Hoboken Castle Point Anime Con

This past Sunday Stevens Anime Club held an one-day anime con on their campus in Hoboken. While the convention has been going on since 2008, it was my first attending this particular convention. L and G also came along to the convention which made our PATH trip and the short walk to campus more fun. They also kept me sane by suggesting a lunch break (I would have forgotten to eat since my schedule was overbooked with panels).

Stevens students are lucky to have this view!

The sunny and cool weather ensured good natural light and crisp photos for cosplayers. I also enjoyed the outdoor concerts (come on, you want to hear your college campus play anime rock!) and walking around in general to see cosplayers and take breaks between panels. The convention also reminded me of my first convention (fun panels, nice video rooms, and in general a friendly atmosphere all around). and it wasn't overly crowded. Having attended Katsucon in its various locations, Anime Boston in the convention center, and NY animefest (no longer exists) in Javits convention center, it was a nice change of pace to go to a smaller con with so many creative workshops and panels. and I found the artist alley / dealer room less intimating than some of the larger cons. 

Attack on Titans

Popular anime series featured were Tokyo Ghoul (haven't seen/read it yet) and Attack on Titan. I am usually behind on such popular series at conventions, especially when One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and Deathnote were all the rage. I recognized the characters but could never related to the fandom in music videos or cosplay shows. At this convention, I actually had knowledge of Attack on Titan and call myself a fan so that made the experience all the more fun. (need to go back and see Attack on Titan photos from Katsucon... since I didn't know it back in Feb).

Eren from Attack on Titan (or SNK) in front of the wall (AKA castle in Stevens campus)

I am a fairly recent fan of the series. It all started when Crunchroll added streaming manga access to my account (used to only have anime) so I took the opportunity to check out Attack on Titan. I quickly became absorbed by the storyline and characters and just kept reading chapter after chapter. After finishing all available chapters, I am starting to watch the anime. I have to say they did a nice job adopting the story and also used the animated action scenes to their advantage. The colors were so vibrant which took a bit getting used to. Somehow I never even thought of colors when I reading the manga since it was so gritty most of the time. 

Based on my interest in the show, I thought it would be fun to see the Attack on Titan panel at the convention, called SNK (japanese Shingeki no Kyojin, Attack on Titan) Over the Wall Panel. The show's description on the con site:
The SnK Over The Wall panel will show the SnK characters as they are outside the walls in an area with no titans. While trying to keep away from the titans as well as find a way back, the cast can get asked question as well as answer them the best they can.
This was hands down my favorite panel ever (of this con and all conventions I've attended so far). The room featured several cosplayers who role-played as the characters from the show. The audience got to ask questions and the cast answered them while staying true to their cosplay character. A lot of laughing and singing involved. My favorite was the cosplayer for Jean (one sitting on the chair backwards). The Marco and Petra/tree jokes got a bit much. But I did enjoy Mikasa and Jean's antics and energy. and Armin had a great voice and knew the opening song by heart (in Japanese). Somehow I didn't get Hanji in the photo but she was really great too. I heard the video will be up soon. [placeholder]. No Levi though, many complaints heard around the room...

More Cosplay Photos

Korra from Legend of Korra

Blake from RWBY

Ruby from RWBY

Fire Emblem (never played this game but those two looked great!) 

Panels / Con Memories

• Panels on cosplay photography (communicate with cosplayer/photographer!), 70s anime (need to watch Rose of Versailles), magic (fire / wand tricks in cosplay)
• Outdoor concert guitar jam to Pokemon theme song (English one)
• Standing in line waiting for SNK panel and meeting various fan (one of them was attending her first convention! so awesome)
• Reading Tsubasa in the manga library
• Stadium seating style lecture halls (don't have to worry about people blocking your view)
• Fantastic schedule iphone application. I'm overbooked for every hour though!

More Resources

Official site for Castle Point Anime (bookmark for next year!)

http://castlepointanime.com/

SNK Fandom

• Check your manga vs anime storyline here http://shingekinokyojin.wikia.com/wiki/Story_Arcs
• Watch Anime Link: http://www.crunchyroll.com/attack-on-titan
• Read Manga Link: http://www.crunchyroll.com/comics/manga/attack-on-titan/volumes
• You can also of course order the show on your streaming website of choice and also order the paper or electronic manga easily too. After you are caught up with both, you can also check out the spin-offs and guidebooks. 
• so many tumblrs which to pick? (great, now i have to re-activate my tumblr just to follow) http://snk-universe.tumblr.com/

RWBY

http://www.crunchyroll.com/rwby

Legend of Korra

http://www.nick.com/legend-of-korra/

Fire Emblem

http://fireemblem.nintendo.com/

Hoboken Day Trip

I’ve been to Hoboken before but only in the evening. Since the popularity of Cake Boss on TLC, J. and I decided to check out the city on one of the sunnier days.

