Ham on the Street

This is George Duran, the host of a new show on the Food Network, called Ham on the Street. I've never seen this show, but apparently I may be featured on the web-site for it in the next couple of weeks.

"How did this happen?" I hear you ask. Well, I was walking down 52nd Street, between 5th and 6th on my way to the bank, when I passed by 21. For anyone who hasn't been to New York, or who doesn't know, 21 is a restaurant that at one point during the 1920's was a speakeasy. It's been a New York institution for about 80 years now.

Outside of the restaurant, lining the stairs, are a series of jockeys. Mr. Duran was dressed like a jockey and he was asking people on the streets questions. Silly me, I thought he'd been hired by the restaurant as a sort of promotional gimmick, so when he stopped me to talk, I played along with him. We chatted for a few minutes, he wanted to know if I thought he would be uncomfortable being the only jockey at the bar, and I told him that after the first drink it wouldn't matter.

As I walked away, a woman came running up to me to get me to sign a release form for the Food Network. That's when I realized that this was all part of his TV show, Ham on the Street. The assistant was very happy to see me, because apparently people had been avoiding this guy all day, not wanting to talk to him, which would make for a very boring show.

So check out the web-site in a few weeks, and maybe you'll see me.