“Men without ties don’t dress for dinner
Do the Friday night frozen pizza thing
Don’t want no wife or no beginner
You’re the Friday night frozen pizza king”

-Paul Westerberg, “Man Without Ties”

By Brooke A. Brown

Last weekend, The Lovely Miss S was away on a shopping excursion – one she referred to as “Beauty Recon” – to the mega-malls of Columbus, Ohio. Armed with all the major fall fashion magazines (not to mention her mother and a roomy Toyota Highlander), she was well on her way to making new friends at the various cosmetic counters and clothing emporiums.

Her first call home came, by request, shortly after they arrived. Knowing that they had made it to Ohio’s largest city safe and sound provided much comfort to me, as did the cushy couch on which I was in full recline. With this knowledge, I could – and did – enjoy several hours of College Football Saturday.

The second call came after dinner… her dinner, that is. My stomach was still full from the salty snack sampler consumed during all the football festivities. My instincts, however, immediately kicked in and the question of ‘Where did you eat?’ was quickly presented. She replied, “The California Pizza Kitchen.”

Boy was I jealous. Sure, the California Pizza Kitchen is a chain, but a really good one with a wide variety of interesting, exotic pizzas, noodle dishes, soups and salads. Suddenly, those salty snacks weren’t feeling so filling. After discussing the success of her “recon,” and plans for the following day, I reciprocated her fond farewell and headed to Kroger on a mission of my own.

I had no game plan in mind, which is my typical shopping style. All I knew was that I wanted something different. So, I let fate – in the form of Kanawha City’s Kroger freezer section – decide what’s for dinner. And did fate ever deliver. (more…)