Return of the Mack
[it's me, hi, I'm the Mack it's me]
I’m back in NYC and so stoked to be writing again! I have a ridiculous backlog of articles that I bookmarked over the last couple weeks - NY certainly didn’t take a vacation while I was away.
Spending a week in the Canadian Rockies certainly wasn’t on my bucket list (I’m a city girl obvi) but it was both fun and terrifying to try something new and out of my comfort zone. I was born a strict Type A Personality, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve routinely challenged myself to try things that go against my factory settings. I went in boats twice on this trip (I hate boats), so I think a journey on the Staten Island Ferry might even be possible in my future.
I hope you try something new even if it seems scary - you’d be surprised what you’re capable of when you have no cell phone service on top of a mountain and nothing but your own two legs to carry you down.
1. Noshing 😋
Before I left for my trip Lorenzo, wanted to see the Van Gogh Cypresses exhibit at The Met, so we took a journey uptown. I’m always at a loss for where to grab food near The Met (if you have a rec please let me know!), so afterwards we headed to Chinatown to try Mabu Cafe. It’s a Hong Kong style cafe located on what’s become a very trendy nook on Doyers St. The decor is bright and loud and toes the line between appearing “authentic” and downright silly. They offer some classic teaware and ceramics for sale, but also serve food items in plastic cars or scales. Oh, and to enter their bathroom you have to open a big refrigerator door - I would not have known that was the bathroom if someone hadn’t just exited before me.
The food menu is huge & just as colorful as the space and has most of your classic HK Cafe treats - baked spaghetti, instant noodles, sweet toasts. I got the pork Laksa instant noodle soup and Lorenzo got the pork cracklings rice. I was fully expecting this place to solely be a feast for the eyes, but the food was very good! My Laksa was super coconutty and sour, with a hint of spice, and it included a generous amount of char siu-like pork and tofu pockets (my fave).
We also shared the Ovaltine condensed milk toast and I was not prepared for the experience of eating this at all. As soon as we cut into the toast it began absolutely gushing condensed milk. I expected some goo in the middle of the toast, but what I got was an absolute deluge of sweet milk juice that created a moat around my toast. I need a scientist to explain to me how this was possible, I can’t fathom where all of this liquid came from. It was both soupy and delicious, but definitely very sweet. I’m both excited and scared to try their other toasts.
2. Watching 👀
Friendly reminder that the folks at SAG-AFTRA and the WGA are still on strike. It’s a hot labor summer so let’s all get that bag.
I’m cat sitting again this week and enjoying streaming services that I don’t subscribe to so I finally watched Whiplash on Hulu (reminder that the unions have not called for boycotts of streamers at the moment). I say finally because I actually have a weird little history with this film. I interned at a production company for a bit and part of my job was providing script coverage (when I wasn’t dropping and breaking their custom whiskey glasses). I would read scripts, take a bunch of notes, and decide whether to pass it along to the higher ups to consider producing. Whiplash was one of the scripts I read and I gave it the obligatory two thumbs up. I don’t think the company I interned at actually got involved producing it for whatever reason, but can I pick ‘em or what - this film won mad awards!
Anyways, I finally got around to watching the movie whose script I read so many years ago and it was so much more uncomfortable to watch than it was to read. This film deals with psychological abuse, grooming, homophobia, and other sorts of bad things that get NYT think pieces written about them - all within the context of a kid wanting to be the greatest jazz drummer of all time (so he tells Melissa Benoist). JK Simmons was an absolute monster in his role (and why is he always so jacked?). I found it hard to watch Miles Teller and not think of his abysmal role in the abysmal Fantastic Four film and I wish I’d seen this before I’d seen that.
This is one of those movies where you squirm in your seat because you cannot imagine existing in the uncomfortable situations you’re witnessing. JK Simmons (Fletcher) repeatedly berates Miles Teller (Andrew), slapping him, throwing chairs at him, and playing sick psychological games with him and the other drummers. Even though the film gives us a few “sweet” emotional moment with Fletcher, it’s impossible to like his character after hearing him drop the fuckin F-word (the other F word) so casually and repeatedly. I found it equally hard to like Andrew though, who immediately succumbs to Fletcher’s mind games and begins emulating his mentor’s behavior.
This movie also did do a great job of depicting how sweaty it is to be a drummer, though. Have you ever played the drums on hard on Rock Band? Truly though, the amount of sweat and blood we see Andrew constantly covered in only makes this a harder watch because he’s very clearly in both physical and mental anguish constantly.
The final scene of the movie is the best by far and if you don’t want it ruined scroll onto the next section. At first, we see Andrew struggle and walk off the stage because Fletcher has sabotaged a huge opportunity by giving him the wrong sheet music to play. At this point, I finally felt bad for Andrew because he seemed like the victim, unequivocally. But Andrew returns to the stage, mouths a big fuck you to Fletcher as he begins going the fuck off on the drums, and now it appears that the saboteur has become the sabotee! But that’s not how this ends - Andrew once again succumbs to Fletcher’s musings and the movie closes on them giving each other silent nods, implying that they’re once again in tune with one another and this sick process is the only way for either of them to be the best.
