Pork Ribs with Zucchini

My last day in Bloomington, which was Friday, began slowly, with a trip to Computer Connections to purchase some student licensed software.  Then I headed to the revamped College Mall, where Patricia and I were meeting for lunch.  It took me all of ten minutes to walk through the mall, and frankly, things haven’t really changed.  Even though Lazarus (the lowest rung of the Rich’s ladder), JC Penney’s, and some hideous movie theaters are now gone, the mall continues to feel rather white-trashy.  Oh well.  TGI Friday’s is the newest eatery addition, and it was decent food.  I avoided the library for a few more hours by checking into Econo Lodge off South Walnut and visiting David and Stephen’s new store, The Inner Chef.  It’s a beautiful shop, with inventive merchandising and an uncluttered ambiance that feels that the shop owners have chosen items that you should have in your kitchen and home.  They sell kitchenware with a sense of design, full of items that function as practical gadgets and decorative elements all at once.  I loved the store.  David Wade is an amazing designer, and in fact some of the most inventive stage designs I’ve ever seen have come from this man.  If you’re ever in Bloomington, go visit the store.  Talking with David filled me with a different kind of admiration for him.  The store opened in August of 2005, and in the fall a teenager stole a rainbow flag that was flying in front of the store and burned it.  The child was caught, prosecuted, and punished.  In the mean time, this hate crime was covered rather extensively by the print and television press in Bloomington and Indianapolis.  Rather than shying away from this publicity, David became more of an activist.  He faced protestors from a local Baptist Church with grace, and continues to use the store as a beacon of light for those who are gay, lesbian, or bi-sexual (in addition to offering gorgeous stuff).  The rainbow flag is proudly hung, and the ad campaign for the store is “Outing your inner chef.”  I am proud to call him and Stephen friends.

Then came some very rewarding hours in the library, and the pièce de résistance, La Torre.  Ben and I’s obsession with La Torre’s Pork Ribs with Zucchini goes back nearly ten years now, when we moved to Bloomington.  It is full of delectable chunks of pork spare ribs stewed with onions, tomatoes, and zucchinis, topped with yummy Mexican cheese.  It’s so good that Papa Pete still asks about it, and we’ll be bringing the entire family there when I finally graduate.   We became such faithful patrons of this restaurant (ordering only this one dish) that they would rush orders of Pork Ribs with Zucchini to the kitchen as soon as we walked in the door.  Also, we have searched high and low in Atlanta for this dish to no avail.  Well, tonight appeared to be a bust when I sat down at the table, and Pork Ribs with Zucchini was not on the menu.  I sat and fretted for several minutes, with heart racing worrying that I’ll have to disappoint Ben.  I could not imagine having to tell him that they no longer made it, and that I would not be able to bring a serving back home to him.  Fear not friends, when the waitress came back to the table, I began to gingerly and with great detail tell her about the fact that years ago, when we lived in Bloomington, we once love d this dish, Pork Ribs with Zucchini.  Before I could finish the story, she sounded the name of the dish along with me, relieving my worst fears.  She knew what the dish was, and she was going to get it for me.  Elated, I called Ben to report that all was well.  I had to wait about twenty minutes for it to reach the table because no one had ordered it in a while (the owner informed me of this when he brought the dish to me), but that was fine with me.  I knew that it would live up to all my expectations, and I was nursing a margarita which was smoothing my feathers quite nicely.  As I walked up to the register to pay, I struck up a conversation with the owners.  They both had thought that I looked familiar, but could not place my face.  Well, I reminded them of our former glorious tenure as the most voracious consumers of their Pork Ribs with Zucchini, and they both said, “that’s why we remember you!”  As the next logical step, I sweetly asked if I could have the recipe because we were unable to find this yummy concoction in Atlanta, and the husband replied, “Yes.”  My heart was pounding as I realized that our dream was coming true.  I sat down across from him, and listened to him recount the secret recipe.  As he finished describing the various procedures and ingredients, I said that if I can’t get it right, we’ll return this summer and ask more questions.  To my delight and amazement, he replied that if we had more questions we could just go in the kitchen and he would show me.  I stashed an extra order of ribs in the trunk to take home to Ben, and it froze nicely for the trip back on Saturday.  Yes, I did write the recipe down.  I would repeat it here, but it would cost ya.  So, you’ll just have to come over for a taste of our Pork Ribs with Zucchini alla La Torre.

It was the perfect end to my journey.  I have found myself again.  Remembering Bloomington has brought me back to my core—a musician.  I’ve been talking the talk for a while, but now I can walk the walk again.  It’s a feeling of exhilaration and contentment, and I can’t wait to perform my lecture recital and finish the doctorate.  This was a very good week.