Friendship or Romance?

The best way to offset a weekend that had so much male company is an evening out with a girlfriend, especially one with two weeks worth of dating adventures to share. When she called to suggest it, I couldn't say yes fast enough. Estrogen, yes!

She chose for our rendezvous Stuzzi. We had a tacit understanding that she wasn't to spill the beans until we'd ordered, so we asked for the four-meat Carnivori so that we could get on with it. The beauty of Stuzzi's oven is that it delivers in 90 seconds, which is great for those seeking practically instantaneous gratification.

The protein-covered pizza was a hit with us both. As a bonus, owner Peter was gracious in sending over a couple of his "delicious little things" in the form of the fried risotto balls and the potato croquettes. We had plenty of sustenance for the storytelling to begin.

Since I'd seen my friend last, she'd seen three guys, but the upshot was that she's decided to date the guy she's known for a year as a friend. He's always been interested in her and once she gave him a chance, she found he was just what she's been looking for. She's guardedly optimistic and I'm excited for her because she deserves to be happy after being dumped and not dating for a year and a half.

Meanwhile a guy had come over to talk to me, asking about where I was from, what I did for a living and other basic info. He even asked me for a restaurant recommendation and I suggested Bistro 27, explaining that I liked it because the food was terrific and it was just blocks from my house.

Him:
How about I take you to dinner at Bistro 27 then?

Me:
I'm not dating.

Him:
What are you looking for, friendship or romance?

Me:
Friendship. No romance.

Him:
Me, too. It's good to have female friends. Can I take you to dinner as friends?

Offers aside, it was a small world at Stuzzi tonight; I also ran into a guy I'd recently met at Bouchon and another I'd met at Balliceaux. It was like old home week except that it was supposed to be girls' night out. How did these guys make it into our bubble?

Leaving Stuzzi, I drove over to the Camel for the music of Lennie Tristano and the Jason Scott Quintet. I knew nothing about overlooked jazz legend Lennie T., but I knew enough of the musicians in the Tristano group and the JS Quintet to know that I'd be in for some great jazz.

A musician later told me that Tristano's music was weird, rhythmic, difficult and way ahead of its time (the 40s and 50s). Introducing the final song of the set, Jason said that it was hard, and that in one section, "he moves the whole melody over one beat." I wasn't even sure what that meant and I was intrigued. Altogether, it was an excellent set.

Then two musicians left and two others replaced them for the second set of Jason's original compositions. Alternately intense and heavy and then strikingly beautiful, the tone of the music changed from song to song. They even wowed the crowd with their interpretation of the closing credit music to Donnie Darko.

Shortly after the set began, two musician friends from Marionette joined me at my booth and they were as blown away as I was with what we were hearing. Kerri turned to me between songs and said, "That was so beautiful it made me want to cry." I was already thinking that the trumpet solo alone had been heart-stopping.

It was a treat for me having them there because after the show we sat around and talked about what we'd just heard. With their far more extensive musical knowledge, they provided all kinds of insights and explanations for what I'd heard but did not have the vocabulary to describe.

But I had no trouble understanding Kerri when she looked at me between songs and said, "I need to get out more. This is amazing."

Five bucks on a Monday night in River City, kids. We really couldn't ask for more.

Well, I couldn't anyway.