Chinatown Meanderings and Elvis Costello

To wander through Chinatown is always a treat. Oh, I lie - it's mostly aggravating for me, and I do it as little as possible, but if you stay off the beaten path, it's a little more mellow.

And you never know what kind of interesting stuff you might come across. Take the other night, when I was fortunate enough to be invited to a "Secret Show" being performed by one of my favorite musicians, Elvis Costello. He's got a new CD 0ut, and this show was for listeners who had won a call-in contest ( and their guests) - sponsored by an FM station that's been on-air for over a year here in the city - 101.9 RXP. Anyway, since the show was being held at Jim Brady's on Maiden Lane, I figured I'd walk - it's about 30 minutes, and you get to transverse some of those off-the-beaten-path streets of lower Manhattan. First check out this shot of EC...that's Diamond Jim Brady just over his left shoulder...

I digress - back to my walk, through Chinatown, to see Elvis. In the past, I've found noodle shops that sell hand-pulled noodles to take home and cook for yourself. I recently ran across a tofu factory offering all sorts of varieties on that theme...which really isn't that fascinating...oh, I'll take home a chunk of tofu and cook with it, but eating that stuff all the time - feh. Sometimes the signs on the shops really crack me up. Take a look at this one and see if you agree...

Yes - it's Strange Taste Cuisine. I don't know what the Chinese characters mean and perhaps someone will be able to translate, but I found that a weird name for a restaurant. Good Taste Cuisine, Wonderful Taste Cuisine, Awesome Taste Cuisine - they all work. Strange Taste - not so much. Of course, if you look closely, you'll notice the gate is pulled down and there's no business going on - obviously, others thought the same way too. And just look across the street...

Doesn't that sound so much better? It's Best, not Strange. Oh, and on the walk home from the gig, which was great, I stopped into Great NY Noodletown - (see, that's Great - not Strange!).

Significant Eater was due to be getting home from class in a few minutes, and trust me, there's not a lot better for a late dinner than NY Noodletown's roast pork, roast duck and shrimp wonton soup. Check out the hanging deliciosity...

As I mentioned, the gig was great, Elvis was in prime form...singing 8 newly recorded songs with his trusty guitar. Thanks for the invite, guys.