Drink intentionally this St. Patrick's Day

For better or worse, drinking is a part of Catholic culture, particularly around Saint Patrick's Day when everyone is suddenly Irish.

Regular readers know that I am very interested in food and in particular food systems--how food gets from the fields to our plates, in other words. Particularly since writing Greener Pastures for U.S. Catholic magazine, I have tried to support local farmers by shopping at farmers markets whenever possible.

But until this weekend, I never thought about my drinking habits in this context. At Chicago's FamilyFarmed EXPO on Saturday, I learned that drinking locally also means supporting local farmers.

By getting to know your local brewer or distiller, you can also get to know where their raw ingredients come from. Often the barley, wheat, and other ingredients come from not far away. Illinois even has some good wines, I learned.

Adam Seger, the creator of Hum (a botanic spirit that tastes amazing with Goose Island's Matilda, for those of you in Chicago), said that buying locally often means supporting local wine stores as well. Seger, who works at a restaurant and knows how many bottles are recycled (hopefully) or thrown out every night, is also asking his bars to return the bottles for reuse, just like bars do with Goose Island kegs, making the process more environmentally friendly. This can only happen on a local scale though.

One key is that people find out what they can get locally and ask for it by name. We could call it "drinking intentionally"--as if that were possible on St. Patty's Day weekend, or any weekend really, in a city like Chicago.

For most young people, alcohol is a means to an end: drunkenness. Take a quote from This American Life on Penn State, named the No. 1 party school: A student said that he wishes there was a "drunk button" so that he could achieve that goal without having to choke down Natty Light. I can't throw any stones, but that's just sad.

I imagine that vast majority of green-clothed young adults in Chicago were drinking green-dyed Miller Lite, and not even in Guinness, last weekend. I am part Irish (that part grows this time of year), and I will enjoy a Smithwick's (my favorite beer) with my corned beef and cabbage (I give up my Lenten fast from meat just for the feast day) on Wednesday.

But most of the time, you'll find me enjoying a good, local beer and at least trying to drink intentionally. Thankfully in Chicago I have plenty of options (Goose Island, Piece, Three Floyds, Two Brothers, Half Acre, Revolution, Metropolis, and Bells).

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorika/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

via uscatholic.org

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Fish Fry reviews: St. Gabriel's in South City

α α α α Four Mackerels

My fellow Mackerel Snappers,

As you know, each year I attend three of the same fish frydays. They are: Sta. Cecilia’s, St. Gabriel’s, and St. Pius’. This past week we ventured out to the south city to visit St. Gabe’s. We were not disappointed. Now, I know I complained about Sta. Cecilia’s long line however, St. Gabe’s line was long as well. The difference was the efficiency of getting you through the line. And, of course, the free beer while waiting, helped with the mood. I was told by a parishioner that they had been averaging over 1000 servings of fish dinners each Fryday of Lent thus far. I don’t know how that compares to Sta. Cecilia’s, but that’s a lot of people to get through the door and fed. I noticed too, that like Sta. Cecilia’s, St. Gabe’s has “branded” their fish fry and are selling t-shirts. If I were re-branding Sta. Cecilia’s, I would print a t-shirt that said: “I survived the long line at the “original Mexican Fish Fry””. St. Gabe’s just says: “Fish Fry/St. Gabe’s”. The message is simple and to the point. Just like the meal.

As you can see from my photos, the meal was ample and of good value at $8/person including the free beer. It tasted great. I had the catfish, slaw and pastas. Each item is home made. I sampled two desserts since Teka is on a weight loss diet. Everything was delicious. It is served on school “china” (though, complimentary drinks are served in Styrofoam cups). And, the cafeteria is not a dungeon. All of that adds up to four solid mackerels.

Still missing from any Southside fish fries: hot sauce. I am not sure why they don’t get it, but Cholula goes with everything and especially with fish!

Keep up the great work, St. Gabe’s. See you next year.  On to St. Pius.

Peace,

Mike Baldwin

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Glenn Beck, Respected Lunatic and Spiritual Guide to the Thing That Used to Be Conservatism

...urges Catholic apostasy. Glenn Beck, a man who a disturbing number of Catholics actually take seriously, is now telling his followers that if their Church teaches about social or economic justice, it is preaching both Nazism and Communism and the members of said Church should abandon it. No. Really: read more at Mark Shea's Catholic and Enjoying it.

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Fish Fry reviews: Sta. Cecilia's

ααα and a shrimp ≈ three and a half Mackerels

My kindred mackerel snappers,

I apologize profusely. In the Lenten tradition, mea culpa. It just occurred to me, on the eve of another Friday night Fish Fry, that I had not yet posted my review from last week. I know you are waiting every week for this review so you can choose your next fish fry. It may have been due to exhaustion and overeating, that I neglected my responsibility to my two readers. Exhaustion from standing in line for so long (nearly 2 hours) and, overeating (well, that’s obvious).

Since I first discovered Sta. Cecilia’s “original Mexican fish Fry”(the new marketing brand they added this year) three years ago, I have always rated it very highly. They have great food. My favorite: the Chili Relleno. They have a festive atmosphere that includes dancing and mariachi. They have beer available in-line. They gave out samples of their fried shrimp this year to those waiting in line, as well. They have a friendly and energetic crew. They have it all, except for “sustainable” tableware. They continue to use Styrofoam and plastic and throw everything in the trash. In the past, the ethnic atmosphere and great menu made up a point for the one lost due to Styrofoam. This year, however, my fellow diners agree, that the Styrofoam could not be overcome by atmosphere alone, especially since much of the atmosphere was absorbed waiting nearly two hours in line. In fact, I had planned to attend “another” Mexican fish fry—Our Lady of Guadalupe (which I had heard was very good and had a shorter line), but was talked into going to Sta. Cecilia’s by a friend who ditched us once she saw the line.

So, this year I am awarding the Sta. Cecilia’s fish fry three and a half mackerels. I hope they will be motivated to make the line shorter and to use sustainable tableware in the future. 

I think more ethnic parishes could follow the lead of sta. Cecilia’s by serving ethnic foods and providing a little entertainment. For instance those parishes which still have a high percentage of Irish—fish and chips and some music and dance. Ethnically Asian parishes could really wow us with some exotic foods and cultural symbols. Just sayin’  

Peace,

Mike Baldwin

My grading system:

·         Food quality and selection

·         Value

·         Sustainable practices

·         Atmosphere

·        

Extra points for things like ethnic food and/or entertainment or Free Beer in long lines (hint)…

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