Dig deeper

Thoughtful look at the CMS situation from Elizabethan John Cleghorn, pastor of Elizabeth's Caldwell Presbyterian Church. The full sermon is available if you'd like to read more (PDF).

Holiday cheer

Here are the details for the Elizabeth Holiday Party. As Maya Packard notes, this is an adult party, so reserve your baby sitter early.

RSVP to: elizabethparty@gmail.com
Saturday, December 11
Drop-in from 7-11 pm
2125 Greenway Avenue
At the home of Kim and Harris Lineberger
ECA will provide drinks and ham.
Please bring an appetizer or dessert to share.

Sincerest form of flattery?

Belated welcome to a pair of Under the Water Towers, one for Lovilla, Iowa, and one -- well I'm not sure exactly where to place it. Somewhere not too far from Philadelphia, I believe. Anyway, welcome.

Kennedy's was hopping

The grand opening last night at Kennedy's Premium Bar and Grill, the new entry in the fight to stay alive as a business at 366 N. Caswell Rd., was festive, at least for the short time we were there. Patsy Kinsey was among the honored guests, although I couldn't be sure if she was politiking or just checking out the noise level. It certainly was loud, kind of midnight loud at 6 p.m., but I guess that's just me getting old.

The menu featured a very nice selection of draft beers, which is always welcome. Nobody should ever make lasting decisions on a place based on opening night, but I'll offer my thoughts anyway. We had shepherds pie, fried goat cheese salad and fish and chips at our table in a kind of good news, bad news affair. The bad news was the fish and chips: They've got a long way to go to be only as good as the fish and chips at Whiskey Warehouse. The good news: The salad was quite yummy (yes, even thought it came to the table sans dressing). Better than that was the shepherds pie, which could have made the ranks of Best Ever if someone in the kitchen held a firmer hand over the saline drip -- there was enough salt in our serving to pay a Roman army.

Overall it was certainly worth another trip, and I hope the new place can stick around longer than previous tenants. One Kennedy's guest last night suggested an excellent Elizabeth trivia question: Name all the restaurants that have graced that building in the last few years. Anyone?

VisArt in jeopardy?

I guess at some point people will have been shopping online for so long that they won't miss the tactile benefits of walking into a well-managed store. They won't miss what an engaged employee can offer. They won't feel the serendipitous buzz of walking out with something sharper than what they came in for. No, the online-only shopper won't miss a place like VisArt Video, but that's his problem. Because right now, VisArt still rocks. (Netflix just lies there.) But how much longer will we be fed by the area's only independent video store? The parent company wants out. Can the employees save the store? VisArt feels so right in Elizabeth. Let's hope so.

Christmas? Really?

Had lunch at Camille's (mostly because I needed wi-fi and had just recently eaten at Sub Station II.) And what to my wonderous ears should appear? Christmas music. Yes, really. Sorry, Camille. Nov. 4 is just too early.