What I Learned This Week: #140

Monday, February 3 – Sunday, February 9

The Week in Liquid 1  – Soup: My Saturday afternoon walk about on a dreary, damp day practically guaranteed my inner hunger GPS would lead me to soup. At Le Pho’s on Court St. I grabbed a bowl of Pho Bo, an iconic Vietnamese dish. Pho isn’t as widely known as its Chinese cousin Ramen, but both dishes leave me feeling both satisfied and healed. Plus, it’s fun that my American brain wants to pronounce Pho as FOE, but it’s Fuh. Fuh Fu-n to say.

The Week in Liquid 2 – Cocktails: Walking home from lunch I glanced in the window of Japp’s Bar where I saw Molly Wellman serving drinks and maybe 8 people sitting at the bar. That seemed inviting. Day drinking on a cold, cloudy day often yields a quiet bar, where people can hear each other and  conversations and community are part of the experience.

All the bartenders at Japp’s greet patrons but saying something along the lines of “What can I make for you today?” I told her I was in the mood for something dark, and she suggested a Black Manhattan. Never heard of it, I said. Even when she said it had Averno in it, an Italian bitter I don’t tend to like, I trusted her. She was right. I may order my future Manhattan’s black.

As I sipped, one of the bar conversations led to us talking about the song Stars Fell on Alabama, which Molly noted was also the name of a drink. Welp, I was only going to have a Manhattan and be on my way, but I felt compelled to try this drink.

It’s this:

• 1 1/2 ounces corn whiskey
• Dash absinthe (she used an eye dropper to coat the inside of the glass with absinthe and then she poured the chilled drink in)
• Dash angostura bitters
• Dash orange flower water
• Dash Peychaud’s bitters

That was boozy!

The Week in America: Playhouse in the Park is right up the hill from my house, but I rarely go there. For whatever reason, I just don’t pay much attention to their programming. What a pleasant surprise I got from the Playhouse when a free last minute ticket introduced me to the theater troupe The Universes and their wonderful show AmericUS. Four members of their group work-shopped and created the show commissioned by the Playhouse.

Their production, an examination of what it is to be an American right this very second, was urgent, thought-provoking, and entertaining. Sometimes singing and dancing, sometimes talking, they wove in stories straight from the headlines, as they are experienced by real people. They covered school shootings, what it means to drive while black, homelessness, and more.

Also, totally unrelated, I just found it funny that the fancy-schmancy Playhouse featured Bud Light Seltzer as the drink special. Stay classy, Playhouse.

The Week in Wings and Words: The Superbowl was last Sunday and I didn’t partake in a Superbowl party, but all the talk about wings lit up a powerful craving. The wings at Pony OTR are classic and they hit the spot. I posted about this on Facebook (because man, social media cares about my dinner activity) and one of my friends found my words poetic enough that she wanted a poem. So, here’s a poem about chicken wings.

Yes, Wings, Oh Yes

A dozen Buffalo Wings
Steaming
Wet
Glistening
Alluring
A plate of temptation and
Such sweet anticipation
My heart is pounding
But I digress…