val189 wrote:
> On Dec 25, 8:06 am, George Shirley > wrote:
>> Gloria P wrote:
>>> Dimitri's menu reminded me of the Christmas Eve open houses my parents
>>> had in Massachusetts while they were still alive. (They died in 1971
>>> and '72.)
>>> In their Portuguese tradition, Christmas Eve day was a day of abstinence
>>> from meat, but big on hospitality and family.
>>> After a full day of work, they would come home to cook octopus stew,
>>> codfish cakes, and big loaves of bread with Portuguese chourico and ham
>>> rolled into the dough (that was for "breakfast" after Midnight Mass.)
>>> About 8PM the friends and relatives would begin to arrive. The red wine
>>> (homemade) began to flow, the dining room table would be set with a
>>> buffet of breads, codfish, octopus, clams-and-rice, lots of cured
>>> olives, a big salad, plus cookies, chocolates, aletria (vermicelli
>>> custard pudding) and spice cake heavy with nuts.
>
>> Are you, by chance, from Fall River, Massachusetts Gloria? I was
>> stationed across the river from there in 1959-60 and enjoyed going to
>> the Portuguese restaurants when I was on liberty from Newport, RI. I
>> ended up well-fed after those trips.
>
> Then you MUST have gone to Magoni's Ferry Landing!! It was still
> there when I was in the area in 2006, but smelled of disinfectant when
> I stuck head in the door for a nostalgic look-see. I used to visit
> folks there in Somerset and ate there often.
I don't remember any names at all, it's been nearly fifty years. I do
remember the smells and taste of good food cooked properly.