Gift Ideas for the Sophisticated Hillbilly

Add a stem to the moonshine jar and you have a redneck wine glass.

Is Saudi Arabia the New Salem?

A Saudi woman was beheaded for "sorcery and witchcraft" in the Qariyat province of the region of Al-Jawf.

Apparently the soon-to-be nuclear nation and holder of the second largest oil reserves in the world thinks Harry Potter is non-fiction.  At least they like us though.

The Singing Cabdriver

We were catching a cab to Dyker Heights one Saturday morning and happened to get into this guy's car. He pulled out a wireless microphone, flipped on some sort of karaoke machine, and serenaded us with Italian love songs on the BQE. It was the oddest cab ride of our lives, but kept us smiling for the rest of the day, and of course it earned him a nice tip. We imagine he does pretty well shuttling tourists from the airport and singing New York, New York. Though as the sticker on the roof reminds us, "Driver carries no cash. He's Married."

Best Pork Chop in Brooklyn

Two Toms Restaurant on 3rd Avenue (between Union and President) definitely takes the prize for most abundant portions, and when you fight your way through the necessary gristle you'll be awarded with some of the most tender pork in the the city. For $16 they serve a fine Herculean t-bone decorated with a roasted pepper and bathing in its abundant juices. It comes with a choice of pasta, broccoli, or salad. Other crowd pleasers include the eggplant rollatini, a humongous splayed chicken parmigiana, and vegetables soaking in olive oil and garlic.  

Two Toms has been in operation since 1948, catering mostly to the oldest of locals, firemen, and employees of the nearby South Brooklyn Casket Company. The wood-paneled room will please enthusiasts of old-school throwbacks (you can't find anything more authentic outside of a 70s mob movie), and for the thirsty there is nothing finer in a sit-down establishment than the ability to walk over to a refrigerator and grab yourself a beer or a carafe of chilled wine ($20) instead of waiting for a waiter to fetch it. Some things of changed over the years though. I'm told the most recent addition to the eatery is menus. The only question is, when Gowanus becomes the new Williamsburg will places like this, that actually make the neighborhood interesting, still survive?  

Title Me

1. Unanswered Prayers?
2. Church Leaks God Juice?
3. Sunset in Carroll Cardens?