|
Posted on 07/05/07 @ 11:55 pm
The restaurant business back home is pretty stiff. On top of trying to lure people away from fast food establishments, restaurants also have to deal with a pretty strict de facto segregation policy. Growing up, I quickly saw that there Black restaurants and White restaurants, and patrons of one didn’t dare frequent the other because there’s no telling what may happen. I didn’t take much stock in that until Sperm Donor decided to take the family out to this British hunting lodge themed restaurant called Fox and Hound, and I saw the waiter toss our plates of food onto the table, talk down to my mother and father and heard someone at an adjacent table ask the waiter what those niggers were doing here. I think I was fifteen at the time. The fortunate thing is that most of those restaurants eventually closed down and moved shop…again as part of de facto segregation. The long time segregationist White mayor of the town was unseated by a Black incumbent, and a lot of businesses and people moved about 5 miles up the highway and founded a new town. Sounds like some shit out of a Simpsons episode, doesn’t it? But it happened. Back to the restaurant business. So while you had some restaurants blocking people of an entire race (I still have to roll my eyes at that notion happening outside of the 50s and 60s), some other niche restaurants tried to open up and grab those other hungry consumers. Including the city’s first Asian restaurant - China Cook. China Cook served the standard Asian restaurant fares: moo goo gai pan, lo mein, and various chicken dishes. But a lot of the population was skeptical about it since the restaurant was owned by the only Asian family in town. A few good reviews in the local paper had people going there all the time, driving business away from other restaurants. China Cook, seeing that people were only ordering about three or four things off of their menu (chicken teriyaki, fried shrimp, sweet and sour chicken and chicken wings), they decided to offer up a mix of different foods, including the standard American grill fare. And that’s when the catburger rumor started. You see, China Cook was two blocks away from the local Humane Society, and all it took was one caterng job to send China Cook out of business. The local band boosters asked the restaurant to cater a football homecoming party. Now, China Cook was a small restaurant, and really not equipped to handle a catering job with more than maybe 30 people. Hell, their restaurant only sat 45! Something should be pretty suspect when they bring in hot food in thermal coolers, and don’t have any sterno or metal pans set up for serving. The food, from what I remember, was actually pretty good. The hamburgers were certainly the hit of the event, and they managed to run out of food in a little under an hour. The next day, everyone was sick with a stomach virus. Some overzealous parent claimed that the restaurant served her cat, and the media ran with it. Within a month, China Cook was out of business on account of health code violations. The city hasn’t had an Asian restaurant since. On a somewhat unrelated note, the neanderthals in my home town also ran a vegetarian restaurant that served soy burgers out of business on the claims that "soy meat ain't real meat" and that it's "poisoning out children".sigh And in case the whole catburger thing ain't some bullshit on a bun, why just ask Burger and Fries here. Him not cheezburger. Filed under: Past Tense Comments: 7 Comments |
|
Posted on 09/11/06 @ 9:32 pm
(This is an addendum to "BGB Blogcast #41 - 55 Minutes of Fun".)
Flash-forward two years later, a Facebook expansion to include major corporations and my new job at Big Company, Inc. and now I'm finally on Facebook. And counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds until I cancel that account. Why, you ask? Filed under: Past Tense and Personal Comments: 3 Comments |
I remember when I first heard of |
Posted on 04/06/06 @ 3:56 pm
Duration: 5:42 This is the Morehouse College/AUC that I remember from watching "A Different World". Those were the days. Now? Eh…not so poignant. Enjoy the show. Filed under: Past Tense Comments: 1 Comment |
|
Posted on 12/30/05 @ 12:30 am
Like I said in an earlier post, I feel like 2005 is already over and this is just a grace period until 2006. Through these days, I end up reflecting on the months before, events which have happened and people who are gone. Through all of those, this site actually ended up being a part of all of those things. So without further delay, let's take a look back. JANUARY
I started off 2005 in Donald's apartment with Phillipe, sharing bruschetta and bubbly in Harlem [link]. This was one of the many high points of my trip to New York City [link] [link]. I came back to Atlanta with a new sense of purpose — and a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days [link]. On the dating front, I was meeting a lot of great guys, but was apprehensive because they weren't Black [link]. Could a blogger get some sexual chocolate in the '05? The Black Bloggers Association started up [link], and the month ended with a battle of the bands [link], questions about Black representation in the media [link], and a pink slip [link]. FEBRUARY
