2.16.2009

DEATH, BIRTH, & DINNER

There is an excuse for the long period of silence herein—a couple explanations really, and good ones.

To start, there was an entirely-too-soon laptop death. I needn’t go into details, really. The fault was mine, but there was, of course, a period of denial, followed by a period of anger, followed by one of mourning in which I could not think of writing upon any tool other than my poor, dead portable. In retrospect, I can only say that never should a laptop be placed upon a cedar chest covered with a quilt—even if only for a few moments, to burn a Lyle Lovett CD for instance, as one may start to enjoy the company of one’s friends and family and return to find the laptop frizzled to pure uselessness.

Last Friday, however, my new laptop arrived, chocolate brown and quick and memory-rich, signaling a rebirth of independent computing, communicating, and, yes, blogging. Goodbye, office chair and bulky desktop. Hello, world.

But there is more birth in this than the computer. For the last three months have signaled a distinctly strange season of consumption in which my favorite foods consisted of canned pineapple and cheese ‘n crackers. Yep, Chris and I are expecting. And, though we are deeply excited, it has not been a period of fine dining and gustatory discovery. Chocolate milk and grilled cheese, awesome. Double-calcium banana smoothies, yum. Filetto Sopresso; quiche; lamb burgers: no thanks.

Happily, however, first trimester behind me, my appetite for "finer” things is creeping back. Yes, hot fudge sundaes covered in oreos still call nightly (I refuse, of course, most of the time), and Clausen pickles remain one of my favorites, but I’m regaining some degree of normalcy—a brief respite, I suppose, until August.

Chris and I took these pictures in Pittsburgh’s Strip District over the holidays. Our time in the Strip signaled the first moments when I actually considered that I might be pregnant. The sight of Chris’s cappicola sandwich was terribly disturbing to me, though I knew I should be delighted at the sheer indulgence of it. The Strip District is food-lover's perfection—raw and wild and expansive. Enjoy!
Cappicola & Egg at Primanti Bros.

Delicious Baccala (Salt Cod) at Wholey's

Wholey's Oysters

Biscotti's at Biscotti Brothers

Fresh, Homemade Tofu at Lotus Food Market