BUKA, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, New York, New York

BUKA (946 Fulton St.) in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, may be the only authentic Nigerian restaurant in NYC.  Abuja (Union, NJ) is another option.  I've been reading enough Nigerian novels to have created a hankering for Pepper Soup and Jollof rice.  Buka did not disappoint.  Note to reader: blogger only one brave enough to chew on land snail !

We sampled:

grilled Tiger Shrimp with Suya Spice
Goat Pepper Soup with a healthy amount of Tripe
Igbin - large West African land Snails
Edikaikong - mixed meat cooked in spinach with Crayfish and Periwinkle
Dundun - like Yuca
Dodo - Plantains
Jollof Rice
Fufu - Yam "mashed potato" in appearance

"Dyker Lights," Dyker Heights,Brooklyn, New York, New York

84th St. & 12th Ave,

Dyker Heights is the epicenter of professionally hung Christmas lights, with some homes spending $20,000 to hang and store the elaborate presentations.  Best viewing is between 11th and 12th Aves. from 82nd to 84th Sts.  Daytime attractions include Ft. Hamilton and Poly Prep school.

 

note penguins

El Sarape, Frog Hollow, Hartford, Connecticut

 Tripe is the stomach of an ox or similar and finds its way into a Mexican soup called Menudo.  Stomach offal is a bit slimy, but the broth is exquisite.  Apparently El Sarape (931 Broad St.) has the best Menudo around.

Fort Totten Water Battery, Willets Point, Queens, New York, New York

Ft. Totten Officers' Club (now Bayside Historical Society)

 

Nestled out of sight on Willets Point, Queens, is a massive waterside granite fort, Fort Totten, built in 1861 opposite Ft. Schuyler as a pinch point to protect the East River.  The fort never saw active duty against battle ships.  Militery use discontinued in 1974.

Throg's Neck Bridge to the west

Transport Tunnel (1870)

Arched Casement (cannon room)

Torpedo Magazines (1873)

Granite Arches, Bluestone floors

urban archeology

Water View looking east

Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

College Hall (1873)

Furness Library (1890)

"When the Well Runs Dry, We Shall Know the Value of Water"

Hoboken, New Jersey