Several readers stopped me out and about to chat about my Nov. 4 column about comfort food.
Seems they can’t get enough.
One fella told me he and his family were on their way to The Retreat to sample the sauerbraten I’d found so delicious. Nichols Supermarket owner Mike Hennigan reminded me that his store, which has a well-deserved reputation for its top-notch meat department, also sells an impressive sauerbraten which customers can heat up at home.
He’s right. The beef slices are generous and the thick gravy is more sweet than sour. My mother, who knows Nichols’ matriarch Mary Jane Henningan, reports that decades ago a German lady, a Hennigan family friend, bestowed the recipe upon them.
“She made it the old-fashioned way,” Mom said, “using ginger snaps to sweeten the gravy.”
Stress-relief meals
Comfort foods are consumed to relieve stress, and everybody needs stress-relief as the December holidays drive us all crazy. So here are a few more suggestions for some epicurean cures:
Ascioti’s To Go celebrated its first anniversary on Saturday, Nov. 29. For a tasty and convenient meal, its tub o’ meatballs can’t be beat. Dawn and Marc Ascioti, who hail from Solvay, where the family meat market is a landmark, are doing boffo business at Ponderosa Plaza at 207 Oswego St. (a.k.a. Old Liverpool Road).
The exact ingredients of Ascioti’s meatball mix remain secret, but include ground chuck beef, cheese, water, salt and pepper, parsley, garlic, Italian bread and eggs.
Another popular village eatery which has been open for a year now is the Empire Sub Shop, at the former Burger King location at 510 Oswego St. For comfort, I suggest a piping hot bowl of Buffalo chicken soup and a hot pastrami sandwich.
Sweet and sassy
Down at the village’s oldest tavern, The Cobblestone at the corner of First and Tulip, you can enjoy a comforting basket of sweet and sassy sweet potato fries topped with a unique maple chipotle aioli.
Over at Ming Court, near the corner of Buckley and Seventh North, order up some lo mein. My favorite is shrimp lo mein, and I’m glad to report that they don’t skimp on the shrimp!
While most diners are known for their breakfast entrees, I recommend the Southern-fried chicken at the Gardenview, 650 Old Liverpool Road. The meal comes complete with taters or rice and gravy with a salad and a vegetable.
Since we’re cruising Old Liverpool Road, pull in at India House for a mildly curried chicken korma and a crock of vegetarian mulligatawny soup.
At the edge of the railroad tracks, the American Diner’s favorite comfort food is the fretta, a Tassone family tradition loaded with eggs, onions, ham, sausage, pepperoni, home fries and broccoli.
Flag flap finis
Speaking of the American Diner, I noticed that its American flag now flies right-side up.
Owner Mike Tassone, whose menu declares “every day is Veterans Day,” apparently acquiesced to the wishes of folks at American Legion Post 188, who wanted to see Old Glory flying proudly as usual rather than upside-down signaling distress.
Mike still has a yellow Gadsen “Don’t Tread on Me” flag hanging on another corner of the diner clearly demonstrating his strong libertarian leanings.
Clay churches to merge
Two Catholic churches in the town of Clay will link “at the next pastoral opening,” according to the Most Rev. Robert Cunningham, Bishop of Syracuse. In an Oct. 27 letter to local pastors, Bishop Cunningham explained that Pope John XXIII Church on Soule Road will join with Christ the King Catholic Church in Bayberry. The pastor of the linked Clay churches will reside at Pope John XXIII. The bishop also predicted that St. Stephen Church in Phoenix will be reassigned to the Baldwinsville Pastoral Care Area and will soon link with B’ville’s St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
In mid-2011, St. Joseph the Worker here in Liverpool linked up with Galeville’s Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Galeville.
The Syracuse Diocese has 142 parishes, 11 missions and three devotional chapels, serving some 300,000 people. There are five diocesan junior/senior high schools and 23 elementary schools. The diocese covers seven counties: Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego.
Since September 2013, local Catholics have been studying a new phase of pastoral planning called “Crossing Natural Bridges.” The parishes are consolidating because of dwindling congregations, decreasing Mass attendance and a persistent shortage of priests.
