mani-mani

Oh sure, you may have heard of the mani-pedi, but how 'bout the "mani-mani"??. Well, since this blog is all about sharing, I thought I'd share something you may not think about when Food Network is giving you great food-face ... the host's nails. Manicures to be exact. Lemme tell ya, when I was hustlin' and working hard in radio ... which was really more about working difficult hours than anything, there's nothing more I loved after a full week of working on air and hosting parties in nightclubs until 4AM than a mani-pedi from my fave spot on 23rd Street. I'd sit for a few hours and just think. Think about everything, but it was great thinking time.

Back then I had fake nails, not long and crazy, just fake. As soon as I began to work on getting a gig at Food Network the first rumblings I heard were about nails and how fake ones just don't come across as sanitary and stuff. So, me not really being attached to them, I soaked them off like within a day of hearing that. Like really, my nails are NOT gonna slow me down lol. Funny to me. Sometimes I felt going in for a mani-pedi was one of the few times I could also get actual work done. When I worked at a magazine for a bit, I found myself doubling up on editing while sitting around getting my nails done. Now, look, I tell you this not to brag, but really hopefully to get across how much I enjoyed it and it was an escape.

Fast forward a few years and getting my nails done regularly is now dun-duh-dun-dah-duuuuuuuun ... work. Yep, before every run of taping shows I get a little reminder from my culinary team to go get my nails tightened up for their close up. A low trim, cuticles pushed back--not cut, square with rounded edges and a buff, no polish, sounds like I'm ordering a cocktail, eh. Well this time around, we had a lil weekend break in taping followed by almost a full week left of shows. My cursory one-time manicure turned into the need to go back and get a second one so my nails/hands/cuticles would hold up for another 4 days. Not that I didn't want to get my nails done for a second time in 1 week, but when you are taping and other business still has to get done, squeezing in a visit to a nail salon is hard.

Wanna know something else? It's hard to go into a nail salon twice in one week without explaining yourself. The second time I went, I could feel the eyes of the nail techs I've seen regularly since 2001 looking at me confused perhaps thinking "what was wrong with what you got done to your nails the other day?!?!". All I could do was smile because who wants to say "it's for work"?. Sounds very corny. Well, suffice it to say ... I can always find a silver lining ...

Street Food!!!!

So, the first mani visit, my dude ... acting allergic to nail salons took a stroll in the 'hood while I got hooked up and came back with a huge smile on his face. Behind the smile was his spotting of a street food vendor, my fave kind of treat ... and not the typical hot dog, shwarma or knish guy ... the WAFFLE truck!!!!! Ahem, "wafel". Well, needless to say I was pretty happy then and especially happy I always go polish-free so there would be no drying time between me and my fluffy piece of heaven. Now, in all the years I've been to this nail salon, there has never been a food truck within walking distance, so this was a great treat. The guy in the truck said he'd be there for a week as he changes locations throughout the city and I thought to myself "That is wack, because I'll be busy taping for more than a week and won't be able to get back out here for round 2". Well, like I always say, just ask and sometimes it can actually manifest ... when I got the request from my team to go back in for a weekend manicure touch-up, all I could think about was seeing if the waffle truck was there ... and it was!!! Take a look ...


His wafels & dinges truck has done some serious biz, take a look at one of the guys hookin up my vittles ...


I'm surely not first to the party judging by the newspaper clippings and stuff on the truck's side, but OMG ... was this a perfect specimen. Crisp outside and chewy inside. My dude got the pulled pork one on the first go 'round and me, well I stuck to the same thing both times ...


That's what I'm talkin' bout! A mani-mani and a wafel-wafel ... all in one week! If you are a New Yorker lookin' for a sweet street treat, visit the site and stalk the truck, it's worth it! Stick around, I did some dining in honor of Brooklyn Restaurant Week and have good news to report about a new spot I tried. I'll share a flick ... just one really says it all.