Romeo Lunch 11-12-14

The Romeo gang met for lunch this month on Wednesday, November 12 at the Tuscan Kitchen in Burlington at 12 noon.  The Tuscan Kitchen is located at 24 New England Executive Park (next to the Lahey Clinic).  Go to www.tuscanbrands.com for more information.

There were seven Romeos in attendance including Joe Lapiana, Steve Winter, Joe Pignatiello, Jim Terlizzi, Ed DeSchuytner, Mark Ryan, and Paul Girard.  You can see photos at the Picasa link…. https://picasaweb.google.com/108806068200291783388/RomeoLunch111214

The waitress sat us in the middle of the dining room and then pulled up two more chairs for all of us to sit comfortably at a half round table.  The place was crowded but the waitress did her best with waiting on the table and brought bread and water all around.

 She then took our orders for drinks which included martinis, manhattans, beer, wine, soda and water.  There was a little mix-up on the beer.  Joe P. and Steve ordered the Miller Lite and Jim ordered the darker IPA which is heavier and more bitter.  Joe got the IPA by mistake and made a wrinkled face as he tasted it. He then switched with Jim with great relief.

The usual conversation included politics, weather, gas prices, retirement, and trips.  I congratulated Joe P. for his choice for the new Governor, Charlie Baker. Joe always gets a ribbing from all the democrats at the table.

We then talked about jobs and unemployment and the plans that Coakley and Baker had for Massachusetts.  Joe L . then said that his cousins in Italy recently told him the unemployment there was 54% compared to only 5.6 % in the US. I guess we are really lucky compared to the rest of the world’s economies.  As a result many people who lived in the suburban villages in Italy were moving to the big cities like Milan, looking for work.

We then talked about the Tuscan Kitchen which recently opened in Burlington, Ma.  The owner Joe Faro also owns the Tuscan Kitchen and Market in Salem, NH.  A graduate of the University of NH (91), he has been a shining star in the business world with more than 25 years of food experience. He is also involved with another business acquisition to open a fitness center on Main St. in Salem, NH and another venture at Rockingham Park.

The décor for the Burlington, Tuscan Kitchen was all deep wood mahogany with high metal ceilings depicting an industrial flavour.  However, they should install ceiling tiles to improve the acoustics. It was hard hearing everyone at the round table.

Although there were mixed reviews about the restaurant on the web site, our waitress was very pleasant and attentive and brought items quickly to the table. However, the kitchen was slow, leaving time gaps when bringing our entrees  at different times.

Our lunch orders included Paninis (chicken, beef and pork) with a choice of sides.  An order of Ravioli in Wild Mushroom sauce and one order of Ravioli with red sauce.  The food came in good size portions, was delicious, and had that authentic Italian flavour. They make their own pasta at the restaurant.

 Joe L. commented that he saw a review from Jack Tweedie on “Trip Advisor” regards Condos to rent in Pompano Beach, Florida.  John frequently stays there.

Joe L. also said he was visiting the Museum of Fine Arts that afternoon with the Art Council from Westwood, where he lives.  They would be seeing the GOYA Exhibit “Order and Disorder”. You can get more info at …. http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/goya

We then talked about high school football teams and their ratings and divisions. Some schools have moved from one division to another.  Jim said that teams were rated be physical size of the players but Paul thought it might be due to winning records. Below are the rankings for schools in Division 3.

Bracket Notes:
1. Masconomet (6-1) 17.43
2. Marblehead (7-0) 17.00
3. Tewksbury (5-2) 15.86
4. Beverly (3-4) 10.00
5. Wilmington (3-4) 10.00
6. Danvers (3-4) 10.00
7. Somerville (2-5) 8.43
8. Revere (2-5) 6.71

We then talked about where to go to lunch next month. Tentatively it is Dec 17 at Turner Seafood in Salem MA.  Jim will send you an email to confirm.

