Out To Dinner

A major Saturday for Helaine and me – we went out to dinner with another couple. This is huge in the general social scheme of things as we’re normally stay-at-home types.

We were having dinner with Amy and Rob. Amy is Helaine’s friend and I had never met Rob. Helaine and Amy met online through a project they were both involved in and then, through Rob’s work, Amy and Rob moved to Connecticut.

We chose to take them to Tony and Lucille’s on New Haven’s Wooster Street. Wooster Street is the heart of New Haven’s “Little Italy.” Many of the residents and business owners trace their roots back to Amalfi. It’s no surprise that Amalfi is New Haven’s sister city.

Helaine and I have been going to Tony and Lucille’s for over 20 years. It is a family restaurant in the truest sense of the word. Parents are in the kitchen. Children are on the floor waiting tables. In many ways, we are treated as if we’re part of the family.

When Steffie was born, it was the first place we took her! Sitting at a small table in the corner, we put Steffie’s carrier on the floor next to Helaine. Lucille, in her pre-grandma days, took Steffie and carried her around the restaurant while we ate.

Did I mention the food is really great?

We met Rob and Amy at 7:00 and sat right down. The restaurant was crowded. Local colleges, including Yale, are in the midst of their graduation frenzy. Parents are in from all over the place often celebrating with their graduating children.

Speaking of which, the governor of a nearby state was there eating. Included in his entourage were his family and what I assume were state troopers, standing watch. They were ensconced in a side room – private but visible from the main room.

Memo to the gov – I won’t mention your name here, but the folks who waited on you were less than thrilled with your attitude. Would it be so difficult to be gracious? These people were working hard for you.

During dinner people cam up and said hello. I’ve been here a long time. I enjoy that. But I was irked by one woman – and she probably didn’t mean to upset me.

She sat near me and told me she liked me but that she thought I was wrong most of the time. Grrrrrr. I’m certainly not right all the time, but that was an exaggeration on her part – and why? What was she trying to accomplish?

If she knew how hard I work trying to be right and how upsetting it is to me when the forecast doesn’t come in as predicted, she probably would have chosen her words differently. I guess knowing those things isn’t her obligation.

We ate our dinner and walked across the street. I’m sure it’s somewhat sacrilegious, but we had dinner at Tony and Lucille’s and walked across the street to Libby’s for desert. Libby’s is an old style Italian bakery.

The line out front was as long as we’d ever seen, stretching out the door and on to Wooster Street. As we snaked our way inside, we caught a glimpse of what was there. If you’re on a diet or watching carbs… hell, if you’re watching anything, this isn’t the place to go.

In order to get people to eat things that are so bad for them they’ve got to be delicious!

I don’t remember what anyone else had, but mine was a chocolate mousse concoction. Somewhere there is a cardiologist who did not sleep last night because he dreaded I was eating this thing. It is the proverbial heart attack on a plate.

It was so amazingly good!

We came back to the house where Steffie was waiting, dessert in hand. Steffie really likes Amy, so she was happy to be home on a Saturday night to say hi (and start the coffee while we were in the car).

All-in-all a very enjoyable night.

4 thoughts on “Out To Dinner”

  1. My husband has rated Libby’s canolis as the best in the world. I often treat him for his birthday with some.

    But believe it or not we have never been to Tony and Lucille’s. We will add it to our list.

  2. There’s nothing in NYC that compares to any of the Wooster St greats, including T&L’s. A friend of mine went to Amalfi last year and said the food is outstanding- much like Wooster St. A 90 year old woman was joyfully making his pasta, as she had since she was 14- in the very same eatery. World Wars did not interrupt her.

  3. I too disagree with the comment that your weather forecasts are “wrong most of the time.’ Myself, I rely on your forecast.

    As a side question — I have often wondered how you can do an 8 day forecast along with 3 or 4 other weather people at your TV station. Is it intimidating to disagree with Dr Mel predictions; do the younger ones feel similarly with your forecasts. Surely 3 or 4 people cannot always agree over the upcoming 8 days; yet I suspect the station mgmnt wants some consistency between each person’s forecast. Friday AM to Saturday AM is always 3 different opinions. I would imagine it is sometimes hard for you to agree with prior forecasts of others.

    If you ever have a slow blog day — maybe some insight.

  4. Libby’s canolis – how can a pre-filled canoli ever be the best? The shell gets soggy very quickly from the filling. No offense to Libby’s fans, but do yourself a favor and try a freshly filled canoli sometime. I grew up eating the ones from Lucibellos. Mmmmm…

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