Only in the Apple – A New York City Blog

The new craze to hit NYC: the recently legalized -in-the-U.S. alcohol called absinthe. Banned since 1912, this green drink was thought to be a dangerous, addictive hallucinogen. (Supposedly absinthe is what Vincent Van Gogh was drinking when he cut off his own ear.) We now know that it does not cause hallucinations; however, the jury is still out on the exact effect it has on the mind.

I have yet to try it (I’m such a baby with this kind of stuff) but it’s been described as “mind opening” and a “clear-headed drunkenness.”

An absinthe historian and former attorney (see pic below) combined efforts to overturn the 1912 ban by working on a recipe that would pass the U.S. FDA’s approval. Their concoction, called Lucid (124 proof), was approved and officially made absinthe legal again in the U.S.

High end bars in the city like Employees Only are offering absinthe cocktails such as Absinthe Drip, which Parisian painters and poets supposedly drank during a period in the late 19th century known as the “great collective binge.” That period in my life was know as “college”. Ah, the good ‘ole days.

In the Meatpacking District, STK offers the Mint Muse, a cocktail made with Lucid, pineapple juice, muddled mint leaves, lime and lemon soda.

According to the beverage director at STK, Derrick Cook, “Absinthe has been an underground hit over the past few years. Now that it’s legal and we can educate people a little more, it will be very popular.”

If you’re not ready to fork over $59.99 for a 750mL bottle just to try it, you can always go the candy route instead…

Lollyphile, a new candy company, currently has only two flavors of lollipops for sale…and one of them is absinthe. These suckers are made from real and legal absinthe and at four for $10, are a cheaper way to give this mysterious green concoction a spin.

Source

And for a LOT more information on absinthe (which I just didn’t feel like writing about), check out Wikipedia’s article.

If you’ve got money to burn on a pie, head to Nino’s Bellissima, where owner Nino Selima has created the Luxury Pizza, available for a mere $1,000. It’s a 12 inch thin crust pizza topped with caviar, lobster, creme fraiche, and chives. Let’s do the math: when you cut it into eight slices, each piece works out to $125.00.

You can’t just walk in off the street and order the Luxury Pizza, though. The restaurant needs 24 hours notice for this creation since the caviar is delivered fresh upon request.

Nino was interviewed on 95.5 FM last week only a couple days after the debut of his pricey pizza; he reported that he’d already sold two Luxury pies.

Some people may gasp at the extravagance and wonder, who on earth would buy this? But I’m not surprised. There’s so many people walking around this city with  money to burn; it’s probably the only place where a $1,000 pizza would sell – and actually thrive. People in NYC will buy any latest craze just to say they were one of the firsts to try it.

Anyways, if you go to Nino’s Bellissima and are still hungry after your $1,000 dinner, you can hit up Serendipity, a midtown restaurant that offers a $1,000 dessert called “Golden Opulence.” It’s an ice cream sundae that’s covered in 23K (didn’t even know there was such a thing) edible gold leaf, passion fruit, candied fruits from Paris, marzipan cherries, rare Chuao chocolate, and yes – more caviar! The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet (which means absolutely nothing to me) with an 18K gold spoon.

It carries the royal title of “World’s Most Expensive Sundae” and requires a 48 hour advanced reservation. So, make sure you plan your $2,000 meal ahead of time! Oh, and don’t forget: tip isn’t included.

In the famous ending words of Cindy Adams’s gossip column in the Post, “Only in New York kids, only in New York.”

Recently I’ve realized that people treat the subway like they’re in the privacy of their own home. They sing out loud along to their ipod as if they’re the next American Idol, when in reality they sound more like the American Idol rejects. I don’t understand why people feel the need to subject me to their tone-deafness.

Then there’s the eating. People sit down and begin to munch on food like they’ve just been seated in a restaurant. I’ve seen a variety of snacks – yogurt, apples, Popsicles. I try to be understanding like, they’ve been so busy throughout the day they haven’t had a chance to eat, or they have a medical condition that requires them to eat now. But when people pull out the Big Macs and fries and apple pies from McDonalds, I’m like, wtf you can’t wait until you get home? The most impressive (and annoying) was a guy who managed to eat soup and a sandwich (at the same time) while he stood on the train. He happened to be standing right next to me and all I could think was that his soup was inches from spilling on me.

Then there’s the sleeping. The only time I’ve come close to nodding off on the train was when I was on my way home after a night of drinking at 4 in the morning. I guess the reason the sleeping bothers me so much is because I always get stuck next to a sleeper on the train in the morning. Their heads nods to the side closer and closer to my shoulder and then jerk back up when the train comes to a stop. Sometimes the jerk up doesn’t happen and I’m stuck with someone passed out on my shoulder until I wiggle around enough that they wake up.

I’ve written before about people choosing to perform personal activities on the subway, but I felt the need to rant a little more. I sincerely hope I never have to experience people using the train as a toilet or for their sexual needs. I can only take so much.