我上下班常坐的 M15 公車，大約兩週前有新措施上路。他們取消了原本的 limited bus (這條路線有 local 和 limited 兩種: local 是停所有站，大約 2-3 個 block 一站；limited 則只每兩三站停一次)，而將今年新上路的三門巴士改成所謂的 Select Bus Service，比原本的 limited bus 停靠站更少，預計可以比原本的 local bus 省超過 30% 的時間。

感覺是個很不錯的措施，但實際上路後我腦中卻充滿了問號。

紐約市坐公車基本上和乘坐地鐵一樣，買張 MetroCard 上車後讓機器讀取你的卡。不過這種新的 Select Bus Service 必須先在下面照片裡新裝的機器用 MetroCard 換取一張收據後，憑收據上車，用 MetroCard 司機是不讓你上車的。這個規定的用意是換了收據以後，就可以不用從前門上車了，從其他門上車可以縮短時間。不過如此一來不是很容易造成逃票? (雖然車上常廣播宣導抓到逃票要罰$100，但尖峰時間擁擠的公車誰又會來查呢?)

再者，在宣導的期間，我曾問在機器旁邊的服務人員，萬一我在換票以後，來了一班 local 公車怎辦? 服務人員說只要把收據交給司機就行了。但我個人實際的經驗，只有一次司機直接就拿了我的收據，另外兩次司機都說坐 local bus 請用 MetroCard，這次讓你坐，下不為例。尤其第二次更誇張，下班一出醫院大門，一班 Select Bus 正到站，公車卻在我正在取收據時跑了，下一班剛好是 local bus，卻又被告誡下次請用 MetroCard。感覺是令人不太舒服。

在 MTA 才隔一年就決定再大漲票價的時候 (30 天 unlimited 從 $80 -> $89 今年底更要漲到 $104)，推出一個雖然便民但似乎並不完善的措施 (更別說裝這些機器要花多少錢)，難怪他們的赤字一直填不平。

最近美國各大城市似乎掀起了一股 food truck 美食的風潮，在紐約，大馬路上時常可以看到 food truck 的蹤跡。比如說像前一陣子上了台灣報紙，美籍台裔年輕人創立的 Cravings 就是一例。這些 food truck 不受到地點和店租的限制，反而可以將成本發揮在食物本身的特色上。

Wafels & Dinges 是專門賣比利時鬆餅 (Belgium Waffle) 的 food truck，是我一直很想嘗試的一家，之前也有網友大力推薦。只是他們的 food truck 一星期只來我家附近一次，時常是一沒想到就忘了。這回星期天下午從地鐵站出來看到，即使已經是晚餐時間，決定還是買來試試。

星期日 Wafels & Dinges @ E 86th St between 2nd & 3rd Aves

星期六晚上 Mini Wafel Truck @ Astor Place (2011/3/12 更新)

官網每週會更新他們 truck 或 mini truck 會出現的地方。

連結是他們的菜單，再點進去是 pdf 檔。

他們的鬆餅主要有兩種，一種是大家平常熟悉的，外表酥脆，裡面柔軟的 brussels wafel，而一定要嘗試的是第二種 liege wafel，質地是帶有嚼勁的。我二話不說地買了第二種，可以選擇一樣免費的 topping (dinges，第二樣以上要加錢)，我選的是草莓。其他可選的 topping 包括香蕉、核桃、鮮奶油、焦糖、楓糖、巧克力醬、nutella、spekuloos (比利時薑餅+肉桂口味的抹醬) 等。

試吃之後只能說超出了我的想像，因為本以為比利時鬆餅的滋味就如早餐店能吃到的那樣，但這鬆餅是 OMG 地好吃。餅本身的奶油味十足 (也許是造成它 chewy 的原因)，裡面含的糖份幾乎在表面有焦糖化的效果，有幾口甚至可以吃到糖的結晶。很難得吃到理應是味道很普通的東西，但最後卻回味很久的。價格不算便宜，一份要 $5。不過我覺得這錢還花得蠻值得。

