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restaurant touts, fresh peas

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walking back from the outdoor market at Andrea Doria, azure and i were accosted by a restaurant tout. with folded red napkins over one arm, and laminated English-language picture menus tucked into the other, these smooth-talking ‘waiters’ are actually seasoned cattle-drivers, their long days spent roundin’ up and herding bovine tourists into the (not-at-all) ‘Italian Ristorante’ joints around Vatican City.

this time around, the tout hadn’t finished the opening bars of “Hello Mister, Good Pizza For You…” before spotting stalks of fresh asparagus peeping from our bags — also heavy with roman artichokes, fennel bulbs, sage, shallots, garlic, carrots, fresh peas, and sicilian pachino tomatoes, to boot — whereupon he completely dropped his spiel and instead began to jealously ogle the produce.

meanwhile, a second tout ambled over, at first wildly waving some menus of his own, then stopping, abruptly, to also admire the inventory of our plastic-bag cornucopias.

“Man, you guys really eat well at your place!”, the one tells us, with the other nodding rapidly in agreement, putting the menus away, and adding “I think it’s always better, eating at home, anyways.”

damn straight it is. happy easter!

John Paul at Vatican Easter

Pope John Paul service



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October 4

  • Jason tweeted, "Eating a leftover "Godmother" sandwich from Bay Cities Deli for breakfast. Not sure if that says more about me, or the sandwich."

October 2

  • Jason tweeted, "Az and I just *destroyed* an offensively-oversized slice of coconut cream pie from Babalu. Montana Ave retail now gets my grudging respect."

September 30

  • Jason tweeted, "Fighting the heatwave in Santa Monica, armed only with a big bowl of Pinkberry. And spoon."

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