Tuesday, December 28, 2010. Reunion Forty-Two. Court Of Two Sisters Makes Great Osso Buco. Twenty-one degrees when I awakened--the coldest morning so far this season. All the animals spent the night outside. I tried to get them to come in, but none of them seemed to mind the cold. They were none the worse for it when they showed up at mid-morning for food.
For many years my class at Jesuit has had an annual reunion lunch between Christmas and New Year's at the Court of Two Sisters. Joe Fein--who owns the place--is one of us. A contingent of Blue Jays met for lunch at Galatoire's just last week. But today's event has a longer history, and pulls a larger crowd. I counted thirty-two guys--twenty-two percent of the number that graduated in 1968. Pretty good after forty-two years. I think I'll start a pool to guess how many will show up for the big fifty-year bash in 2018. My guess is forty-one.
The French Quarter was jammed. Four parking garages turned me away before I got lucky and found a legal space six blocks from the Court. This made me an hour late, but--as I expected-- the gang had yet made no move from the bar to the dining room.
At the table, I found myself with Billy Phillips on my right. He and I were in the same class not only at Jesuit, but at St. Rita's for three years before. He's a retired airline pilot who says he absolutely loves doing nothing but leisure activities. Dr. Gerry Vocke, who lived close enough to my house that we were often on the same bus en route to Jesuit, was on the other side of the table. So was Mike McGlone. He, I, and Ned Rodrigue are the only members of our class who haven't hit sixty yet. Steve Morgan, also across from me, is a motivational speaker. Francisco Xavier Solorzano--who last year was featured in Reader's Digest, with a full-page picture, yet--was cutting up in his familiar way.
I don't know whose idea it was, but each man stood up, identified himself and told what we were up to. As if we don't all know. This is a pretty tight group.
The menu hasn't changed since Joe Fein and Chef Tom Weaver wowed us with osso buco over a decade ago. The one they served us today was the best yet. Tender meat, great gravy, herbal mash. I didn't want to eat it all, but I did.
I didn't want to because at two-thirty I had to bolt for the radio station. It's not easy to talk for three hours with a whole osso buco weighing on the diaphragm.
After the show I called Mary Ann to check the progress of my family on its vacation. She and our progeny have arrived at The Homestead in Virginia, after climbed up a winding mountain road with snow on the ground. Enough to go snowboarding. They say it looks fabulous. I'm so happy for them.
Court of Two Sisters. French Quarter: 613 Royal. 504-522-7273.
