Romeo Lunch 5-25-16

The Romeo gang met Wednesday, May 25^th  at the Tavern on the River in Methuen at 12 noon.  The Tavern on the River is located at 478 Lowell Street. No web site yet. Go to Yelp or Facebook for reviews.

There were six Romeos present including Joe Lapiana, Joe Pignatiello, Ed Deschuytner, Paul Girard, Jim Terlizzi and Mark Ryan. You can see photos at the Picasa web site ........

https://goo.gl/photos/EACuyYCQbV4i4Uw3A

We were seated on the outside deck facing the river. You could see a beautiful view of the Merrimack with ducks and geese floating by. Boaters would cruise by waving with their hair blowing in the breeze.

The waitress brought bread and dipping oil to the table and blue water glasses for six. She then took drink orders and gave out menus. Specials for the day were lobster roll, fried clams and steak tips.

The drinks came quickly including 4 margaritas, IPA draft beer and bud light. We all toasted to a good life, "bone vitale".

We then placed our order including fried clams, lobster roll, steak tips and baked haddock. In addition we got some chowders and salads.

The meal came quickly and was very good. The waitress was friendly and very attentive.

The conversation was great as always and included sports, news and politics. We also talked about jobs we had as kids and early in our teacher careers.

Joe P. ran a restaurant on White Horse Beach. He did very well for three months of summer but long hours.

Jim said his father had an ice cream truck and a route in Melrose, Malden, Stoneham, Chelsea and Revere. Jim helped sometime and dreaded seeing the little kids spending their last dime on a cone. I bet he snuck some free ones out now and then.

I said I remember buying ice cream but also bought from street peddlers selling cooked crabs and Indian apples (pomegranates now) for a nickel. Ed remembers that also growing up in Chelsea. Our waitress said she bought the Indian apples also.

Another memory was the Clam Box in Revere where you could get a pint of big belly clams for one buck. Try that today. It’s probably $20.00 at Kelly’s on the beach in Revere.

Remember the Adventure Car Hop in Saugus. You got an extra Hamburg if you said Woo-Woo Ginsburg sent you. He was the teen’s radio disc jockey.

We talked about some politics and the dirt that all the candidates were using against each other. We all wished for this constant mud-slinging to be over.

We talked about our next lunch and still wanted to eat outside. Gloucester was mentioned but Joe P. said it was too far for him. Other places were suggested in Lynn, Swampsott, Revere and Winthrop.

Jim will send out an email next month.

Comments always welcome.... Markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo Lunch 4-20-16

The Romeo gang had lunch on Wednesday, April 20 at Rocco’s in Wilmington at 12 noon. 

Go to www.roccosma.com for more information.

There were six present including Jim Terlizzi, Paul Girard, Ed Deschuytner, Steve Winter, Joe Pignatiello and Mark Ryan. 

You can see photos at the Picasa website. Click below .....

Romeo Lunch 4-20-16

We were seated at a long table near the bar. The Resturant was unusually quiet with only a few patrons. Normally the bar is crowded with lunch crowd. One good thing about no crowds is you can hear what people are saying at your table. Sometimes the noise level is deafening. That's my old age talking . Ha.

The waitress Kayla brought menus and bread and took drink orders. The drinks included Martini, Manhattan, draft beer and sodas.

There was a special lunch menu with 10 entrees for $9.95 and the regular menu with prices about $6.00 higher. Food is always good here. I live close by and eat here often. 

The Restaurant has been open for 75 years and passed down to family. They serve Italian mostly with other selections too. The locals frequent the place and the Chamber of Commerce has their weekly meetings here.

Last year the place was sold to a new owner who is Portugese and has kept the same Italian offerings. In addition he has added some improvements to brighten the atmosphere for the better.

We all ordered from the specials menu and got chicken-brocoli-ziti, chicken parm, steak tips, chicken salad and Maryland chicken.

The waitress took the orders without writing them down. I commented that it takes a young mind to remember all the meal variations. Oh to be young again. 

The conversations moved around the table including sports, politics, weather and news. We talked about how wages have changed. When I was in high school I started with 50 cents an hour and eventually 75 cents as a soda clerk at a local drug store. I then got a job in the garment district of Boston on Kneeland St. Swept the floor and brought packages to the post office on a dolly cart. I got a warping $1 an hour. I stopped at a store next to the post office and bought a Twinkie and a bottle Orange Crush for 20 cents total. 

Jim commented that with the rate of inflation current prices are about 10 times more today. Wages and goods. 

