Sauerkraut pizza

I've got one last out, one last personal indulgence before tomorrow. Pizza.

When G called on Monday - I joked that if he came to the funeral, I'd make him go to the local pizzeria and have their specialty: sauerkraut pizza. "Least something good could come out of this, I could finally win you over." G said he'd try it, and I'd been planning for this ever since.

It's not as selfish as it sounds, I wanted to do something to acknowledge my out of town friends. These are people who've maybe spoken to my dad once or twice, but are coming up out of respect for the family. I wanted to make sure we had time to visit.

So it's pizza, sauerkraut pizza to be exact. A local delicacy that the mind recoils from and the taste buds adore.

When I was a kid, the only pizza we had at our house was those Chef Boyardee pizza kits, and mom always made them with cheddar cheese. Needless to say, the first time I went to dad's hometown pizza joint - I was hooked for life. Any other pizza I've had, at best it's a distant second to Frankie's on the east end of town.

C and his wife were delayed, they had a clothes mix-up and had to buy C a shirt in Duluth, so I start by connecting with G and his wife at their hotel. They're great, and I relax immediately. I love my family, but it's easier to feel normal around my friends.

C, his wife, and presumably his new shirt all arrive and we head out for za.

I've been talking the place up, and fretting about how we'll get in (I've called for pizza at 6pm and was told it won't be ready until 9pm) so I'm more than a bit surprised to see the place is deserted. All my life, this place is a place you need a crowbar to get into, and if the wait was two hours, you found something to do and came back.

As soon as we step in it occurs to me, I've only been here on the weekend - we've never lived in this town - so I've only ever come at peak days and times.

We're here at nine-thirty on a Thursday. Not even the local die-hards are here.

I order one with sauerkraut and one with everything else, and the gang gamely gobbles both down. All claim to enjoy the sauerkraut pizza - although, given the circumstances, I doubt any would complain if they were allergic.

It's great to see everyone, and they're all just like I remember them, only thinner. We have a good meal, goof off with the help, and are generally obnoxious. Hell, there's no one else there, we own the place. We break up outside and say our goodbyes 'til tomorrow.

'Best two hours I've had all week.

< Previous   Next >