Author Archives: Rob Crilly
Hurricane or no hurricane, you can rely on the American Coffee Shop
It was the only place open. Its neon window sign proclaiming invincibility in the face of Hurricane Irma. The American Coffee Shop was open at 8am. I hadn’t had coffee in more than 36 hours and my body was protesting. … Continue reading
Baseball blow-out
There have been changes at Citi Field, home of the Mets, this season. The inter-innings entertainment has switched from a four-car running race – fire truck, yellow cab, police car and er was it a limo? – to a three-car … Continue reading
Bakers and burgers in Trump country
Sit down at the table under the television at the far end of the Bakehouse Bakery and Café and you know immediately where you are. Not just Kingston, Pennsylvania, but Trump country. “I’m pro-America, pro-gun, pro-God,” is how John … Continue reading
Terminal burger
“Welcome to the Central Diner,” reads the sign. “24 hours of food and fun.” Inside the atmosphere might be better described as subdued. Table come and go in a low hubbub. Customers have planes to catch. This is terminal four … Continue reading
On the Road
There’s nothing better as a journalist than getting out on the road. Except perhaps for getting out on the road in America, a land of big cars, wide roads and wider skies. And as many cliches as you can … Continue reading
The Donald and the Goat – or the appeal of Trump
The Trump show has been a blast from the minute he descended into his own campaign launch by golden escalator, accused Mexico of sending rapists north of the border and walked into a row with Neil Young over his use … Continue reading
I take my burgers like Keith Hernandez
You don’t pick your teams. They pick you. That, anyway, is how I roll. So while I admire Kevin Clark‘s recent effort in deciding between Mets and Yankees – trying both teams for a month, wearing the caps and watching … Continue reading
You don’t need Islam to explain the Chattanooga shootings
Chattanooga is not Murfreesboro, where plans to expand a mosque sparked protests and ill-feeling. Instead, the doctors who made up the board of the Islamic Society of Greater Chattangooga invited Bassam Issa, a real estate developer, to join them in order to … Continue reading
The seat facing the door
To be honest, I didn’t really think about it, just plonking myself down in the chair facing the door. Reda Hassaine hesitated, unsure of quite what to do. Then he face broke into a broad grin and and sat down. “For … Continue reading
Burger the Bragg, Confuse the enemy
A lot has happened in the decade since I last saw Billy Bragg perform live. I moved away from the UK to become a foreign correspondent. My politics have undergone the inevitable overhaul of age. And I’ve grown a beard. … Continue reading
America with Relish 