A Tour Of Weehawken With Danny The Freelancer—Part II

Okay, yesterday you saw part one of my trip to Weehawken and met our host there, Danny the freelancer. Today, here comes part two, the search for Indian food and booze! And awaaay we go!

Okay, after some tequila and beer at Danny's apartment, we're on the road again.

This is a painting in a bank window that Danny pointed out to me. The tall building is the Weehawken Water Tower which was built in the 1800's.

And right across the street is the Water Tower Park, which houses the aforementioned water tower.

Here's a plaque that was put up in 2009 commemorating the 160th anniversary of the water tower in Weehawken.

And here's a shot of the looming water tower in the park. A nice chunk of history, standing tall.

Danny chose this Indian restaurant for dinner, Touch of Spice. It just opened last year and Danny said the food here is excellent.

James greeted us as we walked in the door, a friendly host.

The restaurant is very nice inside, and since it was early in the evening, we had the place to ourselves.

Here's Danny toasting at our table. The place is BYOB and we came armed with a six pack of Negra Modela beer.

The food here is delicious, I got so caught up in eating, I forgot to take food shots, but here's the after photo. We had vegetarian samosas, naan bread and I had the chicken vindaloo and I can't remember what Danny had, but I'm pretty sure it involved chicken as well. It was some of the best Indian food I've ever had and it's worth traveling to Weehawken just to eat here.

After dinner, James brought over this decorative wooden box.

Inside is the check and some Indian candy.

And as we soldier on, night is beginning to fall on Weehawken.

As we head out for a nightcap or three, we pass the church where Danny was baptized as a child. I didn't want to get any closer than this for fear that it might cave in.

And here's where Danny selected for our nightcaps.

It's the Park Avenue Bar & Grill.

It's nice and dark inside and plenty of room to sti at the bar, so Danny and I chose some seats at the end of the bar.

And here's Steve the friendly bartender serving up an ice cold bottle of beer. This is a great place and we got a buy back after the first round, doesn't get any better than that!

Here's the lit up bottles behind the bar.

Lights hang over the bar and there's sports jerseys on the ceiling.

And after several drinks, we head out the door and call it a night.

Here's a photo of the Manhattan skyline at night as I make my way back to the ferry.

And here comes the ferry to take me back to the city. It's starting to rain a little outside.

As I board, it's really starting to come down, perfect timing!

There's plenty of seats for the ride back.

I tried to take a shot of the Manhattan skyline from the ferry window, but it reflected back and it's a combination shot of the skyline and my reflection, kind of a cool shot that happened by mistake. Thanks to Danny for a fun tour of Weehawken, I had a blast!

Further Reading: Park Avenue Bar & Grill, Touch of Spice and The Weehawken Time Machine.

Danny says we gotta go,
Gotta go to Idaho.

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A Tour Of Weehawken With Danny The Freelancer—Part I

I’ve only been to Weehawken, NY, NJ, once since I moved here in 1993 and that was over twelve years ago. It’s easy to get to, you can take a ferry and be there in ten minutes, after I took the ferry to Staten Island I made a mental note that I’d have to take the ferry to Weehawken some time and that time is now. TWM commenter and bonus photo contributer, Danny the freelancer invited me out to Weehawken for a tour of the town and I happily accepted. I’ve known Danny for some time, we used to work together, and it will be great to see him again and introduce him to all of you out there. And so it’s off to Weehawken we go!

All the ferry's run out of New York Waterway, here at 39th and 12th street.

And so let's go through the front doors...

And purchase tickets for the ferry ride.

You have to wait for the ferry's at these outside docks or slips as they call them.

Ours is coming in at Slip 6.

And there it is in the distance approaching the Slip's gate.

Here it is, it's almost to the gate.

They're lowering the bridge...

All aboooard for Weehawken!

Goodbye Manhattan...

Hello Weehawken!

The ferry is steered into the gate at Weehawken, it's an easy ride over here.

Okay, here we are, let's head out the doors...

And here we are in Weehawken, now where's Danny the Freelancer?

Speak of the devil...

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce, Danny the freelancer! You've read his comments, seen his bonus photos and now you get to see him in person. Okay time to start the tour!

The first stop Danny took me to is a 9-11 memorial that went up in Weehawken last September. Here's the plaque at the bottom.

And here's the memorial, two tridents from the columns at the World Trade Center. They stand 30 feet tall.

Here's a close-up of them at the Tower from a photo on the plaque at the bottom of the memorial.

And here's another angle of the tridents from the column. Quite a memorial and it was cool to see it.

And now we had to climb this massive outdoor staircase to get to the rest of the tour. Danny said to me, "You'd don't mind climbing this do you?" So what could I say? I didn't want to look like a pussy, so I said, "Hell, yes, this is nothing!"

By the time we got to the top I was one step away from a massive heart attack. I gotta cut back on those cheeseburgers!

Here's a shot of the Manhattan skyline from the top of the stairs.

