Monday, December 27

The Sugar Hill Gang

After an early movie - MegaMind - we cross the street to a pizza joint in Richmond, pictured. I lament the closing of Berkeley's Pirro's, which was the best I ever had (excluding Napoli with Katie and Minoti). Pirro's Pizzeria on Shattuck Avenue opened in '73 and closed in '06 or '05. The same sad, friendly waitress there the entire time and the chefs tossed the dough into the air. The tables red-checkered with dripping candle wax. A coat pole took the over-sized jackets and there could not have been more than 12 tables. I always sat in the same, towards the back. As for the order : salami pie accompanied by blue cheese dressing, some chickpeas and a little green lettuce. Perfecto.


Britain's favorite not pizza. A recent UKTV survey suggests Spaghetti Bolognese, or "spa bol" as it is often stupidly called here, #1. Maybe not too surprisingly half of the Top 10 recipes foreign; celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and Delia Smith have also influenced our pallet. Here are the remaining nine, in order:
2. Roast Dinner (Sunday family time)
3. Chile con carne (Weird. The British otherwise hate Mexican)
4. Lasagna
5. Cottage or Sheperd's Pie (Classic)
6. Meat or chicken stir-fry (Gross)
7. Beef casserole (Really gross)
8. Macaroni and cheese (Pathetic)
9. Toad in the hole (Anybody's guess)
10. Curry (England's night cap of choice)

You are what you eat.