Friday, May 14, 2021

Three Beautiful Things 05/13/2021:Lunch with Mary at baba's, Double IPA at Growler Guys, Fran Lebowitz in 2010

1. I jumped into the Sube and zoomed to Kendall Yards in Spokane and met Mary Chase for a 1:30 lunch at baba. Baba describes itself as serving Mediterranean comfort food. I thought of it as a Lebanese fusion restaurant (not 100% accurate on my part). It also might be called a New American eatery. Whatever you call it, baba serves a variety of dishes that combine the ingredients and flavors of the Middle East and the Mediterranean with some Asian influences in entrees and small plates that are distinctly Mediterranean and others that have traditional American influences.

I'll just say the food was adventurous and delicious. Mary and I ordered a combination of small plates and entrees. We enjoyed hummus, fried olives, carrot and beet salad, a wonderful dish called a Buddha Bowl, falafel in pita bread, a couple of lamb/beef meatballs (I think), and innovative cocktails. I joined Mary in ordering a cumcumber-elderflower gimlet to start and then I switched to a really tasty turmeric-ginger mule. 

Mary and I hadn't seen each other since we had breakfast outside at Le Peep back on September 4, 2020 and we had a lot to talk about and it was really satisfying to enjoy this flavorful food and drink and get caught up on the many things going on in our lives. 

In addition, I enjoyed being at Kendall Yards, if, for no other reason, than to absorb some exuberant energy. It was a mildly warm day with blue skies dotted with a few clouds and so people of all ages were out walking dogs, riding skateboards, bicycling, jogging, and walking above the Spokane River, all enjoying this glorious afternoon. Some shirts were off, knots of comfortably dressed men and women talked and laughed together, and I enjoyed soaking in the vitality and general happiness all around me. 

2. Upon my return, as I swooped into Coeur d'Alene, I decided I wanted to check out a taproom I'd never been to. The building that used to house Slate Creek Brewing was now a place called Good Times. I parked, walked up to the front door, opened it, and was greeted by a somber young man who told me the place had just gone out of business, that they were turning in their keys today.

I vaulted back into the Sube and decided to go for a sure thing. I was suddenly seized by a desire for an Imperial IPA and I knew Growler Guys would be serving at least one. 

I was right. I ordered myself a 10 oz pour of Heretic Brewing's Evil Cousin and took a seat at a table and very slowly worked my through its generously hopped resinous and citrusy flavors and its pleasant bitterness. 

My decision to stop in CdA was 100% spur of the moment. I let Byrdman know I was over at Growler Guys, but he was sitting down to dinner and so we'll roam for foam another time. I enjoyed the scene at Growler Guys. Good friends, mostly young men, were seated at tables throughout the place, having greeted each other with vigorous hugs and handshakes. Fervent discussion transpired at every table. 

I don't know what the discussions were about, but I enjoyed bearing witness to such earnest engagement. 

3. Back home, I eventually took my computer and disk drive to bed with me and popped in the Martin Scorsese/Fran Lebowitz movie Public Speaking, a movie very similar to their current Netflix collaboration, Pretend It's a City. It was released in 2010. It covered some of the territory later revisited in Pretend It's a City, and, like the newer series, featured Fran Lebowitz seated at a table (this time at The Waverly Inn), holding court, interspersed with clips of her giving public speaking performances and with footage of influential figures in her life.

I enjoy listening to Fran Lebowitz pontificate. I enjoy the fact that the only thing the two of us have in common is that our minds are at work, mine not nearly as much as hers. Otherwise, Fran Lebowitz and I have next to nothing in common. She's lived in New York most of her life. She enjoys upsetting people, being opinionated, criticizing mediocrity, and regarding herself as always right. She doesn't cook. She hates the emergence of no smoking regulations in bars and restaurants. She's acerbic, funny, outspoken, impatient, and has the sharpest of wits. If you know me, you can see the contrasts. 

I don't envy Fran Lebowitz's personality and intellectual prowess, but I do envy that she spends so much time walking in Manhattan. In both of the Scorsese documentaries featuring her, we see footage of Fran Lebowitz walking purposefully and attentively from place to place. New York City, whether Brooklyn or Manhattan, is, along with London, my favorite place to walk and, to be honest, if this movie had been 90 minutes of watching Fran Lebowitz walk, I would have been all in. 

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