I'm going to keep this brief since there really isn't that much to tell. I was heading for the Zinc Bar this Sunday night but hadn't really eaten all day since I'd spent the better part of it either sleeping or working on a portrait of my friend Mike. I was running a bit behind schedule but wanted to stop and get something to eat anyway. Because of my route, it made the most sense to head down to Ben's of Soho, since that would really only take me one block out of my way, down to Spring from Prince, and then back up again to Houston St.

I walked carefully, the street being covered with slush rapidly turning to ice as the evening temperature dropped. Some people were choosing to shuffle instead of lifting their feet, and I'd seen one woman down on her bum on the other side of Broadway. It would be most logical to assume that she'd fallen down as a result of her slipping on ice. Anyone with any concrete information that contradicts this should get in touch.

Ben's wasn't crowded, and I noticed that the large plastic pizza guy who's always standing out front had lost one of his arms. I think that's kind of rough to make him stand out there in the cold with only one arm and a big empty hole in his socket. Maybe a letter campaign should be started. I went in, said "Lemme get a slice" was handed a slice, paid and walked out. They had a tip cup there at the register. The entire transaction took about 15 seconds, and I'm gonna give this guy a tip? For a two dollar slice? What's wrong with this picture?

I headed north up the street towards Houston and passed a guy stand standing in the vestibule of his building with his French bulldog standing up on its hind legs and its front paws on the glass of the door. The whole thing was framed beautifully, and I thought about what a great photo it would make. I didn't want to take the photo because I'd have to stand right in front of the guy to do it, but I just decided I could ask too. So I finished the slice, (I was already down to the crust of the thing anyway) got out the camera and went over and asked the guy through the door if I could take the picture. He started to open the door but I started to make gestures or something indicating that I wanted him to stay where he was. The dog had stepped down off the glass as he'd begun to open the door, but now he popped back up into his previous position (to be fair, I have no real information about the dog's gender). I snapped the photo and moved on. It didn't come out as sharply as I would have liked, but I didn't stick around to take another. Bleah. I'll get the hang of this camera yet.

That I said nothing about the pizza itself is really unfair. It was a great slice, so good it made me consider wolfing that one down only yards from the front door and going in to get another. For largely financial reasons I decided against it and just kept walking. It was a lovely, chewy slice. It wasn't too hot at all and the bites came cleanly away from the rest of the slice. Yum.