Foodie Friday, a Film & Festive Music

This weekend we were out and about taking in the local Columbus scene.

Friday night my husband, Andrew, suggested we attend Foodie Friday and get our grocery shopping done. We’ve attended these periodically, but neither of us expected the crowd that turned up on Friday. Hence, it was quite a long, slow process moving from station to station where food and sometimes wine was served. We soon worked out a system where one of us stayed with the cart while the other one browsed the nearby aisles picking up the items we needed.

There were 12 stations, half of which served wine. They also increased the amount of time the event was held by adding an extra hour (6-9pm). I think the price also went up a little too. Since Andrew & I are picky about our seafood, we skipped the Cioppino* and the Shrimp on ice, so perhaps we didn’t quite get our money’s worth.

*Cioppino is a fish stew originating in San Francisco, California. It is an Italian-American dish, and is related to various regional fish soups and stews of Italian cuisine. (Wikipedia)

My favorite stations were the first few – one had a fancy cheese (Jarlsberg) spread on Sesame seed crackers; another served sweet red peppers stuffed with salsa fiesta (spicy cream cheese mix),

and another station had roast beef roll-ups stuffed with horseradish/cream cheese. Since it was well after 8pm by the time we finished with the last station, I asked for seconds on the (cookies ‘n cream) gelato. They usually don’t mind, and there didn’t seem to be too many people left in line behind us.

The selection of wine was pretty good, with a sparkling wine near the beginning and most of the other stations served red, which was a nice change, and paired well with the food served. The vintner of the Zanon Zinfandel even offered us samples of chocolate buttons since I mentioned how nicely red wine pairs with dark chocolate [sometimes it does pay to chat up the ones handing out the food and wine].

Saturday night we went to see “Green Book”* (which refers to the name of a 1960s guidebook meant to help Negroes traveling through the south)

*The Negro Motorist Green Book, popularly known as the Green Book, was a travel guide intended to help African American motorists avoid social obstacles prevalent during the period of racial segregation, commonly referred to as Jim Crow. The Green Book listed businesses that would accept African American customers. (Wikipedia)

I thought I had this movie pretty well soused after seeing the trailers, but there’s more depth to it than is revealed on the surfaced. I like the conversation Tony had with the other two members of the (Dr. Shirley) trio discussing why Dr. Shirley would put himself through all the hassles of traveling through the South during such a tumultuous time for those with darker skin, so-to-speak. I’ll leave it to you to learn the answer behind this.

Of course I am going to have a different perspective than people like my parents, for instance, who lived through that period of history, though I think my generation has seen and experienced plenty of discrimination and issues with race relations, especially among male African Americans. I have to agree with the Time magazine critic who said in his review, “it will make you realize we haven’t come as far as we think we have.”

Here’s what I wrote to my parents in the recommendation I sent them in an email, “it's a fabulous movie about the relationship between two individuals who couldn't be more different, but learn from each other and gradually become friends by the end of the film. Though quite a lot of the funny bits are in the trailer, there are still a few surprises to be had (mostly towards the end). Obviously you will both see the movie from a different perspective having been alive in the 1960s (the movie starts out in 1962 I think). Be sure to pay attention to an important name drop at the end of the film which certainly surprised both of us as I'm sure it will you too. Also, at the beginning of the credits is background info. and pictures of Dr. Shirley and Tony Lipp, so be sure to stick around for a few minutes to see that bit.”

Needless to say, I would not hesitate to recommend this film and can guarantee you it’s 2¼ hours of quality time spent at the cinema.

Sunday afternoon I attended the annual Advent (carol) concert held at my church mid afternoon. It’s usually a mixture of traditional carols everyone knows like: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful” and other songs like “O Come, Divine Messiah” and “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”

Ross Williams, St. Brendan Music Director

If nothing else, it’s certainly a nice (approx. 1 hr) break from all the rushing around and crossing things off our list madness that is the Christmas season. In the words of Fr. Bob (& all other ministers), we need to keep in mind that Jesus is the reason for the season (not retailers! – I added that).

Have a great week everyone!