Friday 5ive- July 23, 2021

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention this week.

1)  We went to a restaurant with friends in Harrison on Saturday, Emilio Ristorante. The food was fabulous, starting with my so-very-thinly-sliced eggplant parmesan appetizer on to my cingale (wild boar) ravioli entree. We've only had cingale in Italy, and this was so tasty. Our party of six drank a lot of great wine, and we had a lot of laughs with the affable owner, Sergio. There was also much
commiserating from the Mets fans at the table, who are fervently hoping for a World Series appearance this year. We'll see.... 

 Photo from Emilio's Instagram account

2) I finished another virtual ride, this one was Tahoe to Malibu, a 700 mile ride. I started it on May 1st and finished it on July 11th. On to my next challenge, Route 66, a 2200 mile ride, which should take me almost a year to complete. 

3) Walking to get my hair cut, I saw this ad in a window on 3rd Ave. for Last Summer at the Golden Hotel, a terrific summer read from Elyssa Friedland. I get so excited when I see book ads in the wild.  This delightful novel is for fans of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Dirty Dancing, and Schitt's Creek.

4)  We watched Dr. Death, a limited series on Peacock, based on a popular podcast. Joshua Jackson stars as a Texas surgeon who maimed and killed several of his patients before he was stopped by two doctors, played by Christian Slater and Alec Baldwin. The doctor moved from hospital to hospital, and the big question became was he just incompetent or a sociopath? The medical powers-that-be are indicted in this true crime story because they covered up his actions and let him move on to another facility with impunity. The acting is very good, but I would have preferred that the story was told in chronological order. True crime podcast fans will like this one. 

5) I finished two books this week. The first was Jennifer Ryan's The Kitchen Front, a novel set in WWII near London. Four women are recruited to enter a cooking contest, the prize is co-hosting a popular radio show on the BBC, called The Kitchen Front. Audrey is a widow struggling to provide for her two sons, and this would allow her to keep her home. Her sister, Lady Geraldine, is married to a powerful man in the town who rules over her with an iron fist. Zelda is a displaced rising London chef, now working as the head cook in  the local factory. Nell is a young cook working in Lady Geraldine's home. It's a good story of female friendship and resilience, and my book club is discussing it today.

Sara Ackerman's Radar Girls is also set in WWII, but in Hawaii, right after the Pearl Harbor attack. Local women are enlisted to work, learning how to read radar signals and assist the pilots fighting the Japanese. Fans of Kate Quinn's The Rose Code will find themselves drawn to this intriguing story. My full review publishes on July 26th. 

I hope you are all staying safe and healthy, and that you have gotten your vaccine if you are able. It will keep us all safe.