It’s another Friday in Lent and that means our day woud be busy chasing Fish Frys and other Lenten specials around town. But before we start on this for the fourth Friday, I haven’t even reported on last Friday’s adventures.
We didn’t make it very far because the weather was unwelcoming. Staying on the north shore meant that we could revisit the first one that captivated me at Mary Queen of Peace. Fr. Cooper’s Extravaganza was sold out the first night we went, and I had plate envy the entire time we were there.
We got a game plan together to hit a regular Lenten special at Pomodori Pizza, then we’d head over to the Catholic version at Mary Queen of Peace.
Pomodori is a newcomer to the restaurant scene in Mandeville, but it is a find. This is delicious pizza. Owner Lee Webb has mastered the art of the crust, delivering a perfect combination of limp Neapolitan pizza crust and the stiffer New York-style crust.
There are a lot of great and creative pizzas on the menu, but for Lent they are doing a butter sauce with a crabmeat, leeks and potatoes pizza that sounded intriguing. We had to try it. When we arrived there was a stack of these pizzas waiting for pickup. This was a tasty pizza. This guy uses good ingredients and knows what to do with them. I thought the extra leeks and potatoes may have been a bit of overkill, but this was a good pizza, and a nice alternative to fried seafood for Lent.
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It started to rain as we drove around eating pizza from the dashboard, something we are doing too much these days.
The rain was still a mild drizzle when we pulled up to Mary Queen of Peace. It wasn’t as crowded as it was the last time we were there, and we were able to get the desired fish plate.
I’m still not clear on what the $17 price entails, because it seemed less than the first glance I had at Fr. Cooper’s Extravaganza. This one had shrimp and catfish, onion rings, a crab cake, and a salad. I asked for green beans which I liked from the last time, but the salad was good too. It was mere minutes before one of the attending Scouts delivered it. I never did get a drink because the line was too long to leave Tom unattended.
I used the ticket for dessert because I think it was either a drink or a dessert, when last time it seemed like both. This is still a deal for $17.
The plate of food was better last time, or so it seemed. Maybe it’s a grass-is-greener syndrome, but this plate was not as good as the one next to me last time. Either way, this is one of the best Catholic school Fish Fry plates I have ever seen.
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We didn’t stay as long as last time because it was a fresh dose of nostalgia that evening, and we had just done it. We left when the rain was its heaviest, but it’s always fun to revisit good memories. And these Fish Frys have sure come a long way since the days we revisited in our memory.
