Well, Happy New Year. As forecasted I spent last night at Big Bowl at 60 E. Ohio popping tasty pot stickers into my mouth, and following those with a deliciously zippy panang curry, pad Thai, and some of the best braised short ribs I can remember. Naturally I washed it all down with a few cold Tsing Tao beers. Besides the food and the company, the highlight of the evening was a traditional lion dance accompanied by very loud drums, and a firecracker medley out on the sidewalk.
My dining companion–that’s what the critics call the people they eat with–and I decided that the lion dance was very high on the list of ethnic holiday traditions in terms of enjoyability. In other words, if someone were lion-dancing tonight, I’d probably be there. I don’t want to do it every night, but as long as I’m in the New Year spirit, then bring on the drums and fireworks. Come to think of it, that’s my philosophy all year long, so it was probably that lion costume that swayed me.