Thursday night we had Indian take away.<\/p>\n
We sat in the restaurant opposite Olympic Studios nursing drinks as the chef
prepared our meal.\u00c2\u00a0 And then we got into Harry’s BMW and retreated to his
domicile.\u00c2\u00a0 Just shy of midnight we broke out the containers and feasted.\u00c2\u00a0 It was
just a local joint, but it was better than anything you ever get in L.A.<\/p>\n
And then Harry showed me his house.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s the kind of modern structure you
find in California.\u00c2\u00a0 All concrete and glass.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s contrary to your preconceived
image of dark and dank England.\u00c2\u00a0 We went out into the garden, the sky was
full of stars.\u00c2\u00a0 At this late hour it felt like college, owning the world when its
old inhabitants had relinquished it, having gone to bed.<\/p>\n
Then we sat down in Harry’s living room.\u00c2\u00a0 And continued our conversation.\u00c2\u00a0
About life, love and the music business.\u00c2\u00a0 Harry couldn’t stop talking about the
restaurant we were going to the following night.\u00c2\u00a0 Just around the corner in
Barnes.<\/p>\n
Seemed kind of odd to me.\u00c2\u00a0 It was almost as if Harry was a partner.\u00c2\u00a0 The way
he waxed rhapsodic.\u00c2\u00a0 With a gleam in his eye like you’ve got when you’re
speaking of the show of the decade.\u00c2\u00a0 I rode with it.\u00c2\u00a0 Listening to how it was his
hangout.\u00c2\u00a0 How he’d been going for nearly fifteen years.\u00c2\u00a0 How he even went to
the owner’s sister place on Lake Como.\u00c2\u00a0 The more he spoke it seemed like a cult
rather than a restaurant.\u00c2\u00a0 It obviously meant that much to him.\u00c2\u00a0 I doubted it
would mean that much to me.<\/p>\n
The following morning, after going to bed close to four, Harry dropped me off
at the train station.\u00c2\u00a0 For my trip to Brighton.<\/p>\n
There was no ticket counter.\u00c2\u00a0 I was getting anxious.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d get on the train
and the conductor wouldn’t take a credit card.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d be kicked off in some
godforsaken suburb without a cell phone, unable to contact anybody I knew.<\/p>\n
But Harry assured me it would be all right.\u00c2\u00a0 To just tell the story.\u00c2\u00a0 How I
couldn’t pay where I started.\u00c2\u00a0 I kept imploring him, this wasn’t going to WORK!<\/p>\n
There was no conductor on the train.\u00c2\u00a0 When I switched at the Clapham Bridge
station I avoided the conductors, fearful of being busted, even though I wanted
to ask where the bathroom was.<\/p>\n
And when I got to Brighton there were these electronic turnstiles.\u00c2\u00a0 Within
which you inserted your ticket.\u00c2\u00a0 For exit.\u00c2\u00a0 I was on the wrong side without a
ducat.\u00c2\u00a0 Up shit’s creek without a paddle.\u00c2\u00a0 Finally I saw an information booth on
my side of the border.\u00c2\u00a0 I strode up and laid out my story to this gentleman
who couldn’t seem to be bothered.\u00c2\u00a0 But after telling my tale, he asked whether
I wanted a "return" (that’s round-trip for those not Anglophiles) and said it
was fifteen pounds from Barnes Bridge, where I’d begun.\u00c2\u00a0 I wondered…\u00c2\u00a0 Could
I have told him I’d started just up the road, in Croydon, would it have made
any difference?<\/p>\n
I was surprised by Brighton.\u00c2\u00a0 I expected the train to stop by the water.\u00c2\u00a0 To
be confronted by a quaint seaside resort.\u00c2\u00a0 But my vessel dead-ended in a city.
Alison and I had to walk a mile to the water.\u00c2\u00a0 Which was properly
forbidding.\u00c2\u00a0 You wouldn’t think of swimming in it.\u00c2\u00a0 And, as per legend, the beach was all rocks.\u00c2\u00a0 You wouldn’t want to go barefoot.\u00c2\u00a0 And, after lunch at a fish place
we went out on the pier.\u00c2\u00a0 With Alison pointing out all the "Quadrophenia"
landmarks.<\/p>\n
After touring the Pavilion, King George’s palace, I hopped on the train for
my ride back to Barnes Bridge.\u00c2\u00a0 Where Harry was waiting.\u00c2\u00a0 I felt taken care of.
