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Wilfrid

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Rebecca Mead has upset me again. "The Flirt Behind 'Chicken Shop Date'" is an engaging piece. I had never heard of this YouTube show, shot on location in "chicken shops," but it sounds funny and I will take a look. 

But "chicken shop"? Not a familiar phrase to me, but it does seem to be well-established in the UK. Fried chicken outlets, apparently largely run by South Asians.

Here's Rebecca's take:

Quote

It is estimated that there are more than four thousand chicken shops across the U.K.—one in every postcode except three, according to a 2020 assessment by the Financial Times. (The chicken-free zones were on far-flung Scottish islands.) Although there are a few big chains, such as Morley’s, which originated in South London and now has nearly a hundred outlets all across the capital, many are independent businesses, though they hew to a similar model: laminate countertops, fluorescent lighting, and food that can be made quickly, at low cost, in deep fryers. Culinarily, KFC is the U.S.’s closest parallel to the U.K. chicken shop.

Emphasis added. Apparently Morely's first outlet opened in 1985 (I looked it up). When I left the UK in 1997, I had never heard of it.

KFC, however, first opened an outlet in the UK in 1965. I looked that up as well, but I didn't really need to. I know with absolute assurance that it was some time in the late 1960s that KFC opened up near where my mother was working. KFC brought samples to local businesses for the staff to try. My mother brought some home for me. It was the first time I had heard of, let alone tasted, fried chicken. I didn't know you could do that with chicken.

I guess all I'm saying is that KFC isn't a "parallel" to the UK chicken shop. It predates the chicken shop in the UK by some twenty years.  (Rebecca, if you didn't know, is British.)

I think Rebecca's piece is subscribers only.

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Re: Hannah Goldfield's column on NOLA King Cakes: I managed to get a Dong Phuong cake by logging onto Goldbelly 5 minutes after they went on sale online. I got the classic version (cinnamon filling), and it was the best of all the King Cakes I've ordered over the years.  (Gambino's came in second.)

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There's a centenary exhibit at the NYPL building that is worth a look. I thought it might be just a few famous covers and cartoons, but it's better than that. Photos, manuscript letters and memos and telegrams, posters, lots of original art work too.

Allow some time; so many items demand you stop and read that it's slow going.

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1 hour ago, Wilfrid said:

There's a centenary exhibit at the NYPL building that is worth a look. I thought it might be just a few famous covers and cartoons, but it's better than that. Photos, manuscript letters and memos and telegrams, posters, lots of original art work too.

Allow some time; so many items demand you stop and read that it's slow going.

There's an online exhibition! https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/new-yorker-100

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Nice story about the theft of the Great Jones Cafe Elvis bust. I did not know about that.

I do recall the case (not mentioned here) of the cow statue stolen from The Sunburnt Cow on Avenue C.

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Many years ago, I was a loyal patron of the Rodeo Bar. if you were too, you know there was a Janis Joplin portrait, and an Elvis rug, hanging on the walls nearest the stage. And for a while, there was a picture of me behind the bar. My boss at the production studio where I worked decided to have a photo shoot so we could have some arty shots of the staff in the office, with everyone making duck faces, as was the custom at the time.

The photographer decided to shoot some solo stuff, for fun, and a couple of weeks later he presented me with a framed 16 X 20 of me, posing with chin on hand, like a book jacket photo. I went to the Rodeo Bar after work, carrying the picture, and the bartender hung it behind the bar. For a couple of months, I enjoyed seeing myself on the wall. I pointed it out to people a few times, and no one believed it was me (I look different with neat hair and full makeup, as does everyone).

One day someone stole a bunch of stuff - the Janis Joplin, the Elvis, and me. I like to think I'm part of a shrine somewhere.

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Yes, Third and 27th. Or 29th. I forget. The place was lousy with kitschy decor - remember that the bar in the music room was an actual trailer. And in addition to the aforementioned portraits by the stage, there was a buffalo head busting through the wall.

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Same (although I was long out of high school). Also the Surreal McCoys and Sleepy LaBeef and the Five Chinese Brothers and Loup Garou and... you get the idea.

Simon Chardiet is still around and playing (mostly) jazz shows. I ran into him at Rockaway Beach last year.

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1 hour ago, small h said:

Same (although I was long out of high school). Also the Surreal McCoys and Sleepy LaBeef and the Five Chinese Brothers and Loup Garou and... you get the idea.

Simon Chardiet is still around and playing (mostly) jazz shows. I ran into him at Rockaway Beach last year.

Five Chinese Brothers and Surreal McCoys were my real favorites. Still friends to this day. Love them. I also got to see Laura Cantrell, Joan Osborne, Kate Jacobs. So many great shows there. 

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