17 June 2017
After that nice trip to Montana (despite that joke of a steak), I headed back East, landing at Newark on a stormy late afternoon. A busy day later, I headed to Englewood, ostensibly for a concert celebrating the life of someone very dear to me, the late great John Wetton. It saddened me greatly that this hero of mine had died after a brave fight against cancer and the resulting sepsis; I knew that day standing at the Vatican that something had happened, and I was right…
But before the concert I needed to fuel up a bit, knowing I’ll get sloshed at some point, so I went for a hearty dinner at the nearby restaurant Sofia. A nice place, lots of other folks in town for the concert so it was a nice few hours there. Cocktails weren’t bad, though the service was a bit odd; some rather nice folks, a few dour ones, and one downright unpleasant…
But the food made up for it, evidenced by this veal chop. Far better than that joke of a steak in Helena a few days earlier. Cooked nicely, very tasty. A side of sprouts made this a necessarily filling dinner, having skipped lunch earlier…
But I had to run out quick because I had to meet a friend before the show, but by now the service had deteriorated a bit and took ages to get my bill. I paid and ran out the door towards the venue.
I enjoyed aspects of the concert, despite moments that were tough emotionally. Still remember first time I met him in Virginia in the mid 1990s, during both of our very heavy drinking days. He quit. I didn’t. Frankly I’m surprised that he’s the one gone and I’m still wandering this ball of dirt we call Earth…
I left the concert drained, and I actually went back to Sofia because I had left my card there after rushing out (because I was running late). So I stayed for a few more drinks, took a nice late-night snack of stuffed hot peppers to go (they were good), and went back to my hotel and held down a spot at the bar until way too late…
I can’t imagine why I would go back to Englewood, but if I have another gig to go at the Bergen PAC, this is definitely a good place to eat. Highly recommended. Tho that hangover…
Sofia
36 Engle Street
Englewood, New Jersey
PS: I headed out for a 2.5-day trek after that, exploring the mountains of northern Pennsylvania and southern New York, dealing with bad roads in horrible downpours, climbing steep hills that were far more treacherous when hiking downhill, and tolerating more bad food that I won’t waste my time for reviews…but that closed off this long, 4-part trip that took me from Omaha/Des Moines to Seattle to Montana first…
melhuang1972 