A drug-free school zone, things sure have changed since I was in school!

We made a pit stop at Danny's apartment after that massive uphill hike for a drink or two. Here's Danny in the long hallway to his apartment.

Here's an original painting done by Danny. I didn't know he painted and this is very impressive.

And here's another painting by Danny, very cool!

Danny's also a musician and has played and toured with many bands through the years. Here's his custom built guitar that was along for the ride, next to a junior Buddah and a painting of two elephants. This apartment is loaded with cool artifacts. We could've just done the tour in here!

Here's Danny in the front room of the apartment. This photo doesn't do the room justice, it's really a great space and Danny designed the whole room.

Danny is an avid traveler and has items from all over the world in here. A Moroccan rug hangs on the wall over the leather couch.

You may remember this Dino De Laurentis King Kong statue from a bonus photo that Danny sent in to TMW, it's cool to see it in person.

And here's another item that Danny had sent in a photo of, his Grandfather's violin. It's a John Juzek handmade violin made in 1917 in Prague.

Two African masks that Danny got in Africa hang on the wall. The one on the left is from the Guro Tribe and the mask on the right is from the Ashanti Tribe from the Ivory Coast in Africa.

Here's some insect stamps from Thailand that Danny's sister-in-law brought back.

There's an impressive kitchen in here too, apartments are a lot bigger in Weehawken!

Behind the kitchen sink, Danny has lined the wall with corks from bottles of wine that have been drunk through the years.

And the most important sighting on this apartment tour, Danny's liquor selection!

Danny broke out a bottle of imported Clase Azul Reposado Tequila. Cheers and tune in tomorrow for part two of this adventure in Weehawken!

Further Reading: Hudson Reporter, Weehawken History and Wikipedia.

R.I.P. Donald “Duck” Dunn.

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Saturday Night Cheeseburger At The Cardinal

Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger! Starring The Cardinal and featuring the Ready for Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now please welcome tonight’s host, The Cardinal!

Night is falling on Manhattan as we head down Broadway to east 4th street.

I'm drinking a beer on the way hidden inside my patented Vitamin Water bottle beer disguise. You'll never get me, coppers!

There's a lot of people out tonight, I hope I can score a seat at the bar at The Cardinal.

Fanfare alert!

Okay, here we are, let's go see if we can score a seat at the bar.

Wow, it's a small bar and it's all filled up.

The tables are all filled up too. I'm starvin' like Marvin over here and don't feel like searching for somewhere else to get a cheeseburger.

Wait a second, there's outside seating, maybe I can get a table out there.

There's one lone table and I was told I could take it, so that's what I did.

And before you know it, pretty and friendly waitress Alex serves up a beer. I got a bottle of Left Hand Milk Stout, that's right, they don't serve Budweiser here.

Here's a shot of my table complete with a bottle of water and beer, who could ask for anything more...well a cheeseburger would complete the picture, but we must have patience.

A view of the other outside diners from my vantage point.

Okay, I've placed my dinner order and now...

Sit back, relax and watch the world go by. I don't eat at outside tables much, but I have to admit, it's kind of nice sitting out here tonight.

And before you know it, the first course has arrived! Deviled eggs. They look great!

They're creamy and topped with a hunk of bacon, a wonderful appetizer!

And here's the main course, the cheeseburger! It comes with a pickle and homemade potato chips.

A very delicious burger! And the chips and pickle were good too.

And now it's history.

I paid Alex at the bar and she gives a wave and a gorgeous smile goodbye. It was a great meal and evening at The Cardinal!

My Meal
There’s only one burger on the menu at Cardinal, but it’s a winner. It’s a skillet cooked burger topped with grilled onions, bibb lettuce and a dabble of homemade barbecue sauce. The burger is housed in a bakery fresh potato roll. It recently made Time Out New York’s best burger list and I can see why. It comes with a pickle and homemade potato chips. For an appetizer I got the deviled eggs and they come three to a serving topped with a bit of bacon and slightly seasoned. A tasty treat indeed.

Other entrees on the menu include: Smothered and Fried Pork Chops with Red Eye Gravy; Fried Chicken, Catfish and the BBQ Plate which is a combination plate featuring: ribs, pulled pork, brisket and hot links. All the entrees come with your choice of two sides including: a Pickle Plate; Fried Green Tomatoes; Deviled Eggs and Fried Okra. You can get wine by the glass and they have eight beers to choose from including: Left Hand Milk Stout, Narragansett, Full Sail IPA  and Ommegang Witt. And all these years I thought Ommegang Witt was an Boswesnian comedy troupe, oh well, you learn something new every day!

Cheeseburger Rating
Three and a half Wimpy’s, easy to see why it’s at the top of the Time Out New York best burger list!
The Cardinal
234 E. 4th St. (Near Ave. B)
212-995-8600

Further Reading: EV Grieve, Paper & String and East Village Eats.

Fly on little wing,
Yeah yeah yeah, little wing.

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