懶病發作，再加上 Facebook 實在太好用，部落格又被我荒廢了一陣子。希望從這篇開始能讓我回到至少一個月寫四、五篇的日子。

一個多月以前從免費的日文報紙得知有一間新的拉麵店開張，一直很想試試。再加上 Yelp 上面的評價還不錯，今天下午做完實驗後突然地決定晚餐就來這解決。

從工作的地方前往其實不是很方便，不論坐公車或地鐵都得轉車。我的計畫是坐 M15 公車往北再轉 M57 往西 cross town 在 8th Ave 下車。(後來證明是場惡夢，週末在 midtown 第五大道附近的人潮實在太恐怖，公車一直走走停停)

總算到了 Totto (鳥人) Ramen (W 52 st bet 8th and 9th Aves)，才六點鐘，小小的店面已經客滿，我前面大概有七、八個人在排。

約莫等了 20 分鐘左右到我 (畢竟拉麵店多是吃完就走的)，進入店裡發現真的不大，吧台加上兩張桌子大約只容納得下 20 人左右吧。我點的是他們的招牌 Chicken Ramen (鳥人丸鶏白湯ラーメン $9.25) 另外多加兩片叉燒 ($2)。

麵上來後和我原本想像完全不一樣 (真的是白湯)。不同於一般雞骨為底的湯幾乎澄清且以海鹽調味或帶有蔥油的香味，這湯濃稠地倒有點像豚骨，但它的淡黃色又很明顯是雞。先喝一口湯，味道很像是家裡燉雞湯燉到湯都發白的感覺，只能說是從未嘗過卻又很喜歡的味道。上面撒的蔥花和洋蔥末和湯的味道很搭，又不至於搶味。叉燒雖然在上菜前又用瓦斯噴槍炙燒過一次，但味道沒有太大的不同。

總而言之這雞湯讓我很滿足，價格上又比另一家名店 一風堂 便宜些，如果有機會再到 midtown west，我應該會毫不考慮再來試一次。

(店員從點菜的服務生到煮麵的師傅都很親切，這點也是加分)

星期天的雨有點打亂整個週末的計畫，我最後決定等雨小點去 Columbus Circle 閒晃，再到地下室的 Whole Foods 超市買晚餐。這間超市有用秤重的熟食部。



傍晚的超市比想像要擁擠許多，甚至覺得大部份來購物的人都跑到超市來了。以前在南加時，每次到 Whole Foods 幾乎都是空手而回，他們的東西實在太貴了。但以紐約市的物價來說，這裡只能算比平價略高。



Sunday was all rainy and wet. I just didn't feel like cooking. I decided to go over to Columbus Circle to do some window shopping and grab something to eat.



Whole Foods is on B1 of the shopping center. It was, as always, unbelievably crowded. I remember when I was in So Cal, I usually ended up being empty handed almost every time since prices were just not so friendly. Now in NYC, this place turns out to be one of the more affordable choices. How ironic.

我覺得他們消化大批排隊人潮的方法還蠻聰明的。排隊的地方分成三區，中間這一區是買 10 件或以下的，兩側的兩區則是 10 件以上。每區又排成三條線，每條線有一個代表的顏色。每當有一個收銀員有空時，上方的螢幕就會在顏色的方格裡顯示號碼，輪到你時就知道去哪個號碼的收銀員。



They have a clever way for this crazy crowd: 3 areas, the middle for people with 10 items or less, the sides for those who have more items. Each area has 3 lines, with a color sign in front of the lines. Whenever there is an available cashier, the above screen will show his number in the color square. The next person will know immediately that it's his turn.

