the week ends, and I keep going.

It's been quite the weekend. I've done far more than normal this weekend, in this sort of mad effort to keep busy, to keep happy, to keep distracted. It's working, somewhat. I've had some great times with great people. I'm very fortunate to have such wonderful friends.

Since my marathon update on Friday morning, I've eaten pizza twice. Both times on Friday. The first pizza was the aforementioned Lean Cuisine, and then the second pizza experience was super-bonus surprise pizza awesomeness.


Let's start with the Lean Cuisine, since I've left you all waiting on this one.

So, let's first address the elephant in the room. It's a Lean Cuisine pizza. It's a small, diet-friendly, frozen pizza in a box that origamis itself into a "crisping tray." It's there for you in 3 minutes flat, and at only 300 calories.

Guess what?

It was pretty good! In fact, I'd even say it was better than the pizza I ate at Franklin's last weekend. Why? Well, for starters, even the Lean Cuisine managed to present itself as having a crust touched by human hands at some point in it's little, frozen life by not being perfectly round. An illusion, no doubt, but worth noting. It looked more homemade.

The cheese managed to taste like cheese, rather than gummy plastic, and it had some relatively "fresh" looking tomatoes on top. The crisping tray really didn't do much for the pizza's crispiness, however, and the crust, despite looking like a real, hand-tossed crust, had the flavor of a soggy saltine cracker. But, hey. I like saltines!

It was, by all measures, a satisfying lunch pizza, and though it was far from perfect, I would probably eat it again.


Now, onto the more fun pizza review.

So, this being a long weekend, my original plans involved Jack coming to visit and us having a good time together and perhaps trying a pizza place out. Of course, this didn't happen. It hit me at some point on Friday that I had to take urgent measures to avoid spending the evening at home feeling sorry and heartbroken.
I texted.
I updated my gchat message.
I posted on Facebook, twice.
I was striking out, running out of time and options, and preparing myself for a night in sweatpants watching crappy movies on cable when....

Jeremy, of Orange Iguanas fame, answered my prayers. He just happened to see my plea on Facebook, and texted me right away. It was like double-luck, too, considering that Jeremy is a person that I do not get to hang out with much, despite always having a great time in his company. It just never seems to pull through, even though we regularly make efforts. Extra bonus? Kevin, also of kickball fame (and a fellow Michigander!), was going to be there as well.

His text promised happy hour fun, to celebrate his girlfriend's new job. Little did I know, there was also Matchbox pizza planned for the evening.

Now, some pizza related backstory. When I first proposed my pizza eating plans, many pointed out to me that DC is not a city known for its pizza. In fact, there is a dearth of good pizza in the greater DC area. However, many cited Matchbox pizza as a shining exception to DC's bad pizza-ness, landing it near the top of my places to try first.

People, it did not disappoint.

There were three pies ordered. One pepperoni (which disappeared really quickly, and amongst comments such as "the pepperoni is so spicy and crisp!") one "Fire and Smoke," and one Margherita (ordered because I didn't realize that the Fire and Smoke was, indeed, a vegetarian pie.)

So, the basics. The crust? Great. Thin, chewy, with some nice blistering from the oven. The sauce? Fresh, chunky, and tomato-y, with great flavor, but a little heavy handed (it made the pizza just a bit more soggy than I would have liked). The cheese? We'll review this per pizza, but the fresh mozzerella on the margherita was great, and they wisely allowed it to stand on it's own (I hate places that try to mix the fresh mozz with the regular cheese. Lame, guys!). The thin strips of fresh basil were also great.

Now, as mentioned, the margherita wasn't the best pizza margherita I've ever had...it was a bit too saucy for my tastes--I don't want my pizza to be more saucy than me, ever. But the Fire and Smoke...let me describe pizza heaven to you.

This pizza comes topped with hot red peppers, garlic puree, onions, an extra spicy red sauce, and smoked gouda cheese. It is extraordinarily pungent, perfectly firey hot, and suuuuper flavorful. The smoked gouda really added an amazing flavor to the pizza, one that I'd not experienced before. The smokiness added a slightly meaty quality without it actually being meaty, and it balanced with the spice so nicely. The onions (which were, if memory serves me correctly, red onions?) were perfectly tender-crisp, and having that much garlic on a pizza shouldn't be allowed, but I'm happy it is. I would eat this pizza again and again and again. That said, I know it's not for everyone--Jeremy and Cassi, with their strong aversion to onions, were not fans. And anyone sensitive to spicy foods would have died after a bite. But for me, it was heavenly.

Anyhow, the meal was great, and it was good to be with such fun and funny friends (Kevin, please do open Shenanigans). In addition to the good food, we discussed good beer (oh Hopslam! How magical you are!) and many other things that are good. Go Orange Iguanas!


Saturday, I went salsa dancing with Steven and Irene, which was a great time. My feet really hurt by the end of the night, and despite the dancing being suuuper fun, it's a bit embarrassing on some level to be doing something that makes you feel so thoroughly uncoordinated, rhythmless, and awkward as you're learning. Sexiest dance in the world? Not when I'm doing it. But, I want to learn and get better at it, because it was really, really fun. It also puts me out of my comfort zone and shell a bit in a healthy way, I think, since I get really shy and self-conscious in crowded settings, and also get pretty uncomfortable with what I'll call "social touching." You know, the stuff that's normal, like handshakes and friendly hugs? They freak me out a little bit. Definitely can't have that though in a salsa club. I felt a bit loosened-up, socially, by the end of the night, and that's a good thing.

Now, it's off to a sushi-filled girls night with Sarah, Emily, and Alison. Look at how social I've been this weekend? It's like I'm starting over or something (please don't wince at that.)