All posts by gwong

PPQ Dungeness Island’s Dungeness Crab

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My second trip to San Francisco in 2008 came with it a second visit to PPQ Dungeness Island for what I think is the best dungeness crab in the city. On our first trip, Justin and I came here because we figured we had to have dungeness crab while we were out there but we didn’t know where to go so this just became the place to go based on online accolades. Well, the praise was well deserved because the crab and the remainder of the meal was just perfect for the two of us and at a moderately decent price. When I went back out there a few months later, my co-worker Sonu, also out there for WWDC, heard me sing PPQ’s praises and really wanted to go. Fine by me. We just couldn’t find any time to do it and as the WWDC closing party/concert dragged on, it seemed like we just might not be able to get it in before Sonu’s flight home the next afternoon. Thankfully, the band wrapped up and we hopped into a cab, getting there less than a half hour before their kitchen was set to close for the evening. Mission accomplished!

This photo was taken on June 12, 2008.

PPQ Dungeness Island’s Dungeness Crab

SNY Calls the Game from the Stands

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This was really cool. In the final season at Shea Stadium, the SNY crew broadcasted a game from the Upper Box level. Here you can see analyst Ron Darling working on the meticulous prep befitting that of an Emmy winner for “Best Sports Analyst” in a very crowded NYC market. Play-by-play man Gary Cohen is going over stuff with staff before going on the air. The other member of the best three-man team in baseball – I’m slightly biased but you’d really be hard pressed to find a better three-person booth in the game – isn’t in the shot but he was also working this game’s broadcast. For the fans, it was a great sight to see the broadcasters working the game in the elements, amidst the crowd, albeit a small one since this was a weekday afternoon game in May. It’s this sort of thing that has made this broadcast team, only in their third year together in 2008, widely acknowledged as one of the best in the biz. Actually, they were lauded as second best earlier this year behind only the legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully. Not a bad place to be, behind a legend like Scully.

This photo was taken on May 15, 2008.

SNY Calls the Game from the Stands

Tour of AT&T Park

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On my second trip to San Francisco in three months, this time for Apple’s annual WWDC, I took one morning off from conference sessions and went on a tour of AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants. As far as ballpark tours, it’s one of the better ones I’ve been on. We got to see the tiny room where they do their smaller press conferences before heading up to the upper level of the stadium which, with a stadium devoid of fans, afforded us a great view of the empty stadium. A brief history lesson and then we were off to the Oracle Suites level which was followed by everyone’s favorite part of the tour, walking onto the field and getting to enter the dugout. Then it got even better – since I went on an off day where the visiting team for the next series hadn’t arrived yet (it was the Oakland Athletics so it’s not like they really needed to get in the day before), we got to enter the visiting clubhouse. One final treat came when the clubhouse manager let us into his office so he could show off all the player bobbleheads he’s received over the years.

These photos were taken on June 11, 2008.

David Wright, Pike Place Market Foundation Donor?

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At Pike Place Market in Seattle, there is Rachel, a giant bronze piggy bank that sits outside the main entry. It’s a popular spot for tourists taking photos and it does decent business, taking in between $6,000 and $9,000 annually. What interested me were the bronze hoofprints around the pig with a donor’s name on it, especially the one pictured here for “David Wright”. Somehow I doubt it’s David Wright, All-Star third baseman of the Mets but wouldn’t it be funny if it were? Yeah, it’s probably not him.

This photo was taken on October 3, 2010.

David Wright, Pike Place Market Foundation Donor?

A Shuttered Johnny Rockets

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This Johnny Rockets on the corner of 8th and Greene Streets closed at the end of September. I guess even the hordes of NYU students that come through the doors over the years weren’t enough to keep up with ever-escalating rents that primo space must demand. What I couldn’t help but notice was just how empty this place is now. Sure, the counters and stools are still there but everything else not bolted down is gone, creating nothing but space. Hopefully, someone else will come along and open something here, though preferably not another chain.

This photo was taken on October 18, 2010.

A Shuttered Johnny Rockets

San Francisco Ferry Building

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On our last day in San Francisco, Justin and I bummed around the city, doing little but moving around a lot. One of our stops was the Ferry Building for some coffee and, later, lunch. The building is home to a bunch of shops on the ground level but offices occupy the upper levels. While the view of the building from the ground level would have been nice, it doesn’t compare to the one pictured here, taken from one end of the building on the second floor. Here, you get the full view – the shops on the ground, the mezzanine, and, finally, the windowed roof. Just an awesome sight.

This photo was taken on June 28, 2010.

San Francisco Ferry Building

Barneys “Foodie Holiday”

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If you’re not yet tired of the term “foodie,” then this holiday window display just might put you over the edge. At the very least, we can probably put aside the notion that it hasn’t jumped the shark. Still, it’s an interesting choice from Barneys New York to go with a “Foodie Holiday” window display this year. After all, we get Anthony Bourdain, Daniel Boulud, Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Mario Batali, and Guy Fieri all in the same room! I’m sure Bourdain would have plenty to say to Fierir if their flesh and bones counterparts were ever in the same room. For now, we’ll just have to imagine that he’d be doing something not so different from the scene depicted – Bourdain cheering while Fieri is flat on his ass on the floor.

More Info: NYT Magazine.

These photos were taken on November 15, 2010.

Sunset Over the NYC Skyline

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I was actually over at my brother’s – no jokes, Justin – apartment over in LIC to pick up some stuff and his building was having a Cinco de Mayo party on one of their rooftop decks. Never one to turn down free beer and food, I hung out for a little while and watched as the sun slowly began to set over the west side of Manhattan. I was in the midst of my Project 365 at the time so I was with camera which came in handy because the sunset that night was just too awesome not to capture on “film”. Though why it’s brightest around the top of the Empire State Building, I have no idea.

This photo was taken on May 4, 2010.

Sunset Over the NYC Skyline

A Caged Model

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A few weeks back, Eater sent me out to Sweetiepie on the rumor that they were closed due to fire. Well, there was a fire if the sign on the door is any indication but I couldn’t tell that anything was wrong when I walked by as they had a full-blown photoshoot happening on the premises. There were cameras, giant flashes, and photo subjects hanging around including this lady in the restaurant’s bird cage. Now it seems like they’re actually dunzo and the whole fire thing was just a ruse. But, hey, at least they got this cute model to just sit in the window, looking pretty before they closed for good.

This photo was taken on October 18, 2010.

A Caged Model