Copy Editing The City

The M line is supposed to be ORANGE

The City's Best Muffin

Recently on a walk from Tribeca, I cut through China Town on my way to the Lower East Side. It's no surprise that certain parts of China Town at certain times of day smell bad. Fish market deliveries? This was one of those times.

But as I was walking I found an olfactory oasis. I stopped dead in my tracks when I smelled this sweet scent wafting about me. Then, like a bloodhound I spun around and followed my nose back to a small and nondescript storefront whose very existence would have been swallowed up in the painted scenery of Eldridge Street were it not for that glorious AROMA. Said oasis turned out to be called Panade Puffs and Pastries. The smell had been fresh mixed berry muffins baking in the oven.

After waiting five minutes for them to come out of the oven, I enjoyed an iced coffee and a muffin on a bench out front.The muffin was hot and sweet and light and moist and finished with a thin layer of just-crisp crust. You Must Go.

Traif, a Brooklyn Blemish

The thing one must become accustomed to when dining in the City is the propensity of restaurateurs to regard your patronage as a privilege THEY have bestowed upon YOU. And it makes me sick.

Dialogue with a pretty, often pre-occupied hostess usually begins something like this:
"Um. Hi. Do you need a table or something? Well the wait is going to be about 3 hours, so unless you have a reservation you might just wanna go fuck yourself. Theeenks."

And so it was, a few nights ago when a companion and I wandered into TRAIF on the outskirts of Williamsburg that we were greeted and treated in a similar fashion.

I won't bog down this post with details from the horrific service experience we were subjected to courtesy of a pert, self-important pig claiming to be the owner, but I will mention that the food (though downright stingy in proportion) was interestingly put together, however it took well over a half-hour to be delivered to the table we were SO LUCKY to have been seated at.

Oh, and do you know what TRAIF means? It means any food that is non-kosher. By the way, the restaurant is situated right in the middle of a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood. There's something about this that I find to be in poor taste.

My recommendation? How shall I put this? I'd sooner go hungry than ever return.

AfroPunk Festival

August 25 & 26 saw the return of the AfroPunk Festival at Commodore Barry Park in Fort Greene. Headlining acts at this free event were Erykah Badu and Janelle Monae, but the real stars of the weekend were the 30,000 attendees from punks to fashionistas to the fabulous of all complexions.

Shameless Self-Promotion

The Urban Boy Scout will no longer be used as a hub for my published works.

To stay abreast of my non-TUBS-related writing career, you may follow BySloanRollins.tumblr.com.

Come Out & Play

The Urban Boy Scout will be scouting for images and stories to bring you from today's AfroPunk Festival in Brooklyn. Come on out and say HELLO. It's free. Why not?

My latest Fitness Scheme

I happened upon a huge metal hula hoop covered in candy-colored foam rubber at the 99 Cents and Up store on Ludlow St near Delancey on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

It is a very cheaply made metal ring held together by a block of wood and nails where the two ends come together. It is filled with plaster dust, pebbles and dirt, presumably straight out of the ground in China. How do I know what's inside, you ask? Well the first hoop burst within 2 days of use and my living room was covered in it. The replacement hoop did the same thing. So when I went back for the 3rd hoop, not only did I demand a discount, but I also covered the thing in duct tape in the hopes that it would stay together and the dirt would stay inside. It's been about a week, and so far so good. I covered it in another layer of duct tape yesterday, just to be sure.

Why go to all this trouble? Well the thing is a killer work-out. And though my hips are completely bruised, the inches around my mid-section seem to be melting off. And hooping is fun. The more you do it, the more control you gain and the stronger your core becomes.

Check out the video above. Remember, just 3 weeks ago I could barely keep the thing off the ground for more than a handful of revolutions...