Birthday Weekend

Enjoying dinner and drinks at Peppino's with my San Rocco confratelli

Many thanks to family and friends for a terrific birthday weekend, may God bless you all!

Boys Night Out

The festivities began Friday night with my San Rocco Society brethren at the always roisterous monthly “boys’ night out” dinner at Peppino’s Restaurant (7708 3rd Ave.) in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Looking to pick up where we left off the night before at the falò di Sant'Antuono, our jovial party ate and drank its fill of chef Mancino’s hearty fare. 

Seppie ripiene al forno

In addition to the usual hot and cold antipasti (insalata di mare, vongole al forno, cozze alla marinara, etc.) we were treated to a couple of the evening specials, crostini con burrata and tender seppie ripiene al forno, stuffed cuttlefish.

Crostini con burrata

For my entrée I enjoyed the perfectly cooked baccalà oreganata with a side of scarola aglio e olio.

Baccalà oreganata

A bit knackered from the two days of revelry (and drawing near to closing time), we eventually called it a night, capping off the celebration with digestivi, coffee and dessert, and to my surprise a rousing, if somewhat off-key, rendition of Happy Birthday.

Books and Booze

Saturday, an old friend surprised me with a few thoughtful gifts. Knowing I’m a bit of a bibliophile and what my interests are, he gave me Emilio Lussu’s A Soldier on the Southern Front (Rizzoli Ex Libris, 2014), E.M. Cioran’s Tears and Saints (University of Chicago Press, 1998), and a bottle of Jägermeister.

I’ve been meaning to read Lussu’s classic WWI memoir for a while, now its next on my never-ending reading list. Cioran is an old favorite, whom I haven’t leafed through in ages. A few years back, I was enthralled with the Franco-Romanian philosopher and binge-read whatever I could find by him, as I'm wont to do when I discover a new writer that I find interesting. They are welcome new editions to my library and I look forward to reading them both.

The Jägermeister harks back to our younger days, when the herbal liqueur was our drink of choice while sitting around the campfire. Though it’s been some time since I’ve gone camping (and it's much easier now to find southern Italian amaro), we still enjoy doing shots after dinner whenever my friends and I eat at a German restaurant. We always have a glass on September 20th for the Feast of Sant’Eustachio (Saint Eustace), who along with Saint Hubertus is the inspiration for the stag and radiant cross logo on the label.

Cavatelli con ragù alla Napoletana

Birthday Tradition

After morning Mass, I spent a relaxing day with family playing chess, watching the playoffs, and enjoying our traditional Sunday repast, replete with southern Italian delicacies, including my favorite, cavatelli con ragù alla Napoletana.

Though far less extravagant, my customary birthday dinner vies with Christmas Eve (la vigilia di Natale), St. Joseph’s Day (la tavola di San Giuseppe) and Thanksgiving for my favorite meal of the year. Failing to blow out the 50 candles on my cake on the first try, my wish didn’t come true, and like all good things must, my amazing birthday weekend came to an end.