Wheeling and dealing

east side observer

BY ARLENE KAYATT

Right of way — 86th and Lex bus stop. Narrow sidewalk. Driver lowering ramp for wheelchair to get on. As the ramp lowered, a woman hurrying up the street, busily talking on her cell, tried to beat the ramp, telling the man in the wheelchair, “I’m in a hurry, you understand.” Lady, it’s not to understand. It’s to wait your turn. DO YOU understand? Of course not.

Branding ties — My fellow Americans — make that NYers — let’s face it, we’ll never stop our newly elected president from doing business — and that includes personal, family and multifaceted enterprises. Some of us may not have to sit back. With bravado and bucks maybe somebody can play at the same game and make it pay off. Here’s a starter. Just this past week, The New York Times had a great front page Salvatore Ferragamo color ad for their men’s ties in a news cycle immediately following the photo of the back of Prez-elect Trump’s red tie held together by scotch tape. No question that the Trump brand sells down market and that Ferragamo is the crème de la crème — but in the new Americana, Ferragamo had better start thinking about going vogue with rogue. Remember, there are no “ties” with Trump. Only wins. Ferragamo’s got the euros to mount a cool men’s tie campaign, scotch tape and all. Maybe their newly minted ties can have a faux scotch tape with the logo “Make America Great Again.” Go for it! And Ferragamo, unlike Gucci, who is a Trump Tower tenant, won’t have to worry about getting evicted.

The big picture. No fine print — Popeye’s food chain displaying a poster advertising a $5 special of 5 (some promos say 6) boneless wings, red side, biscuit and dipping sauce. Good deal. Only problem ... the poster includes some really tasty-looking french fries. Guess they’re priceless — they just don’t come with the deal.

Making the grade on one’s own — Several weeks ago this column noted that Two Door Tavern on Third Ave in the 80’s was displaying a Grade A rating that pre-dated their opening and which belonged to Uptown the prior restaurant at the same location. The good news is that they got their own Grade A after a recent inspection. While there was no doubt that Two Door Tavern could earn its own Grade A, displaying a grade that didn’t belong to them was verboten.

Restaurant take-out delivery redux — About those restaurants that don’t provide their delivery people with shirts or jackets identifying their establishment — residents of buildings with doormen should become proactive and ask when they call for take-out if delivery people have visible ID. They should also implore building management to deny entry to deliverers who aren’t wearing shirts or jackets displaying the name, address and phone of the establishment for whom they are delivering. GrubHub and other delivery services should also be on the hook if the establishments don’t comply. It’s a safety measure on the streets and a safety measure within apartment buildings. There was a time when restaurants that left menus under doors or in mail rooms were banned from buildings. Let the no-ID ban begin.

CNN vs. ESPN — Happy hours are always happier for me when the tv screen is blaring CNN news and not ESPN sports. The only way I can seem to have happy hour with Jake Tapper or Wolf Blitzer or Don Lemon is to have sake or wine at a Japanese or Thai restaurant or at Uno Grille on East 86th. High brow. Low brow. From Burger King to haute bars, it’s all sports, all the time. Not fair.

Sushi rice — Comes in white, brown, and black (aka “midnight”) — and described as a blend of white and brown rice and it’s all the rage at Whole Foods. There’s a chart alongside the sushi packaged in plastic giving the calories, carbs, sugar, salt, etc. I prefer my sushi at a sushi bar and always with white sushi rice. Never brown. However, since this was all news to me, I wanted to comparison shop the sushi. Surprisingly, I liked the brown. The black tasted OK but was too thick and you didn’t get the taste, which I like, of the rice grain. And “midnight” looked like a thick clump of date rice. The white could have used more time out of the fridge before hitting the chopsticks. The packaged wasabi was too strong and the ginger didn’t taste fresh. Fairway sushi doesn’t have black rice. Overall, though, their sushi is superior and so’s their ginger and fresh, not packaged, wasabi. Everything counts. And on Wednesdays, there’s a sushi special for $5. Can’t beat that. Otherwise, the price of sushi at Whole Foods and Fairway are comparable.