My favorite Boston bookstore

Boston is one of my favorite cities. It offers a wonderful mix of old and new, has a great restaurant scene for foodies like me, and it's a comfortable walk from one side of the city to the other. I have not yet prepared a "so you're visiting Boston" article as I have for New York City, but I thought I'd tell you about my favorite Boston bookstore.

Brattle Book Shop touts itself as America's oldest bookstore, founded in 1825. That's right...in the Nineteenth Freakin' Century! Even if that were just a marketing gimmick I'd still encourage you to visit when you're in town. They stock more than 250,000 titles, but the great thing about the shop is the selection on the shelves. You won't find those run-of-the-mill B&N coffee table books and latest best sellers. Instead you'll see more obscure titles that came from the collections of book lovers. Boston is a city of intellectuals, so the selection is one you won't find anywhere else in the country.

And here's the great thing for the scale modeler. Brattle has an awesome selection of military titles, filling up nearly an entire aisle.

Here's a small selection of Brattle's aviation titles.

I even found a bound collection of journals from the American Aviation Historical Society spanning 1956 to 1984. The price? Over $1,000, although membership in the AAHS provides online access to these same journals. But they sure would look great in your library, right? You can browse the journal index on their web site.

While I'm writing about Boston, I should briefly mention two of my favorite places to eat. For lunch go to the Parish Cafe on Boylston Street in Boston's Back Bay. They have a unique selection of sandwiches, each designed by a prominent American chef. For dinner I recommend Cragie on Main in Cambridge. This is a manly restaurant (their dining room and menu are reminiscent of Resto, one of my NYC recommendations), with a rotating menu that usually features oysters, clams, sausage, and even pig's head. My girlfriend wasn't game for the latter on our last visit to Boston, so if any of you are interested, ping me and we'll make a reservation!

A visit to the Mahan truck collection

Do you like big trucks? Of course you do!

I had the pleasure over the weekend of visiting an incredible collection of antique trucks, all part of The Mahan Collection in Basking Ridge, NJ. I was quite fortunate actually, because the collection isn’t open to the public. The open house was via invitation only, and as they say in New Jersey, “I know a guy who knows a guy.”

The trucks have largely been restored by Gary Mahan, I understand through his own efforts, and via the acquisition of another collector’s trucks. Most of them are Mack, though there are a number of other trucks from other manufacturers as well as antique construction equipment on the collection grounds. The trucks are housed in a half-dozen warehouses, most with informative placards similar to what I’ve seen at The Museum of the United States Air Force, right down to the provenance of each truck.

Here’s a handful of the trucks and other interesting things I saw. If you’re in the NJ/PA area you’re likely to see some of Gary Mahan's collection at truck shows sponsored by the American Truck Historical Society (ATHS). 

A big thank you to my friend Randy for the invitation.

The beautiful property of the Mahan collection.

One of the many buildings housing the trucks.

1943 Mack FC, the world’s largest chain-driven truck. This dump was used moving over-burden, rock, coal, copper, nickel, and iron ore.

Unusual 1927 Mack AB that features a Caterpillar engine. This particular truck was used in Scranton, PA.

You’ll probably never see the Mack bulldog perched atop the Caterpillar logo anywhere like this.

1934 Mack CH.

One of the more contemporary trucks in the collection, a 1960 Ford F-1000 Super Duty. This particular truck was operated by a CT garage.

A modern Mack that Mahan uses to haul trucks to ATHS shows.

Not every truck in the collection has been restored. This cement mixer shows its age and character.

An unusual find in the Mahan back lot.

You want stencils? We got stencils!

I enjoyed seeing how many of these old trucks incorporated both steel and wood in their construction. Here wood supports the dump body of the Mack FC shown above.

Here wood is used for the windshield.

Here wood is used for the truck bed.

The Mahan man cave.

Most awesome table ever!

We've got tires!

We've got parts. Some of them primed even!

We have fiddly bits.

Gary has paint!

Gary has a sense of humor!

So you’re visiting New York City

Unlike, say, Florida, it’s always tourist season in New York City. I’ve had the pleasure of working in Midtown Manhattan for almost 15 years now, and regardless of the time of year there are thousands of tourists enjoying the city every day. It’s not surprising that many of you plan to visit, and as we modelers usually do, ask about hobby shops in the city. I thought I’d offer my suggestions for your next visit, with some perspective on the shops and destinations beyond.

