Dear Friends--
I strongly urge you to go forth into the internets right this moment and try to listen to the song "Big Freak" by Betty Davis. I downloaded it in my emusic frenzy and it is one of the best listening experiences I've had in a long time. I used to beat him with my tourquoise chain, indeed.

So, the wedding last night was fun, but exhausting. The space is not really ideal (as an example---I found myself at one point sitting on the floor in the "kitchenette" with the wedding cake on an overturned cardboard box to cut it)so we had to get more creative than usual in our prepping problem solving. It all turned out lovely, though, and people seemed to like the food (judging by the fact that they ate almost all of it, coming back for seconds and THIRDS in some cases!)We had two narrowly averted tragedies...one when no one could get the keg tapped (metal mike, a regular QS customer and all around cool guy finally figured out the problem after he and several other people were hit with a beer geiser)and the other when I almost set the table on fire capping the sterno. But, all tragedies were averted and everyone was all smiles. The bride and groom were lovely. Good times, but as I said, really exhausting.
Today I went in at 8:30 to prep up for what I knew was going to be a wacky labor day. We were closed in the morning for a front end meeting, but people were lined up when we opened for lunch at noon. I did line prep, specials and soups, unloaded the catering stuff out of the car, made a couple orders, did a bunch of front end dishes, ran coffee and food, took a few orders....it was one of those days. Good times though. I made a delicious special---blanched potatoes, green beans, carrots, and snow peas in coconut-mango dressing, with chili lime crispy tofu on top. I hope people eat it...but if not, we'll have it for lunch tomorrow.
On the way home today, since there was no farmer's market and the streets were relatively deserted, I took some !pictures of my favorite abandoned buildings in "downtown" East Liberty. These are all on Broad Street, which apparently used to be the center of town. Walsh's Restaurant and Bar is some kind of historical landmark, which may still be open...I wasn't able to find any definite information. If it is not, I want it for my own. The front and the sign are amazing, and though I certainly would not want to make it my business to compete with Kelly's.....I can't help fantasizing about how amazing that area could be in 5 years. The mega boutique hotel will be right around the corner. This is the time to snap up all these beautiful buildings, developers