I arrived
in Salem at about 12 noon and drove by the restaurant looking for parking.
There was a big municipal lot on the left. I drove in and found all the spots numbered
and several metered machines located around the lot. I parked and remembered
the spot number and walked to the machine. It only took exact change, no
refunds and credit cards. It was $1.00 per hour and the smallest bill in my
wallet was $10.00. I rummaged through the car and found $2.00 in quarters which
would give me two hours. Later Jim told everyone there was a nearby lot that
only charges 25 cents an hour. Thanks Jim (xyz!!!!!??????). Better late than
never.
I entered
the restaurant and found Ed and Joe L. at a table. Later the rest of the gang
arrived. Seven Romeos were present including, Jim Terlizzi, Paul Girard, Joe
Lapiana, Ed DeSchuytner, Mark Ryan, Steve Winter and Joe Pignatiello. You can see photos at my Picasa Web Site,
just click …. Romeo
Lunch 12-17-14
The
waiter was very attentive and took drink orders from everyone that included
beer, soda, martinis and manhattans. Drinks arrived quickly and bread was
served in baskets with pads of butter. We read the menus and ordered. Since this was a fish place I assumed it
would be great and ordered the Seafood Medley along with Joe L. and Ed. The others
ordered the Portuguese Stew and Veal Picatta. Joe P. and Steve also ordered
chowder and salad. Jim asked if they had
Finnan Haddie (A Favorite Scottish Smoked Fish Dish - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnan_haddie ). The waiter checked, but it
was only available at Dinner Prices. Jim declined and ordered his favorite
(Picatta).
The food
came in a short time and I was immediately surprized at the small portions on
the dishes. I know this is lunch, but give me a break. I get more at
McDonald’s.
The
Seafood Medley was tiny and included (three tiny shrimp, a few tiny bay
scallops and a one inch by two inch piece of fish). It was all very dry and had
no flavour. We asked the waiter about the side of mixed vegetables which was
supposed to include zucchini). The side only had two pieces of cauliflower and
two slivers of carrots. The waiter said he would check and came back with three
small bowls of spinach ????? The
Portuguese Stew was also tasteless and the chowder had a pungent Smokey taste. Needless
to say, we were very unhappy with the meal.
The
conversation however was lively and bounced around the table. The usual items
were covered including sports, trips, politics, movies, books, and home life.
Joe P.
went skiing last week and had a great time. He will again volunteer at the ski
clinic for disabled veterans next month. Jim said he got a ski package out west
and was looking forward to it. Joe L.
said he booked a river cruise for the spring.
I said I
saw a prize give away on TV for a trip to the Azores. Joe P. said that he had
been there and it was beautiful. It was similar to Hawaii. I think he said that
a plumber friend has a house there that he visited and was able to show Joe the
special island sites. It’s only a 4 hour plane ride from Boston just off the
coast of Spain.
We then
talked about snow. Joe L. said he needs a new snow blower but is waiting. He
got a price for plowing his driveway for $100 a storm or $700 for the season
even if no snow. Jim said he would get a blower but he doesn’t have that much
area to plow and no place to store it. Joe L and I said we normally spend 2
hours snow blowing our driveways.
My snow blower
wouldn’t start this year, it was clogged with old stagnant gas. Ed said you can
use a gas stabilizer or a new product with an Enzyme Additive that keeps the
gas fresh. I had my neighbour across the
street give me a tune-up on the snow blower and it works great now. He has a
small part-time business fixing small engines that he runs out of his garage.
He also has a Bobcat with a plow and plows a few driveways in the neighbourhood
after snow storms. He charges only $30 each storm, as a favor. He does the
driveway and I do the walkways with my snow blower. We then said we had generators to help with
power outages during storms. Ed said he has one that comes on automatically
when the power goes out and is run by propane.
Jim
mentioned that he recently saw two movies that he recommended (Whiplash and
Nightcrawler). I mentioned that I have
read some good books recently. One was “The Street Lawyer” by John Grisholm. It’s
about the sad fate of Homeless People living on the street in most cities.
Joe L. mentioned that the price of gas keeps falling and
recently was $2.55 per gallon. It’s now $2.47 in my neighbourhood. On the news
I saw it was less than $2.00 a gallon in several southern states.
We then talked about where to meet next time. The restaurant
Artichokes in Wakefield was mentioned. Jim T. will send you all an email with time
and date.
Joe P. gave us some sad news and said that our friend Jack Ahearn had
passed. He was a sales rep for Prentice Hall. You can read the obit below…… http://m.legacy.com/obituaries/BostonGlobe/obituary.aspx?n=JOHN-S-AHEARN&pid=173347366&referrer=1232&preview=True
Comments and
Suggestions Welcome: … markryan82@comcast.net