Yeah…so scratch that whole "meeting a lot of guys" thing — here today, gone tomorrow [link]. I raised the question of gay male biphobia [link], and the "Karshed" incident actually made the Washington Post [link]. Valentine's Day came and went (thank God) [link], and I got a new job! [link] Well that unemployment stint was quick. MARCH
March began with reflection and remembrance on the murder of Rashawn Brazell [link]. My birthday came and went…with no Opportunity [link]. That coupled with some other personal issues forced me to take a short hiatus [link]. APRIL
So Karsh has issues…and no sense of humor [link]. In my downtime, I slammed Kazoop.com [link], reviewed Tangled Sheets [link], Sin City [link] and Down for Whatever [link]. I started seeing a shrink and had a rather interesting breakthrough [link]. Not to mention an IRS audit [link]. My old college buddy Buffy went under the knife [link] and some crazy White broad ran away from her problems [link]. Must be nice. MAY
Am I the Ultimate Blogger? [link] Well…no, but it was a good run while it lasted [link]. I pontificated on the phenomenon of the "evil Pisces" [link] and also started my apartment hunt [link]. I also hit 500 entries this month! [link]. My move out of Buckhead was hastened with this jackass sitting atop a construction crane a few blocks from my place [link]. JUNE
Or as I like to call it, the site's most popular month even though it just had a bunch of memes. Karsh is quite the bookworm [link], and when white girls go missing, I could possibly care less (even when the media can't stop talking about it) [link]. I tore Kensington's tech support a new one [link], and this site celebrated its two-year blogaversary! [link] I also raised the question of "if there are so many men in Atlanta, why are we still single?" [link], and finally moved from my old place into my new apartment [link]. The infamous Odes began too, featuring the oh-so-sexy Dhani Jones [link]. Check back either tomorrow or Saturday for Part 2. Peace! Filed under: Past Tense Comments: 1 Comment |
Posted on 01/06/05 @ 9:56 pm
Karsh the Black Gay Blogger presentsKARSH IN NEW YORKFive days in Two Parts - Part TwoFriday (continued)So I make it back to Jimi's and decide to use his computer for a spell. No sooner than my ass can warm the seat, he comes in and says he needs to talk to me because he's at the point where he wouldn't want to speak to me after I left NYC. </cue Scooby-Doo's "I don't know"> He then proceeds to lambaste me on how "unappreciative" I seem of staying in his place. Not quite sure where this was coming from since I thanked him not only a week prior to coming but on the very day I got there. Basically, my last audio post is what riled him up because…drumroll please… He wasn't mentioned. </pause for crickets> Now I will admit that I did forget to mention him; I rambled off the entry after waking up from a rum-and-coke-filled evening of 80's hits. It's natural to forget things. But to take that and twist into being unappreciative? It's a shame because I told him several times before I got to NYC and when I got there "thank you". But I guess validation to the masses via my corner of the Internet was what was really needed. Hear that? 
It's the world's smallest violin playing the world's saddest song. Oh wait, it gets I told Jimi I wanted to see a Broadway play when I got up there. He bought tickets to Rent and Bombay Dreams. I thanked him. Was it my fault that I didn't like them? No; he didn't ask what I wanted to see, but I'll get into why later. He was mad that I didn't mention that he paid for the tickets to the two shows (nearly $450 total) and for the Choga dinner (over $300). He was mad that I didn't mention his friend Jason who was also at the dinner (he sat next to me and barely spoke…can I mention that?). But he was also mad that I didn't invite him out to Brooklyn with me even though he didn't want to go. "I work here and I sleep here. I don't get many chances to go places and meet people." Sorry, Charlie…my vacation ain't your "get out and socialize" opportunity. If you don't do stuff and meet folks, that's on you…not me. And then I talked up Christopher David and SDot's townhome. That's what spawned the whole "I'm sorry I don't have a sexy house" quote. Since when is talking good about one person's place automatically downing anothers? Next on the list of transgressions involved my IM chats with Mike, Bernie and Kia, of which he went through and dissected the logs. Now if I'm letting someone use my computer, I would afford them the same level of privacy as if they were on their own box. Communication on what I thought was a secure medium was compromised due to some deep-seated insecurities. Furthermore, he brought up things to me that were only referred to and about via e-mail, which leads me to believe there was some tampering of my inbox. Not cool. But the pièce de résistance was the following: "I bought tickets to see these Broadway shows and dinner at a Korean restaurant because I thought these were things you couldn't do on your own. I thought these were things you were not exposed to in Atlanta." There's so much I can say about that, but honestly, just typing out the rest of this bullshit is giving me a headache. Suffice it to say, the man has some personal issues with control, bouts of insecurity, and an overall dour disposition. Throwing around money doesn't buy my favor. New York is famous for shrinks; perchance that $6000 a week income should go towards more than