The Foundry on Melrose

When two gorgeous Asians invited me to dinner, oops, rewind, I'm not supposed to write that. Okay, I met these two women, co-workers, uh, fellow professionals for dinner at the Foundry. Do you know the Foundry? It's a fine-dining establishment in the same Melrose neighborhood as the "Gig" and the Groundlings Theater. I've seen some great bands at the Gig including a set by one of the great unsigned acts of our time, Roger Moon. The Groundlings, which gave us Phil Hartman and Pee Wee Herman, is my favorite entertainment venue in the city. And the Foundry serves crispy skin salmon over horseradish puree which is remarkable. The pork belly appetizer hit the spot, but then again, when does pork belly not hit the spot? And there's calamari with grape, which sounds like a weird combination but it is great. I ordered the creme brulee with orange sherbet for dessert but it was my friend's bread pudding with raisin rum ice cream that was the spiritual experience. Crispy skin salmon, raisin rum ice cream, I can't get these phrases out of my head, and it's been DAYS. As far as my dinner company, I'm supposed to keep it a secret, something about the danger of mixing pleasure with work. I will say this: lately I've been swimming with sharks, folks that don't have my best interest at heart. What can I say, it's been a bad year. I've been stolen from, stood up, betrayed, and swindled. Some of my so-called friends and family have shown their true colors and their hues have been running streaks of yellow with hearts as black as night. But these two? It's good to know that there's still some good left in this wounded city. And no, it doesn't hurt to look fine while they're at it.