I've always liked Italian cuisine especially pasta. So it was quite a wrench to make the decision to go gluten free 10 years ago. At home I could always make myself the various gluten free pastas that were available some better than others none as good as the real stuff however. But to eat out at favorite restaurants was a nightmare. No one served gluten free. Still I was determined to stay gluten free for my health. Then one day Laurie asked me to take her to her favorite Italian place called Paesanos. I looked at the menu and wept. All these great dishes with pasta. I settled for a salad. It was actually very good and I enjoyed a nice glass of wine with it. So it wasn't all bad. So when the next craving for something Italian came up I mentioned let's go to Paesanos again. This time the waitperson asked why just a salad. I explained my situation to her and she said she would talk to the owner about my problem. A few minutes later the owner came to our table and I explained that I'm gluten free. He wanted to know more about it and I told him in some detail. He asked if there were any alternatives to gluten pasta and I told him what was available. He asked where one could find these products. I told him most grocery stores in the area had a selection of them. He told me to choose any of the pasta dishes I would like for dinner and that he would personally go to the nearest grocery store to get some gluten free pasta. I was shocked! So I ordered one.
Well we had soup and salad and Laurie's dinner came and I told her go ahead don't bother to wait for me. It wasn't long after that when the owner comes to our table with an apron on and my gluten free pasta dish in his hands. He told me he went to the store and bought Quinoa pasta, cooked it himself and now wanted me to enjoy and to let him know what I thought of it. Let me tell you -it was wonderful. He told me that he would continue to carry the gluten free pasta so that I and others like me would be able to enjoy their great pasta dishes and not be limited to just salads. Now that's what I call great service. Paesanos has been and still is my favorite place to eat out. Laurie and I would go there for our New Year's eve dinners also. And they now carry gluten free bread that they bake at the restaurant and gluten free Tiramisu for dessert! Now that's Italian!
PS Rice is the best grain for gluten free pasta I've found.
Stay tuned.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
And Leo was his name-o
I once knew a guy and Leo was his name-o. L-E-O, L-E-O and Leo was his name-o. Yes Leo. Where would we be in this world without the Leo's for existential entertainment-o. I lived with Leo in a house with 3 or 4 other guys in the winter of 1976-77. It was the best of times it was the worst of times. No job couldn't find work living with my brother Jim and guys I grew up with. Gary, our neighborhood buddy we grew up with, owned the house. Leo rented a room as did my brother. I shared Jim's room till I hopefully could find work and I could be on my own.
In order to save money I stopped eating meat. I studied up on becoming a vegetarian. Combining different food groups to maximize proteins and so forth. One day Leo came home from work got out the biggest pot we had and threw in a huge root vegetable of some kind as big as your head huge. It might have been a rutabaga I don't know it sounds good though. He then filled the pot with water. I asked him what he was doing. He said that was going to be his dinner. Your dinner? Yes he said my dinner because he was going to be a vegetarian now too! I said Leo vegetarians eat more than just vegetables you know. No they don't he said and reached for a beer. And Leo was his name -o.
Speaking of beer Leo was very fond of it. We had no TV so the evenings entertainment usually consisted of sitting in the living room drinking beer and listening to music. Toward the end of the evening Leo would be sitting on the floor with his back up against the couch nodding off. His half full bottle of beer sitting next to him. He would catch himself falling asleep and spaz out jerking his arms and legs and always knocking over his beer spilling it all over the carpet. Since we were all responsible for cleaning up our own messes Leo would slowly get up walk to the kitchen to get a towel to throw down at the beer mess on the floor. He wouldn't actually clean it just throw a towel down at it. Night after night this happened. Gary would eventually have to clean the entire carpet. And Leo was his name-o.
Leo didn't have a car. But we only lived about a mile from where he worked. Still he took a cab every morning at 6:00 am. He would call the cab company then eat breakfast and fix his lunch for work and by that time the cab was there. The cab would arrive honk the horn and Leo would go to work. There were many mornings when that didn't always work out as planned. The cab wouldn't come when Leo thought it should so he called for another. The original cab would invariably come a minute later Leo would leave and then about 20 minutes later the second cab would arrive honking the horn constantly in hopes Leo would hear and come out. But Leo wasn't there and the honking would continue for 5-10 minutes waking everyone in the neighborhood. And Leo was his name-o.
Every Saturday morning I would be awakened to the sounds of arguing from Jim and Leo. It would progressively get worse until fists started flying and next thing I knew they would be rolling down the stairs locked in mortal combat. This happened like clockwork the same time every Saturday morning without fail. I asked Jim once why this would happen. He said Leo was being a hose head and needed his i dotted. And Leo was his name-o.
Once one cold wintry night, late, no music just us all sitting around staring at the roaring fire in the fireplace, Leo in the back sitting on the couch for once, we got totally mesmerized. Watching the fire dance and crackle and pop. You know how it is late at night keeping warm by the fire almost like being on a camp-out -then suddenly a big pop and crackle and a cinder flew out the size of a large walnut glowing golden red right in our midst on the carpet! We just sat there frozen not knowing what to do. Then from the back on the couch Leo slowly gets up walks up to the cinder picks it up with his bare hand and calmly walks over to the fireplace and drops it in. We looked at Leo in shocked amazement! Leo we said didn't that burn and hurt? It sure did he said and sat back down on the couch. And Leo was his name-o.
