Saturday, January 5, 2013.
Burning Up. Bosco's New Space.
After a few days of rain, we have a sunny day--but not for long. More rain tonight, the man sayeth. Ah! The day I've been waiting for. Perfect for burning the pile of branches and lumber scraps from the construction of our house last month. The pile was a little damp, but after igniting two or three crumpled newspapers under the smaller twigs, the flames took over. For the next five hours, it was just a matter of feeding the right amount of fuel into the pile. At the end I had burned all the scrap wood. I still had a pile of branches, but it was getting dark, and I would have to leave that for another time. I felt raindrops as I went in. Marvelous! I will not have to worry about a forest fire.
The Christmas train of special days is pulling into the terminal. ML's boyfriend will move out of our house and into his dormitory at Loyola tomorrow. The Marys thought we should give him a going-away party. I agreed, although I wish I had known at the time that he would be back here in only three days.
To Bosco's--a family favorite--for the occasion. The Mandeville location recently expanded into two more spaces in it strip mall, as Tony Bosco's ambitions continue to grow. And to think that I remember when he operated out of that tiny space next to the fish market. Can it really be ten years ago?
Dave broke away from his usual chicken parmigiana, a dish he has ordered so often in my presence that I feel jokes must be made about it. He didn't move far afield: spaghetti and meatballs. ML's her standard Bosco's order is the same dish, but no meatballs. There's something poetic about that, but let's leave it alone.
For me, a single cannelloni. The version here is not in a league with Vincent's or Fausto's, but it is very good, mainly because the filling of veal and spinach is so light. Then a salad (Tony's Italian dressing is terrific), followed by a fillet of redfish with artichokes, mushrooms, and shrimp.
My life could only be improved at moments like this if we a) lived on the South Shore and 2) could go to different restaurants instead of the same ones all the time. Even Mary Ann complains about 2), but does nothing about it.
Bosco's. Mandeville: 2040 La Hwy 59. 985-624-5066.
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