U2 ROCKS!

as a joint birthday gift for me and herself, my older sister brought me to the U2 360 concert at giants stadium on wed, 9/23/09. my last concert was in 2001 for the elevation tour; i had tickets for the vertigo tour, but was on my deathbed-ill and couldn't attend. after wednesday's show, i'm sad i missed the vertigo show, and even sadder that i only attended one show from this tour.

the only downside was taking NJ transit to the show. every email advised that it would be smart to take NJ transit, so that's what we did. what a nightmare! NJ transit was completely unprepared for the 60,000 riders heading to the show. it took us 2 hours to get there, and 2 hours to get back. CRAZY.



U2 are amazing performers, and this show was like a throwback concert - tons of old stuff. it was so good, that i'm trying to figure out how i can get to the LA show on 10/25/09 - with black-eyed peas! how good will that be?!

my sister rocks for taking me to U2!! here's the set list from the show!

what happened to country? (restaurant now closed)

i'm bad at blogging. i check email, facebook, weather everyday, but blogging hasn't become part of my routine. and when i actually think to post something, i can't access my blog (china). i know i should just jot things down somewhere, but i don't.

facebook has/had this application 'My Restaurants' that i really liked. it said it was shutting down, but i'm not sure if it has. i don't really use facebook apps all that much, besides posting photos. but i liked 'My Restaurants'. in fear of losing all my posts, i copied them, and i'll add them periodically on my blog. like now, when i haven't posted in ages, but don't have time to write anything.

june 21, 2009
after country had just opened, my S.O. & i visited the main dining room with gary danko and met doug psaltis (chef de cuisine) and geoffrey zakarian. since then, we've wanted to dine in the formal dining room. when we finally had an occasion to check it out, we made a reservation, and it turns out the formal dining room has been shut down, and the cafe downstairs has become the only restaurant. the restaurant was pretty empty when we arrived (7pm, summer saturday), and the acoustics were so poor that even though only one table was occupied, it sounded like the restaurant was jam-packed full. i couldn't decide between the prix fixe menu or ordering a la carte, but when our server (who enunciated every single word, it was so irritating) highly recommended the spicy tuna tartare and the seared scallops, i opted to go a la carte with her recos. BAD IDEA. the tuna tartare was flavorless (certainly not spicy), the cepes in the scallops were mushy, and the scallops were a touch overcooked.

we also ordered chicken wings from the bar menu, and for $12, you'd think 5 wings would be phenomenal, but even the blue cheese dipper was bland. although my S.O.'s sweet corn soup starter was quite, his delicious lobster ravioli was ok - at least there were lobster pieces - that said, the lobster meat was stringy and not tender nor succulent. the thai broth was average, not like gary danko's thai seafood curry, which is phenomenal, but at least there was a hint of thai flavor. the french fries, measly as they were, were crispy and good, but for $9 for maybe 25 french fries, i was disappointed. finally, dessert: we went with the banana crisp, and there was nothing crisp about it. plus the chocolate sauce was burnt.

i really like the space. i love the bar in the center of the restaurant, and i'd love to throw a party there, but i'd also like to have it catered. by anyone else. [note: someone else had the same idea, because according to my sister, there was a line out the door late-night that same night.]

i also need to wire the server's mouth shut. she obviously has no taste in food. she didn't know the cocktails on the menu. she had to review the wine list to look for a bottle of rose (because when i couldn't find one, i asked if there was one, and she was like, 'there must be,' and then came back with the one bottle they serve by the glass that's not included on their wine list). basically a worthless server. when she asked if we wanted coffee, we said no, but she continued to list the entire starbucks coffee menu - cappucino, latte, americano, macchiato, et al.

while the kentucky cocktail and the tequila cocktail were tasty, even the bread was stale. and the butter was hard & cold.

we're never going back.

The Cafe at Country
90 madison ave, SW corner of 29th st
new york, ny 10016
212/889.7100