Good Steak and My First Half-Marathon

I was going to start this blog off with a review of Angelo's and Maxies Steakhouse, which was the sight of this years annual Loft Boys Dinner, however K.Rove beat me to it and pretty much hit it right on the money. So if you want to find out about the place please feel free to click the link. On a side note, I would like like to extend another thank you to Ricky who put together the dinner this year and did a great job, thanks again.

Now to me, as some of you may or may not know, over the last year I have started to take running pretty seriously with the ultimate goal being to run in The New York City Marathon this November and on Sunday I took another step closer to that goal and I must say I am pretty damn proud of myself.

The big goal wasn't to run the race, but rather figure out how the hell I was going to get up at 6:45 a.m on Sunday morning after doing shots of Jameson until about 2:00 a.m, which gave me a solid four hours to rest. How's that for some training? Anyway I somehow dragged myself out of bed slammed down two gatorades and a banana and headed off to the starting line with a slight headache and six pounds of raw seafood and steak in my gut. Not to mention some Johnnie Black, wine and a few Amstels.

Needless to say I raced into the city with no traffic and was able to make it for the 8:30 a.m start. The course consisted of two full laps around Central Park's outer loop and was quite hilly to say the least. Overall I was pretty pleased with my perfomance and really didn't hit the wall until mile 11 when everything below my waist seemed to stop working (Please keep jokes to minimum after that comment). I finished up with a time of 2:09 and will hope to build upon that next month when I will my next half-marathon in the Bronx. You see as part of the qualifying races for the marathon The New York Road Runners Club holds various races throughout the year as well as a half-marathon in each of the five boroughs. As the weather gets warmer these races will continue and I hope some of you will come out to give me a cheer. Also as part of my marathon experience, I am probably going to be running for one of the sponsored charities. As far as the details are concerned I will let everyone know in February, but just be ready I will probably be coming towards you will an open hand and I expect some heavy donations.

So that is all for now. I just needed to do a little bragging about myself, no one else was around on this 20 degree January morning to tell about my great slaying of the half-marathon.

What Happens if You Chug a Bottle of Vodka in 20 Seconds!

This video reminded me of our old days as the Los Prados Boys back at the loft. Complete with the Russian heavy metal music in the background. Check out video.

Peter Luger: Simply the Best

Last night I had the pleasure of once again having dinner at Peter Luger's In Brooklyn and all I can say is that place is the best, no ifs ands or butts about it. I 've heard people complain it's overrated, the servers are rude, etc., but when it comes to steak they are second to none.

After enduring an awful two hour ride over to Brooklyn and missing our reservation, we were forced to wait and enjoy a few cocktails at the bar. By the way they also make a mean drink, where else can you get a Dewars and water in a glass that is about the size of a pint glass. After about an hour wait we finally got to sit down and the feast was on. The best thing about Luger's is you don't even need a menu. You either get the standards such as shrimp cocktail tomato and onion and the bacon or the waiter tells you you are going to be having the shrimp cocktail tomato and onion and the bacon. The bacon by the way is almost as good as the steak and is served as an appetizer. It is basically just a huge slice of bacon that is cooked to perfection and goes great with the equally delicious Peter Luger steak sauce.

Next came the steak, which is also served in a cool manner. Basically if you have six people at the table you order a steak for six, then have it come your table all cut up already with just a little sizzle and ready to go. As for the sides you can't go wrong with the always reliable hash browns and creamed spinach. Hmmmm, Delicious! After this meal you won't need to eat for about the next week.

So no matter how many haters or imitators out there there may be when it comes to staekhouses there are two kinds. Peter Luger and rest. Although I hear good things about Angelo's and Maxie and will have a full review on Sunday after our annual Loft Boys Holiday Dinner Spectacular. By the way a heartfelt thanks goes out to our boy Ricky for putting the dinner together this year.