So, Tanya had this oral surgery last week and is only allowed to eat 'soft' foods for two weeks. Yesterday, I decided that pretty much the only soft food much worth eating was cheesecake and starting trying to figure out where to get some that wasn't fluffy or powdery or too vanillay or (horribly) all three (try Stop N Shop for this experience). Anyway, hadn't had much in the way of thoughts about how to approach this problem beyond the longshot of the place in Holyoke which replaced Finely David's and which I noticed the other day advertises itself as a 'New York Style' deli but which looks pretty uninspiring when I hear from Emily via Joel, who I had earlier consulted on the issue, that a Rein's Delicatessen is supposed to be opening today in W. Springfield, on the rotary where the Ground Round used to be. Emily seemed to believe that their cheesecake might actually be good. So got in the car, picked up Joel & Emily, found out that Emily was interested in going to Rein's original location in Vernon, CT if the one in W. Springfield didn't pan out, drove down 5 to W. Springfield, got onto the rotary in question & spotted the place, looked empty, but parking lot full of cars. Parked, front door was open, but no customers inside, weird cult-like happening (new employee training?) going on in back. Uniformed guy inside mouthed "next week" to Emily. So we went to Vernon. Anyway, so the place is pretty ok, nothing spectacular, but the pastrami actually tastes like pastrami, the rye bread has the right texture, etc. Everyone working there seems to have some kind of vague disability. Emily only orders a side of mac 'n' cheese, Joel gets this monstrous turkey/pastrami/chopped liver thing. The cheesecake is pretty good, too and I notice they have frozen Carnegie Deli cheesecakes in front, which I like even better. So I get a slice of the inhouse cheesecake, a frozen Carnegie cheesecake and some chopped liver. Got home a little later than I would have liked and had a weird dog upset I'd been gone so long/really excited about the chopped liver experience on arriving home. Tanya seems happy, I'm happy, gotta go to the store to buy coffee now or tomorrow will be difficult. Also, tomorrow, if anybody wants cheesecake, the frozen one will have thawed and you can have some.