OK, so it was 9 degrees last Friday night.

That doesn’t mean you can’t slap on a hat and scarf and still eat something chill-inducing like frozen yogurt.

While Richmond doesn’t have a Pinkberry—the hip frozen yogurt franchise that exists only in New York and Los Angeles—it does have the new Verry Berry (yes, that is the correct spelling), which opened in the VCU vicinity last week.

The concept is simple: Six machines featuring 12 flavors allow you to mix and match for personal taste (mango, dark chocolate and strawberry cheesecake are some choices) and a toppings bar can make your snack either healthy (fresh fruit) or not (M&Ms, Cap’n Crunch). At only 39 cents per ounce, this sounds like a reasonable lunch/snack alternative.

The locally owned and operated shop is across from the Siegel Center at 1311 W. Broad Street and currently open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

Check out Table Talk in Thursday’s Weekend section for more info on Verry Berry.

I have tried chocolate-covered ants, mostly because you can’t tell what you’re eating other than that there’s a slight, slight crunch. And, I believe, because somebody dared me.

But these giant water bug-eating, caterpillar-crunching, slug-swallowing dishes are just not for me, Ms. Squeamish of 2008. Still, kudos to Richmond on making Time magazine for the bug chefs featured recently at the first Broad Appetit food festival.

Check out your June 9 copy of Time or visit online: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1810336,00.html

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< Mmmmm.
Choco-cricket-licious!

And credit Kathy Emerson of Quirk Gallery on Broad Street, who first brought the bug chefs to the 17th Street Farmers Market—and then thought they should come back for more.

Kathy’s a big fan of the bug guys, but now that I think of it ... I never saw her dipping into the cricket orzo.

Hmm. Next time these dudes with the creepy-crawly recipes bug out to Richmond, let’s make sure the sponsors put their money where their mouths are. Ack! Ptoeey! Arrrrggggh.

Yeah, I’m working. My brother Matt just called from northeastern Ohio to let me know the whole family’s up there today (except me, obviously). Then he proceeded to list, in excruciating detail, everything on the cookout menu. My sister-in-law Karla outdid herself, he said.

Sounds like it. And here I sit, at nearly 2 p.m., nursing a Coke from the machine and doing research for my next story.

It could be worse, I guess. I could be outside picnicking and a thunderstorm could come up. Or I could be outside taking a walk and step on a red-ant hill. Here’s hoping it’s warm and breezy and ant-free wherever you’re celebrating today.

I caught “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” Saturday night. Too much fighting for my taste—on the other hand, as I told my friends in our movie post-mortem, at least they were mostly interesting fights. The scenery couldn’t have been more gorgeous, so we stayed for credits to see where it was filmed ... the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia and New Zealand, if I remember correctly. So who knows where specific scenes were shot? (Well, I guess the people who live there know!)  But still, there were some breathtaking views. Narnia should look so good! 

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We also visited Cielito Lindo on Forest Hill Avenue—hadn’t been there in a while, but the vegetarian (spinach and mushroom) quesadilla was as excellent as ever.

Which reminds me ... I really need to go out and forage for some lunch. BTW, If you haven’t seen “Narnia,“ there’s still time. It raked in $56.6 million its first weekend, so it’ll be around for a bit (even if that was less than the $65.6 million the first “Narnia” made its debut weekend in 2005).

The most profitable “Indy” movie ever? >>>

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”—no surprise—took in an estimated $101 million at the box office this weekend (and “Narnia,“ another $23 million). Personal reviews I’ve heard are mixed—but c’mon, ya gotta see Indy, right? Even if the lovely Harrison Ford is, finally, starting to show his age?

P.S. One good thing about working on a holiday—all downtown Richmond employees will appreciate this—NO METER PEOPLE!!! We are free to come and go as we like without worrying about receiving one of those $20 parking tickets that so effectively keep more visitors from venturing out of the ‘burbs.

So my friend Regina visited this weekend. Regina and I have been buds since eighth grade but haven’t lived in the same city since 10th grade. It’s one of those friendships, though, where you can go a year without corresponding—but the next time you meet, it’s like you saw each other yesterday.

Regina and her family now live in Springfield. But luckily for me, Regina loves Richmond. Seriously, she could be a whole “You go, Richmond!“ campaign in and of herself. That’s part of the reason it’s so much fun when she visits. She’s always ready to try the latest restaurant, cruise a new neighborhood or check out the trendy shopping areas.

Considering she was only here for about 27 hours, we outdid ourselves this weekend. I introduced her to Common Groundz, The Phoenician and Cafe Rustica. Score! She loved all three.

Common Groundz (above)—coffeehouse at Broad and Boulevard with VCU vibe, great sandwiches and fabulous Zuppa soups. The Phoenician (below)—near West End remake of La Casita with great Lebanese fare (love the olives, pita bread and yogurt cheese that appears as soon as you sit down), plus we got the best seats in the house, what with the “floofy” pillows and all. Cafe Rustica—downtown Main Street post-church Sunday brunch, where the savory bread pudding was only improved by the addition of maple syrup (who knew?!). Excellent omelets and bread. Plus, it’s just so darned jazzy with all the dark wood and European touches.

We planned to drop in on Broad Appetit yesterday afternoon, but the rain and dearth of parking interfered. Parking was more of a problem than it ordinarily would be on a Sunday because Theatre IV’s “Peter Pan” matinee was going on simultaneously. Managing director Phil Whiteway and artistic director Bruce Miller were actually out on Marshall Street trying to help theater patrons find parking. Bruce said they’d managed to find about 200 parking spaces—but the theater seats more than 500!

