer. Not bees.
(By the way, our visitor is fine. As he got into the ambulance, I gave him my card, with home phone, and told him to call if he needed help with anything. He called that night to say he was okay. In halting English, but very sweet, he said his name, and left a message saying, "Maybe you remember me, by, bees in the mouth. I am getting better. Thank you for helping me.")
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Music in Ithaca, Sept. 10 -13
Thursday 10 Sept.: Promotional powerhouse Popcorn Youth presents an all-ages show at the Community School of Music and Arts, with Desolation Wilderness, Mountains, Duane Pitre, Other People, and Tzar. Doors, 7:30. $10, or $8 with student ID.
The Grady Girls and Friends play traditional Irish music at the Scalehouse Brew Pub, 23 Cinema Drive, 7 pm.
* * *
Friday 11 Sept.: The Rozatones, jazz and funk, with Wonderboy. Castaways, 9 pm.
* * *
Saturday 12 Sept.: John Brown's Body and the Black Seeds, at Castaways, 8 pm.
Evil City Trio, with Hank Roberts, the Chapter House, 10 pm.
* * *
Sunday 13 Sept. : Crow Greenspun at Maxie's, 6 pm.
Jennie Lowe Stearns at Felicia's, 7 pm.
have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
The Grady Girls and Friends play traditional Irish music at the Scalehouse Brew Pub, 23 Cinema Drive, 7 pm.
* * *
Friday 11 Sept.: The Rozatones, jazz and funk, with Wonderboy. Castaways, 9 pm.
* * *
Saturday 12 Sept.: John Brown's Body and the Black Seeds, at Castaways, 8 pm.
Evil City Trio, with Hank Roberts, the Chapter House, 10 pm.
* * *
Sunday 13 Sept. : Crow Greenspun at Maxie's, 6 pm.
Jennie Lowe Stearns at Felicia's, 7 pm.
have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Best Ethnic Restaurant in Ithaca??
Annually, in filling out the Ithaca Times "Best of Ithaca" poll, there are a few categories that stop us, or stump us entirely.
One this year is Best Clergymember. Another, less expectedly, is Best Ethnic Restaurant.
There is plenty of good food in Ithaca, as we mention here from time to time. But "Ethnic" is really a bit lacking.
The "new" ethnic food in town is Thai. Correct? Well, only if one considers presence for over a decade new.
We just got back from a trip to NYC where the dinner choice one night was Senegalese versus Chinese/Peruvian. They were both neighborhood places, within a few blocks.
There is an unpretentious but excellent Vietnamese place on Dryden Road in Collegetown - or was, when we were up there last. Maybe that would be our choice for the Times poll (after checking its continued existence).
There are some good sushi places, too, but sushi is pretty old hat anymore, isn't it? When you can get it in Tops?
Maybe we will just withhold our vote, until it can really reflect something new and fine. Ethiopian or Sri Lankan, anyone?
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
One this year is Best Clergymember. Another, less expectedly, is Best Ethnic Restaurant.
There is plenty of good food in Ithaca, as we mention here from time to time. But "Ethnic" is really a bit lacking.
The "new" ethnic food in town is Thai. Correct? Well, only if one considers presence for over a decade new.
We just got back from a trip to NYC where the dinner choice one night was Senegalese versus Chinese/Peruvian. They were both neighborhood places, within a few blocks.
There is an unpretentious but excellent Vietnamese place on Dryden Road in Collegetown - or was, when we were up there last. Maybe that would be our choice for the Times poll (after checking its continued existence).
There are some good sushi places, too, but sushi is pretty old hat anymore, isn't it? When you can get it in Tops?
Maybe we will just withhold our vote, until it can really reflect something new and fine. Ethiopian or Sri Lankan, anyone?
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Burke Reunites With Other Burke, and Bone, For Music Tonight
Brian Burke, fiddler and guitarist, returns to Ithaca after an extended foray in Ann Arbor, and will play tonight at Maxie's in a reunion of old-timey band Burke, Burke, and Bone.
The other Burke is Brian's father, Pat, who plays guitar and sings. Gregor Sayet-Bone also sings and plays guitar, along with harmonica and jug.
The show is free, as part of the Maxie's Southern-Fried Tuesdays series, which features a fried chicken dinner offering.
The show is from 6 - 9 pm. The special lasts as long as the chicken does.
Happy Hour is from 4 - 6 and features half-price oysters. The Bluepoints have been especially good.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
The other Burke is Brian's father, Pat, who plays guitar and sings. Gregor Sayet-Bone also sings and plays guitar, along with harmonica and jug.
