Another great lunch with the Romeos. We met this month at Rosetti’s Café in Winthrop, MA. You can see the menu at the link …… http://ma.isawyourmenu.com/This is a hidden gem along the shore and will accommodate about 40 people. The food is excellent at reasonable prices for lunch and dinner. Although it does not serve liquor you can bring your own and they will provide glasses. The restaurant is located right on the beach hidden on a corner among all the private homes with plenty of parking along the beach boulevard. It is a local place visited by neighborhood residents or those who hear about it from friends. You have to look for the restaurant address as the houses pass by or use a GPS to find the place. It really blends in with all the homes.
I arrived early and waited outside to enjoy the beach air and view. A few people walked the sands as some large ships could be seen leaving Boston harbor as well as planes landing at Logan airport. Other Romeos began arriving and parked there cars along the beach road. When most had arrived we wandered inside and were seated at a long table against the back wall. Those present were Paul Girard, Joe Pignatiello, Steve Winter, Jim Sicuso, Jack Tweedie, Mark Ryan, Joe Balsama, Joe Loduca, Ed Deshuytner, Joe Lapiana, John Regan and Jim Terlizzi. You can see photos at the link …..
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Romeo92209#
Some Romeos brought several bottles of wine to the restaurant and the waitress brought wine glasses and uncorked the bottles. We all made a toast in memory of Mary Corcoran who recently passed away. Some shared some memories of Mary and hoped that some kind of memorial could be done in her name.
After reading the menus we were ready and the waitress took our orders. Fresh Italian bread was placed on the tables with dipping oil and was just delicious. The food arrived shortly and there was a variety of pasta dishes with chicken, veal, meatballs, mussels and salads. We continued to fill the wines glasses and enjoyed a hardy meal as the smells of pasta, oil and garlic filled the air. This was certainly a roman feast to remember.
Joe Pignatiello picked up Steve Winter so he could attend the lunch with us. Steve looks much better and said he is feeling a lot better lately. Joe P. talked about making wine this passed year at the Boston Winery. It took about 6 months for the whole process from buying the grapes off the train in Worcester, crushing them by machine, fermenting, buying his own barrel, to finally siphoning off individual bottles. He was able to get 288 bottles from one barrel. The label on the bottle has a photo of his father with the name Pa’s Zinfandel 2009. He said the wine gets better with each bottle that he has opened.
Jim Sicuso who is not retired and still works in Revere was able to join us for lunch. Jim knows the owner-chefs of Rosetti’s since he attended the Revere schools with them. Jim introduced Steve Rosetti to the group with friendly conversation.
Mark R. talked with Jack Tw. about Mark’s grandchildren who live in Wakefield. Joe B. asked Mark if he knew Father Steele from St Joseph’s in Wakefield. Mark said he attended Sunday mass there with his grandchildren and knew Farther Steele from church. Joe said that Farther Steele is now in Marblehead at St. John’s Church which he attends sometimes. He also said that he sometimes sees Betty D. a friend of Jack and Mark at church. It is certainly a small world where circles of friends overlap.
We talked about gardening and the poor tomato crop this year. Jack and Mark and Joe Lod. said they all got a poor yield of tomatoes but that other vegetables were ok. I said that my pumpkins are growing great and that I have one large pumpkin-squash hybrid (a squmpkin) that is about 18 inches across and still growing. Joe Lod. Said he has had a lot of SLUGS in his garden this year probably because of all the rain we have had in the spring.
The conversation continued around the table and we all had a bunch of laughs with each story. Two hours went by quickly and we decided on another restaurant for next month which will probably be in Londonderry, NH nearer to Ed D. house.
Like always. Life is good.
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