Shops

If you were to ask me, “Steve, are there any good hobby shops in the city?” I’d tell you there are, but, cripes! It’s New York City. Forget the hobby shops for a few days and enjoy everything the city has to offer! But if you pushed me, I’d tell you about the only two shops remaining.

The Red Caboose (23 W. 45th St.) resides in a basement space. It’s likely to be the most cramped, scruffy hobby shop you’ll ever visit, but I love it. It has a small selection of kits, including some new releases, but you’ll pay New York City prices, which is MSRP plus extra. Rent doesn't come cheap in these parts! What’s most intriguing about The Caboose is what you can’t see. There seem to be places the general public isn’t permitted to go, and I can’t help but wonder what’s behind that closed door or deep into that shadowed corner over there. Imagine the treasures to be discovered! Or not.

It's easy to walk right past the shop.

Some of the aircraft selection.

Be sure to say hello to Lionel.

Jan’s Hobby Shop (1435 Lexington Ave) is a more traditional store. Like the Caboose, the shop is very small, but the owners have packed it floor-to-ceiling with product. They has a surprisingly large variety of plastic models, new releases and old, including aircraft, armor, ships, and cars. Very few magazines or books. They have a nice collection of built models, displayed in a two cases in the middle of the store that are worth a closer look. Again you’ll find NYC prices, but stop by the shop if you’re in the neighborhood. Bring your wife, too; the shop next door specializes in cook books.

Jan's on the Upper East Side.

I have to recommend The Strand, a huge bookstore two blocks from Union Square. With both new, clearance, and pre-owned books, the selection is always changing, and you’re sure to find something interesting to read on the flight back home. The history and military sections are huge, so a visit should be on your to-do list.

Just two blocks south of busy Union Square.

The military selection at the Strand

With the hobby shops out of the way, let’s talk about the more interesting things you should do in New York.

Food

Do you like to eat? Of course you do. Here are a few suggestions.

Resto (111 E 29th St) is a man’s restaurant and my favorite in New York City. Lots of meat, and you can even dine on a complete pig’s head if you give them a week’s notice. They have a good selection of German beer and a handful of rotating, creative cocktails, many of them bourbon-based.

My favorite restaurant in the city.

Speaking of beer, The Ginger Man (11 E 36th St) is a must-stop for anyone who considers himself a beer aficionado. As I write this, they have 70 beers on tap and over 160 bottled. The selection is unrivaled, and the only downside to a visit is deciding which beers to enjoy. The food is good (typical pub fare), but then after enjoying a Belgian quad or two on my last visit I have no recollection of anything that had happened the prior 24 hours.

With two locations (382 8th Ave. and 747 9th Ave.) in the city, Uncle Nick’s is another favorite of mine. Greek food at its best. Everything on the menu is good, but I’d strongly recommend something off the grill, particularly the fish. For your appetizer, go with the oktapodaki (octopus) or glykadakia (sweetbreads).

Mapo Tofu (338 Lexington Ave) offers exceptional Szechuan style Chinese. That means spicy. You won’t encounter anything exotic as you would in Chinatown, so if you like the Chinese joint back home you're sure to find something enticing on Mapo’s meu. Everything is good, but I’m particularly fond of the stir-fried pork belly with chili leeks.

If you’re visiting the city with that special woman in your life and want to thank her for tolerating your visits to New York's hobby shops and book stores, the food at Blue Hill (75 Washington Pl.) is exceptional. President and Mrs. Obama dined here a few years ago, in fact. Located in a former speakeasy in Greenwich Village, Blue Hill specializes in seasonal, locally sourced ingredients from the Hudson Valley.

Sights

There are so many places to see in New York City it’s hard to recommend even three or four. Obviously the museums are excellent, and they're sure to inspire the artistic and creative parts of your brain, which should make you a better modeler. If you have kids, the American Museum of Natural History (Central Park West at 79th Street) is a great place to spend an afternoon. If you don't have kids and you’re a little kinky, the Museum of Sex (233 Fifth Avenue) is, um...titillating.

The one place I know you’ll visit is the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum (Pier 86 at 46th Street). The ship has been restored reasonably well, and there’s a – shall we say: interesting – selection of aircraft on the deck. I understand the the TBM, the F9F-8, and the A-4, but I don’t get the presence of the A-12 or Kfir in the collection. I suppose they were the equivalent of an impulse purchase for the curators!

And Times Square. At night. It’s an amazing spot.

Enjoy your visit!