Whole Foods' paper box



除了周圍有壽司、pizza、麵包的吧台之外，熟食區的選擇也很多，甚至還有湯和甜點。我通常是選擇平常很少烹煮的材料，像這次我就挑了魚和一些很少吃或花時間煮的蔬菜。能夠自己組合一餐還蠻令人滿足的。



There are actually a lot to choose from: American comfort food, Mexican, salads, even soups and desserts. I usually choose something I rarely or don't cook with. This time I chose pollock (fish), brown rice with broccoli rabe and collard greens on the side. It was a satifying meal and was not too heavy. I still had room for dessert after this.

住的地方附近有一間日本餐館 「Gajyumaru
」，看網路上的評價還蠻不錯的。

(不過我對美國人的味蕾不太放心，口味畢竟還是不一樣)

每次經過時都會想觀望一下裡面的情形，但窗戶貼著隔熱紙看不到裡面，只知道裡面光線有點昏暗。

有點擔心它生意不好在我去吃之前就先倒了。



星期五，帶著一週的疲憊，實在不想開伙，決定下了班回家把背包放著就去吃。

晚上九點打開餐廳的大門，店不大、大概十桌不到，但居然只有一桌空位。看來原本的擔心是多餘的了。

店的佈置就像是家庭式洋食館一樣，裡面還有一個壽司的吧台。



菜單拿到先放了半個心，除了少部份是美國才吃得到的東西 (如 teriyaki chicken、spicy tuna) 之外，大部份都是蠻道地的食物。而價錢...當然是紐約價。



二話不說點了竜田揚，炸豬排之外的最愛，$16。

服務還不錯，餐前餐後都送上熱毛巾 (在台灣不算什麼，在美國似乎還沒碰過)。點的可樂也幫你開罐倒在杯子裡。



附餐我選的是沙拉。主餐送上之後簡直嚇了一跳，這根本是不可能吃完的份量嘛。八大塊的炸雞就這樣躺在鐵板上，薯條也是剛炸好般的燙口。



雞肉很好吃，就是很一般的醬油口味，不過我只能解決一半，另一半外帶。說來 $16 也不是太貴了。

最近 UNIQLO 在主打他們的牛仔褲
，連紙袋上的設計都改了 (+J
是似乎是他們的新系列)。



UNIQLO (in the US) has been promoting their jeans lately. They also changed the design of their bags.

(+J seems to be their new line. The concept is described here
.)

今天收到了 2010 人口普查的表格，
人口普查的結果將會決定政府社福經費的比例。

利用這個小小的機會幫在美的台灣人發聲。

前幾天有一位先生來我們實驗室，說三月八日星期一電視影集「Law & Order
」會來這層樓拍幾場戲。前一個星期五，一些影集的工作人員開始在實驗室附近無人使用的護理站和病房佈置。



We were told the other day that there would be a team from "Law & Order" shooting a few scenes on our floor. It's always exciting that one has a chance to see show biz people working on a set, not to mention it's a pretty well-known television show.



The shoot was on Monday. Some crew members came over the Friday before for some preps. I took a couple pictures when they were not around.

電梯旁的販賣機被移走了，換成這台看不出商標的假機器。



They moved the vending machine near the elevators and replaced with this one. I assumed they just didn't want to have brand names on tv.

真貨跑到走廊的另一頭。



The real vending machine should look like this. They moved it to the other side of the building.

從實驗室外面拍的，可以看出許多為拍攝做的準備 (原本是空無一物)，甚至把沒在使用的護理站變成了育嬰室!



They also turned an unused nurse station into a nursing room. Pretty amazing!



星期一上班時發現，原來以為是「Law & Order」的工作人員，胸前居然都貼著「Gossip Girl
」的貼紙。可惜從來沒看過這部戲，有幾位看起來很明顯是演員的人卻完全認不出是誰。



When I came to work on Monday, I was a bit surprised that it wasn't the
"Law & Order" team. The crew members all have stickers on their
shirts saying "Gossip Girls". Unfortunately I have never watched this
show or it would've been so cool to be able to recognize some of the
actors.



