Molyvos turns 10

October 23

Did you know that the almonds of Sicily have such tough shells that you can't even crack them with a nutcracker?
I learned that at Molyvos’s 10th anniversary party this evening, which was celebrated with a cocktail party featuring samplings of wine and food from different regions of Greece — the Peloponnesus, Crete, Lesbos and Macedonia.
Arlyn Blake, who lives to introduce people to one another, introduced me to a Sicilian almond grower whose business card I seem to have lost, but he said they’re working on promoting the distinctiveness of Sicilian almonds, which he said are more intensely flavored than the California ones I recently became acquainted with. That would make sense, as the yield of the Sicilian olives is much lower.
I spent much of the evening catching up with freelance writer Francine Cohen. I explained to her my belief that Jewish weddings benefit very much from having Greeks and WASPs at them. The Greeks are necessary because their dances are very similar to Jewish ones, but with the great advancement that Greeks see no need to dance in a closed circle. Jews, especially at weddings when doing traditional East European Jewish dances, stay cramped together in a circle. Greeks know to break the circle and lead dancers into loops and spirals not unlike conga lines. It's much better.
WASPs are necessary for the traditional lifting of the bride and groom while they’re seated in chairs, because wouldn’t you rather be lifted by some nice corn-fed WASPs than by asthmatic accountants?
The music at the party made me want to do a bottle dance, but I did not get drunk enough to attempt it.