I got a call from Karen today. She just lost her lease on the office she has had for the last 8 years, and was only give a months notice. I probably started working with her in 2006 when she was introduced to me by Janice.
We caught up while I fixed her computer, and afterwards helped myself to her food. She had a fruit bowl in the center of the kitchen table. Nothing out of the ordinary, but she had gala apples, which I tend to favor. I love Gala and Roma, everything else is just a crapple in my opinion.
I couldn’t help but notice how good the apple tasted as I looked at her and stated this. She was at a loss of knowing what I was getting at. I live in Bushwick which is still a poor latino neighborhood, the produce is shit. She lives in Windsor Terrace, there is an obvious difference.
After getting everything online and up and running, we shot the shit and caught up for about an hour. We talked about family, business and how everyone seems to be in the act of reinventing themselves. Five years ago, everyone was sitting pretty, yet now we are both in uncomfortable places. We have both watched our businesses slowly slip through our fingers in the past couple years and realize that a good sorting was in order.
When I first met Karen she was a graphic designer and now she worked with kids. She mentioned that they have an honesty to them. I told her that they don’t loose it when they get older, they just save it for the internet… usually for the comments section on various video sites, or maybe craigslist rants and raves.
When I left I hopped on the F train at Ft Hamilton only to realize that I would rather skate home, so I got off at 7th ave. I haven’t skated since before the hurricane and debris was all in the street, which made 8th ave sort of a bitch but Underhill was a breeze. At least it was till I got to Atlantic an noticed that Washington was completely blocked off. I went a couple of blocks up and cut across to Fulton when I saw it….Mac Shack.
Aziz had told me about Mac Shack; not that it was any good, just that a friend of his owned it. I called Aziz to see if he was nearby so we could do this together. It was when the phone began to ring that I remembered there was a gas shortage and people weren’t driving anywhere. Before I left Karen’s earlier we joked how the gas shortage reminded us of the 70’s. She then commented “odd numbers one day, even number the next”… Wow, I didn’t remember that, but then again I was only 5 at the time.
I have only 3 memories of the 70’s, shame really but one was voting for Carter in our 1st grade mock election. The second was going to Herman park zoo and seeing a black muslim, dressed in a dishadasha, singing John Lennon’s “Come Together”, whilst playing it on the steel drum. The last is actually my first, and that is watching my sister in a high chair and my father encouraging her to eat by telling her to “go on and stab that food”.
Talk of stabbing food brings me back to the Mac Shack. Before I could cross the street a woman asked me for directions to the A train. After pointing to her I noticed she had a Mac Shack bag in her hand and asked what she ordered. She claimed the lobster was good but this time she got the Brooklyn Burger Mac.
It was cold out and that actually sounded good. I also noticed they sold their own brand of root beer, which on those few occasions I want something beyond seltzer, root beer or a gasosa is usually it.
They made my food fresh or, at least I assume they did seeing how it took 15 minutes to get it. While waiting I chatted to Aziz on the phone. The election was what was the biggest buzz in the air, and as much as we could truly say we weren’t about Obama, how the fuck could you vote for Romney, and how was the election this close, and why did it take a natural disaster like hurricane Sandy to surge Obama in the polls.
I skated home, and shared the mac’n cheese with Lily. We got thru half a large before we were full.
Verdict: It was bland, and if it weren’t for the hot sauce I put on, it would have almost been a waste. For $15, I guess I can’t call it overpriced, however almost $3 for the root beer threw me off. I will confess that I feel I should go back and try something more exciting. Maybe the lobster, though the jerk mac really seemed more my taste.
While I do feel that the “Brooklyn Burger”, was rather basic, I honestly felt it still could have had more flavor.