The Romeo gang met again for lunch this month (March 25, 2009) in the North End at the Artu Restaurant, 6 Prince St.. See the link below for restaurant week and the restaurant …….. Go to http://www.restaurantweekboston.com/ and http://www.artuboston.com/
There were 8 Romeos in attendance : Jim Kearns, Jim Terlizzi, Joe Pignatiello, Joe Lapiana, Joe Loduca, Paul Girard, Ed Deschuytner and Mark Ryan. You can see some photos of the trip and lunch at the link ……. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Romeo32509
Ed D. coming from NH, took his car and found a great parking garage for only $10 (11AM-5PM) on Commercial St. Joe P. took the local MBTA. Jim T., Jim K and Paul G. took the train to Newburyport. Joe Loduca and Joe Lapiana and Mark Ryan took the Lowell commuter train which is $5.20 regular fare or $2.60 for Seniors. My senior Charlie Card certainly cuts the price way down.
I met the two Joes at the Wilmington Station for the ride to North Station. We had a great conversation on a number of topics and then about family doctors and home remedies that our families used. Joe Laduca said that his family used the 3 oils to solve simple family illnesses: (Castor Oil, Omega Oil, and Olive Oil).
We got to North Station from Wilmington in 28 minutes. We saw the Downeast Train on the platform and talked about taking it up to Portland for the day and having dinner with the Romeos some day. We then walked out the Bank North entrance over to the North End. You could see the Lenny Zankum Bridge and the Rose Kennedy Greenway as we walked. We turned down Hanover St. and then over to Prince St. We were still early for lunch and took a walk around the area over to Paul Revere’s House and St. Leonard’s Church.
St. Leonard’s Church has a peace garden out front and has beautiful flowers in the summer. It was open, so we went inside to look at the old architecture. The altar, Stations of the Cross reliefs, pipe organ and vaulted ceilings were just beautiful.
Joe Lapiana talked about his family living in the North End and attending the three different feast day parades. The Feast of St. Anthony and St. Joseph are always well attended as the statue of the Madonna is carried down the street. Joe’s family was very active in the St. Joseph’s Society and he recently went to a dinner held in Malden at Anthony’s Restaurant celebrating the St Joseph’s Society 87th year.
We returned to the Artu Restaurant and went inside to our reserved table. The others began to arrive one by one and soon were all there. Our waiter Joshua spoke with an English accent and was from Brighton, England. We ordered drinks and then looked at the menu. Since this was restaurant week, there were some specials for a three course dinner (Antipasti, Secondi, and Dolci). The three choices for antipasti were: salad, calamari, and eggplant medley, all written in Italian. The three choices for the secondi (main course) were fish, eggplant or veal. The Dolci or desserts were cannoli, tiramisu and a tort.
We all ordered from the specials and the antipasti was quickly served. We talked and laughed and ate and drank for a while and then the main course came. It was all delicious and prepared to perfection. We then ordered separate desserts and coffee or cappuccino.
As always, the conversations were varied and bounced around the table. Joe Terlizzi talked about his trip to India and had a photo album that he shared. Jim Kearns talked about his son getting a doctorate in biochem and getting an interview quickly. The discussion then went to job interviews and how employers now look to see if you have a Facebook page or Myspace page and whether it contains items that reveal a dark side of your personality.
The discussion then centered on what medicines we all take, especially antacids. Some take acid reflux medication like Prilosec, or Zantac or Ranitidine each day before antacid symptoms start. The conversation then somehow switched to Viagra and caught the attention of a women sitting at the next table. Of course all the single guys’ eyes lit up and others just hid their eyes.
The time really flew by and it was close to 2:30PM when we left. We all headed back to North Station and on the way Joe Loduca wanted to stop at a cheese shop to buy real Italian string cheese. However, when we got to the shop the owner didn’t have what he was looking for. Joe Lapiana saw a store window with Easter Candy and some sugar candies that he had as a child. We reached North Station and the Romeo party divided up to different stations to get their different trains.
It was a great day had by all. The sky was blue and the weather great and the air just a bit cool. I just love the sights around Boston. The people, the high buildings, the traffic are like a giant living heart. Moving and pumping and bulging in all directions and somehow all interconnected.
