Balcony Bliss at Xtra's

I thought I was having lunch with one of my best friends today, but his position had been usurped by the time he picked me up at noon.

His replacement? Well, that would be VCU's Facebook page because of their unlikely choice to use my "Unofficial Tour Guide" post on their page (sample comment: "Nice stumps").

Fortunately, my head still fit in his vehicle, so off we went to Carytown to partake of a lovely lunch on Xtra's balcony. It's a stylish place, designed by a professional restaurant designer and, as usual, my main complaint was the TV (aka: ambiance killer). Favorite design element: the metalwork in the opening of the balcony's brick wall with the bluest sky visible through it.

But we had no intention of staying inside, instead choosing a two-top at the railing, which put my legs conveniently in the sun, right where I wanted them.

We had a view of the Merita white bread billboard atop Mary Angela's and a bird's eye view of passersby. It's kind of fascinating to be above everyone else.

After much back and forth to coordinate ordering different side dishes, I opted for the mini muffuletta, made of roasted turkey, Genoa salami, roast beef, cheddar, and Gruyere on toasted ciabatta with mufuletta relish and Mediterranean vinaigrette with Greek pasta salad.

Recently demoted friend got all manly on me, ordering the Black Angus burger with Gruyere and sweet pepper aioli with Thai cole slaw. He said he liked his burger and my muffuletta was filling, if a tad over-relished (further proof of why I'm not a food blogger). Before long, we both called it quits and he had our leftovers boxed up for his Scooby snack later.

He also provided the best quip in many a lunch. He was telling a mutual friend that he had a new girlfriend and she responded, "It's not Karen, is it?" to which he responded, "Nooo, she missed her chance to get on the Danny train." I laughed so hard I started wheezing.

And with that, he reclaimed his former friend standing on humor points alone. VCU who? Make me laugh and all is right with the world.

Even better, do it on a sunny balcony.