no "Q"uestion about it

when people ask me where my favorite place to eat is around here i tell them hands down, unequivocally, with no bias whatsoever, in complete confidence and honesty: Q restaurant.  conveniently located a few blocks away from us at 225 clement (between 3rd and 4th avenues), this delectable gem has great food (seriously, the meatloaf and tater tots are my favorite), amazing seasonal specials, a fantastic wine selection (you gotta try the "Sexy" from portugal, no joke), a fun and energetic staff (some of whom just so happen to be good friends of mine, and the more you go there, you just might consider them friends of yours as well), funky decor (the magnet alphabet letters are a riot), yummy desserts and the proverbial icing on the cake: frooties that come to your table when the check is presented.  if that is a metaphor to sweeten the process of paying the bill then i am 100% behind it.  if you have never had a frootie, you are seriously missing out on one of the best candies ever invented, and i will argue my point with authority as i am considered 'that guy who likes candy' around the bookstore.  and here is the kicker, my favorite flavor:

and making a rare appearance for special occasions

(i ate dinner there last night and my server tossed these my way, laughing as she did so,

and honestly, what's a better occasion than that?)

so go see my friends, enjoy some down-home fantastic food, some sexy wine, the excellent musical ambiance (that i forgot to mention earlier), and some frooties in the best place to eat in the neighborhood.

Sacco-philia

 

The Third World is a tough place to live. Privation, a poisonous environment, ignored (at best) by state forces, malnourished and short-lived in sub-standard housing--billions of people through the world live in such circumstances. While existing in the popular mind as a far-flung locale, the Third World is better conceptualized as the land and people of any country deemed useless by capitalists. Comic journalist Joe Sacco teamed up with muckraker Chris Hedges to document Third World conditions here in the the US. Days Of Destruction Days Of Revolt (Nation Books) examines desperate and destitute people in New Jersey, New York, West Virginia, Florida, and South Dakota. Sacco's intricate artwork and unblinking sympathy dovetail with Hedges's examinations of social forces leading to personal suffering.

     A collection of Sacco's earlier work also graces us this month. Journalism (Metropolitan Books) collects pieces previously published in outlets such as Time, Details, Harper's, Virginia Quarterly Review, and the Boston Globe, among others. He focuses on migrants and the displaced, those fleeing economic or military crises. His artwork is incredible, but it's his relationship to his own stories I admire most. He includes himself and his gathering of stories in the comics, illuminating his own subjectivity as an author. 

     Probably these titles will not make one feel better about the state of our world. But as edifying recent history they are highly recommended. For those who are discovering Mr Sacco for the first time, his earlier works on conflict in Bosnia and Palestine are also a wise investment.