The show is free, as part of the Maxie's Southern-Fried Tuesdays series, which features a fried chicken dinner offering.
The show is from 6 - 9 pm. The special lasts as long as the chicken does.
Happy Hour is from 4 - 6 and features half-price oysters. The Bluepoints have been especially good.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Ymous In Ithaca
We just returned from 4 days in New York City, a place we love as much as Ithaca, despite our disparate standings in the two places.
We spent Sunday at a street fair on Amsterdam Avenue, delightful but a little strange-feeling, which we realized was because we were outside for three hours or so, among many persons, and knew none of them. This never happens in Ithaca.
We didn't even need to set foot back in Ithaca before it changed. When we boarded the bus to return yesterday, the driver said, "Who's watching the record store?" Beneath the Coach USA cap, we recognized a customer of ours at Small World Music. (We know his name: Leo. We didn't know he drives a bus.)
As a city native, I don't mind the anonymity which comes with citizenship there, unflagging though it is. One always has identity there, as a city-o, which is enough.
Among other only-in-NY moments, our favorite was a pick-up ping-pong game we saw in Bryant Park, between a young Asian woman and an older Hasid. It reminded us of Levy's Rye.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
We spent Sunday at a street fair on Amsterdam Avenue, delightful but a little strange-feeling, which we realized was because we were outside for three hours or so, among many persons, and knew none of them. This never happens in Ithaca.
We didn't even need to set foot back in Ithaca before it changed. When we boarded the bus to return yesterday, the driver said, "Who's watching the record store?" Beneath the Coach USA cap, we recognized a customer of ours at Small World Music. (We know his name: Leo. We didn't know he drives a bus.)
As a city native, I don't mind the anonymity which comes with citizenship there, unflagging though it is. One always has identity there, as a city-o, which is enough.
Among other only-in-NY moments, our favorite was a pick-up ping-pong game we saw in Bryant Park, between a young Asian woman and an older Hasid. It reminded us of Levy's Rye.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Friday, August 28, 2009
Summer and Fall Come To Ithaca At Once
Summer has come late to Ithaca this year, after unseasonable chill through June, July, and most of August.
At the same time, the students are back, which translates to Fall on the academic calendar which runs town.
It is disconcerting, so you are not to blame if your personal calendar is agog, and you are caught unawares by the new populace. It is not a good time to shop for shower curtains, nor for quick trips to Wegman's.
But now that the freshman families are gone, and the weather is nice, it is a fine time for outside dining, both in and around town.
In town, Aurora Street has become an al fresco restuarant row, with wider sidewalks for a scheme of outside tables. Just A Taste also has a nice dining area in back, that reminds us a bit of Greenwich Village places, that do a lot with small square footage.
Many eateries on the Commons also commandeer outside space. There is a new campaign for using past public space for private seating, which we think is fine. There's still lots of public space left. That Burrito Place is one spot with tables and chairs in the middle of the mall, set off by rope, which seems a little upscale for burritos, but not These Burritos, we guess.
We had the pleasure of spending some stay-cation time this month at Sheldrake Point, where Simply Red's Bistro has not outdoor dining, strictly speaking, but a widely-windowed dining room with wistful vistas.
There are also a couple of unpretentious joints in Sheldrake, O'Malley's and Kidders, where the food is not regal, but neither are the prices, and the drinks are good, and the dining decks are almost as restorative as the meals, mere yards from the lake. It is a short and pleasant drive to Sheldrake, about 25 minutes from town up Route 89.
We hope the late arrival of summer will also mean a late staying time, but as things in life are generally 6 to 5 against, as Damon Runyon said, we say, get outside now. Maybe we'll see you in the alley outside Felicia's tonight.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
At the same time, the students are back, which translates to Fall on the academic calendar which runs town.
It is disconcerting, so you are not to blame if your personal calendar is agog, and you are caught unawares by the new populace. It is not a good time to shop for shower curtains, nor for quick trips to Wegman's.
But now that the freshman families are gone, and the weather is nice, it is a fine time for outside dining, both in and around town.
In town, Aurora Street has become an al fresco restuarant row, with wider sidewalks for a scheme of outside tables. Just A Taste also has a nice dining area in back, that reminds us a bit of Greenwich Village places, that do a lot with small square footage.
Many eateries on the Commons also commandeer outside space. There is a new campaign for using past public space for private seating, which we think is fine. There's still lots of public space left. That Burrito Place is one spot with tables and chairs in the middle of the mall, set off by rope, which seems a little upscale for burritos, but not These Burritos, we guess.