sustaining a garish collection of Louis Vuitton bags. After his Napoleonic tirade, he flipped a complete 180 and was suddenly chipper and shit, asking me how I was able to do my audioblogs and the like. Hmph. Like I was going to let that bullshit ruin the rest of my trip. Oh, did I mention how the bed I slept in had a camera pointed on me with a tape in it? So me and Jimi headed down to Broadway in the colossal crowd to see Bombay Dreams. After I got settled and had calmed down from the stewing rage, the musical began. Now I will say this about it: the sets were exquisite. The choreography and costumes…divine. But the plot reeked to high heaven. Ten minutes in and I already knew how it would end. But at least the lead guy had a nice body. Poor Tamyra though. First Boston Public and now this. I certainly hope that CD of hers is selling. After the musical I was the first person out of the theatre. I needed to get out around some people I could relate to. But mostly I needed to vent. I wandered around downtown (i.e., corralled into streets by NYPD) before heading uptown to Donald's place to ring in the New Year. And Phillippe was there too! Bruschetta and bubbly capped off the evening and I went into 2005 feeling rejuvenated with a new sense of purpose. And mainly knowing that the next time I come to NYC, I need to get a hotel room. Saturday: "Nice. Very afro-geek."EJ called me first thing in the morning to talk about you-know-who. Telling him that I didn't feel I was in a secure communication medium, most of the conversation was under about two layers of blankets. I felt like I was seven years old and camping again! A quick shower later, and I was energized; determined not to spend the first day of the new year harping on what happened yesterday, I agreed to meet up with Donald and Steven for brunch at the Metro Diner on 100th and Broadway. Donald was a no-show, and I ended up outside the diner for 30 minutes since I didn't see Steven inside. He walked out with two of his friends and we immediately gave each other the "haven't I seen you somewhere before?" face and just laughed. I met his two friends Artis and a British DJ (either I don't remember his name or he didn't give it). We ended up walking and talking about everything from music to current events to relationships and before I knew it, we were near 62nd Street at this huge Barnes and Noble and Tower Records. While there, we ran into another of Steven's friends James and I bumped into Jimi briefly. I also saw Melvin Van Peebles. Sorry, no autographs. I got to see the new Pedro Almodóvar movie "La Mala Educación" (Bad Education) and then I came back home and stayed in my guest room for the rest of the night. I know…in on a Saturday night. I guess some things never change. Sunday: "You look just like my Junebug."Sunday morning found me at brunch with Will at Candela, this nice restaurant in Union Square. After steak and eggs, we ended up in Strand, this gynormous bookstore where I could have easily spent up the remainder of my paycheck. I bought Me Talk Pretty One Day and Home to Harlem; I've already mowed through them both. Take that, 101 in 1001! We headed to Times Square to buy some souvenirs for my friends back home and we had decided to see the movie "Closer". Well, no sooner had we bought the tickets when we ran across the 1/2 price tkts booth in the middle of Times Square. And that's how I got to see Gem of the Ocean. Both Will and Bernie discuss the play much better than I could, but suffice to say, it was damn good. Now I've seen all of August Wilson's plays save the last one in the series, Radio Golf premiering at Yale in April of 2005. After the performance, I went back to Jimi's to drop off the books and headed back down to Brooklyn to meet with Colin and Geoff for a few drinks, and then Colin and I headed to this fabulous Caribbean restaurant on Flatbush Ave. called Sugarcane. Talk about a nice place! Loved the red theme they had going on with the red leather bar and smooth wooden floors, and they mixed up a pineapple mojito that damn near knocked me on my ass! Stiff drinks, good food, good company…now this is what vacationing is all about. It was very refreshing (almost cathartic) to finally get a chance to talk with Colin about school and work and Apollo. Yeah, that Apollo. ahem After dinner, I met up with this guy Low Talker whom I had been chatting it up with for about a month. I'll spare you the details, but the sex was lousy. And he wasn't all that grand either outside of e-mail or the phone. A C train later and I was back at Jimi's where I stayed up listening to music until…. Monday: "The best part about leaving New York is coming back."…the SuperShuttle came 15 minutes ahead of schedule. I was packed and ready to go; I gave Jimi the first runner-up hug (you know what I mean), dropped off his keys and three hours later, I was back in the ATL. It's weird though; after coming back, everything seemed so…slow. Of course, the public transportation moves at a snail's pace, but even the people seemed to be a bit sluggish. I hit up a couple of stores, thus completing numbers 44, 77 and 100. I went to bed relaxed and fortunate for being able to go through my NYE/NYC experience with grace and civility. And to all…a good night. Filed under: Past Tense Comments: 11 Comments |
| Previous Posts » |
Name's Karsh. 27. Country-born, city-raised, 
