BJamba and I grab lunch today at Southside Flying Pizza. The parking lot is a cramped one-row array, but easily find a spot as it is 5 til noon.

We order a 12″ Margherita Pizza. BJamba generously offers to take the tab (friends are awesome!). Margherita is one of my favorite pies to benchmark.

I like the vibe at Southside. We find our table and I feel a strong sense of comfort. No, it’s not the fact that that our chosen table sported a B-52′s mural (Love Shack, baby!). It was simply that things were calm: no rush to order, no rush to get seated. I had breathing space, no stuffy feeling. And windows giving a nice diffuse light, not glaring. It’s a Friday lunch time, and just a few other parties are dining with pizza as we are.

We started talking about the new Street Fighter movie coming out, tennis, a desire to start bike commuting. Then the flow of conversation somehow shifted to  ”What to do wih free time?”. Great question. I wish I coud say that I was filling that time in world-changing ways.

BJamba is a former Marathon runner, and the training to work up to that accomplishment gave a sense of purpose. I remember him teaching me some great post-running stretches a year ago when I was training for a 10K. Races are great in this respect. The things is, when you work towards something, goal or otherwise, it is inherently easy to feel purposeful.

But then then there’s always those inbetween times. Thinking of where to go next. I think BJamba and I are both in that situation now.

As I think about it some more, I’m not sure if feeling purposeful is always something that life beckons. If the lack of purpose leads to a desperation to do something with our life, the chase can itself disrupt the flow of own life. I think there is a great importance to simply find out and pursue what excites us as starting point. Not always starting with purpose. From our interactions with people and experiences, perhaps purpose will slowly be unveiled and provide an anchor to your passion.

Ok, enough babble. Back to the Margherita!

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BJamba comments on the excessive olive oil sprinkling, and says toppings slide off pretty easily.

This Margherita, I thought it was fantastic. Not exceptional, but very well done:

I personally liked the generous amount of olive oil since it didn’t have an overpowering effect, other than having to grab an extra napkin or two. With extra olive oil coating your mouth in each bite, it became a great medium to grasp the flavors of this pie. The mozzarella and romano cheese combination was perfect. Although the cheeses were not chunky slices as in other Margheritas, the distribution was light yet flavorfull. The basil leaves tasted fresh and I picked up the subtle minty flavor. Roma tomatoes came topped the way i like it: whole slices, and not diced. That way you can a strong taste of the tomato, and these were great tasting ones. Dough was more on the soft side but still sturdy to hold. Good amount of charring on the underside. Crust is a quite large, but not thick. The bulk of the pizza does appear skimpy compared to the crust, but eating through the entire slice was still enjoyable.

I’ll definitely come back to Southside. Can’t wait to try their other pies!