A Word from Armond

Well to update everyone on my slip and fall injury I have a substantial tear in my right arm’s rotator cuff. If is painful and my range of motion is limited. This is a concern because my show season starts in the middle of March. I am hoping it s healed enough to set up and break down my exhibition. If not I will be putting out a call for an assistant for the shows. If you are interested please let me know.

This week I saw two movies; the Last Station and Fish Tank. The last Station was about Tolstoy. It was extraordinary. The opening scene had a warm romantic glow that I strongly favor in my own work. The movie only got better. Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren seemed to channel their characters. The story, the characters and the cinematography; all superb. I loved every frame.

On the other hand the Fish Tank was gritty and hard. It is about a 15 year old Mia. Even though the character is unsympathetic in the beginning her youth and warmth emerge as she tries to find her way through a maze of debilitating situations. It was OK. I am still deciding whether I thought it was a good movie or not.

To highlight the movies we had dinner at two our favorite restaurants. Panini’s on third and market is a small Italian restaurant with extremely fair prices for very good southern Italian dishes. simple but worth every penny. The second was Farmicia located on third just below market. This restaurant is special. Everything about it is thoughtful and well done. As we sat there finishing our dinner which consisted of appetizer portions of the capillini and tofu, which could not be more delicious and plentiful, we noted how comfortable and inviting the restaurant was. It took effort to leave such a warm and inviting place to go out into the winter night. We go there often and it has never wavered. It is one of my favorites.

Now to the  pizza. Last night( Saturday) Alice and I went with two close friends to Stella, a Steven Star Pizzeria on 2nd and Lombard. We arrived around 6:30. As we walked into the restaurant we hit a wall of noise that was so thick that I almost had to catch my breath. If Alice and I were alone we would have left. We were seated quickly as far in a corner as possible. Even though  we were able to get away from the noisy part of the restaurant we were not able to escape the conversation killing, and deafening drone of the music.

We order a Margaretta, a Spinach, and a Pistachio pizza; two salads and an espresso.

The pizzas were small ( good for 1 person),  bland with some hints of seasoning strongest in the pistachio, and $14.00. It was not near gourmet enough for that price. The best part of the pizza was a wonderfully baked thin crust. It was regrettable that the toppings were not as well done.

The salads were skimpy with hints of the promised cheese ingredient. The double espresso came up short. When we commented how little espresso was in a double the server commented ” you should see how small the single is”. Not very good customer relations!!

There are too many other places to go not only for better pizza but for a better value.

More later