China Fair is usually one of my favorite places to get Chinese food. But, today the meal was terrriibbllee!

We had the lunch buffet. The fried rice was cold, the sweet sour chicken's coating was very greasy, the honey coated shrimp seemed like it was missing the shrimp, and the hot water had been shut off on the tea machine, so they couldn't even serve tea. Everything seemed greasy and old. Besides, a slight air of grease hung over the whole place.

Maybe they were having a bad day, but I don't need poor food. I won't be heading their again for some time. Boo, China Fair.

The Tender Bar A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer is a tender story. Moehringer relates how he craved his father and found replacements at Dickens, the bar, where his Uncle Charlie was a bartender. He explains the influence the men, who frequented the bar, had on his life. The bar itself takes on life. It is a joyful haven and a den of failure, grief, and vice. The bar and the men are his nannies.

The book sometimes seems redundant because it is about the same people and the same place. It is a giant character sketch as he tries to understand each of the men and sees them change as he changes. It is also about his New York City neighborhood after 911.

The story is thoughtful, sad, searching, and emotional. The basic idea is that J.R. is trying to find and understand his dad who left him when he was a baby, trying to take care of his mother and succeed in her eyes, and trying to find himself through all of the muddle.