Skirmish of Wits

Lest it look like I took a night off, I offer an abbreviated version of a stellar night.

Joining the happy hour crowd at the Magpie, it was all about tuna crudo and rabbit liver mousse with a refreshing Villa Wolf Pinot Gris to wash down the offerings from land and sea.

Seeking a movie that required higher than a third grade intellect among a selection of action/adventure/comedy summer blockbusters delivered us to the Criterion for "Much Ado About Nothing."

Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably.

Honestly, I could see well-executed Shakespeare every week of my life. Especially in an air-conditioned theater.

I can see why theaters used to advertise their "frigid air" along with the latest western and newsreel.

Post-Ado, we stopped at Avenue 805 for wine and a trip in the way back machine.

During a recent replacement of the restaurant's booths, the owner had come across an old menu from 1999.

That would be back when you could get a glass of wine for $3.50.

Or half what a well-priced glass is now. Whoa.

Remembering that I was making way more money in 1999 than I do now, a $3.50 glass of wine sounds mighty appealing now.

Our last stop was on the Robinson Street corridor at Michael's Pies and Pints where a decent-sized crowd was celebrating the transition from Thursday to Friday.

Fortified by couplets and plenty of wine over the course of the evening, I tried a slice of their "Napoleon" pizza (as their FB page boasts), if for no other reason than that they clearly know nothing about Neapolitan pizza.

And despite having had plenty of notable pizza in Naples last fall, for a post-midnight pepperoni and onion slice of pie in Richmond, it was perfectly okay.

Tepid praise, indeed, but considering how outstanding the rest of the evening had been, it didn't need to be any more than that.

Silence is the perfectest herald of joy: I were but little happy if I could say how much.