Help! I'm Surrounded by Bees!

Hello, my beautiful Ashholes. Before we begin, I just want to thank you all for being here. This project started as a humble attempt to break the algorithmic shackles of the Meta corporation, and I’m truly so grateful that so many of you have followed me into the holy land of emails. First things first, here’s this month’s cartoon collection:

Next, a couple quick updates:

1. I’ll be hitting the road this summer and doing live shows in the following cities: Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, and Madison. I’ll do a full announcement soon with all the links, but if you want early access to any of the shows, email me and I’ll hook you up: cartoonsbyasher@gmail.com

2. For those of you in New York, I’ll also be at Union Hall tomorrow with Jordan Klepper and at UCB on June 20th.

3. I’m currently packing up the first batch of the asher Summer of Stickers, which I realized too late forms the acronym ASS. If you’re a paid subscriber and want in on ASS, peep my previous post and fill out the form.

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Here are a couple of things that I’ve been enjoying that I think you might also like:

1. Widow’s Bay.

   

   This is a new(ish) show that fully lives up to the hype. Funny! Spooky! Plus, its creator wrote one of the greatest tweets of all time back in the good ol’ days when Twitter was fun:

   

2. Brick. I’ve been using this little grey box for over a year now, and it’s a game changer. Basically, you tap your phone to it and it locks you out of all the annoying, time-sucking apps. They’re not paying me to say this — I’m just a fan of it. As I am of you, dear reader.

Finally, a guest feature! A buddy of mine has a very cool Substack where he reviews restaurants (onlygoodrestaurants.substack.com) and he wrote a piece where he uses my cartoons to talk about NYC hotspots. I’ll let him take if from here:

Asher, quite famously, does not like food. He may not even consume it, and instead survives on an IV of Greek yogurt and vegetable purees. So, he was obviously not aware which delicious New York restaurants he was drawing in the following cartoons, but I’m happy to clarify.

To be fair, almost all of the tables at Minetta Tavern are tiny and it’s part of the charm. The bar is cramped, the room presses in. You won’t mind the intimacy if you are seated, as I was during my last visit, five feet from Bruce Springsteen. It’s a gem in the West Village and every bite soars. The burger is famous—order one alone at the bar and you’re likely to get free champagne. Drink martinis, enjoy the West Village. New York’s cramped nature is part of its cool and should be enjoyed liberally.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a table of bulls anywhere in New York City, but if you were going to find them anywhere, it would be at Carbone. The much-hyped red sauce, red wine joint has gone through numerous booms and busts of its hype cycle, only to land firmly in place as a fantastic restaurant that is a serious pain in the ass to get into. As a result, it’s hard for the place to exceed expectations, but the brand is strong and the spicy rigatoni slaps. I remain bullish on their long-term future.

The first time I went to Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Gowanus, I realized that I had never been to a true pie shop. They have coffees of course, teas and whatnot. But no other baked goods. Just pie. Lots of pies. Incredible pies! Like Asher’s comfort-seeking neurotic here, I have always had a romanticized notion of a late-night coffee with a slice of pie at a diner, exclusively from seeing detectives and runaways enjoy it on TV. In reality, I’ve only done it a couple times. But it’s a heavenly ritual anywhere, anytime. Popping in for a cup of something and a slice of pie. What a delight. What a way to enjoy living!

A candlelit table. Cocktails and wine. A date looking to not break the bank. You’re having a great night of Italian food at Nolita’s Rubirosa. The pizza is the well-known standout, but you can’t find a miss on the menu, and the pastas overperform for the price. Let’s be honest, we all need to think of our pocketbooks these days, especially in New York, and certainly if you’re going on more first dates than seconds.

Cafe Mado in Prospect Heights is a sunny café with a skylit dining room and even sunnier hospitality. Everyone you know will find a nosh, or a dish, or a bunch of things they’re excited about on the menu, which generally rotates through straightforward but perfectly executed options. Worst case, there’s always great bread and butter, dessert and wine. What more do you need, to sit with good friends, and enjoy every minute of your many bad jokes?

Okay, it’s asher again. Love you, it’s June, go outside <3