後來就沒再拍照了，因為到處都是走動的警衛。不過整個劇組忙到很晚，我們下午八點走時，他們還在一樓拍另一場戲。



I didn't take any pictures during their shooting. There were too many security guards walking around. I have to say, that this is no easy job. They were still shooting the time we left at about 8 pm.

My addiction to Food Network goes to another level: a subscription to their magazine.

以前在南加時就很喜歡 Popeye's 的炸雞，和裹粉炸的脆薯一起更是絕配。

前兩天無意中在工作地點附近發現一家，

二話不說便買了到實驗室吃。

僅僅是兩塊炸雞配上脆薯和比司吉就滿滿一大盒，

花了我 40 分鐘才吃完。

不過吃完之後很滿足



I used to have Popeye's fried chicken quite often back in So Cal. Their Cajun fries are the best.

I happened to find that there's a Popeye's near where I work the other day.

With no second thoughts, I brought a two-piece combo with fries and biscuit to the lab.

That was indeed a lot of food for lunch. It took me 40 minutes to finish.

I almost skipped dinner.

Godiva 櫥窗的廣告。巧克力做成這樣很難讓人不想買吧。

還好經過這家店時沒開。



A window ad from Godiva. It's not easy not to be tempted when chocolate bars are made like these.

I'm glad the store was not open when this picture was taken.

前幾天經過 Bryant Park，看到佔滿大部份區域的白色帳篷大概就知道是怎麼回事了。

是 New York Fashion Week。

許多在門口拿著相機四處張望，可能在等什麼名人出現吧。



Walked by Bryant Park. The well-known white tents took over most of the place.

It's the New York Fashion Week.

Lots of people were at the main entrance, maybe waiting for Heidi Klum to show up.

It's just not for me.

Empire State Building lightings for Valentine's Day (red, pink and white)!

上週末美東暴風雪肆虐，所幸在移動到 Tri state 地區以前就出海了。

相隔才三天的另一波風雪
就躲不掉了，

從星期三一大早便一口氣下雪到晚上。

較南邊的 Washington DC 地區，還沒從上一場大雪中恢復，想必又是另一場惡夢。



While millions of people in the Washington DC area are still trying to recover from the blizzard last weekend, another big one just hit yesterday. We were lucky enough to escape from the first, but the second one was just not avoidable. The snow started in early morning, and persisted all day and all evening.

本週大黃瓜特價三條 $2。不過好像沒有便宜多少?



Cucumbers are on sale, 3 for $2. It doesn't seem to be that great a deal, does it?

這個週末美東難得的大雪，使得許多區域都深埋於以呎來計的雪中。

所幸紐約市區剛好在暴風的邊緣，只飄了一點雪，連路面積雪都稱不上。



照片是幾天前早上飄雪時拍的，樹枝上沾點白色雪花時還蠻美的。

星期六下午有空，趁天黑之前去了一趟紀伊國屋書店 (Books Kinokuniya
)。

紀伊國屋就在著名的 Bryant Park 的旁邊，距離 Time Square 也只有五分鐘的步行距離，

算是非常好的地段。







紀伊國屋的櫥窗。

書店總共有三層樓，一樓是日文雜誌和英文書，地下一樓專賣日文書籍，二樓則是藝術類書籍和漫畫。

此外二樓還有一小間麵包店可以休息聊天。



雖然這間紀伊國屋的規模完全不能和日本或台灣的相比，

但對於在紐約的日本人或喜歡日本新書的讀者來說，

這裡會是讓人興奮、不可多得的好地方。



唯一讓人覺得不親近的是價錢，

一本書幾乎是定價的 1.5 倍，如果不是很喜歡還真的買不下手...

從我住的地方往郵局的路上，有一段路 (91街介於第二和第三大道) 是車輛不能進入的。

從步道的一頭往另一頭看還蠻漂亮。

唯一的缺點是這條路是上坡...