Comments are welcome…. Send email to markryan82@comcast.net
There were 8 Romeos in attendance : Jim Kearns, Jim Terlizzi, Joe Pignatiello, Joe Lapiana, Joe Loduca, Paul Girard, Ed Deschuytner and Mark Ryan. You can see some photos of the trip and lunch at the link ……. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Romeo32509
Ed D. coming from NH, took his car and found a great parking garage for only $10 (11AM-5PM) on Commercial St. Joe P. took the local MBTA. Jim T., Jim K and Paul G. took the train to Newburyport. Joe Loduca and Joe Lapiana and Mark Ryan took the Lowell commuter train which is $5.20 regular fare or $2.60 for Seniors. My senior Charlie Card certainly cuts the price way down.
I met the two Joes at the Wilmington Station for the ride to North Station. We had a great conversation on a number of topics and then about family doctors and home remedies that our families used. Joe Laduca said that his family used the 3 oils to solve simple family illnesses: (Castor Oil, Omega Oil, and Olive Oil).
We got to North Station from Wilmington in 28 minutes. We saw the Downeast Train on the platform and talked about taking it up to Portland for the day and having dinner with the Romeos some day. We then walked out the Bank North entrance over to the North End. You could see the Lenny Zankum Bridge and the Rose Kennedy Greenway as we walked. We turned down Hanover St. and then over to Prince St. We were still early for lunch and took a walk around the area over to Paul Revere’s House and St. Leonard’s Church.
St. Leonard’s Church has a peace garden out front and has beautiful flowers in the summer. It was open, so we went inside to look at the old architecture. The altar, Stations of the Cross reliefs, pipe organ and vaulted ceilings were just beautiful.
Joe Lapiana talked about his family living in the North End and attending the three different feast day parades. The Feast of St. Anthony and St. Joseph are always well attended as the statue of the Madonna is carried down the street. Joe’s family was very active in the St. Joseph’s Society and he recently went to a dinner held in Malden at Anthony’s Restaurant celebrating the St Joseph’s Society 87th year.
We returned to the Artu Restaurant and went inside to our reserved table. The others began to arrive one by one and soon were all there. Our waiter Joshua spoke with an English accent and was from Brighton, England. We ordered drinks and then looked at the menu. Since this was restaurant week, there were some specials for a three course dinner (Antipasti, Secondi, and Dolci). The three choices for antipasti were: salad, calamari, and eggplant medley, all written in Italian. The three choices for the secondi (main course) were fish, eggplant or veal. The Dolci or desserts were cannoli, tiramisu and a tort.
We all ordered from the specials and the antipasti was quickly served. We talked and laughed and ate and drank for a while and then the main course came. It was all delicious and prepared to perfection. We then ordered separate desserts and coffee or cappuccino.
As always, the conversations were varied and bounced around the table. Joe Terlizzi talked about his trip to India and had a photo album that he shared. Jim Kearns talked about his son getting a doctorate in biochem and getting an interview quickly. The discussion then went to job interviews and how employers now look to see if you have a Facebook page or Myspace page and whether it contains items that reveal a dark side of your personality.
The discussion then centered on what medicines we all take, especially antacids. Some take acid reflux medication like Prilosec, or Zantac or Ranitidine each day before antacid symptoms start. The conversation then somehow switched to Viagra and caught the attention of a women sitting at the next table. Of course all the single guys’ eyes lit up and others just hid their eyes.
The time really flew by and it was close to 2:30PM when we left. We all headed back to North Station and on the way Joe Loduca wanted to stop at a cheese shop to buy real Italian string cheese. However, when we got to the shop the owner didn’t have what he was looking for. Joe Lapiana saw a store window with Easter Candy and some sugar candies that he had as a child. We reached North Station and the Romeo party divided up to different stations to get their different trains.
It was a great day had by all. The sky was blue and the weather great and the air just a bit cool. I just love the sights around Boston. The people, the high buildings, the traffic are like a giant living heart. Moving and pumping and bulging in all directions and somehow all interconnected.
Comments are welcome…. Send email to markryan82@comcast.net