Carlos Bakery [website] - Long line aside (I was told once school starts again, the lines get shorter), the desserts are tasty. I was lucky to find the Rita’s so I could have something to cool us off during a hot afternoon of standing in line.

Pier A Park [wiki] – full of active people on a Sunday morning. Take a stroll by the river and enjoy the lush green lawn and NYC skyline. Perfect for photos! Also beautiful at night if I remember correctly from previous visits.

 

Stevens Institute of Technology [website] – Short walk from the PATH station, you can find this small yet beautiful campus overlooking the downtown NYC skyline.

Oddfellows [website] – Across from the street from PATH station, next to Texas Arizona. Cajun themed food. I had a chicken and sausage jambalaya that was so packed full of flavor I had to down a cup of water or two. The portion was definitely enough to feed a family of four or something. Will come back here when it’s evening since lunch was empty. Then again, it was Sunday…

Resources:

• Visit Hoboken http://www.hobokennj.org/visit/
• Parking Garage Information (*important esp if you don’t want to deal with street parking) website
• Some food ideas website
  

3 Forty Grill and Rita's Ice in Hoboken

When I was thinking of what to write for this entry, I wondered if I should label all my entries with a location in the title for easy search in the future. Maybe I will one of these days.

3 Forty Grill
340 Sinatra Drive
Hoboken, NJ 07030
201-217-3406
Website
Genre: Seafood, Raw Bar, Martini Lounge
Location: Waterfront, north of PATH/NJTransit Station, close to Quay and Trinity.

Besides the obviously superb atmosphere (lounge, chill) and view (NY skyline and water) of the place, the food is amazing, too. I'll copy from the website menu what "Bob" and I had ordered.

Appetizer
Fritto Misto: crispy calamari, black cod and clam strips. house made tomato sauce $10
I liked the black cod pieces the best, although since the pieces are big, beware of burning your tongue. The calamari was ok. I wasn't actually too thrilled with the clam strips. Both sauces they provided were delicious. One was spicy and the other was more tomatoey. I recommend both!

Entree
Cilantro Pesto Center Cut Swordfish Steakblack: with quinoa, margarita shrimp tempura, champagne butter sauce $24
I couldn't for the longest time identy the black seeds. I wikied quinoa but it doesn't look like what I had in my plate. Bob and I suspect they are poppy seeds. The swordfish arrived in a round plate, with a shrimp tempura on a stick standing upright in the middle of the fish steak. The butter sauce and cilantro pesto were on and around the fish, creating a visually appealing effect. The black seeds were mixed with carrots, onions, peppers, among other things. The fish was light which was complemented by the seeds (grain?) which had a stronger flavor and texture.

Espresso Pork Chop (Chef Night Special): not on website. $24
I didn't taste the espresso but the pork was definitely soaked in some kind of wine since it smelled and tasted like it. Accompanied by carrots, green beans, and (gasp) mixture of mashed potatoes and mashed yams! I liked both the pork and the yams.

Dessert
Molten Lava Chocolate Cake: imported belgian chocolate,warm liquid center,tahitian vanilla gelato $10
Amazing, can't possibly describe it in words. Also came with strawberry slices and raspberry sauce. Beautiful and fantastic composition and taste. I will probably order this again next time.

Rita's Ice
Ok, since this is a chain, there's no need to record location and info.

I can't believe I have not visited one of these until today. Pretty sure there's one close to where my parents are, too. The woman who worked behind the counter was very helpful. She explained to me what Rita's had to offer. The various flavors of Italian Ice, Custard, and combinations that mixed Custard and Ice. I would have gone for a Gelati (mix custard and ice) if I hadn't had dessert at 3 Forty already. The custard sample she provided me was yummy, simple vanilla and chocolate twist.

I asked for a sampled of cherry Italian ice and then decided to go for a small of the same thing.
Besides dying my tongue red, the Cherry ice was a very refreshing snack. I imagine it's probably more popular in the summer. My hands started to freeze when I started to eat it. I even found some cherry bits inside. Apparently Rita's ices sometimes have fruit pieces mixed in.

Hoboken and Oreo

From wiki: Hoboken was once known as the city with "a bar on every corner" and in fact was once listed in Guinness Book of Records as the city with "Most bars in a square mile". There were well over 200 bars in town in the first half of the 20th century. There are still well over 100 now.

Hoboken Bars
Hoboken Eats
Path to Hoboken

Apparently there's some oreo history made there too.
How do I eat an oreo?
I like the chocolate cookie part more than the vanilla cream. So I usually:
1. twist apart cookie
2. eat the cream
3. dip the cookies (without cream) in milk really quickly (I hate soggy stuff)
4. eat cookies
5. drink a lot of milk

Sometimes I like dipping the whole thing (cookie and cream) in milk too. But also done very quickly so the cookie doesn't get soggy.

Did I ever mention cookies n' cream is one of my favorite ice cream/fudge flavors? Going overboard by ordering cookies n' cream ice cream with additional oreo cookie topping is perfectly fine with me, too.