Peter Luger/ DJ Premier + DJ Scratch

(this is a really long entry about today. first half of the entry is about Peter Luger steakhouse and the second half is about the DJ Premier/ DJ Scratch show.)

-> Peter Luger
So today, for the last food journey of the summer, we wanted to end it right, so we went to the original Peter Luger steakhouse in Williamsburg. For this we had the whole original food journey crew to come out- Me, Ling, Pico, Jerome, Ray and Franklin.

The Plan was to meet up at the corner of Essex and Delancey St at noon but we all ended up meeting at 12:15 and we went straight over the Williamsburg bridge and got there in less than 5 mins. Franklin’s train got stuck so he just met up with us there.

As we got in, the host brought us to a round table and we were given some bread, butter with some luger sauce. Soon after we decided to place our orders. We ordered and shared……

-two orders of the steak for 2 cooked medium
-one order of a single steak cooked medium rare
-three half pound cheese burgers.
-five strips of their signature bacon
-Bowl of sautéed onions
-French Fries ( cause there were no German potatoes)
-Creamed Spinach

-Steak
The steak was amazing. It was about an inch thick and was just so soft and flavorful. It needed no sauce , it was already perfect. I decided to just add a little salt and pepper to complement the steak.

-Burger
The burger is one of the best burgers I have ever ate. The bun of the luger burger has a thick crust and soft and airy inner. I’ve heard of a few complaints about how they don’t cook the burger the way it was ordered but mine came out perfect. I added a little salt ,pepper, sautéed onions, a little ketchup. Occasionally I dipped the burger into the luger sauce on my plate. $10 for the best burger, you cant go wrong. I will be going there more often just to grab a burger.

-Sides
The creamed spinach was ok. All six of us shared one order, where we got a big spoonful of each. Never had cream spinach before so I don’t really have anything to compare it too. The flavor was good but the consistency was very liquidy and mushy.
The fries were good to snack on with the steak and burger. It went great with the luger sauce.
Sautéed onions were great. Very soft and sweet . It was pretty much, for the lack of a better term, “melt in your mouth” It went great with everything.
The bacon was also really good but it isn’t your ordinary strip of bacon. It was a thick cut, about 4 strips of bacon stuck together. It was nicely smoked. I wish grocery stores sold bacon like this, or probably not because I can live off if it.

The tab came out to a little over $310 and with tip it was about $365. All six of us put in about $60 and we were set. With the tab we got some peter luger chocolate gold coins. In the end we were all full, happy and very satisfied.







->DJ Premier and DJ Scratch
Enrique invited me out the free session with DJ Premier and DJ Scratch at the Red Hook field. Originally it was suppose to be Premo and Pete Rock but DJ Scratch subbed in for him.
Two legendary producers on one stage, for free, you cant go wrong.

-pre-show
After Peter Luger’s, Me and Ling met up with Enrique and his brother and went with Alex, Chris, Brian and Geo to the event that started at 7. We got there at about 6:30. On the grassy field there was an “on the go” type of stage attached to a truck with two speakers on each ends and two sets of turntables in the middle. Surprisingly there were only about 50 people there at first but as the show progress, the crowed grew to a couple hundred towards the end. As soon as DJ Premier and Scratch came out I went straight to the stage. Me and Enrique easily got right front row, leaning on the stage, right in front of Premo.

-the show
Opening for the DJ battle, Niles performed his track - Phantom of the Opera. Then from 7:30- 9:00, Premo and Scratch came on. Each DJ didn’t know what the other was going to play but they just took turns and just played some classics. First some Motown hits and then some classic hip-hop.

Jeru was randomly on stage right in front of Me and Enrique taking photos with his Nikon about mid-way into the show. Enrique was like yo its Jeru, and I sarcastically said “word”. I thought he coincidentally just looked like him but it really was him.

The show was great. The vibe was just mad chill and everyone was just singing along and moving with the music.

