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Travel Tracks: vince vaughn + tiny’s giant sandwich shop

6 Dec

I decided to start this post in similar fashion to that of a few weeks ago (since the reasons keep piling up).

Reason # 129474 why I love Manhattan: Not only can you leave the doorstep of nearly any apartment in town, turn the corner and see at least 10 places you’d love to eat–BUT–you can also grab a table at your favourite neighbourhood sandwich shop and find yourself front row for a film shoot starring Vince Vaughn.

Vince Vaughn Film Shooting NYC via Tracks by Linds

Approaching the scene above, I wasn’t sure what I’d find around the corner. Turns out it was Vince – no big deal. I waited on the corner by strict demand so as not to disturb the filming with a group of  30 grade four school kids. Their teacher wasn’t too pleased about the waiting (imagine trying to contain that many kids). When the ‘Cut’ finally came, seeing their reaction when they realized who was acting was priceless. Excited murmurs and lots of ‘bounce walking’ ensued- you know the kind. Vince  was great with them, smiling and waving at their animation as they passed by.

As no photos were allowed outside, I knew there had to be a way, and that way was in the heart of a great breakfast/lunch spot – Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop.

I mean, I had to eat lunch anyway, right?

Vince Vaughn Film Shooting NYC via Tracks by Linds

Tiny’s is great because whether you are vegetarian or carnivorous, there is an option for you aside from bread with veggies (unlike Subway). On that note, I decided to rebel from my usual pescetarian diet and order chicken because that’s how I’ve been rolling lately. I loved its spicy hot sauce and the chicken was great, but I opted for mayo instead of the recommended blue cheese sauce. If I were to do it again I’d take the plunge for the blue cheese, but for this time, I guess you could say I ‘chickened’ out. Ha.


Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop NYC via Tracks by Linds

Vince Vaughn Film Shooting NYC via Tracks by Linds

Vince Vaughn Film Shooting NYC via Tracks by Linds

I enjoyed watching the filming process and kept amused by the two extras. Every time a scene was about to begin, they took their jobs more seriously than the main actors by brushing their hair, smoothing their clothes, etc. Kudos to them all for filming in the chilly weather though; they looked freezing and bundled up between shoots.

The movie’s slated to be called ‘Delivery Man’ so I’m wondering if this guy has a co-starring role:

Vince Vaughn Film Shooting NYC via Tracks by Linds
Eventually they huddled around to watch clips with the team and Vince seemed to have everyone in stitches, even off camera. They moved to the side of the sandwich shop for further filming but I concluded my time was done. I felt slightly creepy capturing even this much, but as these things rarely happen where I’m from, I swallowed my dignity and paparazzi’d my little heart out.

Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop NYC via Tracks by Linds
Thank you Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop for not only a great meal and friendly service, but a front row seat :).

Info
Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop
129 Rivington Street  / Lower East Side
New York, NY

The Falafel Shop // lower east side

22 Nov

Reason # 129473 why I love Manhattan: You can leave the doorstep of nearly any apartment in town, turn the corner and see at least 10 places you’d love to eat. At the very least.

Arriving Day 1 at 3:00pm and having only eaten a 6:30AM breakfast, I was ravenous for a late lunch. Blair grabbed my hand and led the way to some spots he knew I’d love, just around the corner from our apartment.

Tiny Giant’s Sandwich Shop and The Falafel Shop stood side by side. In the end, Falafel reigned, but Tiny’s proved a great second choice the next day.

NYC Restaurant Review via Tracks by Linds
The Falafel Shop was a great intro to the Lower East Side: small, understated quality, diverse and grungy with a hint of trendy on top. Much like my falafel, which was also small but packed with flavorful falafels, pickles – um, pickles!? – that was a first for me, and a glob of fresh hummus at its summit.

Falafel Shop NYC via Tracks By Linds
While Blair chose two high seats at the window, it didn’t take long for my ears to tune to the softly wailing Bob Dylan’s Times They Are a Changin’.  Behind us, a man, his daughter and her tiny red backpack occupied three chairs for an after-school snack. Dark-haired ladies painted nails through big windows across the street, bikers passed, ATM men delivered money and car horns blew their tune.

NYC Falafel Shop Review via Tracks by Linds
Spreading hot sauce along my falafel’s narrow creases and devouring the first few bites, I stopped to give Blair a taste (while sneaking some of his french fry add-on, of course). I could think of only one thought – a quote my good friend Meg and I adopted while in Spain a few years ago:  “Happier than a pig in shit.”

Info
The Falafel Shop
127 Rivington St
(between Norfolk St & Essex St)
New York, NY 10002
http://www.thefalafelshop.com

Travel Tracks: café natüra in sault ste. marie, ontario

16 Oct

The best way to travel authentically is to ask a local. Though this is a philosophy many-a-seasoned-traveller prescribes to, there’s nowhere I’ve experienced it to ring more true than in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

First affirmation of above claim: when searching for a place to wax my eyebrows, a usual trusty Google search landed nothing. Yelp? Nada. Even after getting names of specific places from friends, online searches still surfaced blank.

Second affirmation of above claim: Blair and I were choosing a dinner date locale and I wanted to browse the menus before finalizing our decision. A pretty standard approach in today’s times – except only one of the three contenders had a website.

I love the Sault but my point is that they are a wee bit extremely behind in the technology realm. Maybe it’s because the median age slides toward the older end of the spectrum or perhaps the businesses aren’t lucrative enough to justify dishing out cash and labour for a website.

Whatever the reason, even I, the Internet search queen, is willing to forget about it because I finally found my most favourite Soo hangout. And it came right from the heart of a good-natured, old-fashioned, word-of-mouth suggestion.

Meet Café Natüra.
For me, it was love at first sight:


Blair’s sister, mother, her good friend and I went for a Sunday lunch. Walking in, it had that familiar coffee shop smell I’ve so longed to inhale. The kind where you know there is wholesome food cooking in the back and hot, Fair Trade coffee waiting in urns.

We all ordered the falafel meals with cabbage soup and I had a Kombucha green tea. Imagine my delight and photo-happy spirit fingers when I was presented with this tea pot boasting this yogi tea bag:

Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Coffee Shop

Sault Ste. Marie Coffee Shop
Halfway through the visit, the music playlist – which was plain rocking in the best of ways the entire time - starts busting out a Nova Scotia native, Joel Plaskett. It was Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ from his Three album. Ah-mazing!

Sault Ste. Marie lunch spot
Sault Ste. Marie Ontario lunch spots


Additional Information:
Café Natüra
75 Elgin Street
Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, P6A 2Y4
www.cafenatura.ca (yes! they have a website!)

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