The Angela Bofill Experience at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA

She topped the charts in the 1980's with the voice of an angel and the looks of a bombshell.  Even after her star faded a bit here in the US during the 90's and 00's, she still widely performed internationally.  But in 2006 her star crashed to the ground when she had the first of her two strokes.  Even so, over the years I - and many others, apparently - wondered what became of her.  It also made me wonder - again - what happened to someone else.

Angella Bofill's voice has the ability to stir places in one's heart that have been fortified for years in self-defense.  Tonight I Give In is filled with almost painful joy, I'm on Your Side makes one ready to enter battle for a loved one and declare your undying loyalty, and This Time I'll be Sweeter can drop you to your knees remembering past remorse.  I know - sounds dramatic.  But these songs can really make you feel.  Give each of the three below a chance.  You don't have to listen to each song in its entirety to get the gist of the emotion and the voice.

Tonight I Give In (Actual Video with her singing on Soul Train)

I'm on Your Side (Audio only)

This Time I'll be Sweeter (Audio only)

This daughter of a Cuban-American father and a Puerto Rican mother grew up in The Bronx where she started performing in her teens.  She wrote much of her music and used it to showcase her 3 1/2 octave range.  After her 2006 stroke, and her second stroke the following year, that wonderful voice was silenced.  "Angie," as she is know to her friends, could not walk or speak for three years.  During those three years she lived in a rehab facility.

After being released from the rehab facility, Bofill moved in with her baby sister in California.  Friends saw her getting depressed and doing nothing in life.  They encouraged her to put together the Angela Bofill Experience, which is what I saw.  During this show, a wonderful singer named Maysa sang Bofill's classics - in a voice that rivaled Bofill's.  (She was truly amazing.)  Bofill's role was to briefly describe the origin of the songs, why she wrote them, etc.  This part of the evening was painful.

While Bofill's speech is back, it is very labored.  She speaks in very simple, incomplete sentences.  If you cringe with compassion when you hear Dick Clark speak on New Year's Eve, you would do a double-wince to hear Bofill.  She also needed some prompting by Maysa when it was her turn to speak, almost as if she was a little confused.  And watching Bofill get out of the wheelchair and back in it?  Ugh.  I felt like a voyeur as the clock seemed to tick loudly while the audience held its collective breath.

At one point Bofill played the cowbell with her one functioning arm.  At first I thought, "Look what she's been reduced to" but then I realized, "Hey, she's out there, back in front of an audience that loves her decades after her heyday.  Good for her!"  Even if she was mostly watching someone else perform her songs, she was showered with applause by the audience.

Angela Bofill (left) watching Maysa perform the Bofill hits

A few newspapers, including The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer, published articles about this Angela Bofill Experience that were interesting to read.  This experience and the articles made me wonder about a woman I didn't even know.  Bofill's music reminds me of her...although not for reasons you may think.

Back in the 80's I frequented a bar where I would often go after my evening of (college) studying ended because I liked the bartender.  This was a small and quiet bar that never had a lot of patrons during the week.  One night, a woman came in and sat at the far end of the bar by herself.  This meant there were only three of us there.

This woman ordered a drink, got quarters, and played Angela Bofill over and over again.  When the jukebox stopped, the woman got up and put more quarters in.  In between, she often sat with her head on the bar in obvious emotional pain.  Every now and then, she would raise her head - eyes closed - and sing to Bofill's songs in such a beautiful voice.  One song - I'm pretty sure it was I'm on Your Side - made her cry.  I'll never forget the quiet tears rolling down her cheeks.  I now realize she was probably grieving for the loss of  a relationship with someone she loved so much that she was still willing to be on that person's side, even if it was obviously killing her.

I still see that woman in my mind's eye today, and probably always will.  It was a powerful moment in time for me.  Just as I wondered these past years what happened to Angela Bofill, I've wondered more what happened to that woman.

The Persian Grille in Lafayette Hill, PA

Over 20 years.  That's how long it has been since I have wanted to try The Persian Grille just outside the northwest county line separating Philadelphia and Montgomery counties.  I wish I could say it was worth the wait.

Years and years ago I lived in the Germantown and then West Mount Airy sections of Philadelphia.  I also worked in nearby Chestnut Hill for awhile.  During these times, I would often pass this restaurant, which seemed extremely exotic and mysterious in my limited world experience and youth.  I finally stopped there this past weekend as I was heading to a concert in Glenside, PA; this restaurant is only about 7 - 8 miles from the theater.

The dining experience got off to a great start.  The restaurant had quite a few patrons at 6pm and I could tell from the way many interacted with the waitstaff that the patrons were regulars.  That, combined with the intriguing Iranian/Persian art, made for a comfortable and interesting atmosphere.  The food also got off to a good start.

Two of the three appetizers we had were very tasty.  We started with Halim Bademjoon ($6.95), a

special seasoned open flame charcoal grilled eggplant made with shredded chicken, sauteed onions, mint and walnuts.

This was very good.  Next, the waiter brought us complimentary dishes, costing about $9.00 on the menu if we had to pay for them.  These were very reminiscent of starters that accompany papadam at an Indian restaurant.  The tomato, onion, cucumber mixture (Salad-Shirazi) was very good.  The yogurt and cucumber dish tasted sour.

Even though I tried it, I can't remember what my partner ate for an entree.  Chicken-something that apparently did not "wow" me. I had Shereen Polo ($19.95), which is described on the menu as

basmati rice with saffron, slivered almonds, orange peels, slivered carrots and pistachio nuts. We add our special sauce and a generous portion of oven roasted chicken topped with a mild orange sauce. This dish is served at persian wedding (sic).

