All hail JuliusC!

It is not often one sees a street band that's got chops and charisma.
Almost never. But yesterday, after getting our head shaved at Astor Place, we heard the thunderous drone of Julius C making noise to an dancing crowd at the corner of Broadway and Waverly Place. The singer, whatever his name, still has the teenage enthusiasm to put his band over the top. The girl--appriately weird. Best of all was the Keith-Moonish drummer, a driving, sexy force of nature.

Chinatown's Doyers Street

Here is Mr. Foon of the Sun Wah Barbershop, who cut my hair (not the world's hardest job) for $12 ($3 tip), and did so not cheefully, yet perfectly and swiftly. At this corner of Chinatown (Pell and Doyers) I counted six barshops. Not sure how they make a living. Another odd thing--no cars. Live a movie set.

And close by I found this exuberant graffito:
Shit like that makes life worthwhile. Know what I mean? And then to the Doyers Vietnamese Restaurant, 11 Doyers Street, an under-street level enclave that features summer rolls with shrimp, grilled beef papaya salad, steamed rice cakes, and crepes with shrimp and pork. Also entrees of chicken with lemon grass and fried squid with salt and pepper. Eel with lemon grass, caramel pork with black pepper, watercress with garlic sauce hi-lighted the meal. Our bill? $15.

Balthazar

Balthazar is not cheap, but it is worth a visit. We had steak au poivre, an exruciatingly pleasurable meal, and squid appetizer. But the food is not the only reason one goes to Balthazar. The decor, including the altitudinous ceilings and back-soothing banquettes, transport you to 19th century Paris (as opposed to the real 19th century Paris). Even the bathrooms are cool. Best of all, as we sat in the warm, soft-lit, food-fragranced glow inside, outside it was pouring.