Nightlife / Stephanie Depasquale

A relaxing live lunch

By Stephanie De Pasquale | Saturday, September 06, 2008 | () comments

I headed down to Mojo’s in the River Music Experience during the noon hour on Tuesday to listen to the music featured there during the Live Lunch program at the coffee shop on the weekdays.

Ellis Kell, director of programming and education for the RME, normally plays on Mondays but was filling in for Jonathan Turner who plays piano on Tuesdays.

I had already eaten lunch by the time I got there, so I ordered a chocolate chip cookie the size of my hand instead of a sandwich. The cookie was very soft, chewy and completely worth running six miles instead of three on the treadmill Tuesday night.

I’ve eaten at Mojo’s before during the Live Lunch and ordered the Aretha Franklin “Respectable” C-a-p-r-e-s-e. All the sandwiches have music-themed names, by the way. The Aretha Franklin is made with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, onion, fresh basil, balsamic vinaigrette and garlic dressing on hot ciabatta bread.

I ordered it because the ingredients sounded like something that would be served up at a De Pasquale family gathering where the fresh mozzarella from the Italian grocery store we go to always disappears first.

Tuesday was not a particularly stressful day at work, but whatever uptightness that was in my system melted away while listening to the soft guitar and calming voice of Ellis Kell. I know Kell is very capable of putting on a rocking, high energy performance, but his song selection and demeanor were very laid back during the live lunch at Mojo’s, which helped create the perfect atmosphere for the business people getting away from work to take their lunch there.

Live Lunch performances are from noon to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday and are free. Donations are accepted and go toward the RME’s educational programming. Mojo’s is located on the first floor of the River Music Experience in the Redstone Room, 129 N. Main St., Davenport. For a full schedule of Mojo’s Live Lunch performers, visit rivermusicexperience.org.

Stephanie De Pasquale can be contacted at (563) 333-2639 or sdepasquale@qctimes.com.