Comments and suggestions always welcome : markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo Lunch 10-29-14

The Romeo gang met this month on Wednesday, October 29 at Nappi’s Restaurant in Medford at 12 noon.  Nappi’s is located at 370 Salem Street (Route 60).  It is just off Route 93.  Go to www.nappirestaurant.com for more information.

Nappi’s is a bring your own bottle restaurant and does not take reservations for lunch.  Seven Romeos attended including Joe Lapiana, Steve Winter, Paul Girard, Jim Terlizzi, Ed DeSchuytner, Joe Pignatiello and Mark Ryan and we all brought some wine to share.  You can see some photos at the link ….   https://picasaweb.google.com/108806068200291783388/RomeoLunch102914

Joe P. brought the wine that he made at the Boston Winery and I brought a red moscato and Jim brought a cabernet sauvignon. I like a more sweet wine but others might like the dry bitter wines. Wines can run in prices from a few dollars to hundreds. They say it doesn’t matter. It’s all what you like and pleases the palate. 

We then talked about buying wine in NH or locally. Joe P. found a Walgreens in NH that had a good selection.  Paul then said that of all the local places, Costco sells the largest volume of wine around. Jim then said that Trader Joes has the “Two Buck Chuck” selling for about $2.99 a bottle. This wine is bottled in California where surplus wines are purchased from local vineyards and resold under the new label. You can read an interesting article about this in “Today” at …… http://www.today.com/id/3076201/ns/today-today_food/#.VFIj1yGq_IU  .

As seasoned wine connoisseurs, we all filled our glasses with the ROMEO SELECTION of fine wines and toasted a good, long and healthy life.

Nappi’s usually doesn’t  have a menu and will make whatever Italian dish that you desire with white or red sauce, various pastas and meats.  Our waitress was Mrs. Nappi and she suggested the braciole with pasta. This is a rolled steak with raisin, pinole nuts and chopped hard boiled eggs.  Since no one could make a choice, she came back with a sample menu.

We then decided to have an appetizer of tripe (Joe P’s favorite) and an antipasto salad. Refilling our wine glasses and munching on the fresh Italian bread opened our palate for the main courses.

With a little help, we selected items from this cheat sheet menu which included the cioppino (a seafood stew with pasta) with red or white sauce, haddock pizzaiola, shrimp scampi, and Jim’s favorite dish veal piccata with pasta. The main course soon arrived on large square dishes with Italian motif and we devoured it like a Roman feast.

As usual, the conversation was lively and included politics, sports and trips. Steve talked a bit about his recent riverboat trip in Europe and how the boats couldn’t get under some bridges because of all the heavy rain raising the river levels. 

Joe P. talk about a music festival in Somerville called Honk that he thoroughly enjoyed. He bought some items and sent them to his granddaughter who now lives in Los Angeles. She always loved attending previous festivals with her grand pa Joe.  Joe’s daughter and family moved out to Los Angeles last year and her husband is now a teacher in the local school system.

We then talked about local rental properties and I relayed the story about my sister-in-law recently renting in a new high rise on the Chelsea-Revere line for $1800 a month. She recently lost her house in the Tornado that went through Revere, MA last month. She said the apartment is a very small one bedroom and she can’t wait till the lease is up. The neighbourhood isn’t that safe either. She is waiting for the insurance company to settle on her completely destroyed house and they are dragging their feet.

Ed then talked about his son who used to live in the North End at a rent controlled apartment paying $2500. He recently bought a condo on Beacon Hill and said they raised his old rent to $6500 a month. Ouch !!!!!

Joe L. then said he attended the recent “PooPooPlatter” NSSSA meeting at the Kowloon restaurant and commented that the new teachers and supervisors had a good round table exchange of ideas.

We then commented that gas prices keep going down. On the way, Ed saw a Medford Gas Station selling at $2.97 per gallon. I said that several stations in Wilmington are selling at $2.95 and this week at $2.93.

We then talked about the next lunch date and decided to go to the Tuscan Kitchen in Burlington on November 12^th. Jim T. will send you all an email.

Comments and Suggestions Always Welcome …….. markryan82@comcast.net