Sylvester's and Local Burger in Noho

Syd and my "Day after New Years" adventures brought us to Sylvester's in Northampton Massachusetts. After a late night, 8:30 in the morning just seemed like a brutal hour to wake up.

But it was worth it.

If you haven't had breakfast at Sylvester's, you haven't had breakfast. The restaurant is named after Sylvester Graham who was the inventor of the Graham Cracker.

And there it's all about the Benedict. And they have six types to choose from. That morning I had the Eggs Irish. Which has become a favorite of mine since I had it at Charlie's Diner. It's Eggs Benedict but with corn beef hash instead of Canadian bacon.

On our last morning there, I decided to have the Lox Benedict. Which I highly recommend. It's Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon. And it is amazing!!

Syd had herself the California Benedict which she had been eyeballing since our previous morning there and really enjoyed it.
Back to New Years Day, I suggested Syd and I try Local Burger Fries and More. It was a place my buddy Josh had suggested. And let me tell you. This place blows Five Guys Burger and Fries out of the water.

Sorry Andy. But this was a damn good burger ;-)

I was still a little stuffed from our breakfast, so I wasn't feeling up for the Juicy Lucy that morning. Which is apparently crammed with cheese. So, I got the standard cheeseburger. However, there was nothing standard about this cheeseburger. It was incredible.

Immediately when a place asks me "How would you like your burger cooked" my level of expectation is already raised.

Syd had ordered probably one of the most heartiest veggie burgers I have ever seen outside of this place I saw on the show Burger Paradise that specializes in a "cut above the average" veggie burger.

Although, Josh had suggested the onion rings, we just couldn't resist the siren call of the fried pickles.

But next time you're out in Northampton, I highly suggest you hit up Sylvester's for breakfast and Local Burger Fries and More for either lunch or dinner. You will not leave disappointed. Or hungry.

New Years in Northampton

Well, after staying relatively local and nearly getting killed getting a table (even after making reservations earlier in the week) at Bauhinia's Restaurant last year. Syd and I decided we'd spend New Years in Northampton this year.

Some friends of ours were going out there for New Years and asked if we wanted to meet up with the for dinner and drinks afterward. I have mentioned in the past my undying love for the city. I even spent my night out before the wedding there on a mini barhop.

The nice thing is everything is within walking distance. So you don't have to drive halfway across town to enjoy everything.

We decided since it's a bit of a hike for us to drive out there, why not make it into a mini-vacation out of the trip. It seemed ridiculous to drive all the way out there to drive all the way back at midnight. So we booked ourselves in the Howard Johnson for a couple of nights and do a little exploring on New Years day.

This will be our first trip since Newport. It'll be nice to get away and relax before our work schedules swing into high gear again.

Incidentally, I recommend going to Bauhinia Restaurant anytime other than New Years. It's probably one of the best Chinese/Japanese Restaurants in the area. And you really need to sit down and enjoy it's charm when it isn't so crowded.

Off to Xeric

Well for the past month or so I've been preparing to submit Sherlock Holmes and the Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner to the Xeric Foundation to be considered for a grant.

I had learned about Xeric from my buddy, Art Museum cohort and Undercoverfish chairman of the board Andy Fish from his blog. I was intrigued and thought perhaps it would time to take a risk on something like that. I've been very happy with my association with both UCF and Alterna Comics. So, it's nothing to do with being disgruntled. But I had not really taken a chance and possibly taking advantage of what Xeric has to offer with funding my book.

I suppose if the truth is to be told, I had been licking my wounds after Diary of the Black Widow was rejected by Fantagraphics. But that was four or five years ago now and apart from doing short stories with UCF, I did not have a graphic novel published. To be completely honest, as much as I would have like to make like things like that didn't phase me back then, being that I was still struggling to be recognized it did hurt me a lot more than I would have wanted to admit to myself.

But not nearly as bad as it did when I first started sending my work out back in 1999. I was frustrated back then because I didn't really have a direction for my work or a style I was really happy with. And I turned my back on comic art for the longest time until I was invited by Andy to be a part of his group. From there, I started appreciating comic art and being part of a diverse group of artists that not only supports you but tries to build you up and push you to do more with your work.

It's been four years and four (going on six) books since that rejection. It's been a great deal of fun being on the ground floor of a new company with Alterna that is putting out some quality books as well as continuing to be a part of UCF and being associated with such a talented group of artists that I am very happy to call my friends.

But I have not taken a risk like Xeric before. Honestly, I can't say I'm too worried. I did all I could with the submission and now that it is in the mail it is out of my hands.

If I get the grant, that would be great!! I will be doing the Charleston on a flagpole.

Well, maybe not. I will be thrilled nonetheless.

The fact of the matter is if I don't try I know I'll regret it. The worst that will happen is I wasted $60 in making copies and another $10 in shipping it off to Xeric. I have a drawer full of rejections which I plan on either wallpapering my room or making a quilt out of someday.

But despite anything that happens, I'm happy I took a chance.