-autographs
After the show ended, they packed up a little and premo gave out some autographs. On the way to the event I suddenly remembered that I forgot the cover of Illmatic, one of my favorite albums of all time, about half of it which was produced by Premo and “the world is yours” produced by Pete Rock.

Since I didn’t have anything to get signed, I jumped up on stage and sat down as Premier signed the back of my white tee. Enrique got his sleeve signed. Enrique’s parents picked us up and dropped me and ling of at our neighborhood.

good times..........

laters,

-J.P.

Jury Duty

Forgot about jury duty
So a few months ago i got summons for jury duty on May 7th but i wanted to postpone it cuz i still had school. i forgot about it for a while and then i thought my just duty date was may 10th so on may 9th i looked for the notice to make a call and saw that i was 2 days late already. then i looked at the notice in the back and it said

"failure to respond may result in criminal contempt of court and is punishable by fine of $1000 of imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or both."

then i started to panic a lil cuz i didnt want to pay any fines or get locked up for my forgetfulness. i started google-ing to see the consequences because it was a saturday night and i hadda wait till the monday to call.

monday came and i made the call and they asked me to reschedule and i was relieved to find out i didnt have to face any consequences. i chose monday august 10th.

Jury Duty procedure
today i attended the Kings County jury duty located on 360 adams st. i was scheduled for 8:30 so i got there at 8:20. they scanned my bag and i went thru a metal detector. then they took my camera and gave me a recipt so i can get it back later on the day.

once i got there i sat down in an assembly hall with about 300 seats. at about 9:00 the place started to get packed. then soon after a speaker comes out and tell us were gonna watch a couple videos.

I dont know if any one else was laughing but i found the video to be funny in a retarded way. it was like PBS channel 13 typa video from the early 90 featuring Diane Sawyer. it pretty much talked about how jury duty is a democratic way of resolving problems and if you ever were to be in court, you would appreciate a good jury duty staff as well.

so i just sat down on the padded chairs in the air conditioned assembly room waiting for my name to be called. i fell asleep a few times, got up to the vending machines and got some 50 cent doritos and 50 cent cheese doodles. then i ate them one chip at a time to stay busy. then at 11:15 i hear a group of names call and my name was announced. i got up and sat in a small classroom with 20 computer chairs. soon after 2 lawyers and a judge came and introduced themselves. then the judge left and the 2 lawyers talked about their case. the case was about a car accident and to see if the person injured deserved money for his injuries or if he got the injuries prior to the accident

right after they started to interview us individually. they had to choose 8 of the 20 of us. they interviewed the first 8 and at 12:15 we were dismissed for a 10 minute break so they can choose whose qualified. at 12:25 we came back and they choose 3. then we got dismissed for lunch and we had to come back at 2. so that gave me an hour and half lunch brake.

Got back to the assembly hall at 1:15 and just chilled there cuz outside was too hot, like 95 degrees. its prolly one of the hottest days of the summer so far. so i just talked on the phone for a little, checked my emails on the public computers and then went back to the room at 1:50.

there they interview more people and before they got to me they already chose their final 8. they told us to go back to the assembly hall where i had to wait for an announcement. we were either going to be dismissed or called for another case. After 30 minutes of waiting, they annouced they will dismiss most people.

They started to announce names in alphabetical order and we had to go upfront and take our proof of appearance. everyone was so happy. it was like graduation, just hearing all the names before you, anticipating your name to be call so u can get the "diploma" lol
finally they announced my name and i was unsure if that was me cuz they said it completely wrong. i got up to make sure and read the letter and it was me. it said i dont have to serve jury duty for another 8 years!!!!!!!!!

final thoughts
i actually wouldnt have mind being picked for the case cuz it seemed interesting. in the end im glad i didnt so i could just go home and not deal with going back the next day.

overall it wasnt too bad. i got paid $40 for just sitting around, sleeping and listening to my ipod. it was just really boring. i think i could of brought a friend along to the waiting assembly hall to chill with. or i suggest sitting by the left or right wall so that you can lean on it and nap and when people want to get out of their seat you wont be interupted because your not in their way.


laters,
-J.P.