Sounds great, right?  I wish I could say it was.  It wasn't bad, mind you.  It was just that the orange taste was overwhelming and the chicken was dry.  The portion was huge and, because there was not a great diversity of taste, I wound up with the dreaded "same-taste syndrome."  (Remind me to copyright that phrase.)  I left a lot on my plate. 

We ended the meal with some baklava and I had some tea that came with rock candy on a stick - dunk to add the sweetness! 

Too bad the enjoyable and tasty beginning and end of the meal wasn't accompanied by a strong middle.  Perhaps I unfairly expected more diverse flavor.  Maybe I jinxed myself after the first eggplant appetizer and all of the interesting eye-candy (in the form of decoration) when I said, "I'm definitely coming back here."  All I know that is that I'm glad I tried it after 20+ years of thinking I would get to it.  I'm willing, however, to wait that amount of time again before I re-visit, even if the place did have a large line of eager customers when I left.

Tinto in Philadelphia

I don't like it when a person professes to be a "foodie."  I'm not sure why I don't  like it; maybe because it seems snobby or pretentious?  But if loving food that's creative, unique, a nd beautifully presented makes one a foodie, Tinto has done that to me.

According to this restaurant and wine bar's web site,

Tinto, a colloquial expression used to describe the red wine served in typical pintxos bars throughout Northern Spain, is the ultimate expression of what a Basque wine bar should be.

This pintxos (or pinchos - the Basque version of what more people may know as tapas) bar on 20th Street between Chestnut and Sansom, is a warm (albeit a little dark) space with impeccable service. My experience was very pleasant; my mind was relaxed and my palate was thrilled.

In this Eden of good food, I had a cheese plate as well as an arugula salad with serrano ham, mission figs, and goat cheese to start.  I also had octopus with lemon powder.  My partner also shared her olives, sea bass with cockles (clams) and salsa verde, and a chicken dish.  With the generous tapas portions, we both felt like we had enough to eat.

It's been over week now since we ate there so I can't remember the red wine we had but the server recommended one.  Both were great complements to the food. 

If I were the Lone Ranger I would say, "Go to Tinto, Tonto!"  OK, call me corny.  Just don't call me a foodie.

Jolly at Jolly's

A dueling piano bar sounds old school but the bartender says he gets a young crowd on the weekends.  During the week, an older crowd comes in.  If you like old-fashioned sing-alongs - bumped up a notch with two pianos - Jolly's Dueling Piano Bar at 20th and Chestnut in Center City Philadelphia is for you.

I have passed this place on occasion for several months whenever I rode the 42 bus down Chestnut from University City.  I popped in this particular night because I was killing time before my dinner reservation.  Plus,  I had been up since 4:30am (to get to work by 6am) and...it was my birthday and I wanted to treat myself!

There was just one other patron when I got there at 5:15pm.  The bartender had plenty of time to tell me all about the place and show me the happy hour menu. which is good from 5 - 7pm.  I had a $4 glass of wine (imported and domestic beers are $3 during happy hour and cocktails are 1/2 price) as I looked over the food menu.  The happy hour menu has the standards - chicken tenders, hummus, quesadillas, brushcetta and potato skins - and one twist in the form of chips and pineapple salsa.  All of these are $3 or $4 dollars.  The menu also has small plates that seem worth trying.  (Check out the web site for these.)

There was no music at the early hour I was there and the web site doesn't list the hours.  I do recall there is music every night but some nights it starts at 8pm and earlier other nights...I think.  Interesting, the "duelling" is not what you may think.  The piano players don't "duel" each other; they duel the audience.  This means that money, in the form of tips, is involved and the more money per song means that's the song that starts playing.  I would imagine there's always some patron throwing money around.  But, if not, I can't imagine the pianos remaining silent. 

Call me old-fashioned.  I am looking forward to going to Jolly's to see how it all works.  I'm glad I spotted it while passing by on the bus.

Can We Keep it, Please?!?!

So reminds me of the many times my brothers and I asked this question. Many, many times the answer was "yes."  Dogs - BIG dogs like a huge, male St. Bernard - and dozens of cats. Just realizing today what gifts pets are in childhood.

No Upstares Upstairs

Philadelphians know the corner of Broad and Locust as the location of dual restaurants Sotto Varalli and, just upstairs from Sotto Varalli, the other restaurant called Upstares.  As of today, the 21-year old Upstares is gone and Perch Pub occupies its space.  The menus of Sotto Varalli and Upstares will combine - "Northern Italian seafood with a Mediterranean twist" - in the downstairs restaurant.  In addition, Sotto Varalli is now simply Varalli.

According to City Paper, Perch Pub is

A gastropub of sorts, Perch will pour local craft beer and feature a moderately priced ($1.50-$19) comfort-food-style menu (melts, tacos, braised lamb shank, housemade chips and fries...   

The Varalli website hasn't changed yet so I'm not sure if Perch Pub is open for lunch, but I plan on wandering over there sometime next month to check it out.

Life's Black Holes

A black hole is a region of space from which nothing, not even light, can escape. ~Wikipedia

 

I've been away from this blog for over a month - longer than any time since I started it in late January 2010. I was in a personal black hole, trying to manage a normal routine when facing losing a part of that which I have known since birth.  It's funny how, when feeling heavy with emotion or loss, life truly goes on. Oh, one's own life may feel like it has ground to a halt.  But life around you moves forward as if nothing has changed.  It makes so much sense that that should be but it also feels like an affront...a mockery of sorts.

I've emerged from the black hole for awhile.  I know it's temporary.  But so is everything else...except, perhaps, for the black holes of the universe.