We had the pleasure of spending some stay-cation time this month at Sheldrake Point, where Simply Red's Bistro has not outdoor dining, strictly speaking, but a widely-windowed dining room with wistful vistas.
There are also a couple of unpretentious joints in Sheldrake, O'Malley's and Kidders, where the food is not regal, but neither are the prices, and the drinks are good, and the dining decks are almost as restorative as the meals, mere yards from the lake. It is a short and pleasant drive to Sheldrake, about 25 minutes from town up Route 89.
We hope the late arrival of summer will also mean a late staying time, but as things in life are generally 6 to 5 against, as Damon Runyon said, we say, get outside now. Maybe we'll see you in the alley outside Felicia's tonight.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Sheldrake Point Voted NY Winery of Year
Our local Sheldrake Point Winery was named winery of the year this week in the New York Wine and Food Classic competition.
Wine and Spirits magazine has named Sheldrake among the top 100 wineries in the U.S., and one of the 12 best U.S. value brands.
We happened to stop by the winery yesterday, up the road from a friend's vacation rental. The winery has a beautiful lakeside location, and is accessible by boat. Their restaurant, Simply Red's Bistro, is the most popular vineyard eatery in the region.
Their parking lot is the fullest, with the most out-of-state plates.
The hamlet of Sheldrake is the hippest, as the home of the late Rod Serling, creator of the Twilight Zone. Sheldrake has a distinct Twilight Zone feel, of both being there and not being there.
Congratulations to the good people of Sheldrake Point winery, and thanks for creating such a special place for good food and drink.
Sheldrake Point Winery is on County Road 153 off Route 89 in Ovid. At the signpost up ahead.
submitted for your approval -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Wine and Spirits magazine has named Sheldrake among the top 100 wineries in the U.S., and one of the 12 best U.S. value brands.
We happened to stop by the winery yesterday, up the road from a friend's vacation rental. The winery has a beautiful lakeside location, and is accessible by boat. Their restaurant, Simply Red's Bistro, is the most popular vineyard eatery in the region.
Their parking lot is the fullest, with the most out-of-state plates.
The hamlet of Sheldrake is the hippest, as the home of the late Rod Serling, creator of the Twilight Zone. Sheldrake has a distinct Twilight Zone feel, of both being there and not being there.
Congratulations to the good people of Sheldrake Point winery, and thanks for creating such a special place for good food and drink.
Sheldrake Point Winery is on County Road 153 off Route 89 in Ovid. At the signpost up ahead.
submitted for your approval -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Friday, August 14, 2009
Poems On A Blog?
Poetry on an Ithaca blog is near-fetched, in our opinion (in George Carlin's phrase). It is a college town, after all, and college people write a lot of poetry. Mostly enrolled ones rather than alumni, no doubt, but let's change that.
When we were enrolled, we studied with Archie Ammons and Albert Goldbarth, two of the best. Studied is probably too strong a word; we wrote, and had fun.
Recently here we posted a piece about our friend John, "The Most Self-Sufficient Guy in the World." Last night we got up from bed mid-night and wrote the story as a poem. It follows, here.
#
Mettle
A book
one of us had read, about
the bare one hundred things
one needs to live.
- Way too many, said John,
and we all agreed;
so it became a game to see
how many we would count.
Indoor plumbing, permanent press,
said two. My answer
(sure winner for spareness, I thought):
- A source of water, and seeds.
But I never got to say, as John
stopped it with his sum:
- A piece of metal, and
something to sharpen it with.
My answer, from someone who only
spells (like these words, here).
John's, from someone
who casts them.
John, who never
surprises, but amazes,
who always
does so much, requires so little,
gives so much, takes only
what he needs -
Love, I reckon
and all of us
to sharpen it with.
#
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
and J.C.
When we were enrolled, we studied with Archie Ammons and Albert Goldbarth, two of the best. Studied is probably too strong a word; we wrote, and had fun.
Recently here we posted a piece about our friend John, "The Most Self-Sufficient Guy in the World." Last night we got up from bed mid-night and wrote the story as a poem. It follows, here.
#
Mettle
A book
one of us had read, about
the bare one hundred things
one needs to live.
- Way too many, said John,
and we all agreed;
so it became a game to see
how many we would count.
Indoor plumbing, permanent press,
said two. My answer
(sure winner for spareness, I thought):
- A source of water, and seeds.
But I never got to say, as John
stopped it with his sum:
- A piece of metal, and
something to sharpen it with.
