In the Dining Room, Nothing but Net
Nov 7th, 2007 by Marilyn
This is my dining room.
And you know, I’ve grown sort of fond of this “casual industrial disarray” look we have going here – broken nails on bare concrete, a tiger trap of electrical cords, the masculine touch of power tools and sawdust.
But we only have a month or so (or less, fingers crossed) to go, and when we are not pondering an eternity of debt, we are thinking about rooms. Like the dining room.
I’m a chef and for me, the eating experience is key. At the same time I like my dining room to be unpretentious and cozy – it should be equally at home serving bouillabaisse or barbecue. My family loves to eat, but they are way, way past caring about chefs. They have a religion far more important, more hallowed than grand meals and much more worthy than dining room decor – Jayhawk basketball.
Our town, Lawrence, Kansas is home to the University of Kansas. It’s a fine old academic institution, but you must live here to realize that this massive school exists primarily to see the famous Kansas Jayhawks play basketball at Allen Fieldhouse – a temple of hoopsterism if there ever was one.
Josie and Greg worship – nay, live, breathe, eat – KU basketball. I went to KU myself; I met Greg there, I experienced The Great NCAA Championship of 1988 win firsthand, and I loved this town and its whack-job traditions enough to make it my home.
So in honor of the first regular-season home game Friday night, I’m setting aside my vision of transferware china and big oak tables – and ordering a round for everyone. I have found divine inspiration for the dining room, and it is at Johnny’s Tavern.
Watching “the game” at Johnny’s is serious business in Lawrence.
Built in 1910, it was a hotel, a grocery, a pool hall and a Prohibition-era gin joint before 1953, when it became the beer-soaked, burger-heaven, Jayhawk haunt we know today. Last March we sat at the same table, in the same seats, wearing the same clothes for each game of the NCAA tournament – until we watched one game at home – and lost.
I don’t think we’ll be making that mistake this year. And don’t you think this is just the right look for my cozy English room?
Romantic lighting…intimate booths…delightfully mismatched silverware – um, plasticware…
Of course, we’d have to import a few micro-mini-skirted college girls to bring Greg beer and onion rings at our old oak table. No chef needed!
And just think – no more arguments about game-viewing during meals. With something like 3 dozen screens, it’s a done deal.
Cherished family photos and wainscoting…
…well-marked path to the powder room…
…elegant wood paneling and tastefully framed artifacts!
Cigarette burns, beer stains and potato skins. What more could a girl want? Well… any Jayhawk who’s going to the NBA to make a bazillion dollars could help finance the dining room.
That would be nice.
