Different types of roe are among the featured items at Sushi by Bou.
National Media Person with No Context or Standing to Criticize Albany: You live in Albany and you’re shorter than Shaquille O’Neal.
Me: But I’m taller than Tom Cruise and Al Pacino.
NMPNCSCA: Albany’s best sushi isn’t as good as at Masa in Manhattan.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Me: Sushi by Bou is $60 for 12 courses. Masa charges $750.
NMPNCSCA: You have less hair than Matthew McConaughey or Jason Momoa.
Me: I have more hair than either of my brothers combined.
NMPNCSCA: There’s nothing to do in Albany on a Monday afternoon, which is specifically what I was talking about.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Me: As far as I know, there are no theater matinees in Albany on Monday afternoons, but there aren’t any in Manhattan, either, except for the Rockettes during their holiday show at Radio City Music Hall.
NMPNCSCA: Albany doesn’t have multiple boutiques for watches and women’s clothing.
Me: Albany’s median household income is $52,583. Manhattan’s is $127, 919. And Midtown Manhattan alone has a population larger than the entire city of Albany packed into an area 90 percent smaller.
NMPNCSCA: The other host of Sweet 16 and Elite 8 NCAA women’s tournament games last weekend was Portland, Ore., a city with six times the population of Albany. Name one way Albany is better than Portland.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Me: It’s more racially diverse. Portland retains its title as the whitest big city in America, with two-thirds of the population identifying as non-Hispanic white. In Albany it’s 50 percent.
NMPNCSCA: Women’s teams that won in Albany advance to the Final Four in Cleveland, with the championship being played on Sunday. Cleveland is more than three times bigger than Albany.
Me: But it’s not happier. A Gallup/Sharecare poll a few years back ranked Albany-Schenectady-Troy as America’s 78th happiest metro area. Cleveland was 127th. Also, Albany was No. 17 on U.S. News and World Report’s 2023 “Best Places to Live” list. Cleveland was No. 97.
NMPNCSCA: I heard Time magazine tried to hire you right out of college, but you chickened out. Is that an Albany mindset, settling for less?
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Me: Time magazine offered me a four-day-a-week job with no benefits and no guarantee of permanent status. I took a full-time Capital Region job as a newspaper film critic at age 22, and I’ve been working locally ever since.
NMPNCSCA: Because?
Me: Because Albany is where I and 102,987 other people choose to call home. In New York City, there’s more to do than there is in Boston. Boston has more than Albany, Albany more than Scotia, Scotia more than Coeymans.
NMPNCSCA: Exactly. So what’s the big deal about what I said?
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Me: People are touchy about the place they call home. The internet says you choose to live in Granby, Conn. According to TripAdvisor, the 10 most popular attractions in Granby include a vineyard at No. 1, four hikes or other outdoor places in the middle and, at No. 10, a dog park. Yelp listings add the Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine, but it’s over in East Granby. Granby proper has one theater company, no cinemas and zero hotels. So good luck finding something to do in Granby.
Steve Barnes has covered the arts and restaurants for the Times Union since 1996.
Commentary: Yeah, Mondays are boring, but where do YOU live?
7
0
05.04.2024
Different types of roe are among the featured items at Sushi by Bou.
National Media Person with No Context or Standing to Criticize Albany: You live in Albany and you’re shorter than Shaquille O’Neal.
Me: But I’m taller than Tom Cruise and Al Pacino.
NMPNCSCA: Albany’s best sushi isn’t as good as at Masa in Manhattan.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Me: Sushi by Bou is $60 for 12 courses. Masa charges $750.
NMPNCSCA: You have less hair than Matthew McConaughey or Jason Momoa.
Me: I have more hair than either of my brothers combined.
NMPNCSCA: There’s nothing to do in Albany on a Monday afternoon, which is specifically what I was talking about.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Me: As far as I know, there are no theater matinees in Albany on Monday afternoons, but there........
© Times Union
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Mohamad Elmasry
Belen Fernandez
Brahma Chellaney
Petra Lesjak Tušek
Tarik Cyril Amar
Cheryl Levi
Dr Ramzy Baroud