And it felt good.<\/p>\n
Our reservation wasn’t until nine.\u00c2\u00a0 Since Harry wanted to pack for Tobago
first.\u00c2\u00a0 But while I did my back exercises, Harry answered e-mail.\u00c2\u00a0 And by the
time Serena arrived, the time of our assignation had passed.\u00c2\u00a0 After she opted out
of dinner, we went to Richard’s house to drop off birthday cards and then on
to Riva.<\/p>\n
Like Brighton, Riva didn’t fit my mental image.\u00c2\u00a0 It was more New York than
L.A.\u00c2\u00a0 It wasn’t glitzy, it wasn’t even polished.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d say it was COMFORTABLE!\u00c2\u00a0
And I’m not trained to get a good meal in a comfort zone.\u00c2\u00a0 I expect to be
DAZZLED!<\/p>\n
We strode to the back of the restaurant.\u00c2\u00a0 Harry said it would be no problem
that we missed our reservation by almost an hour.\u00c2\u00a0 Andrea would take care of us.<\/p>\n
We were seated at a table by the kitchen.\u00c2\u00a0 Not up front where you can be seen
upon entrance, but close to the hearth.<\/p>\n
And we immediately got into a conversation with Stuart.\u00c2\u00a0 Sitting next to us
with his girlfriend.\u00c2\u00a0 It seemed strange that Harry actually KNEW a fellow
diner, one not in the music business.\u00c2\u00a0 But it turned out they’d spent many late
evenings there together.<\/p>\n
And then this tall drink of water came over and asked if we wanted to see a
menu.\u00c2\u00a0 Harry looked at me.\u00c2\u00a0 And asked if it was all right if we just let Andrea
pick the dishes.\u00c2\u00a0 After nodding my assent, the server disappeared, and we sat
back and continued the previous night’s conversation.\u00c2\u00a0 Trying to figure out
the game of love.<\/p>\n
And then came a CONCOCTION!\u00c2\u00a0 A home made drippy cheese resembling fondue.\u00c2\u00a0
Only this "fondue" had truffles on top.\u00c2\u00a0 And was surrounded by home made FRITOS!
Oh, at first I was stunned.\u00c2\u00a0 That they’d be serving FRITOS in a place like
this.\u00c2\u00a0 But sensing my surprise Harry told me they were made from scratch.<\/p>\n
Imagine sitting at your dining room table.\u00c2\u00a0 On a cold winter night.\u00c2\u00a0 Dipping
warm Fritos in an exquisite dip exceeding any chip sauce you’ve ever
experienced.\u00c2\u00a0 Put a smile on my face.\u00c2\u00a0 Made me feel rooted.\u00c2\u00a0 Like everything in the
world was all right.<\/p>\n
And then came the mozzarella.<\/p>\n
What can I tell you.\u00c2\u00a0 This mozzarella defined the art.\u00c2\u00a0 Truly.\u00c2\u00a0 The exterior
was soft.\u00c2\u00a0 The interior more firm.\u00c2\u00a0 This was the gold standard.\u00c2\u00a0 I was
laughing as I acknowledged that this was the best I’d ever had.\u00c2\u00a0 And when I thought the waitress was removing the remnants it turned out I was wrong.\u00c2\u00a0 She came to complain.\u00c2\u00a0 That we were leaving thirty five pounds worth of truffles on the
plate.\u00c2\u00a0 That we had to eat them up.<\/p>\n
And then came the cod.\u00c2\u00a0 Encased in a light cheese.\u00c2\u00a0 Everything was exotic.\u00c2\u00a0
Everything was top-notch.<\/p>\n
And it was while savoring these appetizers that our waitress told us a story.