Of course, that’s a good problem to have. It’s always great to see downtown busy even if people have to walk a few blocks to get where they’re going. And the rain did fizzle out after a bit.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to Stony Point, visiting my friend Susan at Sak’s Fifth Avenue, checking out Anthropologie (one of my favorite drop-in shops) and spending some quality time on the benches outside, soaking up the amazing weather and doing some serious people- and dog-watching.

As Regina noted, many of the Stony Point Fashion Park pooches arrived in pairs. They ranged the canine spectrum, from Yorkies (one of which was a championship dog) to a Dalmatian (mixed) to fluffy white things I couldn’t possibly ID. But boy, were they cute.

I left the mall with one burning question: How—and WHY—do women shop in stilettos? Especially on brick pavements? Inquiring minds ...

At any rate, it was a fine Richmond weekend, made better by the presence of a really good friend.

Not exactly. But I did have enough plans to keep me from having time to trim my Bradford pear tree. (Poor tree, I’ll be home soon!)

Here’s some of what I learned in my wanderings:

A. First Fridays Artwalk is still going strong. As always, it’s lovely to see people—all ages, all stages—out and about on the streets of downtown Richmond. I had my first listen to the Happy Lucky Combo and got my first look at the Artwalk’s new market (in a parking lot next to 1708 Gallery). A great addition to the proceedings, it offered fresh eggs, kale, carrots, lettuce ... just the thing to pick up when you’re out perusing art but thinking omelets and salad.

B. I’ve only been to Black Finn once— and that was for a sad occasion— so I’m probably not the best judge of what it has to offer. But my hairdresser, Deborah, hangs out at the Shockoe Bottom restaurant and bar on weekends. So it has to be a happenin’ place.

C. My friend Lisa’s husband prefers NASCAR to Shakespeare. Who’d-a thunk it? But Olaf’s preference for strong odors and headgear paved the way for me to attend Richmond Shakespeare’s annual Bard Bash. Artistic director Grant Mudge unveiled the company’s new eight-minute promotional film (nicely done!), which emphasizes the importance of making Shakespeare accessible, even to young’uns. Especially to young’uns. (The educational component is headed up by the enthusiastic Cynde Liffick). Bobbie Barajas—you know, from WCVE-FM?—hosted the event; it was fun to meet the woman behind the voice.

D. Even Patrick Dempsey has his off days. I know, I can hear the screaming from here. But seriously, even McDreamy has trouble pulling off hefty, wavy bangs when they obscure his beautiful forehead and detract from those lovely blue eyes. *Sigh.* Still, it was fun to see him take one fall after another—except the final fall, which proved one fall too many—in “Made of Honor.“

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E. West Tower is my third favorite cinema (Byrd Theatre first, Westhampton second)—mainly because it doesn’t have 25 screens the size of your Uncle Ned’s big-screen TV and you don’t have to wait in a line that snakes around the lobby three times. That said, the building could use a good airing. As soon as we walked in, I got a strong whiff of eau de stale popcorn. Hmm, maybe a few appropriately placed air fresheners would help.

F. Zorba’s (Greek and Italian restaurant) at Tuckernuck Square still has some of the best rolls in town. And its hummus appetizer makes for a great meal.

G. This was PetSmart’s National Adoption Weekend. I have two cats who pretty much take up every square inch of my house—but if I had room, I know I could’ve found the perfect canine. PetSmart’s Short Pump location was finding new homes for some gorgeous doggy-dogs this weekend. To them all, I say, “Happy tails to you!“

This dog was not at PetSmart, but I like his looks. He won first place in a canine fashion show in Manila, Philippines, last week. >>>>

... for ice cream! But we don’t always get it.

Who knew it was Ben & Jerry’s 30th anniversary? Not me. But my friend Katherine did, so she hightailed it to Carytown this afternoon to get a scoop on the action.

“The action,“ in this case, being a free ice cream cone. Turns out B&J, community-oriented fellas that they are, give out free ice cream every year around their anniversary. This year, it was today.

Only problem, Katherine reports, is that the line at the shop, 2901 W. Cary St., went clear down the block.

Katherine might not have had time to wait for her free frozen treat, but—on behalf of the 3,200 people who did—thanks, Ben and Jerry!

And thanks to the worker bees still cleaning up tonight, nearly an hour and a half after closing. Since the Carytown location just opened in September, this was its first free-cone day. From all indications, it was a sweet success.

Note: The photo above is from the week Carytown B&J’s opened—you know, when people were still discovering it existed—not from the madhouse that was today.

So I saw this commercial for McDonald’s new iced coffees last night on TV. I try to ignore TV ads on principle—even if I could tolerate Pepsi, Justin Timberlake is NOT going to talk me into running out and buying a six-pack.

But this coffee ad interested me, for whatever reason, to the point that on the way to the office from the dentist’s this afternoon, I drove through a Midlothian Turnpike McDonald’s. The iced coffee is available in regular, hazelnut and vanilla. Thinking the latter two might be too sweet, I ordered regular.

Oh. My. Gosh. If you saw me speeding, weaving in and out of traffic around 3:30 today, all I can say is that Mickey D’s new iced coffees—even the “regular”—are CHOCK-full of sugar. Yikes. (Yeah, I know, I hope my dentist isn’t reading this, either.)

So you know I went straight to http://www.mcdonalds.com to check it out. First, I’d like to congratulate the company for burying its nutrition info so deep that I practically ended up with carpal tunnel from all the clicking. But at last—success!—or maybe not, because this is something I did not need to know: My large, regular iced coffee has—are you sitting down?—280 calories and 100 fat calories (11 grams). In comparison, a small burger has 250 calories and 80 fat calories (9 grams).  Oh, and the vanilla and hazelnut coffees have 10 fewer calories! Same amount of fat.

D’oh! No wonder the nutrition stats were 6 feet under. Maybe McD’s has a sugarless version. If not ... uh, cup of water, please?