KAC NYC LLC

09/13/2026

A venue right across the street from me called Love’s Club put up posters, in our building’s elevators, promoting a Backgammon Night. I’m still relatively new to the neighborhood and as well love backgammon so I decided to take a little time to do something recreational and to — gasp! — be social.

The very modest exterior belied the expansive and brightly decor in its interior. The vibe as such was very fitting for the folks showing up to play, learn (I humbly agreed to teach some newbies), and meet.make new friends.

By the time I left (early, as my socialization time is ever more minimal) every backgammon board had players, and many with audiences. I can see myself returning for future backgammon nights (and as well for their proposed and hoped for live music nights and karaoke nights).

09/11/2026

Despite the insanely busy schedule and injurious fall of a bus greater elevating my chronic pain, 10 days was as long as I could go with being only 4-½ blocks from Harlem Shake — one of my two favorite NYC burger spots — without stopping by and spoiling myself to their smashed burger greatness and an eclectically delicious shakes.

Today it was Harlem Shake’s “Hot Mess” Cheeseburger with its bright and spicy pickled cherry pepper & jam relish and house smoky chipotle mayo boosting the crispy-edged, flavorful beef patties, and some lovely peach milkshake with Nilla Wafers that coolly complimented the heat of the burger with its fruity sweetness.

As always Harlem Shake's menu items are worth the travel, effort, time, and even a little extra pain, and I look forward to my next visit.

09/11/2026

Freedom Tower (2017)

09/11/2026

In and around the Oculus (near World Trade Center), September 11, 2016

===

It was an overcast day, so there was no Towers-shaped sunlight to witness and follow across the Oculus floor. But I am always grateful to make it down here not only to “never forget” but to also witness others pay their respects in their own way, including the 24-year old cop born after the tragic events this date 2001 not due to familial connection of legacy, but because, after working in an office job for just a few years, decided that dedicating his life to the service and protection of others was more his duty.

(Plus, he added, good benefits and an early enough retirement to still make a whole other life for himself.)

09/04/2026

09/03/2026

I only discovered this fine and humble eatery, Harlem Breakfast Club, this morning but I was oh so pleased to enjoy the likewise humble yet expertly executed home-style cooked breakfasts of my Harlem and Orangeburg, South Carolina youth.

Scrambled eggs with cheese over soothingly creamy grits with grilled, hot beef links were always the kind of home cooking I’d run to the dining table for in the mornings, and my order this morning was so nostalgically delicious that I might even return tomorrow morning for what looked to be a yummy stack of pancakes.

(All they need is some *puddin’* — IYKYK, especially if you’re “old school” — and I’d make it a trifecta of consecutive morning meal visits.)

09/03/2026

I have known about Chef Marielle for nearly my entire time on this island, and I have appreciated how well-known and respected she is by both her customers and by her culinary peers, as she has been one of the most popular caterers on the island for quite some time, working under the business name Hooked Barbados.

Until this week, I had never tried any of her food, or even met her, so I was pleased to find out she just opened a restaurant extension of her catering cooking skill and acumen — Hooked Bistro — just a two-minute walk from my apartment on Maxwell Main Road in Christ Church.

I discovered the new opening on Instagram, and found a picture of one of her restaurant’s many menu offerings, Crabcake Eggs Benedict, most inviting.

The next afternoon I went by to try said dish to find out that it had sold out. Dismayed but not deterred, I decided to stay and try another menu item, the Fish Kaftas (served with tzatziki and couscous.

The kaftas were deeply flavorful and nicely brightened by greens and that tzatziki.

So impressed by that one dish, over the course of just the next 24 hours I tried Chef Marielle’s box of fluffy and fun mini pancakes (adding dark chocolate syrup, caramel, and toasted coconut to mine) in the morning, finally the Crabcake Eggs Benedict for lunch, and taking home a portion of her Seafood Pot Pie to heat up later for dinner.

The mini pancakes were airy and light, a joy to eat in their bite-size form. The crabcakes had a nice, non-greasy breadcrumb-like crisp to their exteriors while giving way to an aromatic and nicely seasoned, crabmeat-y interior, heightened by the hit of hot pepper in the hollandaise, and the Seafood Pot Pie, fresh from my oven, boasted lots of toothsome chucks of fish, lobster, and shrimp, in a bubbling cream gooey with a spot of cheese and rich with veggies and layering herbs.

Chef Marielle’s lifelong long of seafood and cooking is self-evident in her near signature ideation of how she respects her seafood with the appropriate balance of supporting ingredients and preparations, and the rest of the menu of her new Hooked Bistro is as inviting as the 2-minute walk to it is extremely convenient.

09/03/2026

FKA: Formerly Known As is a new bar/restaurant spot just off East 14th Street in Manhattan that succeeds, counterintuitively, with executing a forward-thinking throwback concept in vibe, decor, and food.

The very bright idea of a 40-year friend Aram and his partner, FKA’s main offering is to have the same kind of place that my friend and I and our friends used to hang out with back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, whether for a really casual get-together, or to pre-game a night out, or to enjoy primetime joviality in frivolity, or to convene with at the end of the night after reveling across different spots around the city.

The decor is fun nostalgia without being kitschy — the TV screens play old MTV videos (of when they used to play only music videos), posters and signs from that era adorn the walls, and there is even a nook with a photo booth and, old video games, and even a working pinball machine.

The crowd(s) that habituated the place my friend and I were steady friends at were made up of an eclectic collection of young adult New Yorkers, and the attraction to FKA is sure to garner the same variety of fun-seekers of various backgrounds and provenances, and appropriately so, FKA’s menu reflects the same variety of comfort and charm.

A tower service of dumplings and raw oysters joins a roster that also includes a Frito-Pie with pulled pork. Jalapeño pepper deviled eggs could be served next to fancied “Lunchables” service of mimolette, conté, and camembert cheeses sided with red plums and honey. And I am crossing my fingers that I will get to try a caviar service with chips.

Aram and I miss the kind of social and food spots that dotted the city some decades ago, where every neighborhood had a spot or two where you’d become quick friends with people you had no idea then would become integral parts of not just your social circles, but your future and lives as well. Everything about the idea and ex*****on of FKA: Formerly Known As as geared toward bringing back and bolstering that life-defining community — from the staff to the regulars to the space to the menu and beyond.

(And yes, I’ve written this with a more “editorial” pen, but that’s because I’m not writing about FKA just as a restaurant, but as a New York City narrative of a hopeful return to an energy I’ve lamented no longer existing in Gotham but possible coming back strong.)

09/03/2026

Around the corner and one block away from home is a modest Taiwanese restaurant called Formosa that last night served me an enjoyable dinner (of a moderate price) a great plate of nicely seared, pan-fried spicy kimchi dumplings that burst good flavor, and a side of Taiwanese whose closest reference I would say is a decent chorizo when it came to meaty density, layers os spice and seasoning, and unctuous rendered fat goodness.

A nice brown sugar boba milk tea countered nicely, the service was friendly, and the decor and vibe were neighborhoodly lo-fi.

Not just for its geographical convenience, I will surely revisit.

09/03/2026

Cheeseboro Kitchens™ Sea Sand-seasoned pan-grilled crispy skin salmon over Cheeseboro Kitchens™ Garden Sand-seasoned sautéed endive and radicchio, with turmeric horseradish lemon butter sauce.

Order any of our 7 Cheeseboro Kitchens™ Sand™ seasonings through our Amazon storefront at: amzn.to/3xh3IyT