Perfect Circle: Only a memory remains

Friday was my mother's birthday, so in her honor we went out to one of her favorite restaurants, The Strip House, and had a real blow out meal. There were 8 of us, and one of our guests was nice enough to pick up the tab...and to order a vintage bottle of Veuve (La Grande Dame!) to start off the meal and toast my mom. It was lovely. It was the kind of evening she would have really enjoyed.
Last night, The Wife and I stopped at Lombardi's (America's first official pizzeria, opened in 1897) for a pizza and went down the block to grab some rice pudding from Rice to Riches. We were two happy campers. I know people dog Lombardi's, but that was an amazing pie. The crust had a wonderfully smoky char and crunch without being bitter or too pasty, and the cheese and sauce were balanced nicely to provide alternating creamy, sweet and tart flavors that were spiked with occasional green, herbal notes from the finely chopped fresh basil. With a little of the garlic powder and freshly ground Parmesan cheese they gave us, this was about as fine a version of Pizza Margherita that you can find. It was less oily than DiFara, and didn't have the extra salt and mineral punch that their pizza offers thanks to the cheeses that they add, but I will certainly be back. Darn tootin'.



Rice to Riches is a rice pudding emporium, which makes me very happy. Their puddings aren't overly sweet or gummy, but rather luscious and creamy with an amazing variety of flavors from Coconut Coma to Caramel, plus a great variety of toppings like toasted pound cake and graham cracker crumbs to add some crunch to the cloud like puddings as a textural note. Yum-e. Their sleek packaging and ultra-clean, ultra modern space is a little cold for my taste, but I love the machine they have where you can place an order for pudding to be shipped anywhere in the world and just pay with your credit or debit card. That's thinkin'! Also, the spoons that look like sleek shoe horns are surprisingly functional...and...dare I say it? Fun.


Today, I share one of my favorite songs ever. This is one that I'm not embarrassed to admit had me burning candles and swaying in my bedroom as a teen. This is from R.E.M.'s first album, Murmur. Back before they were famous....

R.E.M.: Perfect Circle