Good Times!

Saturday, I took the night off from work so I could pick up one of my very best friends from the airport.  Kevin and I have been friends for about 10 years.  I don't get to see him nearly as often as I used to because his job moved him to California.  I love when friends come to visit!  

We hung out Saturday night at a bar where a band called "Sweet Suzi & Sugarfix" were playing.  I hadn't heard of them, but they were really good.  It's always iffy when bands play in bars because sometimes they're not that good, but they compensate by being really loud.  This was thankfully not the case this time.  The singer had a soul-rocker voice; she reminded me a little of Adele, who I just love, and the drummer was awesome!  They did some original songs and some covers, and were very entertaining overall.  

Sunday, I had to go to a meeting at the MP, then Kevin had gotten us tickets to go see "Spiderman: Turn off the Dark" on Broadway.  

I can't get this to stay rotated in the right direction.  sorry!

It was equal parts awesome and awful.  For those of you who don't know, it is the most expensive Broadway musical ever produced.  The stunts and the flying around on cables, and a lot of the sets are pretty cool.  The music and lyrics were written by Bono & The Edge of U2... A couple of the songs were almost good... but nothing was great.  I LOVE U2 and think they're an amazing band.  I also think that Bono & The Edge should stick to what they're good at.  

The actor playing spiderman didn't seem to have a "Broadway-strong" voice, which was disappointing to me.  I get that Peter Parker is a wimpy kid, so when he's not singing, he does a good job with that weak voice.  I have the expectation that when I see a Broadway show, that the singing should be spectacular.  The girl who played Mary Jane was the understudy, and she missed a few notes as well.  I know I probably sound like a critical shrew, but these tickets are expensive.  I've seen a lot of shows on Broadway and 99% of the time, the voices of the actors blow me away and give me goosebumps.  I'm sure younger kids will think it's fabulous.  It wasn't my favorite.

When we finished at the show, Kevin and I met another of our friends at Hallo Berlin on 10th Avenue.  

Marc happened to be in town for work and met us for his lunch break.  We ordered the potato pancakes and wurst platter for appetizers, and both were delicious.  I ordered the Jagerschnitzel for my entree.  Now, I have ordered Jagerschnitzel in Germany and in New York.  It is my favorite German dish.  It is a breaded and fried veal or pork cutlet served with a hunter gravy with mushrooms.  Always.  At Hallo Berlin, it is.......not.  I don't know what they served me, but Jagerschnitzel, it most assuredly was not. 

I should have taken a picture.  It was a piece of meat pounded within an inch of its life; about 1/8 inch thick, and not breaded, but fried on a griddle and covered with some kind of uber salty tomato and onion sauce stuff.  I ate 2 bites. Blech! I now really want to go to Zum Stammtisch in Queens for some REAL Jagerschnitzel!

After the attempt at dinner, Kevin, Taylor and I went to Rudy's on 9th avenue and shared a couple of pitchers of beer.  We just sat around the table and visited and caught up with one another.  It was fun.  

Today, I had to go to the office for a couple of hours, but then came home and made dinner with Marc.  We had Margarita marinated grilled chicken breasts with a garlic-cayenne sweet & sour sauce, green beans, and corn.  It was really tasty.  

Tomorrow, we're going to the Biergarten in Astoria, Queens for an evening of beer and finger-foods on the patio.  Kevin, Taylor, and Russ will be meeting us there.  It's a fundraiser for one of the fraternal organizations Marc is involved with.  It will be a great time, and I'll take some pictures to show you later!

I hope your week has started off nicely.  We got some much needed rain today.  Hopefully, it helps to cool off the temperature for a little while.

Cheers,

Kelli