Bull Riding and Cake Eating

Riding The Bull is my one stop at the Fringe Festival this year. What I like about Fringe is seeing new works by creative and motivated artists. What sometimes sucks about Fringe, though, is that certain shows just aren't that good. I'm happy to report that Riding The Bull was well developed, written, acted, and staged. It's a good thing, too; I went with Anne and Aaron, both friend's of the playwright, and there is nothing worse than having to find a compliment that is not a lie at the end of a friend's terrible show. Luckily we had no shortage of compliments.

GL, excommunicated from the church he loves due to an masturbatory incident involving a confessional, the memories of a Sears and Roebuck catalog, and very unfortunate priest with bad timing, is searching for a way to get his life back on track. Then he forms an unexpected bond with his atheist neighbor, Fat Lyza: they become both lovers and business partners and are soon rolling in it. High on his newfound wealth, GL loses his faith just as Lyza is looking for something to believe in. Both tragic and comic, Riding The Bull, at its essence, is about the universal search for something larger than ourselves. For some it's religion, for others it's love, and for still others it's Elvis and Graceland. Playwright August Schulenburg fearlessly explores his themes through comedy while never losing sight of how serious they really are.

After the show, Anne, Aaron, and I ventured out for a late lunch. I don't know too many places on the Lower East Side (my ongoing quest to get to know neighborhoods other that the Upper West Side definitely needs to include some quality time downtown) and Anne suggested Moby's restaurant teany. It's all vegetarian which is totally fine with me. What was a little surprising, though, was how much of their menu included fake meat products (a "turkey" club, a "chicken" salad sandwich, etc.). Maybe I've just had bad versions of these fake meats, but really I'm just as happy with vegetables that are supposed to be vegetables. Dressing them up as meat really makes them less enticing to me. Ultimately, I had a bagel with tomatoes, cheese, and fake canadian bacon, which was good but not something I'd go out of my way for again. That absolutely cannot be said for the cake I ordered to follow up my bagel sandwich. I don't think I'm over stating it to call it: The Best Cake Ever. It was a delicious chocolate cake with a thick, fat, rich slather of peanut butter mouse in between the layers and another coating of it around the cake topped by a layer of chocolate fondant. YUM. Thank you, Moby.