The persistence of memory

So, about a year and a half ago, I had to go to Walla Walla* for a training session and statewide council meeting, and was there long enough to have to find two dinners on my own. Right smack in the nice** walkable little downtown, I encountered Sweet Basil Pizzeria, an unassuming little place with great New York style pizza, good salads, and a good selection of beer and wine. The people running the place were friendly, and I enjoyed my dinner sitting at the counter between the entry and the oven, sort-of reading a book and chatting with the staff.

I enjoyed the place so much, I came back the second night to have dinner there again instead of exploring and finding another eatery.

This week, I was back in Walla Walla for a different statewide commission meeting, and was only there long enough to have to find dinner on my own once. I of course headed back to Sweet Basil; my colleagues were not surprised, given how much I had raved about it in the intervening months.

After I ordered, I said to the woman behind the counter "You probably don't remember me, but I was here from out of town over a year ago and I liked your pizza and your restaurant so much I came two nights in a row.  I am back in town now and back here again because it's that good."

She looked at me a second and said "Oh, yeah. You come from Bellingham. You sat right over there." And she pointed at the counter between the entry and the oven.

Holy moly!

We had a fun reunion, and the pizza was every bit as good as I had remembered.

So, if you ever find yourself in Walla Walla at dinnertime, head over to to Sweet Basil. Ask for Lindsay, and tell her Walter sent ya.

She'll remember.

And you'll have some great pizza.

* The town so nice they named it twice.

**  See what I mean?

July 4

So, I am at a loss to express how I feel this Independence Day; here are some words and images kiped from here and there on the internet.

 

'nuff said. Let's get to work.

Grand Hotel writ small

So, I just watched a small, overlooked, and poorly-reviewed movie for 2017 called Table 19, and I  liked it a lot.

It's kind of a rom-com, but just a little. Mostly, it's in the genre with Grand Hotel, Stagecoach, and Lifeboat - and The Breakfast Club. You know, a disparate group of people, who would otherwise not find themselves associated, are thrown together in unusual circumstances and Things Happen. In this case, the unusual circumstance is created by all the characters having been seated at the least appealing, least involved table at a wedding reception, based on their relationship - or lack of it - with the bride and groom. Nonetheless, they manage to connect and help each other with their struggles.

While the movie wears a lot of the traditional rom-com trappings, it manages to subvert many of them in some surprising ways. Characters that you think are cardboard cutouts have a little more complexity than expected, and meet-cute doesn't lead where you expect it to. While it could have been even edgier, it has enough grit to distinguish it from the pack for me.

Th performances are excellent - Anna Kendrick is always fun to watch, and Lisa Kudrow gets better every time I see her. Steven Merchant puts a spin on his gentle giant shtick that is quite affecting, and 89-year-old June Squibb was a delight. Drama, wry humor, and just a bit of slapstick - the cast delivers it all.

The movie starts with very little backstory, and drops us right into the reception from the get-go, letting us discover the characters as the evening progresses, and only gives the briefest of codas. In fact, the first half is so tight that I thought the film might have been adapted from a stage play, but that is not the case. The setting does broaden out midstream, but the film never loses its focus on the table group.

If you've got an hour and a half to spare some night, check this hidden gem out.