We had other forms of entertainment. We played ping pong in the basement. One Friday night I was playing against Jim and Leo was sitting on the stair steps waiting for his turn. Gary came home from shopping for a corded circular saw. Oh boy he said I can't wait to try this out tomorrow morning. Now Leo I don't want you to be messing around with this I just bought it. He set it down and went upstairs to have dinner. We continued to play with Leo watching. After awhile Leo looks over to the new saw and says I wonder what this is like walking over to it. Jim and I looked at each other -Leo, Gary said not to touch it he was going to open it tomorrow morning. I just want to see what it looks like. Jim and I continue to play. There was no stopping Leo once he got something in his head. He opened the box took the saw out and plugged it in. I wonder how well this cuts. Leo! put that down we said! But Leo found a 2x4 and started to cut it. He started to cut the wood--bzzz then nothing! We looked over to Leo and Leo looked at us. He had cut right through the electrical cord on the first cut! Oh No!! Leo started to look around. What to do what to do. He carefully repacked the saw including the severed cord back into the box. Then he looked around for a place to hide it. Why hide it? So Gary wouldn't find it he said.
The next morning Jim and I were playing again with Leo watching. Gary comes down the stairs all bright and cheerful wanting to play with his new toy. Leo sees him and starts to take off up the stairs. Gary is looking around for his saw but can't find it. Where's my saw? he says. Jim and I say nothing. Eventually he finds it opens the box and comes over to us with the saw in one hand and the severed cord in the other. LEO!!!! And takes off running up the stairs. And Leo was his name-o. L-E-O, L-E-O and Leo was his name-o!
Stay tuned.
In order to save money I stopped eating meat. I studied up on becoming a vegetarian. Combining different food groups to maximize proteins and so forth. One day Leo came home from work got out the biggest pot we had and threw in a huge root vegetable of some kind as big as your head huge. It might have been a rutabaga I don't know it sounds good though. He then filled the pot with water. I asked him what he was doing. He said that was going to be his dinner. Your dinner? Yes he said my dinner because he was going to be a vegetarian now too! I said Leo vegetarians eat more than just vegetables you know. No they don't he said and reached for a beer. And Leo was his name -o.
Speaking of beer Leo was very fond of it. We had no TV so the evenings entertainment usually consisted of sitting in the living room drinking beer and listening to music. Toward the end of the evening Leo would be sitting on the floor with his back up against the couch nodding off. His half full bottle of beer sitting next to him. He would catch himself falling asleep and spaz out jerking his arms and legs and always knocking over his beer spilling it all over the carpet. Since we were all responsible for cleaning up our own messes Leo would slowly get up walk to the kitchen to get a towel to throw down at the beer mess on the floor. He wouldn't actually clean it just throw a towel down at it. Night after night this happened. Gary would eventually have to clean the entire carpet. And Leo was his name-o.
Leo didn't have a car. But we only lived about a mile from where he worked. Still he took a cab every morning at 6:00 am. He would call the cab company then eat breakfast and fix his lunch for work and by that time the cab was there. The cab would arrive honk the horn and Leo would go to work. There were many mornings when that didn't always work out as planned. The cab wouldn't come when Leo thought it should so he called for another. The original cab would invariably come a minute later Leo would leave and then about 20 minutes later the second cab would arrive honking the horn constantly in hopes Leo would hear and come out. But Leo wasn't there and the honking would continue for 5-10 minutes waking everyone in the neighborhood. And Leo was his name-o.
Every Saturday morning I would be awakened to the sounds of arguing from Jim and Leo. It would progressively get worse until fists started flying and next thing I knew they would be rolling down the stairs locked in mortal combat. This happened like clockwork the same time every Saturday morning without fail. I asked Jim once why this would happen. He said Leo was being a hose head and needed his i dotted. And Leo was his name-o.
Once one cold wintry night, late, no music just us all sitting around staring at the roaring fire in the fireplace, Leo in the back sitting on the couch for once, we got totally mesmerized. Watching the fire dance and crackle and pop. You know how it is late at night keeping warm by the fire almost like being on a camp-out -then suddenly a big pop and crackle and a cinder flew out the size of a large walnut glowing golden red right in our midst on the carpet! We just sat there frozen not knowing what to do. Then from the back on the couch Leo slowly gets up walks up to the cinder picks it up with his bare hand and calmly walks over to the fireplace and drops it in. We looked at Leo in shocked amazement! Leo we said didn't that burn and hurt? It sure did he said and sat back down on the couch. And Leo was his name-o.
We had other forms of entertainment. We played ping pong in the basement. One Friday night I was playing against Jim and Leo was sitting on the stair steps waiting for his turn. Gary came home from shopping for a corded circular saw. Oh boy he said I can't wait to try this out tomorrow morning. Now Leo I don't want you to be messing around with this I just bought it. He set it down and went upstairs to have dinner. We continued to play with Leo watching. After awhile Leo looks over to the new saw and says I wonder what this is like walking over to it. Jim and I looked at each other -Leo, Gary said not to touch it he was going to open it tomorrow morning. I just want to see what it looks like. Jim and I continue to play. There was no stopping Leo once he got something in his head. He opened the box took the saw out and plugged it in. I wonder how well this cuts. Leo! put that down we said! But Leo found a 2x4 and started to cut it. He started to cut the wood--bzzz then nothing! We looked over to Leo and Leo looked at us. He had cut right through the electrical cord on the first cut! Oh No!! Leo started to look around. What to do what to do. He carefully repacked the saw including the severed cord back into the box. Then he looked around for a place to hide it. Why hide it? So Gary wouldn't find it he said.
The next morning Jim and I were playing again with Leo watching. Gary comes down the stairs all bright and cheerful wanting to play with his new toy. Leo sees him and starts to take off up the stairs. Gary is looking around for his saw but can't find it. Where's my saw? he says. Jim and I say nothing. Eventually he finds it opens the box and comes over to us with the saw in one hand and the severed cord in the other. LEO!!!! And takes off running up the stairs. And Leo was his name-o. L-E-O, L-E-O and Leo was his name-o!
Stay tuned.
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