Last night saw Billy Joel in concert. It was a perfect night at the outdoor amphitheater for the occasion, about 75, slight breeze. Had seats in the lawn/grass part of the concert, but the sound system was so good, I don’t think it really mattered that much where you sat.
All in all, me and the packed place seemed to have a great time. The huge monitors showed close ups of Billy playing the piano, and man can that dude play the piano. Amazing.
I hadn’t been to a Billy Joel concert in like 20 years. He’s lost a bit of hair, seems a lot more humble and was very funny on stage telling jokes between songs. It was the first time he’d ever been to the beach. And he played and sounded much like he did back in his 30’s. I hope I can ‘perfom’ that well when I am 60.
On an interesting side note, his much younger wife went the same college that I did back in Oxford, OH, but I didn’t know her.
Anyway, the songs were the usual and the audience seemed to know most of the words. A good time was had by nearly all.
June 22nd, 2008
In a moment of optimism for something ‘healthier’, at least a rationalization for it, I ordered a Papa Johns whole wheat crust pizza. I went Hawaiian (pineapple and ham) with some added beef for more flavor. Ok, so not exactly healthy, the pizza was unique to say the least.
First of all, there was an unusual smell compared to the regular original crust. That should have been my first clue.
I have tried many ‘whole wheat’ products in the past. And usually they taste slightly better then cardboard. There is a reason that we use white flour - for ‘taste’ and ‘texture’. But I figured Papa Johns wouldn’t possibly put out a product that tastes slightly better than cardboard.
Well, uh, nice try Papa John, but I successfully ’struggled’ through the first piece. Somehow I think maybe a thinner crust or a ‘blend’ with less whole wheat would deliver much better results. Whole wheat has a way of ‘dominating’ the taste of whatever you put it in. And in this case, Papa Johns pizza was no exception.
Now, interestingly enough, there were 2 definite positive things I noticed.
#1) I couldn’t eat more than 1 or 2 slices at a time, because it was so dense. And I also couldn’t eat it very fast, because of the whole wheat factor. It really made me chew the pizza more. This is probably a good thing in the long run.
#2) The pizza tasted MUCH BETTER the second day after sitting all night in the refrigerator. I warmed a slice up in the toaster oven and I almost got used to the ‘new’ flavor. I even ate 2 pieces this time.
So, all in all, my review of their whole wheat pizza is that they need to go back to the drawing board and change the ratio or make it a thin crust of something.
If you are thinking about ordering this version of their pizza, be warned it does not taste ANYTHING like their original pizza. It is edible, but I don’t really know if it was truly enjoyable.
Kudos anyway for attempting something ‘healthier’…
June 1st, 2008