Is it over yet?

According to the Pew Research organization, 50% of Americans have a negative view of the last decade. Well, DUH! Of course we're ready for it to end, especially those of us here in B'town. This blog's too small to recap all the weird things from the last 10 years so I'll just mention some that come immediately to mind. First and foremost were the fighter planes intercepting an Amish farmer's plane over Bloomington the week of 9/11/01. My poor parents, remembering Pearl Harbor, thought we were under attack. For some reason, the pilot just didn't get the message that the airports were closed to everyone--even Amish farmers from southern Indiana.

Then who would have imagined that Miles Brand would have the balls to fire Bobby Knight or hire those athletic directors McNaulty and Greenspan? Could hizzoner, the President, have dug any further down in the barrel of green slime? Then not to be outdone, his successor supported the hiring of Kelvin Sampson who must have been lurking at its very bottom. Thank goodness for Fred Glass.

This also seemed to be the decade of "traffic calming." That's the Liberalville synonym for building hazardous obstacles in the middle of the street. It's a wonder that complete neighborhoods have not been destroyed due to a fire truck's inability to maneuver the roadway or round the round- abouts...especially on 7th Street. This must have been the reason so many Bloomingtonians converted to "Smart" cars. They were the only ones intelligent enough to traverse our dangerous but "calm" streets.

Another marker of the decade was the invasion of the "Coasties," a form of locust. They arrive en masse each August and leave every May in 4-year cycles. The females are easily identified by their UGGs, black leggings, huge sun glasses, Longchamp tote bags and North Face jackets...The male species are seen in pajama bottoms, flip flops, stubbly beards and bed heads. Both sexes swarm through downtown in Beamers, Escalades, Porshes and the like all bearing license plates from New York and New Jersey.

Oh, I could go on and on and rant and rant. But in the interest of starting the next decade on a high, up-beat note, I'll just say au revoir and adieu to the aughts. Good riddance. Bring on the teens.

You can come home again

Last Saturday was IU homecoming. Even though I'm already "home," homecoming weekend still feels like a special day and time with a holiday aura. B'ton swells with returning alums anxious to show their children, mates or significant others where they guzzled their last collegiate beer, the exact booth where they drank it, and any other sorted details they can remember that could be associated with that particular ritual. The lines at the Steve and Barry's collegiate sportswear outlet curl out to the street and the community sees red (actually cream and crimson) for at least 48 hours. Nicks is standing room only with as many as three generations of IU alumni. (Its a good thing, we know where to find it, since its historical neon sign is nearly unnoticeable due to the concrete fire wall of the apartment construction next door.)

Homecoming 2007 events started Friday afternoon with the customary parade down third street and ending at the Sample Gates. That evening was the annual homecoming concert at Assembly Hall with Bob Dylan the headliner. We've gone from Bob Hope to Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello. It's too much to imagine that Dylan was originally popular with most of the current co-eds' grandparents. Yup. The times, they are a changin'.

Even nature contributed to the festive atmosphere. In spite of the lack of rain and drought conditions, the trees on campus put on a spectacular light show in all imaginable colors of crimson, gold and pumpkin.

And the roads to Brown County and French Lick were bumper to bumper with pilgrims seeking fall color magnificence. They were not disappointed. So with that, I'm glad to share some wonderful images of fall in Bloomingtown.

Truly Scrumptious. Trulli Flatbread

Even Truly Scrumptious, Caractus Potts and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang would love Trulli Flabread, one of the new restaurants in the shadow of the University's Sample Gates. Located directly across from the old Von Lee theatre on Kirkwood, Trulli specializes in locally grown produce, cheeses and meats and formulates them into delectable salads, panninis and the house specialty flatbreads, baked in Trulli's custom designed and constructed brick oven. Managed by the Chef, a graduate of the New England Culinary Insitute and his wife,the couple opened their first flatbread eatery in Mount Pelier, Vermont. It became the fancy of an Indiana University alum during getaway visits from his home in New York. The benefactor encouraged the couple to move to Bloomington and open a mirror image of their Vermont restaurant including an exact replica of the flagships' oven. Trulli Flatbread opened here in late spring/early summer of 2007.

I've eaten there three times now; twice for Saturday lunch and once for dinner and the food was consistently delicious. "Consistent" is the operative word, here. Most Bloomington restaurants are great the first time, just all right the second and by the third visit (or whenever the first flock of wait staff turns over--whichever comes first) both the food and the service usually suck. Trulli Flatbread is the exception.

During all three visits, I had flatbread, of course--each one with different combination of toppings. My favorite was the house special with shrimp, thin strips of jalapeno for heat, sweet red pepper sauce and italian cheese. The crust was wonderful with lots of flavor and crispy on the edges. My partner and I shared an order of the house special mussels which came swimming in a delectable broth, suitable for soaking the olive oiled crustini served along side. I could continue rattling on about all the different selections and the ingredients, but I'll just say try it for yourself.

I do have two minor issues with Trulli Flatbread. The first is it's lack of Sunday hours of operation. I mentioned same to the proprietor and "fingers crossed" Sunday will indeed be added to the hours of operation. ( I think I sparked her interest when she learned there was no Sunday evening food service on or around the campus.) My second point of concern is the noise level. While the restaurant is very simple and chic with loads of gorgeous oak woodwork, there's nothing to absorb the sound so the ambient noise is a bit much--especially for us older diners. The same is true for the upstairs wine bar. A quiet chat over a glass of Taval Rose just isn't possible in the current environment. Both issues are simple fixes and ones that management should "trulli" consider.

One last thing. If you're a lover of Gorgonzola salad dressing, theirs is one of the best. Bon apetite.