今天的天氣只有用詭異來形容，

下雨+颳大風+突然地回暖。

因為風大，到實驗室不僅牛仔褲和鞋子全溼，連外套都被淋到不少。

奇特的是路上到處可見到被吹爛的雨傘，

不曉得這些把這些傘丟掉的人要怎麼避雨?



I was all drenched from today's bizarre weather: heavy rain, gusty wind and a sudden rise in temperture.

Oddly there were some broken umbrellas here and there on the street.

I wondered how people would wanna give up their umbrellas in this kind of weather?

昨晚在 23 街上閒晃時路過這家店，

覺得這外表和 In-N-Out
(西岸一間著名漢堡店) 也太像了吧?

紅底白字，以及黃色的圖案。

照片裡的菜單看不清楚，但外型和字體都和 In-N-Out 如出一轍。

不過我是沒進去啦，吃一個漢堡加薯條飲料可能要花 In-N-Out 的兩倍價錢。



I saw this burger place while walking along 23rd street.

It looked totally like a rip-off of In-N-Out.

I haven't tried their burgers and fries yet, since every item seems to be twice the price.

實驗室去年有一位美、日混血做暑期的醫學系學生，前幾天來拜訪，帶了一小盒和菓子做新年伴手禮。

老闆一直以為裡面是糖果，

直到昨天打開吃了一個才說，

「這不是糖果啊，這是糖嘛! 喝咖啡的時候就丟一顆下去...」

嗯...並不是好嗎?



We had a Japanese-American summer student last year, who came visit us the other day.

She brought us a box of wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionery) as a New Year's gift.

My boss thought it was a box of candies until yesterday when she opened and had one of them.

"Oh I thought they were candies. They are actually pieces of sugar. You put one in to your coffee."

Hmm...good thinking, but it's not that. Okay?

日本著名的二手書店 BOOKOFF
在紐約有一間分店，

位於中央車站 (Grand Central) 的附近。



全店有三層樓，一樓是英文書和英、日語 CD DVD，二樓是英日文漫畫，地下一樓則是日文書籍。

規模雖不能跟新書店相比，但其實數量還蠻大的。

而且有許多舊書以 $1 $3 等出售。



我買了兩本 偵探學園Q 的漫畫，$2 + tax。

書很明顯是舊書，但整理得還蠻乾淨的，可以說花得很值得。



BOOKOFF is a well-known chain store for used Japanese books. Its New York store is located near the Grand Central Station.



There are lots of selections of books, CDs, DVDs and magazines. The 2nd floor is all Japanese and English manga and many of those are just $1 each.



I purchased two from the Tanteigakuen Q series, only for $2 + tax. It's totally worth it.

傍晚的 Bloomingdale's 百貨公司。

年末的假期已經結束了，燈還點成這樣覺得有點浪費電...



It's definitely not the most environmentally friendly department store in town.

Starbucks 也開始賣 cupcakes 了。

看到當場買了一個，不過店裡沒位子坐，只好到外頭在寒風中享用。

(實在是有點冷，所以 frosting 有點被碰得亂七八糟)



上層的 frosting 很香濃，但是超級甜，下面的蛋糕部份還好，

也許天氣太冷，顯得有點乾。



I just found out that Starbucks started to sell cupcakes.

I bought a double chocolate cupcake and a decaf, but there were no seats for me to sit down and eat.

I had to finish it in the cold wind.



The frosting was very rich yet a bit too sweet.

The cake itself was a little dry, maybe from the cold weather.

Overall it was okay. However it's always good to have more items to choose from though.

去 IKEA 只為了他們的食物似乎有點奇怪。

但在物價驚人的紐約想來一份簡便的外食，IKEA 的價錢算是很低廉。

週末本來要去 Target 添購一些日用品，地鐵坐到一半臨時轉念決定去吃一頓，

最後還抱了2個單價只要 $0.67 的盤子回家。



It's sort of weird to go to IKEA just for their food,

but I have to say it's not a bad choice when you live on a budget.