What'l ya have Hon?

We had a very Philadelphia experience the other night and I suppose that was the point. Todd has been planning a meeting for his high-powered government lawyer colleagues here in town. Since he hasn't really lived here for most of the last 13 years he has asked for recommendations of places to take them. He wanted a traditional South Philly Italian place for a big dinner one night and I immediately thought of Villa di Roma. It is one of the few restaurants actually on ninth street in the famous Italian market and a sentimental favorite in my family for years.

Now Todd is scrupulously honest (esp. for a lawyer), so he wouldn't just take my suggestion- he had to try out the restaurant himself because he knew everyone at his meeting would ask him "Have you been there before?" So Todd, Pete, Jen and I arranged to meet for dinner there last Thursday night. I took it upon myself to invite three more people- my brother Alex, his wife Melissa and my Mother. Now I suppose most guys don't go out of their way to invite their mother to a dinner with friends, but in this case my friends know my Mom is much cooler and hipper and more entertaining than I am. She has been trying to have Todd and Pete come over for dinner for a while anyway.

Villa di Roma has not changed much in the 25 or so years we've been going there. It is basically two small dining rooms and the bar which is always crowded with people waiting to get into the dining rooms. It's like it came out of central casting for a traditional "red sauce" Italian American restaurant. Older waitresses with hairdoos from the 1960's, the menu up on a board on the wall, carafes of cheap Chianti served in water glasses and plenty of brocolli rabe and 'scarole on the side.

Todd had not seen my Mom or Alex in a long time and he had never met Melissa either. So it was kind of a reunion- considering Mom and Alex and I have all known Todd his entire life. The conversation flowed to many different subjects: New Orleans, China, Burning man festival, September 11, football, airport stories and of course -sandwiches.

I told you sandwiches would come up frequently. Todd must have mentioned that it would be tough to make a sandwich with the food on the menu here. I just showed him the great loaf of fresh bread the waitress has just put down in front of me. My mom, hearing this and having read my previous post about the Tomato and mozzarella sandwich said she thought it was a joke that I liked sandwiches so much (her comment about Sandwich Post #1 - "Why didn't you tell them I bought you the mozzarella?) Todd and Pete assured her it is true. So my brother in a completely unplanned outburst says "Well they are almost the perfect food" I think this comment may have earned him a rolling of the eyes from Melissa. Todd mentioned how his friend Elaine wrote a rhapsodic comment on my blog about the Mozz and Tomato sandwich. Alex said that Todd would be a sandwich convert if he had one of his masterful tuna melts. I said that Todd is anti-sandwich because it is food for the working man on the go- not stopping to eat a fancy lunch and he wouldn't understand up in his ivory tower lawyers' office. This all led to a discussion of the relative merits of "Pat's Steaks" and whether Todd should be allowed to take his boss there during their upcoming visit. We also discussed some favorite sandwich places that aren't there anymore like Charlies' Water Wheel (free meatballs and "condiments") and Stan's (King of "Stanwiches"). My brother has very strong sandwich opinions too and we almost came to blows about the relative greatness of The White House in Atlantic City (I was there last Sunday). In the midst of all this Mom was telling Jen the recipe (in great detail) for the Veggie Wedge sandwich she made for fifteen years or so at her store in Reading Terminal. Of course we forgot the smoked mozzerella cheese - I always thought it was too strong anyway.

The food we were actually eating was good too and we all had a great time catching up. I think everyone understands why Alex and I like food that you can eat with our hands when they saw Mom picking at her entree with her fingers. I guess she had trouble finding her fork because it was right beside her plate. It's just something that runs in the family I suppose, forks just get in our way.