Anyways, that’s what the screen goes black on and for someone who loves movies ending on a downer, that was a bummer even for me. It’s a really good movie though, if a very uncomfortable watch. If I ever met JK Simmons in real life, I’d be scared.
3. Exploring 🗺️
I obviously just explored the Canadian Rockies, but this is Big City, little friend, not Big Canada, little friend. If you’re planning a trip to the National Parks in that area of Canada though, I would be very happy to talk to you about my experience and give you some tips!
Sometimes I plan adventures for myself and sometimes the city surprises me and I stumble upon cool things. That’s what happened last week when I popped into Fosun Plaza in FiDi to see a movie at Alamo Drafthouse - I was greeted by the word “Shalom” and wandered into a popup exhibit from the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum about WWII Jewish refugees in Shanghai.
I knew about the small population of Kaifeng Jews and had heard that there was an old synagogue in Shanghai, but I never really considered how or why Jews got to China during WWII. We get a very America-centric education about the Holocaust (and everything else) and I just assumed most Jewish refugees came here to the US like my family did, even though they were from Belarus and technically much closer to China than the US. But from 1938-1941, about 20,000 Jewish refugees made their way to China. This was largely due to other countries closing their borders and China just not requiring visas at that time. So Shanghai because an unlikely refuge for a large amount of German and Polish Jews looking to escape the Nazis after Kristallnacht in 1938.
Even so, once in China they were subject to the Japanese occupation of the city and lived in ghettos - a large one was located in Hongkew. Despite moving from one difficult situation to another, the Jews tried to carry on with their usual routines as much as they could. An area of Shanghai became known as Little Vienna because of the European style businesses that popped up there. They had weddings and bar mitzvahs and small bits of Jewish history unexpectedly persist in some places in Shanghai.
I know China is often in the news for some not-so-great stuff, so hearing about this bit of history was quite nice. If you zoom in on this newspaper article, you’ll see that the museum is planning for more events in the upcoming months, so I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled to see what else pops up!
4. Learning 🧠
Yes, we just learned something in the last section but I want to take you back to the beginning on this newsletter and talk about Doyers St in Chinatown so we can come full circle. Doyers St today is a lovely pedestrian friendly nook - it’s got murals on the buildings and on the sidewalk, it’s home to Nom Wah (NY’s oldest Dim Sum parlor - food is meh IMO), and there are regularly lines to get into that and the other well-known businesses there. But Doyers St used to sport a much different vibe - a vibe of murder! 🪓🩸😱
You can see in the aerial view that Doyers St has a very sharp curve to it. For most of the 1900’s, this spot was known as the Bloody Angle. This became an ideal place to murder people for a couple reasons: the sharp curve made it easy to hide around the corner to surprise targets and this area of Chinatown is riddled with underground tunnels that made it easy for folks to escape and pop up blocks away. If you peek into some of the businesses on this block you can see the stairways that lead into the tunnels and I believe there are still some businesses down there. Chinatown was full of gangs pre-00’s and in the early days the hatchet was often their weapon of choice. In fact, this is where we get the term “hatchet man” from.
Now, the only thing you’ll find hiding around that corner is Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles (very good) and the very pricey Chinese Tuxedo, which is actually housed in a former opera house that was the site of a gang-related murder that has never been solved. So the next time you’re waiting in line to eat at Mabu Cafe, remember that while the street is now adorned with a lovely rainbow mural, it once ran red with BLOOD.
5. What’s Good 😎
Did you want to see The Postal Service & Death Cab for Cutie play at Madison Square Garden on September 20? Well then I have good news for you - I have 2 tickets to that show I need to sell because I can no longer attend! Hit me up if you’re interested.
NY is home to lots of stores that sell the most random things and a few years ago a coworker introduced me to Casey’s Rubber Stamps. They’ll make you a stamp out of any design and have been a fixture in the neighborhood for 44 years! Morning Brew recently did a small profile on them.
Outdoor dining is here to stay in NY! I enjoyed many winter pandemic dinners outside and I’m glad restaurants have the opportunity to stay on the sidewalks. However, under this new law sidewalk seating will only be permitted April - November, so I won’t be enjoying any more outdoor winter meals 🥶
My fave hangout group - Wowza Hangouts - has just launched a paid subscription plan! Their premium plan guarantees you access to at least 2 hangouts a month, though they still have a free tier available that gives you access to available hangouts. I’m bummed I can’t attend their outing to the Queens Night Market this weekend!
My fave dinner thing - That Dinner Thing - is back from a summer hiatus! I also very sadly can’t attend their August dinner on 8/27, so please buy yourself a ticket and report back on how delicious the food is.
I left NYC for a week and there was a freakin riot in Union Square! Union Square is one of my favorite parks and it was very disheartening to see people destroying it. The Union Square Partnership is asking for donations to help replace a bunch of the plants that were destroyed. Don’t even get me started on the fact that our parks should be receiving way more funding….
Finally something I can attend this weekend - the Renegade Craft Fair! Tons of small businesses will have all sorts of fun tchotchkes available in Greenpoint this Saturday and Sunday. I’ve got my eye on some tiny food earrings from Wee Snack Shop
Thanks for sticking around while I took some time off. I hope you try something new this week, even if it seems scary.