Food on the brain

Maggie says:
Okay, okay. We get it. It's reallllly lame that m-pyre is just sitting here like this. Here's the thing, though: it's spring. It's beautiful outside. My brain is in other places.

Rather than m-pyrically listing the fun places my thoughts are going to these days, I'll post them here, on sad and lonely m-pyre. Happy?!

Okay:
Spring = sun = breezes = fizzy drinks. Right?

Well, not so fast. If you're a food-lover like me, every new season represents food in a new way. This winter, I cooked dutch oven upon dutch oven of yummy, hearty soups served with garlicky rustica bread, extra olive oil for drizzling, and a really robust wine. Soup is all I want in the winter; it soothes and warms and comforts me and is all I crave.

But when the weather starts warming up, I want zing. I want bite. I want green. And more than anything else I can consume, pesto represents all of those things. I want piles of it on perfectly cooked pasta, loads of it on panini, stockpiles in the fridge for whenever the mood strikes. (Pesto with eggs in the morning? Oh yes!) Trader Joe's understands my pesto spring fever. There, for only $1.89, you can buy enough basil for a pound and a half of penne. So if your plants aren't up yet and the thought of shelling out half your wallet for fresh leaves isn't appealing, spend the gas money instead and hike up to Ventura, where you can get basil and wine and still make out better than you can at Wild Oats.

Last week, with windows and doors open, summery music blasting, and donning the first tank top of the year, I went to town with basil, piňon, garlic, parmesan, and olive oil. The result was everything the sun had been promising me, everything my cold and bitter winter dreams had ached for. One bite and I'm done. Screw all that extra rain and cold we needed; bring on the Seasons patio! (Which we did, splendidly, one night last week.)

In one more note of food news, I'm thrilled beyond belief that a grocer is coming downtown. For real this time. Via the always-in-the-know Carrie Seidman (she of "Single in the City" and "Food City" fame), a Downtown Gourmet will open on Central next month. Before you start worrying that this place will be the kind of shop that'll sell imported artichoke hearts but not orange juice, Carrie assures us that it's going to be a mix of both worlds: "While it's not the big box grocer many Downtown denizens have been hoping for, Smoot says neither will it be only jars of overpriced olives and dusty tins of foie gras."

Take it from this "downtown denizen": buying groceries and enjoying cooking downtown as it now stands is a major pain, especially given the limited selection and hours of Lowe's, the closest thing we have to a real grocery store. (Running out of flour while making chicken piccata recently around 8 p.m. was a major mood-killer...) So the more grocery options downtown, the better. While we're at it, the more new downtown development that's retail- and service-based - instead of just more bars - is good for all of us downtowners. Mix in the soon-to-come influx of new downtown residents, and there's an even greater need for a neighborhood that's as livable as it is go-out-able. So to whomever's listening: Bring on the grocers and bookstores! And while I'm asking, how about a year-round farmer's market, too? Here's to the future!

(By the way, imagine me delivering that last line with a Slutty Bunny in hand, the genius - and strong! - concoction of the ever-delightful Sophie...)

PS: In other downtown dish, heard a promising rumor about the possible next tenant of Pearl's over the weekend. More to come...