She was exasperated.\u00c2\u00a0 At the men sitting at the table up front.\u00c2\u00a0 They’d
asked her how long she’d worked there.\u00c2\u00a0 And after stating fourteen years one of
the attendees uttered "Can’t you find something BETTER?"\u00c2\u00a0 It was this sharing of
a confidence that intrigued me.\u00c2\u00a0 This wasn’t an automaton.\u00c2\u00a0 She was a real
person.\u00c2\u00a0 Opening up to us.\u00c2\u00a0 Well, Harry.\u00c2\u00a0 I was along for the ride.\u00c2\u00a0 But when
she came back next I couldn’t hold back.\u00c2\u00a0 She’d told the guy she had a major in
literature, that she LIKED working at Riva.\u00c2\u00a0 Where did she get said degree?<\/p>\n
Well, she did one year in the U.K. and five years in Poland.\u00c2\u00a0 THAT explained
it.\u00c2\u00a0 I couldn’t quite figure out the accent.<\/p>\n
And after devouring what had been served Andrea, the maitre d’, the owner of
the establishment, he came over for a consultation.\u00c2\u00a0 He wanted to know.\u00c2\u00a0 Did
we want some beef?\u00c2\u00a0 Did we want some pig?<\/p>\n
It was too late to be eating steak.\u00c2\u00a0 And since they were referring to it as
pig not pork, I wasn’t excited.\u00c2\u00a0 I wanted to steer Harry away from the barnyard
animal.\u00c2\u00a0 I asked Andrea to tell me about the fish.\u00c2\u00a0 After hearing there were
scallops, I was sold.\u00c2\u00a0 I love the rubbery mollusks.\u00c2\u00a0 But Harry wasn’t
convinced.\u00c2\u00a0 So Andrea gave us more information.\u00c2\u00a0 They were DIVER’S scallops.\u00c2\u00a0 Fresh today.\u00c2\u00a0 Harry assented.\u00c2\u00a0 I agreed to a deal.\u00c2\u00a0 We’d get the scallops AND the pig.<\/p>\n
I was worried the scallops would be boring.\u00c2\u00a0 The usual plump half dollar
gelatinous bivalves.\u00c2\u00a0 But these scallops…\u00c2\u00a0 They had texture!\u00c2\u00a0 They were almost
stringy.\u00c2\u00a0 They had a full-bodied taste.\u00c2\u00a0 They were 11’s on a scale of 10.<\/p>\n
But they were no match for the pig.\u00c2\u00a0 The pig DEFINED succulent.\u00c2\u00a0 There were
pre-cut strips.\u00c2\u00a0 And then more meat on a bone.\u00c2\u00a0 It was so tender it melted in
your mouth.\u00c2\u00a0 And it was accompanied by a bowl of radicchio and apples.\u00c2\u00a0 A
savory counterbalance to the sweetness of the pig.<\/p>\n
But the piece de resistance…\u00c2\u00a0 It was the dessert.\u00c2\u00a0 A special Riva
concoction.\u00c2\u00a0 Fried ice cream.\u00c2\u00a0 Coffee ice cream.\u00c2\u00a0 With nuts.\u00c2\u00a0 All bathed in a shower of
VINEGAR!\u00c2\u00a0 I was game, but I wasn’t a believer.\u00c2\u00a0 Until the balance of sweet
and sour hit my taste buds.\u00c2\u00a0 EUREKA!<\/p>\n
This was the best meal I’ve had in fifteen years.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not that I remember
one as good, it’s just that I’m not sure I can remember before that.\u00c2\u00a0 Every
course was either a 10 or 11.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve been to the finest restaurants in L.A., I’ve
never had anything like this.<\/p>\n
Just before dessert Stuart got up to leave.\u00c2\u00a0 Harry asked him how business was.<\/p>\n
Stuart put out his hand.\u00c2\u00a0 And lifted it up and up.<\/p>\n
Harry was confused.\u00c2\u00a0 He asked Stuart to explain.<\/p>\n
With oil at $65 a barrel, his business providing steel to the energy industry
was going BONKERS!\u00c2\u00a0 I pondered this.\u00c2\u00a0 This was the kind of guy you read about
in "Esquire".\u00c2\u00a0 A man dressed in denim who had more money than most
neighborhoods.\u00c2\u00a0 Talking about playing golf in China.\u00c2\u00a0 Meeting with ministers there.<\/p>\n
And then Harry had Andrea bring over the pictures.\u00c2\u00a0 Of the place on Lake Como.<\/p>\n
It’s open eight months a year.\u00c2\u00a0 There are fewer than ten rooms.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not for
