I’ve been struggling with some writing I’ve been doing lately–the professional kind–and it’s been frustrating. Sometimes I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels, and not in that happy-bicycling kind of way. When I get stuck in a rut like this it’s usually a good idea to get on my bike and pay attention to stuff that has nothing to do with me, so when S. invited me out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, I thought sure, I’ll ride down to the Quarter, savor some savories, empty the brain. Our first choice was closed unexpectedly, so we loitered, thinking about where to go next. That’s when I spotted this chainring on a bicycle locked up to a pole on Conti. The bike is unassuming, as are the pedals, but that chainring! So pretty. I love a good crankset, if you know what I mean. We ended up at an even fancier restaurant–the fanciest meal I think I’ve ever eaten, I must say–and I savored every single bite, starting with the mushrooms on chevre toast to the tuna with purple rice and coconut cream to the salmon with sweet potato and sauerkraut–no, really. And the dessert! Lemon lavender semifreddo on an oatmeal cookie with berries. Details, details, details. I rode home, utterly satisfied, convinced that yes, the rich eat better than the rest of us. Fortunately, you don’t have to to be rich to ride a bike and check out chainrings and track potholes every day, but yes, I’m going to save my pennies and take S. out for some treats real soon. Yum.