FOOD TIP

Cinnamon Apple Pie

Popeyes

I am not one to scoff at fast food desserts, and many have been the late nights when they’ve saved my soul. At the same time, this doesn’t mean that fast food desserts are actually GOOD. They’re just ... sweet and handy. Most of the time. But I must say the apple cinnamon pie ($2.21) at Popeyes – basically a turnover – pleases me. There are discernible chunks of fruit, for one thing, as opposed to a goopy filling you might find injected with a turkey baster into other fast food pie offerings. The Popeyes crust is properly crunchy, too. But most of all is the cinnamon/sugar dust that coats the exterior. You can leave fingerprints, there’s so much cinnamon/sugar. I’ve driven through the New London Colman Street location and waited long enough for a break in traffic to exit that I finished the pie before I was out of the parking lot. So I just pulled right back in the drive through and got another one.

– Rick Koster

BOOK TIP

Directed by James Burrows: Five Decades of Stories from the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More

By James Burrows, with Eddy Friedfeld

With that looooong title, I now have no space left to write about the book. The truth is, James Burrows deserves as long a title as he wants for his memoir, considering how legendary his career as a sitcom director has been. It’s fascinating and nostalgic to read about his work on shows including “The Bob Newhart Show,” “Friends” and on and on. His point of view on the various series and actors is a treat for TV fans, and his analysis of TV comedy will give you a new appreciation for the genre.

– Kristina Dorsey

BOOK TIP

The Dawn Patrol and The Gentlemen’s Hour

Don Winslow

Having recently interviewed author Don Winslow twice – for a print story and in an event at the United Theatre in Westerly – I was inspired to go back in his catalog and re-read some of his earlier books. These two surf-noir novels feature Boone Daniels, a former San Diego cop who works as a PI just enough to cover his expenses so he can be catching waves all day with close, like-minded pals (who otherwise cross wide ethnic and professional demographics). These amazing tales have jet-propulsion, are extremely funny, add context that goes way beyond the stereotype of the surfing culture, and are intricately plotted and clever crime novels. There’s also plenty of real-world sorrow and heartbreak that makes you see why Boone is entranced by the idea of committing your life to physical and spiritual relationships with the sea.

– Rick Koster