We went. We saw. We were inspired. Yes, last night Mona and I went to Cleveland see Ina Garten. And it was great.
The evening's format was a conversation between Ina and food writer Joshua Seth, who incidentally is from the Cleveland area. They sat up on the stage and just chatted about how Ina got her start, and how that 400 square foot store in West Hampton. NY, the original Barefoot Contessa, morphed into the worldwide industry that is Ina today. There was a brief question and answer session following the chat. Unfortunately, instead of people asking real questions, it turned into an "Ina, I love you" fest" which, I have to admit, was a bit embarrassing. Oh well.
It was fascinating to hear how Ina's career has unfolded. Really, it was a lot of hard work and a love of what she was doing that were her keys to success. Ina is not a trained chef. What she is, is a person who loves good, simple food. She makes food fun and through that love of food she bring people together. Plain and simple. Nothing fancy.
Clearly Ina is very smart. And she had good counsel. She followed her gut and did things the way she thought they should be done. Ina build an industry on her easy approach to living her life to the fullest. I suspect that no matter what Ina would have chosen to do with her life, she would have been successful. She would have been true to herself and that translates.
Imagine that.
Mona and I had a blast. We had dinner at a Michael Symon restaurant called Lolita, which was delicious. We need more restaurants like Lolita here in the 'burgh. We made it a Food Network evening.
The best part of the evening was, however, the opportunity to talk with Mona on the drives to and from Cleveland. Mona was my first friend here in Pittsburgh and since we met we have shared a love for food and cooking, among other things. I have always found her to be so inspiring and I hope I do the same for her.
So, that was last night. Ina, a good friend, and a delicious dinner. What could be better?
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