Warm for a Lot of Reasons at Stuzzi

I couldn't have been more surprised when a friend suggested Stuzzi for dinner.

She's the only person I know who actually loves cold weather, prefers it even.

We are very poorly matched in this because I get cold at the drop of a hat and she gets hot when my teeth are still chattering.

My first two visits to Stuzzi had been quite warm and while I loved that, I knew it wasn't her style.

Turns out she was enamored enough of the pie to overlook the temperature issue, which admittedly was far cooler tonight than on my last couple of visits and really quite pleasant.

When I arrived a bit before 8, the place was full, with people waiting for tables.

The music was just loud enough and the mix was excellent. When I asked about it, all anyone knew was that it was the restaurant iPod, so multiple people had contributed to the mix.

I loved the variety of the music...and the volume. It really amped up the ambiance.

Since I'd not gotten it last time, I ordered the Margarita pizza (A.O.C. and all) preceded by the Gorgonzola salad; my friend got the Carnivore because meat is her god.

The crust was not soggy, the sauce, cheese and basil sang with freshness and I ate the whole thing.

Meanwhile, I struck up a conversation with the guy next to me, a student of psychiatric genetics, and we eventually got to talking about looks, his in particular.

He had beautiful curly hair which he'd only discovered he had two years ago.

His mother had never told him it was curly and he'd always kept it short, so he'd had no idea.

His driver's license showed a guy with short, dark hair without a hint of curl.

I asked if his longer locks got him lots more attention, but he demurred.

"I'm not exactly up Richmond's alley," he said by way of explanation. And he didn't look like a hatboy or a WASP, so I knew what he meant.

He said his goal is to be a writer, but at 25, he feels like a lifetime spent in Fairfax County does not represent enough life experience from which to knowledgeably write.

So instead he's spending his time acquiring the experiences which he hopes will inform his future writing endeavors. I can't think of a better plan and told him so.

It was on this visit that I noticed the diversity of the crowd under the dimmed lights with the music pulsing.

There were a few families with kids early in the evening, some older couples throughout, but mostly, as owner Peter put it, "There's no one here over 30."

I think it's safe to say that his price points are appealing to almost everyone.

Peter came over to talk like an Italian (or was it a New Yorker?) and bring me an Aperol Spritzer, a truly refreshing Italian summer beverage, with which I wasn't familiar.

It was the same color as my dress, surely a sign of something.

"Be careful, it'll make you amorous," he warned grinning, going on to explain that he's so busy working seven days a week that he has to date on-site.

When things finally wound down, pizza genius Giuseppe came over and sat down next to me to chat and have a Campari.

Although we'd been introduced before, this was our first in-depth conversation and he gave me the full story about men and women from "someone who knows, an Italian," to phrase it like he did.

In any case, I think that now I'm clear on what it is men want in a relationship and why.

Lesson learned: I was right to be concerned about my cold-loving friend.

It can get warm in Stuzzi.

Defining a Hot Bartender at Balliceaux

The local rag Brick provided a list of The Top Five Spots to Ditch a Lame Date and Find a New One, not something I was looking to do, but the explanation cracked me up. "Balliceaux: Skip to the back room bar...Flirt with hot bartender."

So instead, I found a girlfriend, we went to Balliceaux for Sunday supper and we sat at the front bar so I could tease my friend Austin about whether or not he qualifies as the hot bartender.

The real reason for my visit tonight was to hear Glows in the Dark, the only free jazz musicians I actually know and possibly the only ones in the area.

A lot of their music is based on movies and not everyone "gets" free jazz, but if you do, they're definitely worth checking out.

I hadn't seen them since last fall at Commercial Taphouse, not an ideal venue.

As I waited for my friend to arrive, the guy at the bar next to me asked what I was going to drink.

He told me I didn't want what he had (straight vodka, chilled) and I told him he was right; if I was going to have something straight up and chilled, it was going to be good tequila.

He promptly bought me a Corazon, which was as smooth as silk and defied every cliche about tequila I continue to hear from non-tequila drinkers.

Friend came and we perused the wine list where I was thrilled to see one of my absolute favorite wineries represented, K. Vintners out of Walla, Walla.

We ordered the 2008 Viognier, described as jasmine blossoms, wet stone and white peach aromas; it was heavenly.

Winemaker Charles Smith looks like a wild man and makes the most amazing wines.

I only wish they showed up on local wine lists more often. Kudos to Balliceaux for doing so.

For me, the options were limited for dinner because it was Sunday Supper and everything is large portions, designed for multiple people and my friend had already eaten.

I had a bowl of the spicy crab and coconut soup with tomato, red pepper and cilantro.

My friend tasted it and promptly ordered some for herself; it was that good.

I floated some bread chunks in it and ate it to the bottom.

Balliceaux is one of those places with an excellent dessert menu and after much deliberation, I chose the chocolate coconut tart, keeping the coconut theme going.

It was so dense, it could barely be penetrated with a fork.

The slivers of coconut meat atop it added a rich dimension to the very dark chocolate.

Only the chocolate cookie crust provided true sweetness; otherwise is was just the intensity of the flavors.

With Glows in the Dark wailing at the perfect volume for where we were sitting, we enjoyed being guinea pigs for Austin's mixology.

I'd never tasted St. Germaine, a cordial made of elderflower and with the most gorgeous, for lack of a better word, aroma and taste.

It was like drinking flower juice.

He also offered us a taste of a Negroni, made with Campari, gin and the French aperitif, Lillet, promising us a refreshing absence of sweetness and that's just what we got.

Meanwhile, I continued to tease him about his "hot" status.

In between Glows in the Dark's sets, Austin played music of his choice off his computer, which always works out well for me because our tastes are so similar.

As usual, we exchanged recent music find recommendations and discussed shows.

At one point when we were really enjoying an obscure song, a customer came up and asked him to lower the volume.

We both acknowledged that in our entire lives, we had never once made that request of anyone.

Now that I think about it, that must be what makes Austin such a hot bartender.

The rag was right.