the general public, it’s for Andrea’s customers, his friends.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, he’s got
to charge them, but that’s not what it’s about.\u00c2\u00a0 Actually, it was just about
then that he slipped Harry the bill.\u00c2\u00a0 Which must have been tough for him.\u00c2\u00a0
Switching from friend mode to business.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, not TOO hard.<\/p>\n
And by this time it was past midnight.\u00c2\u00a0 The place was empty.\u00c2\u00a0 We started to
talk celebrities.<\/p>\n
Harry had told me of the night he’d brought Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton.\u00c2\u00a0
His stock had gone up in Andrea’s book that evening.<\/p>\n
And unlike L.A. restaurateurs, Andrea started boasting about his clientele.\u00c2\u00a0
The night Willie Nelson arrived.\u00c2\u00a0 He ended up going to the hospital for some
reason that evening, after all, he’s an elderly gentleman, but he was back the
very next day.<\/p>\n
And Robert DeNiro…\u00c2\u00a0 He was partaking of everything.\u00c2\u00a0 Andrea kept serving
and Robert kept eating.<\/p>\n
And Madonna and Guy Ritchie.<\/p>\n
And Spike from down the block.<\/p>\n
It was like L.A. on steroids.<\/p>\n
And when we’d covered the pages of the gossip rags we switched to love.\u00c2\u00a0
Andrea was giving us his philosophy.\u00c2\u00a0 Instructing us how to behave.<\/p>\n
And this is when Sandra started listening in.\u00c2\u00a0 The other server.\u00c2\u00a0 Along with
the Polish woman who had disappeared.<\/p>\n
Sandra was intently paying attention.\u00c2\u00a0 And then she uttered advice.<\/p>\n
So, I asked her.\u00c2\u00a0 Was SHE married.<\/p>\n
She said yes.\u00c2\u00a0 But that she didn’t live with her husband.<\/p>\n
I figured it was one of those L.A. green card type things.\u00c2\u00a0 She kept smiling,
like she had a child’s secret.<\/p>\n
But then Harry asked what it would take for her husband to get back into the
country.<\/p>\n
The story had taken an unforeseen turn.<\/p>\n
Being that we were the only ones there, I probed for more information.\u00c2\u00a0 The
government had kicked him out.\u00c2\u00a0 But it didn’t sound bad until I found out
Sandra was from BOSNIA!\u00c2\u00a0 Not only was her husband back there, but their child too.\u00c2\u00a0 Living with her mother.<\/p>\n
It was so sad.\u00c2\u00a0 So unlike L.A.\u00c2\u00a0 There’d been a war.\u00c2\u00a0 Had she escaped it?\u00c2\u00a0 If
she wouldn’t go back it still couldn’t be too good.\u00c2\u00a0 These are issues that
don’t face us here.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ve got it good.\u00c2\u00a0 We lament we can’t afford a Mercedes.\u00c2\u00a0
We’re insulated from life and death issues.<\/p>\n
And then Andrea started putting on his tie.\u00c2\u00a0 Which flummoxed me.\u00c2\u00a0 Since it
was approaching one.<\/p>\n
And then he got antsy.\u00c2\u00a0 He wanted to wrap it up.<\/p>\n
I huddled with Harry.\u00c2\u00a0 What was this about?<\/p>\n
Andrea had to hit the CLUBS!<\/p>\n
The bars close at two in L.A.\u00c2\u00a0 It didn’t even cross my mind.<\/p>\n
And then we were all out on the sidewalk.\u00c2\u00a0 Andrea strode off to his car.\u00c2\u00a0
Sandra seemed to be waiting for a bus.\u00c2\u00a0 And we got back into Harry’s BMW.\u00c2\u00a0 Where
he asked me personal questions and I answered them.\u00c2\u00a0 Because, really, you just
want someone to listen to you.\u00c2\u00a0 Tell them your innermost feelings.<\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thursday night we had Indian take away. We sat in the restaurant opposite Olympic Studios nursing drinks as the chef prepared our meal.\u00c2\u00a0 And then we got into Harry’s BMW and retreated to his domicile.\u00c2\u00a0 Just shy of midnight we broke out the containers and feasted.\u00c2\u00a0 It was just a local joint, but it was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-31","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}