Archive for November, 2008

One day a real rain will come…

By: Chas Newkey-Burden   On: 8 November 2008

I enjoyed Roy Keane’s outburst in the press today about television pundits. He’s got a point, of course. Ever since I read his excellent book, I’ve always seen him as the Travis Bickle of football.

I did an in-depth interview with Keane many years ago (many years ago, that’s me in the picture believe it or not!) I arrived a bit scared of him, yet it turned into one of the best interviews I’ve ever done.

He was actually rather sweet and very honest. So honest that the kids’ football magazine I was interviewing him for couldn’t publish half the quotes and I had to sell them elsewhere.

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The most inappropriately named boat in human history

By: Chas Newkey-Burden   On:

Dignity? Don’t make me laugh.

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The Hamburger by Josh Ozersky

By: Chas Newkey-Burden   On: 7 November 2008

Speaking, as I was, of books about American food, I bought this book by Josh Ozersky in Washington DC last month and have only just got round to reading it this week. Clever but chatty, it’s absolutely perfectly-written and I recommend it to anyone who has ever enjoyed a burger. And that’s pretty much all of us, right? Warning: you’ll suddenly feel starving the moment you start reading it.

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The great pastrami mystery

By: Chas Newkey-Burden   On: 6 November 2008

I recently re-read one of my favourite books about food: How To Feed Friends And Influence People. It’s the utterly devourable inside story of New York’s famous Carnegie Deli. One of my favourite eateries in the world, Carnegie Deli truly does the pastrami sandwich like nobody else.

Not that America is short of such delis. Sam LaGrassa’s in Boston is understated when compared to Carnegie, but does a killer pastrami sandwich. Another favourite of mine is Canter’s, which is a Los Angeles landmark. Then there is the Las Vegas, scaled-down Carnegie Deli which is located in the Mirage Hotel. The atmosphere isn’t as good as at the New York version, of course, but the pastrami is just as orgasmic.

The opposite is true of Katz’s, in New York’s Lower East side. There, the atmosphere is fantastic but the pastrami a little tough and disappointing. Elsewhere in Manhattan, I’ll give the renowned Stage Deli the benefit of the doubt and assume I caught it on a bad day, because the pastrami was horrific when I ate there in March.

As you might have guessed, I am obsessed with American delis and their pastrami sandwiches in particular. I’m far from alone in this and visitors to the States flock to such outlets, joining the natives in the long queues. The mystery to me is why nobody in the UK has cashed-in on this popularity and opened such a place here. There are a fair amount of outlets punting decent salt beef sarnies, but I’ve never found anywhere in these shores that does anything remotely like the gargantuan, juicy joy that is the Carnegie hot pastrami sandwich.

I’m getting really hungry just thinking about all this.

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Very funny, very true!

By: Chas Newkey-Burden   On:


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

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A crushing moment

By: Chas Newkey-Burden   On: 5 November 2008

While Chris and I were in the USA last month, there was an amusing incident at Ronald Reagan National Airport, in Washington DC. As we were queuing at the gate for our flight to New York, I noticed the guy on the gate getting rather overexcited as he studied the passenger list. He turned to his colleague and whispered: “Charles Newkey-Burden? No way, I can’t believe it!”

When we got to the front of the queue and handed over our boarding passes, he was positively beaming as he said: “Okay, which of you is Charles Newkey-Burden?”

I said: “Me.” (I’d noticed my books on sale in quite a few American stores and I’ve been interviewed on two American TV shows, so I already had an optimistic theory as to what was going on here.)

He got even more excited, and said: “Dude I can’t believe this. This is SO exciting…”

Wow, I thought, I’ve got an American fan! Another dream come true!

So imagine my disappointment when he continued: “…this is SO exciting because you have the most ridiculous name I’ve ever, EVER heard! Respect, man!”

Chris was very kind and didn’t laugh at all. Not much.

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Hero John

By: Chas Newkey-Burden   On:

Regular readers will not be surprised to learn that I’m a tad disturbed by Obama’s victory. The man has some very unpleasant friends and associates, precious little experience and a foreign policy that is positively suicidal. I’d be overjoyed to be proved wrong.

Still, Gordon Brown and David Cameron’s squabbling over Obama in the Commons today put a smile back on my face. They were like a pair of drunken ladies arguing over the local hunk.

Thank heavens the election is over, though. There are probably loads of people in the UK who supported Obama in an intelligent, informed way, but I’ve never met them or read anything they’ve written. ‘Obamania’ has become a blind, hysterical embarrasment.

The joy of the campaign was learning more and more about John McCain, who I think is a simply brilliant human being. His concession speech will linger long in the memory.

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Mr Ross

By: Chas Newkey-Burden   On: 3 November 2008

Although I’m already bored of the whole Ross/Brand story, it’s hard not to laugh when you see what Jonathan Ross’s new book is called. No wonder the shops are currently piling it high.

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