Ed said he had a paper route selling the Chelsea Record and the Herald. I did too and we got 3 cents for each paper we sold that cost 10 cents. Ed used the money to support his hobby of Racing Pigeons. He won several contests and won more than $200 each. His son said that would be over $2000 today. 

I talked about a new short story that I am writing involving the fictitious Romeo Gang. It's about how drinking wine adds to your longevity. The main character JP goes to Florence Italy to discover the secret to the grapes he uses to make PA's Zinfandel. The new story will be out on lulu.com in a couple of months. 

Check out my other stories on Lulu.com .

Also Click .....

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/markryan82atcomcastdotnet

We decided to go to Jules next month in Methuen. Jim will send an email.

Comments are always welcome...  Markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo Lunch 3-23-16

The Romeo gang ate lunch on Wednesday, March 23 at the Copperhouse Tavern in Waltham at 12 noon located at 380 Winter St. (Just off Rte. 128/Rte 95).

Go to www.copperhousetavern.com for more information.

You can see Photos at the following link ….    Romeo Lunch 3-23-16

There were 7 attendees including Joe Lapiana, Joe Pignatiello, Paul Girard, Mark Ryan, Ed DeSchuytner, Steve Winter and Jim Terlizzi.

Joe L. and Mark arrived early and entered the side door and waited in the adjoining lobby until past noon. We thought the others were late but they were already in restaurant and had come in the front door and already ordered a nacho appetizer. Everyone ordered a beer from 40 drafts on tap. I ordered the Jacks Abby Larger which was very good.

We then ordered our entrée. Most ordered steak tips, a corn beef sandwich and fish chips.  After the meal we ordered coffee. They did not have cappuccino.

The conversation included general topics about politics, sports, news and trips.  Jim is planning a trip to Aruba.  Joe L.  had been there before and they conversed across the table. 

I asked Steve how his birthday party was and he said 55 people had attended. He was 90 years old. His wife is 5 years younger and planned the event. People attending the party came from the Temple. Romeos, college, family and neighbors.

Ed said GOP should have got rid of Trump at beginning now they are planning a brokered GOP convention and hope he doesn’t get all the delegates so they can select someone else.

We talked about Belgium terror attack and wondered if Americans were targeted.  A man hurt in Boston marathon was also injured in Belgium.

I talked with Joe L. about using social media to expand your business presence. Joe has his Art and JP business and I am trying to expand my audience for my Book and Short Story Writing.

Joe is taking a workshop on using social media to expand your business presence at his Western Avenue Studios presented by a fellow artist. He sent me a copy of the workshop handouts in Power Point and they are very interesting. More people respond to hits on Instagram than on the other social media sites like Facebook.

Joe L. also has board on the Pintrest Web site called Sicilian Foodie with pins about all kinds of food interests. He uses Hashtags (#) with words to direct web searchers to his site.  I said that I was writing more and joined a writers group that meets each month to critique each other’s work.

You can find out more about Joe Lapiana’s Art interests at the website link …

http://sunsetstudio-sunman.blogspot.com

You can also find out more about my writing interests at the website link …

http://markryanbooks.com

Jim Terlizzi told us he was working on the WISE Conference again this year and hoped to get participation from iRobot personnel. Last few year he had Danelle Niles as the keynote speaker. See the link … https://www.salemstate.edu/news/998/wbz-meteorologist-danielle-niles-to/

We heard that Meteorologist Don Kent died. He was a fixture on WBZ for many years. I said that Bob Copland has an art studio in Littleton NH. Jim said he always liked Copeland. 

We talked about having lunch next month and picked Roccos in Wilmington. Jim will send out emails. Joe P. said he use to hangout with the restaurant owner at a bar in Union Square years ago.

Comments always welcome …. Markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo Lunch 2-17-16

The Romeo Gang met for lunch on Wednesday, February 17 at the Continental Restaurant in Saugus at 12 noon. Go to www.thecontinentalsaugus.com for more information. 

 T







There were 7 present including Jim, Joe P, Joe L, Steve, Ed, Paul and Mark. You can see photos at my Picasa albums.......

 https://picasaweb.google.com/108806068200291783388/RomeoLunch21616?authuser=0&feat=directlink

We sat at a round table and ordered drinks including a Dirty Martini, beer, wine and Diet Coke. Joe L and Steve had the dirty martini and Steve pursed his lips as he sampled it. Wow he said that's different. Joe L explained that the dirty martini was made with vodka, vermouth, and olive juice. The olives made it dirty and bitter. Steve must have liked it because he emptied his glass. 

