The Monthly Pasta Blowout (Postponed)

Hotshoe Wannabe and I try to meet for lunch in St. Charles, IL, once a month.  It has the merits of being equidistant from our homes, a nice drive for both of us, the site of a good local history museum, and a "dealership row."  Most importantly, it is home to Za-Za's, our favorite Italian restaurant.

We weren't able to meet in April or May.  You would think that two retired geezers would be able to clear their calendars on a monthly if not weekly basis.  But one or the other of us had other obligations. I hear that Missouri had its wettest May in history.  Illinois should get Honorable Mention, and my Mustang doesn't go out in the rain.

We finally pulled it off this week.  After inspecting three Focus ST's at the Ford dealership (Hotshoe reports that he's leaning toward a new ST instead of further upgrading his 2003 Focus), we adjourned to the restaurant to speak gearhead for two hours.  I put 86 miles on the Mustang with the top down.
A day well-spent.

The County Road has been repaved.  Yea!  If you sense some cognitive dissonance between the Dragon sticker and
this car on this road heading toward this horizon-line, you sense right.  The scenery gets better along the Fox River.

Mussels and clams in scratch-made red sauce with a hint of garlic.  Hotshoe and I will eat almost anything in scratch-
made red sauce with a hint of garlic, but we keep coming back to this deliciousness after forays through the rest of the
menu.  One of several reasons we like Za-Za's is that you pretty much can't miss, no matter what you order.

The square outside Za-Za's (which itself features al fresco dining).  Nineteenth Century industrial limestone and
sandstone, nicely repurposed to Twenty-First Century professional office and commercial space.  "I love these old river
towns!" said Pilote.  "Every town was a picturesque old river town once," replied Hotshoe.  Good point.  We have been
watching the Yuppification of the Fox and Illinois River Valleys for over two decades.  Lunches at Za-Za's cost $12.
I've noticed the same trend in my old home town in Northeastern Ohio.  And in Minneapolis.  Just the same, all props
to St. Charles for creating traffic-free walkable enclaves next to the river.