Them Dinners with Nick

It has been akin to Dante’s Inferno here in Philadelphia during the month of July. By that I mean not only intense heat, but unceasing journeys. Fortunately, I’ve had a lot more fun than old Dante. Unfortunately, Them Dinners went completely off the grid for the better part of a month leaving many friends and readers to ask, “Where the hell are you Nick?”

It was exactly 30 days ago, on Friday June 29th, that I called Them Dinners for excessive heat in the city. Since then the month of July has conspired to bring a series of calendar events and a daisy chain of heat warnings too intimidating and too exhausting to be planned around. Them Dinners is a great way to ensure some time in the kitchen and time with friends amidst a busy schedule. But in the end you need to do what’s healthy for you in all that business, and in July I claimed my free time all for me. Here’s a slide show of my shenanigans…

• Dancing my butt off every Monday and Wednesday at Le Grand Continental rehearsal (Still time to join!): http://livearts-fringe.ticketleap.com/le-grand-continental/ 

• I visited old friends and saw two of the best of them get married in Steamboat Springs Colorado: 
• I saw this hairy guy from Texas take off his shirt and try to make the bride reconsider. It didn’t work.
• I attended a first birthday party!
• I cooked cioppino for old and new friends in Fort Collins, CO. Incidentally, this is probably the most expensive place in the world you can decide to make a cioppino…
• I watch Sleigh Bells, Twin Shadow, and Phantogram rock it out at Philly’s Making Time Hyper Rager at Penn’s Landing…
• I visited thrilling North Wales, PA, where I helped my parents move into their new home. And I managed to only get this photo of the cat…
• And this past week I attended a CME meeting in Baltimore…which just happened to coincide with Otakon!

It’s been a great 30 days, but it’s time to get back in the kitchen with Them Dinners, starting TONIGHT. Pizza Pig-out Part Deux picks up its rain check, thanks to slightly cooler weather!