We then ordered our meals including seafood trio, London broil and baked scrod. A house bean dip with crackers, hot rolls, garden salad and water was also served. Later we had cake and coffee to celebrate Steve's 90th birth day.

I asked Steve when he came over to the US. He said that he was 12 and his family was sponsored by a family in Pennsylvania who offered to support Jewish refugees.  Other refugees from Italy and Poland were also welcomed and sponsored by Americans during the pre-war era of WWII. 

Unfortunately, we can't even solve the current immigration problems without building giant walls? Today’s politicians are promising things that they just can’t deliver. Are the American citizens so blind that they can’t see through all the smoke? The rest of the conversation was lively as usual. It included topics about politics, trips, skiing, sports and news. We also talked about the Trump Circus and other side shows. 

It was National Wine Day on the 18th and we talked about wines. Joe L said he buys wine online from WineInsiders.Com. Delivered right to the door and about $6 a bottle for wines selling regularly for $15 a bottle and rated by Wine Spectator Magazine in the high 80s and 90s. Unbelievable but true.  Joe P said he still likes a red wine and has about 4 cases left of the wine he made last year.

I then mentioned that we should plan a lunch and meet at a craft brewery next time. We looked online at Trip Advisor and Yelp for suggestions and found a few. A lot had limited parking but we found one in Waltham. The Copper House Tavern. Mixed reviews in Yelp but we will see. Jim will send info.

Comments always welcome .. Markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo 1-20-16

The Romeo Gang met for lunch on Wednesday, January 20 at Heaven’s Taste in Peabody at 12 noon. Heaven’s Taste is located at 150 Main St.  

There is no web site but you can see some mixed reviews at Yelp. You can also see some photos at the Picasa web site below ........... 

https://picasaweb.google.com/108806068200291783388/RomeoLunch12016
 

 

There were 6 Romeos present including Joe Lapiana, Ed Deschuytner, Jim Terlizzi, Mark Ryan, Joe Pignatiello, and John Tweedie.

The restaurant is a modified Brazilian Steak house where you have self service selection at a buffet table with additional slices of meat served by a carving chef at a carving table. The meats include rotisserie beef, sausage and chicken. 

There are two choices for lunch which include all you can eat for $16 or $7 a pound. We decided to all get the all you can eat selection and went back for seconds. The buffet table had an assortment of potatoes, fries, plantains, salads, rice, noodles and other vegetables as well as stewed beef, chicken and pork.

The beverage was water, cola and coffee. No alcohol. We also finished off the meal the several cakes and custards.

The meal was very good, meats tender and tasty and the service was very attentive.

The conversation was lively as always and included talk about sports, weather, politics and news.

It was nice to see John T. at lunch. He said he has been busy with doing new teacher supervision with Emerson College. He usually spends a few weeks in Pompano Beach, Florida during March when the weather is better there. 

Joe P's mum just turned 100 last week and we wished her well. They had a big birthday party for her at Moonstones Restaurant in Chelmsford.

Ed said he just bought 6 seasons of the hit TV series on DVD called Breaking Bad which was on HBO. He said it's great TV and really addictive. Jim said he taped all 6 seasons on AMC when they had a movie marathon and has really enjoyed it.

There were lots of other things we talked about but just general chit-chat. Jim suggested a lot of new movies now playing including the "Martian" with Matt Damon.

We then decided on meeting next month on Feb 17th at the Continental Restaurant in Saugus. Jim will send out an email. 

Comments always welcome .... Markryan82@comcast.net

 

 

Romeo 12-9-15

The Romeo Gang met again for lunch on Wednesday, December 9 at Michael’s Place in Wilmington at 12 noon.  Michael’s Place is located at 110 Lowell St. (Route 129). Go to .... www.michaelsplacerestaurant.com or Trip Advisor for more information and menu.

There were five Romeos present including Jim Terlizzi, Joe Pignatiello, Ed DeSchuytner, Joe Lapiana and Mark Ryan. You can see some photos at the Picasa Web site. Just click the link below ..... Romeo Lunch 12-9-15

Joe L and I arrived early and grabbed a table. The place gets real busy at noon as a popular lunch spot. I live in town and come here often. Food is always great with extra to take home.  You order your choice at the counter and wait for your number to be called. Service is real quick. The menu choices include seafood (fried and baked), subs (hot and cold), pizza, calzone, steak and turkey tips with sides and baked Italian dinners.

