t is for taking risks

some times you just have to do the crazy thing because it's the right thing - critics be damned! that sort of creative courage is hard to come by, i think. i mean, many people do insane things just to shock or otherwise provoke those around them, but that isn't particularly cool to me. neither is breaking rules for the hell of it. nor selfishly and recklessly disregarding how your behaviour affects others. those are super-childish things.

but doing something you need to do, despite how others might react, is in fact a deeply mature thing.

that's why this news story has impressed me so very much: a few guys got together and took stuffed crust pizza to very next logical level - buffalo-chicken-stuffed-crust pizza!!!

they tried three different variants of buffalo chicken, topped the pizzas with tomato sauce, lots of cheese, veggies, and even some meat, and offered a blue cheese sauce for dipping. the results of their ground-breaking, earth-shaking, and courageous experiment are recorded on their blog. do give it a read... i'm definitely tempted to try it myself!

inspired by the gentlemen at mealticket, i thought eating supper would be a good idea. for the second time in recent weeks, ashwyn and i tried to go to "bar on locke." no dice! so we ducked in at nearby il fiasco. so super!

we started off with the baked brie and fruit salsa. it was really a dry fruit salad but, all the same, the saltiness of the phyllo-wrapped cheese was cut by the sweet/tart combo of green and red apples, strawberries, and some other yummies. the brie and phyllo were in brilliant proportion! often one overwhelms the other, but not so here! i must add that it was very well constructed from an aesthetic point of view, as well :)

since ashwyn claims to be a vegetarian, he ordered the mediterranean pie - spinach, goat and feta cheese, roasted red peppers and phyllo. there was tomato sauce and pesto around the edges, and he seemed pretty happy. in case you're actually looking at the online menu, do note that the price has increased since the website was last updated.

i have few qualms of my omnivority, so i ordered the cashew crusted chicken stuffed with a goat-cheese-and-sundried-tomato paste and served with a small serving of a potato dish, green beans, carrots, broccoli, and zucchini. for starters, the crispy cashews and creamy stuffing were a beautiful contrast. the potato was surprising - technically it wasn't unlike a scalloped potato bake... but it wasn't creamy at all, and held together very well. it actually defies description!

some women who had been sitting near us had ordered maple creme brulee, and ashwyn followed suit. again, no complaints. meanwhile, i ordered passion fruit ice cream, in light of my recent discovery that this mysterious crop is as visually off-putting (inside) as it is tangy and delectable. (at corina's shower i brushed passion fruit guts on the asparagus to add notes of citrus-esque yum. mission accomplished!) the the dessert felt more like a sorbet than a dairy product. i was struck by the intense taste, which was essentially fresh and tart... not unlike myself!

in retrospect, there was a lot of dairy on our little table. il fiasco features cheese and seafood quite prominently, and also offers an impressive wine menu for such a teeny place. there are about ten seats up front, with a handful more at the bar, and more tables as one wanders toward the back. incidentally, the light fixture in the bathroom was beautiful! there are twinkly lights decorating the front space, and the decor is generally simple but somehow both warm and modern... not unlike myself!

il fiasco is definitely worth a return trip, in part because its menu offers many opportunities for exploration.

and i'm all about taking crazy risks.