By wpengine March 4, 2004
Ever since the caves at Lascaux and the fall of the Roman Empire, old-timer tattletales and young, svelte taggers have been arguing over whether graffiti is a genuine art form, a goofy hobby, a cultural necessity, or just a method of seriously damaging private and state property. Like all great art, however, graffiti is often simultaneously a masterpiece and a felony. The current crop of graffiti art was born in Brooklyn and Harlem in the 1970s as one of the fundamentals of hip-hop culture (along with turntablism and break-dancing). For every “bombing” or “wild-style” tag you see on subway platforms or on dingy concrete in the projects, there are huge murals drawn on abandoned warehouse walls that sell for thousands of dollars to all sorts of members of the aristocracy. Clearly it was time for daze to catch up with state-of-the-art New York graffiti. Guiding our tour is a gasmask-wearing, paintcan-wielding graffiti mastermind living in the Finger Lakes region. daze was told to call him Anthony Saint Berkinsword (or Death Phoenix), and we met him at a vacant tower near an Owego railroad around midnight. Here’s what he told us: Daze: A lot of people, particularly police officers, fail to see the aesthetic beauty in graffiti. What’s the worst that could happen? Berkinsword: If it’s private property, a lot of people just won’t care. They won’t even show up in court to prosecute. If it’s public property, they’ll go after you. There are guys who have gone to jail for four years. But if you’re under 18, nothing will happen. A fair amount of taggers are really rich. At some point, most people stop stealing paint, and you’re going to need to cover court costs. Also, if you’re poor, you’re not gonna have a lot of time to wander around at 5 in the morning. You’re going to be working in factories in all day, not writing your name in 30-foot-tall letters on buses. But everyone goes through a phase where you write on cop cars once or twice. Daze: So what’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you while painting? Berkinsword: Well, we were working on this tunnel, and there’s a really small ledge to stand on. The whole time these huge semis are rolling by us, running up on the sides, and there’s no clearance. So the cops saw us, and my friend falls right off onto the cops’ windshield. It broke both his legs, and he bounced over the car on his back. He managed to climb over the freeway’s edge and crawled into this creek. Then he called some friends to pick him up and checked into a hospital out of state. But he wasn’t the brightest of guys. It was probably half his fault and half the cops’. Oh, and there was this guy, Tye, from San Fran. He was trying to spray this house he thought was abandoned. But it was being lived in by a guy who thought Tye was trying to break in. Tye got shot in the head and died immediately. The worst thing that’s happened to me personally is working on a freeway at night. I was out there for two hours and got frostbite. Daze: Who’s the strangest person you’ve met while painting? Berkinsword: Some friends and I were working on this abandoned elevated rail station off a freight line. People used to bomb there a lot ’cause the door is cindered shut, so it’s hard for the cops to get in. There’s a lot of hobos, but they’re usually cool. But this insane Hispanic guy was there once and gave us the dirtiest look I’ve ever seen. A few weeks later we saw him on America’s Most Wanted and realized the guy was Rafael Resendez-Ramirez, the notorious hobo serial killer. There’s also this guy, Saber. There are a lot of rumors about his friends and hammer fights. Saber always draws pentagrams and devil imagery. Daze: Hammer fights? Berkinsword: Yeah, all manner of stories about people hammering their ears off, and then those guys retaliate with razors. I don’t know too much about it. Archived article by Daze Staff
By wpengine March 4, 2004
Aurora Street, between State and Seneca in downtown Ithaca, might as well be called Restaurant Row. Madeline’s Restaurant, Viva Cantina, Simeon’s, Hal’s Delicatessen, and the Mahogany Grill sit proudly beside smaller pizzerias and bars on the strip. Three years ago, Giovanni’s, a fancy Italian place once featured on cable’s Food Network, was a cornerstone in this restaurant family. The spot was vacant until Asia Cuisine opened its doors to the hungry public last year. Riding down Seneca, you can’t miss the green banner, and customers can be seen inside the large windows from the early afternoon until evening. What are all these folks eating? The easy answer is: one of over 100 menu items! The lunch and diner menus feature Korean food, though “Chinese-style” dishes are also offered. Lunch is especially affordable. Ch’am Gae Wa Dak Go Gi, described simply as “Chicken with special sesame sauce,” has a wonderfully nutty flavor. Like most things on the menu, it is served with steamed rice. A Korean restaurant wouldn’t be complete without spice. To help the typical American diner, the spicy items are outlined in red and one can choose from a range of heat. Too bad that the Dak Go Gi Wa Peanuts, Chicken in hot spicy sauce with peanuts, was far too hot for me, even at the mild setting and with a tall glass of water. It must be my untrained palate. Comfortable chairs and laminate top tables fill the small space. Tea cups sit next to water glasses and spoons lie next to “Wang’s” chopsticks. Bring your chopstick skills — forks and knives are not offered, perhaps to preserve the authenticity. Early ’90s beats with Korean vocals play softly over the speakers. Sometimes, the music is punctuated by arguments between the staff. I can’t understand what they’re saying, but they usually sound upset. Fortunately, they’re very kind to customers, if not too soft-spoken. The dinner menu offers fantastic potential, but the kitchen’s consistency is spotty. One time, my General Tso’s chicken was tender, another time it was stringy. The miso soup came out greasy on one visit, and perfectly clear on another. The spring roll arrives crisp but with a sweet and sour sauce gelatinous enough to be an ode to cornstarch. On the upside, wonton soup has a delicate, tea-like essence. It is served with tiny dishes of condiments like kimchi, Korean pickled cabbage. Asia Cuisine’s kimchi is mild, but appropriately appetite inducing. The Pepper SoGoGi, Beef with green pepper and onion, reminded me of childhood Chinese take-out. When I asked my server, Mia, to describe the Pearl Chicken, she searched desperately for the words. After rereading the menu to me several times, she called to a fellow employee in another language. He brought over a photo album of all the dishes on their menu. The Pearl Chicken with “corn and peas with our special sauce” looks a lot like a thick chicken soup. The photograph didn’t really encourage me to try it. BolGoGi, “thin sliced marinated tender beef,” is also served with special sauce. In fact, a lot of things are served “with a special sauce,” which made me wonder if all of their different sauces were special, or if they served everything with the same special sauce. The person in charge of typing their menu needs to be a bit more creative in describing these complex dishes to non-Asian diners. Perhaps I’m not familiar with modern Korean cuisine, but some menu items seemed odd to my palate. Omelet Rice, described as “Fried rice enveloped in egg-pancake with ketchup,” combines French, American, and Asian cuisines. Their Sam Sun Bokum Bop is a Korean interpretation of Chinese fried rice, which seems to mean that they don’t add soy sauce. Chicken with Plum Sauce is my favorite dish on the menu. Tender chicken is fried, and then tossed with crunchy bamboo shoots, bright green peppers, and sweet scallions. A deep red plum sauce combines the tastes of sweet, salty, bitter, and sour — the trademark flavor balance of Asian cuisine. If only the stew wasn’t served in a pool of peanut oil, it would be perfect. What meal at an American-friendly, Asian restaurant wouldn’t be complete without a fortune cookie? Clich
