AYCE Mussles at BXL East

BXL East just opened in midtown on 51st and Lexington, close to home, and the place has a great deal on Sundays and Mondays... $20 All You Can Eat mussels, with a number of different varieties. A couple of us went this past Monday, enjoying a few Stella Artois and a mix of 5 lbs each (10 lbs total!) of these friendly marine bivalves, namely: Marinieres (white wine & onion broth), Provencale (tomato, basil & garlic), Grand Mere (cream, bacon & onions), Thailandaise (coconut milk, lemongrass and curry), and Marocaine (green olives, cilantro & tomato). Wasn't too packed and the service was very good. Rating: 3.5 out of 4 moules, with a few frites to boot.

TO in the B-Lo.

A potential circus is coming to town, but the Bills may finally make good use of this T.O. I'm not talking about time-outs, which coaches wasted multiple times last season... but the enigmatic, mercurial, volatile and unpredictable Terrell Owens. First impression is that he makes the offense particularly better; he had more yards and TDs last season than all other receivers not named Lee Evans. Second impression is that the Bills have nothing to lose, season ticket renewals/sales were starting off slowly, and a significant splash was necessary (this dwarfs the Drew Bledsoe splash from 2002). Finally, I'm glad to see local media writers, including the typically critical Jerry Sullivan, embrace the selection, even if national media coverage is more negative of the signing and the expected effect on the team next season. Local media members are smart (even if not intentional) to paint a welcoming story, particularly when TO seemed luke warm on the city... "This may not be probably the most ideal place for a lot of people... but I beat to my own beat." Then he turned things around well, stating... "the Bills made some eyes open... these guys have all those pieces... in Trent I see tremendous upside... Buffalo, last season, they gave themself a buzz."

I know I'm looking forward even more to my 3rd season as a season ticket holder. Hopefully the team can begin and sustain success like last year's 5-1 start through the entire season, and we'll use this T.O. frequently and to our advantage.

As an update, looks like a certain Fuhrer wasn't too happy about the T.O. signing.

The Human Voice as an Instrument & Abadía da Cova

Went to see Vinx last night at Cafe Wha?, and while surrounded by a small crowd in a less than ideal venue, he as usual was pitch perfect and with a better live voice than any other singer I have witnessed. Hit up Las Ramblas for dinner, for great pinxtos (including octopus, frog legs, mussels). The co-owner treated us to Abadía da Cova, Licor de Hierbas (herb liquor), which at about 33% alcohol by volume is a distilled sugar cane based spirit instead of like wine grapes based grappa; the Abadia smacks of a fresh herb garden, seasoned with 20 different herbs and spices. Really unique flavor, served as an after dinner digestif.