When everyone arrived we ordered and most got the baked combo of shrimp and scallops with potato and vegetable  sides and one order of chicken Parmesan with ziti. We also had soda and beer. The food was super delicious and plenty of it. Joe P and Jim took home a doggy bag. As we ate the conversation bounced around the table. 

Joe L is doing well at his art studio in Lowell and is having an open house the weekend of 12/12 and 12/13/15. Over 300 artists will open their studios for exhibit and sales. The website is ... http://westernavenuestudios.com    for more info.

Joe P said he would be going skiing this weekend at Mt Sunapee even though there is little snow. He volunteers at a ski clinic for disabled vets.

Jim just returned from a trip to Japan and Korea. He said it was a great experience. Food good and he was surprized to get a private tour for him and wife and tour driver. 

I then told a story about my neighbor’s son and wife who are taking a year long trip around the world. They recently were in Vietnam and Thailand. They write a weekly blog describing their adventures. Being in their 40s they are young and healthy and backpacked most of the time. They are now on their way to Spain and then South Africa. Along the way they have biked the country side, taken sailing lessons, hiked and enjoyed the local cuisine. Nice to be able to see the world at a leisure pace.

We then talked about the new state testing program. Ed D said it may be a combination of the MCAS and PARCC tests. However, the state wants to develop their own and incorporate an online version which would cost less money.

Joe L said he went to the last NSSSA meeting held at the Terrafugia facility in Woburn. They are developing a flying car. Joe said they have three working crafts and hope to market them soon. It still needs a short runway to land and take off. However, they are working on a model that will have electric vertical thruster engines so you could take off straight up from your driveway.

We then talked about where to meet next time. Joe L mentioned a Brazilian Steakhouse. We explored a few online but most only opened after 4PM. We finally found one in Saugus for January 20th. Jim will send out an email.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all you Romeos and Juliets and youngsters.

Comments always welcome ... Markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo 11-18-15

The Romeo Gang met for lunch on Wednesday, November 18 at Moody’s Deli in Waltham at 12 noon.  Moody’s is located at 468 Moody Street. Go to www.moodyswaltham.com for more information.

There were only five Romeos present including Steve Winter, Jim Terlizzi, Ed DeShuytner, Joe Lapiana and Mark Ryan.   Joe Pignatiello couldn't attend. He had another appointment. So Steve had his wife drop him off at the restaurant. Later I volunteered to drive him home to Belmont

 

You can see photos at the Picasa web site below .... Click

Romeo 11-18-15

The restaurant was in downtown Waltham with limited parking. Street parking for one hour and no meters. There was a public parking lot on a side street for $2.00 all day. The secret is to first see the Public Parking sign. Of course I didn't and so I parked on a side street with no VISIBLE parking restrictions. 

Unfortunately, there is a time limit of two hours for side street parking and I ended up with a $25 parking ticket. They always say Buyer Beware. Or is it stupid is that stupid does. Later Joe L. told me he parked in a local school parking lot. Why not, he was a teacher and teachers have privileges.

We entered the deli and the counter help told us to sit anywhere and push a few tables together. We then learned that we had to order food and drink at the counter and pay. When ready they brought it to the table. The small menu listed about 10 sandwich dishes all made with fresh meats processed right there in the deli. You could see the selection of cured meats hanging on display.They served local beers in cans or soda in an ice chest. A full bar was available later on the dinner menu only.

I had a corn beef on rye with truffle chips and an IPA beer for about $20. 

The others got similar sandwiches. Joe ordered a charcuterie which is a plate of various meats and cheeses with flat bread slices. His order took the longest to be served. 

We had all arrived before noon and the place was quiet with a few customers. By 1PM the line at the counter went out the door and every table was filled with patrons. They all were in the 30-ish age group and probably worked at local businesses. 

The food was very good and fresh for a deli. It brought back memories of the old Jewish deli "Maxie’s" in Chelsea where I grew up.

The conversation was lively as usual and included topics from sports, trips, health insurance, the terrorist attack in Paris, the presidential candidates and local news.

Joe L. just returned from a river boat trip along the Danube. He said it was great with everything included - food, drinks, side trips and gratuities.

Steve told me that he went on a trip to Vienna "by car". That is Vienna, Virginia to visit his son's family. His granddaughter was in a high school play. She had a 5 minute part! They also stopped in Ithaca, NY to see his daughter and family.

We then talked about where to go next month for lunch. We decided on a restaurant in Wilmington. Jim will send out an email.

Comments always welcomed....

Markryan82@comcast.net