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Merry Christmas from Amusing the Zillion

Posted in Amusement ride, Photo of the Day, Photography, tagged Christmas, Coney Island, neon, Wonder Wheel on December 25, 2012| 2 Comments »

Neon Arrows and Deno’s Wonder Wheel, Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Coney Island! The rides reopen on Palm Sunday, March 24, 2013 — less than three months away. Neon arrows point the way to Deno’s Wonder Wheel, which will be free on opening day.

Photo of the Day: It’s a Wrap at Tom’s Coney Island

Posted in Food, Food & Drink, Photo of the Day, Photography, tagged benefit, Boardwalk, Christmas Eve, Coney Island, Coney Recovers, Tom's Coney Island, Tom's Restaurant on December 23, 2012| 1 Comment »

Grilled Chicken with Greek Salad: Our Fave Wrap at Tom’s, Coney Island Boardwalk. Photo © Tricia Vita

Tom’s Restaurant on the Coney Island Boardwalk miraculously escaped damage from Sandy and has been a popular meeting place for relief efforts. On December 24th from 8am till 5pm, the eatery is having a Christmas Eve “Eat, Drink, Help!” Party to benefit Coney Recovers. All proceeds from the day’s sales will be donated to ongoing relief efforts in the neighborhood. “The more you eat, the more you help!,” says the invite.

ATZ’s fave item on the lunch menu is this Grilled Chicken with Greek Salad Wrap. Also on the menu are Crab Cakes, Hamburgers, Veggie Burgers and a variety of sandwiches. Tom’s famous pancakes and other items on the breakfast menu are served all day. The Veggie Egg White Omelette and Mango Walnut Pancakes, which friends have ordered, are on our must-try list. All pancakes are served with maple syrup and homemade flavored butters.

This Coney Island outpost of the beloved Tom’s of Prospect Heights opened in September. Tom’s Coney Island is currently open daily from 8am till 5pm including Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Closed on Christmas Day.

Tom’s Coney Island, 1229 Boardwalk (at Stillwell Avenue), Brooklyn, NY 11224. Phone 718-942-4200

ATZ Review: Legendarium at The Big Apple Circus

Posted in circus, Photography, tagged Big Apple Circus, entertainment, Jenny Vidbel, Liberty horses, Lincoln Center on December 22, 2012| 2 Comments »

Big Apple Circus Legendarium. December 15, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita

Going to the Big Apple Circus in Lincoln Center has been a New York holiday tradition since the 1980s. We especially like to go on New Year’s Eve when the show ends with a champagne toast and dancing in the ring, but this year we caught the show early. At last Saturday’s performance of Legendarium, scenery in the style of an antique handbill set the mood for a journey back in time even before the show started: “Presenting the unprecedented attractions of THE FIRST BIG TOP and exhibiting celebrated American jesters and natural born fools The AcroBuffos…”

Acrobats, trapeze artists, jugglers, a contortionist, an equilibrist, Liberty horses and former shelter dogs are also on the bill. The jovial ringmaster John Kennedy Kane shares entertaining anecdotes about circus history relating to the Brooklyn Bridge and Broadway. We learn that the first-ever circus ring measured 42 feet in diameter, which is the size needed for a horse to reach a full gallop, and that is precisely the size of the Big Apple’s ring.

Over the years, Katja Schumann’s Liberty horses and Barry Lubin aka Grandma the Clown have been among our favorite performers. Lubin retired after last year’s show and we miss him. The highlight of the show was Jenny Vidbel’s Liberty horse act featuring Arabian horses and ponies. When the ponies trotted out, the audience let out a collective gasp of delight. Other standout acts were slack wire maestro Zhang Fan, Daniel Cyr and his mesmerizing Cyr Wheel, the Dalian Bicycle Troupe, Desire of Flight aerialists Malvina and Valeriy, and Emily and Menno van Dyke, who passionately dance the tango at the same time that they juggle.

The Big Apple Circus, Lincoln Center, New York City, through January 13, 2013; Alpharetta, GA, February 1-18; Bridgewater, NJ, February 18-March 17; Boston, MA, March 26- May 12.