Let me tell you Astoria

On Friday night I attended a rooftop party at a friend's building in an area of Brooklyn known as DUMBO, which stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. That was my first time there -- it seems a little rough with pockets of coolness and beauty. His building and apartment were both beautiful. I may be returning to that general area today if my plans to walk the Brooklyn Bridge come together. That's one of those things people like to do, or to say they've done. And it should be relatively pleasant today -- sunny, high of 87.

In other new-neighborhood exploration adventures, I spent last evening with some SOM friends in Astoria, which is in Queens (where I live). It's a cute-sounding name but didn't strike me as the cutest-looking place, although my experience was limited to roughly 10 blocks. We grabbed a beer at McCann's while waiting an hour for our table at Taverna Kyclades, a Greek seafood restaurant. It was pretty excellent, and the portions were huge. Above you can see my friend Meghan ready to attack her fish. Afterward we swung into another Irish pub whose name I don't remember.

I've noticed that, throughout the city and its boroughs, "Irish" pubs tend to be operated and staffed by the Irish. Back in Texas, an "Irish pub" usually just meant the sign was green and they had Irish beer on the menu and sports on TV. I'm still a little startled when I hear the accent coming from behind the bar ... I think, "Ha! That's cute. How quaint and authentic." I think I'm part Irish, so it makes me eyes smile.