This week’s Find Out Friday was inspired by TNT’s limited series “The Alienist”.  In this week’s episode there was a scene where a young boy was drinking an egg cream and the man sitting next to him pointed out that the fact that his drink had neither eggs nor cream in it. The young boy thinks he has been cheated until the man explains that it is simply what it is called, but he didn’t know why. Well, neither did I. As a Brooklynite, egg creams are part of my heritage. They are symbols of a bygone generation that still elicits excitement and bursts of joy when they are spotted on a menu.  Such was the occasion when I stopped by Patsy Grimaldi’s latest restaurant, Julianna’s ( http://bit.ly/2hWeC61 ). My mother was almost as excited to order a vanilla egg cream there as she was when we met Mr. Grimaldi himself. For all of the nostalgia egg creams seem to bring up for generations before mine, I don’t really get the craze. It is a drink that consists of seltz

I am a whore for pizza. That is the brutally honest truth. Pizza does for me what is does for most people who enjoy it; it makes me happy. Happy no matter my mood or even if it is the best I have ever had. Pizza is the perfect combination of salt, carbs, and cheese - the greatest substance on planet Earth.  I crave pizza on a pretty regular basis and in a pinch I will settle for the version made on English Muffins. With a little minced garlic it can provide me with a decent fix.  As a salt fiend there are two foods I cannot avoid when in my presence. The first is of course pizza. The second are any type of flavored potato chips.  Thus there are always going to be numerous pizzerias on my annual to do list ( http://bit.ly/2s4Ydji ) and I am going to continue to see new ones out. Then there are times when they seek me out. That is the part I enjoy the most.  Just a few days ago a place in my neighborhood was pointed out to me by a local newspaper, the Brooklyn

There are only a handful of people I truly trust when it comes to restaurant suggestions. While many folks think they know what it takes to find a great spot for a bite to eat, they often are wrong. They do not meet my standards and after a false setup, the disappointment from the actual experience is often greater than I can handle. That being said there is an adorable couple I have known for many, many years and written about in numerous other blogs because of the restaurants they have brought into my world.  Those restaurants are: Burger Bistro ( http://bit.ly/2CesO3f ), Taci’s Beyti ( http://bit.ly/2ENyuz0 ), and Bogota Bistro ( http://bit.ly/2otwUv5 ). That list now includes Butterfunk Kitchen. When dinner at this place was proposed I was interested and immediately Googled the name. The first piece of information I learned was that Chef Chris Scott is on the current season of Top Chef. This has made the scene at Butterfunk Kitchen all the more popular. Butterfu

I do not play the lottery although I still hope to win it someday.  Since I do not pay close attention to what the prize money is up to or who wins, I have just learned something fascinating about the process. Apparently you have to reveal your identity in order to claim your new found finances. To me that doesn’t sound like such a big deal but in writing this blog I reveal much more about myself than just my name.  I heard on the news the other day that the woman who won five hundred fifty-nine million dollars from the New Hampshire Powerball in January, is fighting to keep her identity a secret.  Apparently the name of the lottery winner and how much he or she wins is a matter of public record. Especially when they fill out the information on the back of the ticket which is mandatory in order to send it in and receive the payout. This woman did that but then realized she could have opted to put the name of a trust instead.  Being that she lives in a small town sh

I had the pleasure of spending two days this past week with my niece and nephew. While adorable, entertaining them can be exhausting. However they came fully prepared.  The first game they suggested, you have probably guessed from this blog’s title and you would be correct. It was Jenga. I haven’t played that game in so long I can’t even remember if it was in this decade. My assumption is no. I was instantly eager to give it my all. Keep in mind this was before 8 a.m. and I had insomnia the night before so that means I did not get a wink of sleep. Plus hadn’t eaten or brewed coffee yet. Yes, I am that good of an aunt.  Though tensions were high, and I had to continue to remind my fellow players not to shake the table when it was my turn, it was a good time.  I only lost one out of the three games we played. I count that as a success. Now I didn’t write this blog just to boast about myself although I could see why you would think that. Rather while we were playi