7/03/03 Breakfast w/Matt, Rich with Dongle; Northport by Train and Foot for Rich's B-day dinner; Erin's Place for Dessert:
This morning, I woke up extra early to be able to have Brunch with Matt. We met at about 9:30 am at Manatus, in the West Village. It was good to catch up, even if it was E A R L Y.
I had to get back to the apartment by 10:30 because I had a client coming over. An actor needed a reel put together, and Erin had recommended me. Meanwhile, Richard sat behind me, fiddling with a new $500+ piece of software that he just bought, which allows him to manipulate video file formats on his computer. [He will use this to author kick-ass DVD's]. But, of course, out of the box, it didn't work, and here he is, calling tech support on his cell phone, while holding the USB dongle in his other hand. Not a happy moment. It's scary to spend a lot of money on something that doesn't really exist: Software.
But, my edit session was successful, and Richad, using his new software, once he got it working, helped greatly. To celebrate, and to belatedly celebrate Richard's Birthday, I decided to take him out to a nice dinner. In Northport, way out east on Long Island. We were headed to Show Win! Best Sushi Place Ever! I love this above photo because the colors on the train locomotive match the colors on Rich's shirt!
It was a peak Port Jefferson train. One of the few diesel trains that begins the journey in Penn Station. It's able to do that, because the locomotive is "dual-powered." In the tunnels of the city, it shuts off it's diesel (explosive) engine, and turns on an electric one. Then, out east, where there is no electrified rail, they switch to diesel. You can't have a diesel engine in revenue service in the tunnels under the East River.
We examined the schedule to see when we'd make it to Northport. It would take just over an hour, which is Amazing! By car, it would take about 2. It was an express train, making its first stop in Huntington!
Here's Rich, getting off the train at Northport, after a lovely nap.
The Northport Station house.
A sign near the station.
The sushi restaurant is unfortunately not near the station. It's a 25 minute walk away. So... we walked for 25 minutes.
Out here, when people saw us walking, they looked concerned. Maybe our car broke down. Maybe we were hooligans! In any case, noboy assumed we were just... WALKING. Because nobody does. We didn't pass another soul, and often, there weren't even any sidewalks.
But, we made it to the restaurant, and by the time we were there, we were STARVING. This was the bill at the end of the meal. Pretty good, eh? The following photos are what we ate:
Here's Rich, eating the sashimi platter.
The tuna tataki was exceptional.
And, of course, we finished it off with fried Red Bean ice cream. Damn!
It was busy this evening, and so, we didn't get much of a chance to talk to the head sushi chef, Tom. He told us to come back on a Monday or Tuesday when it's very slow at the sushi bar, and we promised that we would!
Walking back to the train station, this time in the darkness of night, we passed another odd historial sign.
We got to the station, and had some extra time before the train came. So, here's Rich, sitting on the platform, legs dangling over the edge, digesting.
After arguing with him about railroad safety and "what happens if a suprise express train comes by?" etc, etc,... I joined him.
I was impressed by the TV screens on the platform that informed us where the train was, and how late it was going to be. And it was!
The train is about to arrive. I had ascended the overpass, and took this photo fo Rich on the platform.
The trainride back was fairly peaceful. It amazes me how many other people are making the same rediculous journey, over such a distance, at night, on a weekend. Rich and I napped soundly, changed trains at Jamaica, napped some more, got on the downtown subway, napped some more, and went to Erin's place, where we had some home-made cake.
Other people were hanging out there as well.
It was a nice end to a long, silly day.