18 Hours in Astoria; or An Excercise in Excess

Part One: Greek Feast

In the spirit of excess that characterized America's holiday of thankfulness and sharing, I was overcome by a desire to eat ethnic foods. On Friday night, Margo and I had burritos. So Saturday night was naturally the night that I was struck with an overwhelming urge for Greek food. I tried to find a place in Manhattan, but everywhere I looked was expensive and needed a reservation. Manhattan. You old so and so, you'll never change. So to Astoria we went.

Astoria is kind of the best. I will admit that I am thinking of moving there once my magical tenure in the dorm is through. I love all the Greek stuff, the old ladies in the park, the whole scene. Also, one time, I saw a girl at brunch wearing my exact same plaid shirt from H&M. It was such a magical moment.

So on the recommendation of Peter, our Astoria resident and Greek Feast supporter, we walked over to Broadway and went to Ethos. It was so good. We had skordalia (a whipped potato and garlic dip) with beets and fried eggplant, Greek salad and saganaki. It was delicious. we also split a nice bottle of white wine from Santorini. All told, a fantastic meal. And, because we are beautiful, we got special dessert on the house.

Part Two: Astoria Pub Crawl

Peter, our Astoria tour guide and generally fun graduate student about New York, met us for a drink at the surprisingly sweet and undeniably hip Crescent Lounge. This place is cute. Like a living room. And we were sitting on this couch across from a man (I think) who was napping in an armchair and occasionally sipping from a glass of either sangria or red wine with ice. In the bathroom, which featured an adorable vintage dresser and good smelling soap, there was a vase full of New York City condoms. Although they had "sold out" in a matter of weeks, there were still plenty in Queens. Which was funny to us. These are not condoms to be used, but rather to be saved and cherished. There was also educational literature, which I will save along with my "So You Have Mono: What Now?" pamphlet that I got at the Columbia Student Health Center. Being informed is so important.

Our next stop, an Irish bar on Broadway that had Stella Artois on tap for less than $5 a pint. Magic! Additionally, they had erotic photo hunt. The team of Peter, Margo and myself got three of the top ten high scores. Peter and Margo in particular take the game seriously and are gifted players. We are considering buying an erotic photo hunt machine for personal use.

Part Three: Sleeping in a pile in a bathtub

I made enemies with Peter's neighbor because I closed the door to his apartment too loudly. Our three intrepid fun-seekers took ourselves to the couch at Peter's house, and quickly realized that Greek Feast had turned into Saturday Night Extravaganza. Then there was sleeping until 2 PM. I had homework due at 12 noon! Good lord! I was reminded of my days when I played softball and would stay out all night drinking Stella and stay in bed until 3 in the afternoon because I was so wrecked. On the way home on the N, there was this way cute girl who was wearing a cute hat and some great boots. Also, I stood on the 1 next to a man who was singing to himself the entire trip, which was, needless to say unpleasant. To quote Margo, "Don't they know who I am?"

Part Four: Lessons

1. Greek Feast is amazing, and will be repeated; also skordalia is the best
2. Astoria is great, even though it is so far from Manhattan and can be directionally disorienting for snobby Manhattanites
3. Beer is not for the faint of heart and should be entered into soberly and with the fear of God
4. Russian guys spit on the sidewalk a lot
5. Erotic photo hunt of never about the nipples

And those were our 18 Hours in Astoria.