Guess what? I ate more pizza!

After school, I was planning to get some dumpling for lunch but wasn't very hungry, and realized I might just be eating pizza all day....which was correct.

Stretching training continued along with 4 others, and breaking for assorted pizzas eaten with random people, friends of the owner, characters from the neighborhood, etc. I'm finding eating the same pizza every day fascinating, because it isn't quite the same pizza everyday -- L is experimenting with the length of proofing (rising) the dough, time in the oven, herb and aromatic choices, moving the pie in the oven as it cooks, putting olive wood sawdust in the oven to create a smokey flavor profile, etc.

Last night I designed a menu for the restaurant, based on L's rough notes on what he'd like to see. I've been a graphic designer for a decade or so, but I've only been learning about menu design and menu writing in the past month, so it's an interesting challenge -- and unlike a school exercise, I can't just make sh#t up, the menu has to summerize the whole friggin' restaurant, determine the tone, the scope, not to mention food costs and labor costs. We were too busy today to sit and talk, but hopefully tomorrow I can bounce all the questions I have off of L's noggin'.

The four others left and I remained behind to help L host a birthday dinner for his nephew and a large extended clan from Staten Island. Serious Italian Staten Islander, accents and Sopranos-vibes and everything. Seeing the large raucous family get along and really appreciate L made me think of just how much Jewish and Italian families have in common.

So this was basically the very first service in the restaurant -- 15 member os L's family. I stretched dough beside him, ran around the kitchen fetching him tools and platters, trying to anticipate before he asked -- y'know, the restaurant dance. I met a bunch of L's family, and I also met his daughter, a young woman with long dreadlocks who will be managing the front of house -- the service, waiters, hosts, captains, bussers, bartenders and barbacks. Though I haven't been hired yet, perhaps a similar position for me in back of house? Who knows?

And when I got home after 10pm, I made a batch of pizza dough for the dinner I'm cooking Friday night for B and her friends....

BREAKFAST: 7am, 2 freezer waffles, banana, quart of water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 10am, street donut stick thing, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 1:30pm, slice of white pie with fresh tomato, slice of Sicilian, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:30pm, 1 slice Sicilian, small sprite, cup of latte de mandorla, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
L got a bottle of almond milk syrup, which was diluted into 6 parts water into a milky white sweet drink, kind of like a liquid almond cookie. Maybe a gratis apertif after a heavy pizza meal?

EVENING SNACK: 10:15pm, large bowl of baby carrots with side of potato chips, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5