My answer, from someone who only
spells (like these words, here).
John's, from someone
who casts them.
John, who never
surprises, but amazes,
who always
does so much, requires so little,
gives so much, takes only
what he needs -
Love, I reckon
and all of us
to sharpen it with.
#
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
and J.C.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Live Old-Time Music, and Newly Located Music Store, on Commons Tonight
As part of the summer live music series on the Commons, tonight at 6 pm the Evil City String Band will perform, with Richie Stearns, Pat Burke, and others.
Pat Burke's brother Steve (yours as ever) will be about a hundred paces away at the new location of his shop, Small World Music, which has moved to Autumn Leaves Used Books, in the basement.
Come see us both.
You can read all about the Small World Music move in this week's Ithaca Times, in an excellent article by Natasha Pickowicz.
Steve Burke
for Small World Music and Ithaca NY Blog
Pat Burke's brother Steve (yours as ever) will be about a hundred paces away at the new location of his shop, Small World Music, which has moved to Autumn Leaves Used Books, in the basement.
Come see us both.
You can read all about the Small World Music move in this week's Ithaca Times, in an excellent article by Natasha Pickowicz.
Steve Burke
for Small World Music and Ithaca NY Blog
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Sidewalk Sale Days Downtown, Aug. 1 - 2
It is good weather today for the sidewalk sale extravaganza downtown this weekend.
Have a look by Autumn Leaves Books and witness the start of our (Small World Music's) relocation there from our old home up West State Street.
Let us know if you need any free tables, chairs, or miscellany that accompanies moves!
Steve Burke
for Small World Music and Ithaca NY Blog
Have a look by Autumn Leaves Books and witness the start of our (Small World Music's) relocation there from our old home up West State Street.
Let us know if you need any free tables, chairs, or miscellany that accompanies moves!
Steve Burke
for Small World Music and Ithaca NY Blog
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The Most Self-Sufficient Guy in the World
Have you heard of this new non-fiction book listing the bare 100 items one needs in order to live?
100 seems like a lot to me. I do generally think of myself as a guy who doesn't need much. Not so much out of virtue, but because I don't know how to do much. The most useful thing I learned in school was spelling. I realize other people learned a lot from computer science, engineering, physics, etc., but not me.
Some friends of mine were discussing this book and decided to get it down to the real minimum, a challenge I relished. My answer - a source of water, and seeds - was definitive, I thought.
I never gave this answer, though, as the contest was stopped almost immediately by my great friend John, who knows how to do a lot, but requires little.
His answer was, "a piece of metal and something to sharpen it with."
If you have a worthier answer, please let me know. We'll print it here, and give John something to consider about paring down.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
100 seems like a lot to me. I do generally think of myself as a guy who doesn't need much. Not so much out of virtue, but because I don't know how to do much. The most useful thing I learned in school was spelling. I realize other people learned a lot from computer science, engineering, physics, etc., but not me.
Some friends of mine were discussing this book and decided to get it down to the real minimum, a challenge I relished. My answer - a source of water, and seeds - was definitive, I thought.
I never gave this answer, though, as the contest was stopped almost immediately by my great friend John, who knows how to do a lot, but requires little.
His answer was, "a piece of metal and something to sharpen it with."
If you have a worthier answer, please let me know. We'll print it here, and give John something to consider about paring down.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
"Food, Inc." at Cinemapolis
How can it be that a fast food hamburger costs less than a head of lettuce? That the poorest people in the U.S. are the most obese? That the local supermarket sells apples from New Zealand but not local farms?
It all has to do with a food industry that puts profit ahead of health, as documented in the new film, "Food, Inc."
In the style of Michael Moore's films about the auto, gun, and health industries, "Food Inc." points fingers - not just at industry irresponsibility, but at tax-supported public policies supporting it.
In the style of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," it provides potential remedies.
"Food, Inc." is showing at the new Cinemapolis theater.
GreenStar Co-op is a sponsor of the screening, and gives a 10%-off coupon for its stores to everyone attending.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
It all has to do with a food industry that puts profit ahead of health, as documented in the new film, "Food, Inc."
In the style of Michael Moore's films about the auto, gun, and health industries, "Food Inc." points fingers - not just at industry irresponsibility, but at tax-supported public policies supporting it.
In the style of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," it provides potential remedies.
"Food, Inc." is showing at the new Cinemapolis theater.
GreenStar Co-op is a sponsor of the screening, and gives a 10%-off coupon for its stores to everyone attending.
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog
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