Is this Paulie "Tables"?
Unreliable sources claim to have a captured Paulie "Tables" preparing for a Choir Meeting. Photo is reputed to have been taken at Mr. Tables Saugerties retreat several weeks ago....

Cardoons!

Brother Stephen, who just tonight was rechristened Stemo, has once again proven his value as an ILMC member.

I present to you a link to an article about the Feast of Seven Fishes. So, what's so great about that? I'll tell ya -- it talks about Fried Cardoons, which I foolishly thought were dandelion greens, but Stemo corrected me and said they were artichoke stalks and now here's proof that he was right. (This is why the rest of us don't have choir names yet!)

Bafangool!

AND I MEAN "SHIT-HOLE" IN THE NICEST WAY POSSIBLE

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Apologies to Maureen, in Buttevant, Co. Cork, Ireland.
This is me leaving Maureen's, and as you can see, it's not a "shit-hole" (a flippant, rude americanism I regret now, especially now, as I reveal the name of the establishment I enjoyed myself at, in a country where such kindness was showed me).
As Siobhan pointed out in her reply to my last post, it's quite old
and charming, with a fireplace dating back to 1798. It's no frills, "like
going to your grandmothers", as Siobhan puts it, but it is extremely
charming. And the food was pretty darned good.
(Just look at my satisfied puss as I exit the place....)

Sorry, Maureen! Next time I come, I'm ordering dessert!

HARBOR BAR AND BRASSERIE, WEEHAWKEN, NJ

I'll confess. 

I don't have every meal with Paul, Jim and Sal.

Sometimes I eat out with my fiancee, Siobhan.

Siobhan is great to eat with. She is a great eater.

She and I just got back from a two week trip to her native Ireland, and we ate very well there. In fact, two of the best meals I've had in the past year, I ate in Ireland. One was in Waterford City, at a place called BODEGA, on Patrick street. Irish food with a French flair. Absolutely outstanding. I mean, good, like, you should go to Ireland just to get a meal this good-good. The next was in a shit hole, or almost the equivalent, with the simplest, most delightful lunch I've had in recent memory. A slab of ham. A slab of chicken. A boiled egg, white lettuce and a slab of mayonaise. No, god, I swear, it was freaking good. If you do make the trip to Ireland just to go to Bodega in Waterford, try and get to this shit hole between Mallow and Cork.

But, really, who wants to read pleasant restaurant reviews?

Tonight, Siobhan and I had a dog of a meal. Not a dog, maybe, but just so-so, and expensive so-so, which kind of makes it a dog. And expensive, even though we had a "2 meals for the price of one" coupon. Expensive food at a joint in Weehawken, New Jersey for crying out loud!

The place is called the Harbor Bar, it's in the Sheraton on the Hudson. Nice enough setting, but housed in the sort of new and shiny that makes up so much of the Jersey side of the river.

Anyway, the service was nice enough (our waiter seemed new and shiny himself). The booze was okay, although I ordered something horribly red, and sweet. But that was my fault. Siobhan liked the appetizer, mozzerella with red pepper. I dunno, though. The pepper was simply pimento out of a jar. I dunno.

I had the pork chop, Siobhan the tuna burger. 

My chop was fine enough. Siobhan ate through half of her burger before putting it down, a little sourly. When I asked if I could have a bite, she warned me as I put it in my mouth that there was something off about it."It's a little too...FISHY" we both declared at the same time. Weird, though. How exactly do you make tuna too "fishy". 

The fries were good enough.

My coffee was good too.

The "fruit crumble" was quite lousy; essentially a peach cobbler with peaches not quite ripe enough, "crumble" closer to "crunchy" served with, Siobhan swears, Key Food brand ice cream.

We didn't finish the dessert. 

WE DIDN'T FINISH THE DESSERT.

Now, that's weird for Siobhan and I.

Anyway, it cost about $80 bucks.

I dunno. If I was you, I wouldn't go there.

Why'd you want to pay Manhattan prices in Weehawken?

Paulius Auditioning for the Men's Choir

Here we have a recently discovered, undated photograph of Paulius Rajeckas auditioning for the NY Chapter of the Italo-Lithuanian Men's choir, which at the time was called the Italo Men's choir. Rumour has it that Paulius' rendition of "CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN" brought the Italian members to tears. Truly a happy moment in this young man's life. Valio!

WATCH OUT!

Averna -- the new Cynar???

Well, after filling our choiry bellies with Italian food for our big holiday bash, I became curious about just what that wacky Averna stuff really was. Luckily, we live in a world with Wikipedia.

First, here are some facts about the general class of liqueurs, known as Amaro, of which Averna is one type:

Amaro (meaning "bitter" in Italian) is a variety of Italian herbal liqueur, commonly drunk as an after-dinner digestif. It is usually bitter and sweet, sometimes syrupy, usually with an alcohol content between 16% and 35%. Amari are typically produced by macerating herbs, roots, flowers, bark, and/or citrus peels in alcohol, either neutral spirits or wine, mixing the filtrate with sugar syrup, and allowing the mixture to age in casks or in bottle.

Dozens of varieties are commercially produced, the most commonly available of which are Averna, Ramazzotti, Amaro Lucano, and Amaro Montenegro. Commercially produced Amari may contain "natural flavourings" and caramel coloring. A typical Amaro is flavoured with several (sometimes several dozen) herbs and roots. Some producers list the ingredients in some detail on the bottle label. Amari are typically flavored with some of the following: gentian, angelica, and cinchona (China), as well as lemon balm (melissa), Lemon verbena (cedrina), juniper, anise, fennel, zedoary, ginger, mint, thyme, sage, bay laurel, citrus peels, licorice, cinnamon, menthol, cardamom, saffron, rue (ruta), wormwood (assenzio), elder (sambuco), and centaurea minor.

So, now that we know that, here's some info about Amaro Averna:
Salvatore Averna was born into a well-off family of textile merchants in 1802. He grew up in the industrious city of Caltanissetta and became one of the most active members of the community; he was Judge Peace and benefactor of the Convent of St.Spirito’s Abbey. According to a very ancient tradition which originated in the fortified Benedictine abbeys, and afterwards spread all over Europe by Cistercian and Cluniac convents, the friars produced a herbal elixir following a secret recipe. Although the elixir tasted “bitter”, it was good and, according to the popular belief, it possessed some tonic and therapeutic quality. In 1854, as a token of gratitude, the friars decided to hand the recipe for the infusion over to Salvatore, and in 1868 he started the production for the Averna household guests.

So, there you have it gents. We're not gonna find out exactly what's in it cuz it's a secret! But will this young upstart replace Cynar as the official drink of the ILMC??