Chickens.....

As promised, here are Ashley's "portraits." Unlike most young women whose desire would be to become fashion photographers, or something similar, Ashley wants to work for a newspaper as a photo-journalist. I think she has the knack. She certainly has the passion and the vision, and is now honing her skills in order to achieve her dream. I think she will go far in her chosen field. BTW, no animals were harmed during this photo shoot.

..........................
On another subject, I discovered just last night that Allicats Pizza had closed in Asheboro. Last December I posted about their having just opened, and my disappointment with their pies. With a good executive chef, and the cooking staff to follow through on his/her directives, and an enthusiastic wait staff that could convey the difference in brick-oven pizza from other pizzas, they might have done well, in time, but, I think their biggest obstacle was their competition. Within a few hundred yards there was a Pizza Hut, a CiCi's, and a Papa John's, and a mile or so down the road was their biggest competition, Sir Pizza. Sir Pizza is probably the worst pizza I've ever eaten, but for natives of Randolph County, Sir Pizza has the perfect pizza. In this case, the perfection comes from their client's food memories. It was the first pizzeria to open around here, from which 2 have spun off, and it was the only pizzeria for a long, long time, way before all the chains hit town. It's where teens gathered after Friday night ball games, where parents took their kids after the "A's" on their report cards, and the place where many birthday parties were hosted. Most all of us have a pizzeria in our memory banks like that, the contextually perfect pizza. I feel sorry for the investors of Allicats. They literally spent more time remodeling than they spent with the doors open to the public, and their investment was considerable. Maybe therein lies the problem - it was seen as an investment opportunity vs. an opportunity to create a space where contextual perfection and paradigmatic perfection merge. Hmmhhhh, maybe the investors should have first read "American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza" where Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix stated - "pizza is my metaphor."

Christmas tree, and new pizzeria.....

Last Tuesday Slate and I shopped for a tree, found one we liked (and could afford), ate at Allicats in Asheboro (see below), and have since strung our tree with lights and decorated with ornaments. I think this is my all-time favorite Christmas tree ornament, a gift from my girlfriend’s daughter. Cowabunga Santa!!!
……………………………………………………..
Slate and I have been keeping an eye on the remodeling, and looking forward to the grand opening, of Randolph County’s latest pizzeria, Allicats. The restaurant building was a Friendly’s at one time, part of a chain that didn’t do too well around here, then became Backyard Bob’s Barbecue, another failure, before it underwent months of remodeling to become a pizzeria. Slate ate there before I did, but brought home a couple of slices for me to try. I was disappointed, but chalked it up to opening week. The night we went tree shopping and ate there, the pizza was much better, but still not what I would expect from a place that goes to the trouble and expense of having a WoodStone oven installed on their premises. The most adventurous ingredients on their menu were roasted peppers and sun-dried tomatoes. Everything else was generic - hamburger, ham, pepperoni, mushrooms, etc. So far, the only thing that sets them apart from maybe 12 other pizzerias around here is their oven, and I don’t think they take advantage of what it can do, with the right dough that is. A good crust in a mediocre oven is better than a mediocre crust in a great oven. It’s too bad. We were hoping for a pizzeria that was different, and had more to offer than other pizzerias around here. Ho-hum.