This weekend is the annual Orange International Street Fair. A Labor Day
for sure for years for us, the circle at Orange is closed down, with each street
having a different international flavor, Italian, American, French, Mexican,
Japanese, and Swedish, this year I am looking forward to eating English, and in
fish and chips. They look so good each year, and I have my cardiologists
blessing to do so, so I am going to eat fish, deep fried fish and chips, fries.
I hope my system can handle it. But seeing all the different foods, the smells,
and the music, it is a festive crowd that lasts for three days. Bring your
appetite, don’t count calories, and check in, or check out with your family
doctor-let’s eat!
Now I tell people, and with a great deal of authority, that California food
is homogenized, dumbed down to be trendy. Take lobster for instance, Baja
style. It is deep fried, can’t tell if it is straight weight or 10-40, and on
one occasion when a product specialist came out to help me in sales, we took him
out to eat lobster. He was used to real lobster, and after starving all day was
ready to kill when this shrunken, greasy crayfish was served to him. Not what
he ordered, but it really was. Mine was not real good either, and I thought I
was ready. A far cry from the lobster shacks of the Northeast, where on our
last visit to Mary FNY, we had split a 5 pound lobster dinner fro $45! Now
that’s what I call lobster! And I bet that is what Lenny was expecting...
The local trendy BBQ place here is OK, but only if you have never had real
BBQ, like Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City, or eaten at Interstate BBQ in Memphis,
order the BBQ spaghetti as a side, but my favorite is still The Golden Rule
outside of Birmingham. I can taste the Brunswick stew right now. Where they
are afraid of the lady who cooks the beans retiring, as she is the only one who
knows the recipe. Fish chowder, a great meal in Apalachicola, Florida, fresh
out of the Gulf, order the big bowl with the sourdough rolls. Crab cakes mean
the Maryland coast, subs mean New Jersey, cheese steaks Philadelphia, and fried
clams means Maine. With our gourmet meal eaten outside with the ocean only a
few feet away. Make sure you get the Whoopie pie for dessert. But one night in
Somerset, Pennsylvania, I had some of the best Mexican ever. Let me explain...I
was visiting Fr. Al, and we had dinner planned. I envisioned steaks, cheese
steaks, or something with red meat involved. But he was excited for this new
Mexican place, so we went. I told him I didn’t ride 3000 miles to eat Mexican,
if anything to get away from it. But he insisted, and we went with another
couple visiting the chapel. And the food was incredible, it seems these too
brothers from the interior of Mexico were gourmet chefs, and this was anything
but the slop Alberto’s passes off for food. It was incredible, and sopapillas
for dessert. It was incredible, and I used to joke with him, “did you ever hear
the one about the biker, the priest, and the couple in the mini van from
Cleveland eating Mexican in Somerset?” And we both laughed, and on another
visit passed Theresa’s taste test also. Expecting the unexpected never tasted
so good. Or a sandwich from Primonti Bros. in Pittsburgh, the directions take
you down an alley, and the sandwich is served on hand sliced Italian bread, your
choice of meat, I like the #2 steak, with hand cut fires, and Italian cole slaw
on between the bread. Pictures don’t do it justice, and is a must in
Pittsburgh, worth the ride. And so I am looking forward to the Food Festival,
hoping the fish meets my expectations, or I just might have to take a ride to
Malibu to the Fish House for fish and chips. I do have this new 2015 Scrambler
to put miles on....So what is your favorite meal? What would be your final
meal?
Maybe a cafeteria of all the above would be mine. Too many good choices,
and too many moods to eat them in. For a while I thought it might be cream of
broccoli soup while in Cardiac Critical Care-it was that good. Maybe the green
chili chicken enchiladas at Monroe’s in Albuquerque. Maybe a Jimmy’ Hot Dog,
the best, secretly prepared since WWII, the Big One. Maybe a sub from
Hershey’s, Jersey Mike’s should take note. Whatever it is, finish it off with
fresh made frozen custard at Ted Drewes in St. Louis, or a piece of icebox
chocolate pie at The Golden Rule. A whoopie pie tastes good any time, and
Italian ice on a hot day cannot be beat. Shoo fly pie in the Poconos, and a
sopapilla after a great burrito. I can taste the fresh honey dripping down my
arm-somehow they never taste the same when made at home. Looks like it’s dinner
time, even if it isn’t-let’s eat!
Now without benefit of Tripadvisor.com, Jesus knew of some pretty good
foods to eat. He ate fish and bread, and fed 5000. Was that fried or grilled?
He ate figs and beans and onions, wonder what his recipe was? Were the cookies
as good as Fig Newtons? He ate various breads, leavened at unleavened, corn
bread, and various desserts. No record of ice cream. He ate pigeon and dove,
imagine it must have been finger lickin’ good. And even goat, lamb, mutton, and
oxen are mentioned as edible in the scriptures. These guys knew how to eat!
And somehow they were healthy, and without all the sanitary laws we have today.
Made from scratch, home cookin’, which knowing Jesus’ home was heaven, must have
been pretty incredible. But what they Jews knew, as did Jesus, was the special
time that eating a meal represented. It was special occasion, intimate, and
much could be learned about a person by eating with them. Which is why Jesus
picked communion, with the bread and juice to remember him by. It wasn’t camel
races, fish fires, or even eating fresh honey. It was a simple bread,
unleavened, and wine, unfermented. Simple like he was, sharing a simple message
of salvation, so that simple folks like me could get it. A special meal that
allows us to get to know him better, to be reminded of who and what he is, and
did. A time to reflect on good times, and look forward to good time ahead. A
time of eating with your hands, passing around the bowl when done, of fresh
bread and spices, eaten with your friends. Jesus tells us to “do this in
remembrance of me,” and that you are “my friends if you keep my commandments.”
Dinner with Jesus...your friend. Maybe we should remember him more, or ask for
more than a simple blessing with the food. Remember wherever 2 or 3 are
gathered, he is among you. Think of that next time someone cuts in front of you
and your Double Double. You are out eating with Jesus. And when with him, you
never leave hungry.
Leave the food fight along with the foolish food battles away from the
church. Eat with Jesus, don’t gorge or over eat, and be ready for breakfast the
next day. I can taste the linguica with eggs and potatoes at the Black Bear
Diner. Which takes on a new flavor of its own when I know that Jesus is with
me. Be thankful, be generous, and do this in remembrance of him. Some of the
best times are spent around the table with family and friends. Jesus knows
that, invite some friends over tonight, enjoy a meal with Jesus. Rich in
fellowship and calories. Say did you hear the one about the biker, the priest,
and the couple form Cleveland in the mini van? Good friends, good food, good
memories. All done in remembrance of him. With a doggie bag to go. If it
works for 5000, imagine the meal he has just for you?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com