The age-old question: Why don’t the Catholics think that fish is meat? Surely, most vegetarians and all vegans think that fish is meat. After a bit of research on the internet today I found out there are a variety of answers from the very esoteric to the heretical. The truth is in there somewhere. On pages written by the theologians, it was very deep and murky, and there was some suggestion that it had something to do with the pope’s mistress in the middle ages withholding her favors until her fisherman husband was able to sell more fish. Hmmm! What seems to make the most sense is that it stems from fasting and abstinence and, unlike the modern, western idea of fasting by eating nothing but fruit juice and water traditionally it was about spending time in contemplation and minimalist diet, meaning only what your body needs. This comes from a time when meat was expensive and reserved for those wealthy enough to have their own cattle or purchase it in the market. Peasants were able to provide their own fish and vegetables without any expense. So, therefore fish is not a sacrifice to eat or to abstain from.
It seems that in the 1960 the churches started to recognized that more mothers were working and the community dinner started to take hold and thus the Catholic Church Fish Fry! Another interesting tidbit the Filet o’ fish at McDonalds started as a result of Catholic’s abstinence from meat on Fridays. One of the Franchisees started the practice and got into trouble with the company founder Ray Croc. After a debate they held a sales contest between the Filet o’ fish and Crock’s sandwich made from pineapple rings. Guess which one won!
This week our family was joined by one of our Catholic friends, B, as we headed out to Immaculate Conception on North Broadway in Clintonville. Friday night was a very snowy and icy evening but we braved our way and I.C. is the closest Catholic Church to our house.
One interesting difference we noticed this week is that I.C. is set up more like a restaurant. Your enter the building and there is the order and pay station but from there you are seated by a hostess at large round tables that you may be expected to share with other families. Your tickets are collected from you and then you are served your dinner by a “waiter”. They may bring you drinks or you may serve yourself.
Their offerings were similar to what we had had the previous week. Your options were Adult Fish dinner, Child Fish dinner or Macaroni and Cheese dinner. You could also purchase extra fish. On the beverage side B and T were able to indulge in a beer from Columbus Brewing Company for $3.50, Soda was $1.00 and lemon aid was free. Desserts were also offered with one option being Dairy Queen soft serve with one topping for $1.00. Our total for the five of us before the beer was $36.
T, D, B and F all ordered adult fish dinners and Z ordered the Macaroni and Cheese. Our fish dinners were served with two pieces of fish, steak fries, coleslaw, green beans, and a roll. Z’s macaroni and cheese was served with one piece of fish, apple sauce and a roll. The fish was nice and hot and very good. We were not very impressed with the steak fries though we did eat them all. There was a 50/50 split on the coleslaw. I like mine creamier and this was on the more tart side. I would give them a bonus points for the green beans, but they were of the institutional variety, as in canned from the school cafeteria, but they had a vegetable! Z ate her macaroni and cheese so fast that no one else could try it and declared it was very good, not too cheesy. That’s a good thing for Z as she doesn’t like cheese clumps in her Mac and cheese. Once again we missed out on dessert. We had lots of Girl Scout Cookies at home calling us!
Overall, we would recommend Immaculate Conception’s fish fry. The food and atmosphere was very nice and they get added points from the beer drinkers! It would have been nice to have a glass of wine.
Next week: St. Catherine’s in Whitehall
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment