~ Curious Charlie ~

@ Sunday, January 01, 2012

Went to dinner with Kimiko in the city, but didn't stay for the firework, they're much more appealing on the plasma, bug free and crowd free. As we were leaving thousands were still going into the city. Had an interesting day, the good parts with K, the not so good with random strangers, assaulted, twice physically, no less than four times. And this area is not one you can avoid, as it's the grand central station of NY, and my new college is opposite it...

Random homeless guy going around asking for money on the train, someone grabbed my ass, later on a random guy (no.2), punky rebel teenage-ish looking, grabs my neck to get my attention to ask where the train went. And then later when I was with K, walking across a street random guy no.3 calls me a slut, and within the same minute random no.4 tells me to suck his dick. O.o People are odd - and all this happened in daylight. What is their problem?! Surely it can't be simply cause their male, most of my friends are guys, and they don't do that stuff. I miss my old boarding college, life was safe. Do any of the above and you've got yourself 2hrs in detention, and a blood nose at the very least.

Dinner on NYE, with not much other than the fast food joints open we decided to go for something different, and ended up at Soda Rock. It's an American :) diner, burgers, fries, hot dogs and milkshakes, and where soft drinks are called sodas. The service was good, cleanliness perhaps not, with the jukeboxes covered in layers of dust, and toilets being described as scary, full stop. Fortunately the food (most of it was better).

To start off we ordered drinks. A choco shake for me, and a "lime" one for Kimiko. Priced at $8, the choc shake was no one than one just like McDonald's chocolate milkshakes, the only difference was this one was twice the price, though not size. It was nice, but if I wanted it again, I'm going to McDonalds. Meanwhile on the other side of the booth, K had her "lime" shake, which was unfortunate. As she says it was sweeter than condense milk! and was not at all citrusy.

Mains shortly arrived. She had the cheese burger with double patty $11 (double beef patty, streaky bacon, tasty cheese, smoky barbecue sauce, mayonnaise and ketchup.), while I had the chicken sandwich (grilled ~~marinated~~ chicken breast fillet, sliced into strips then coated with melted tasty cheese, with lettuce and mayo on toasted bread) $13.

For K, mains went much better than her shake. Though for the price, I do believe the burgers are better at Grill'd - and bigger too! "The burger is smaller compared to grill'd. crunchy burger bread. The beef meat is juicy and tender, it is a bit oily and greasy. I still recommend it, it's good and it fills you up. Lime milkshake D: ew lol, Too sweet, Doesn't taste like lime; didn't even finish the drink".

My sandwich was lovely. Though lacking in that marinating flavours, that could have used some work. The cheese was great, Coon. And the lettuce, fresh and crispy. It was the perfect sandwich. The only downside is the price, and the fact that it could have easier been made at home.

Summary: Go for the exp (bring dettol), but as for food; go to Grill'd for burgers and McDonalds for milkshakes.

Pictures by K.

By the way, it's the 1st of Jan 2012 today. A new year, a new college and uniform. Sadly the uniform is lovely, and straight off the catwalk - of 1690s, Salem, Massachusetts, witch hunt era. Or for a modern take of it think of Wednesday Addams. The theme is strictly black and white, and not in a fashionable easy to walk way, with ankle length skirts getting tangled and sweeping dust off the ground. But on the upside, dressing like you're a 40 yr old lawyer means no one will bother you. ;)