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March 17, 2010
Food for a Cause
Selecting a Charity
By Ray


Photo courtesy of News Tribune
spag dinner vol
Charity can be a wonderful thing. Do you know how much of what you give actually makes it to its' intended cause? Several years ago, right around the time we started doing the spaghetti dinner, there were several scandals involving some of the largest charitable organizations. This has become the biggest reason we have chosen the Lighted Way Spaghetti Dinner as our main charitable cause each year.  It is local. It is needed. We know where 100% of the money is going. Monday, March 29th you can feed a family of 4, including salad, dinner, and dessert for under $30 and 100% of your dollar goes to a local charity. Yes, we do carry outs too.


I get extremely perturbed with many of our celebrities and politicians that love to take the stage and publicity to promote a charity and are then offended when someone questions where those donations are going. To me, it is all about how much of your donation gets to its intended cause. If these people were really concerned about their cause then they should also be concerned where the donations are going.

charity navigator
How can you know how much of your donation reaches it's intended cause? Once a charity reaches a million dollars in contributions it has to file a financial reports with the IRS. Charity Navigator works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of over 5,500 of America's largest charities. At Charity Navigator you can look at the performance of charities, by type of charity, administrative costs, and CEO compensation. You can also study the tax benefits of giving, and what to do when a charity calls. You can donate right on their website using several convenient payment methods. Search your cause and see how they compare. It really amazes me that some of the larger "brand name" charities end up delivering less than 30 cents on the dollar to the cause itself.


Charity Navigator
Holiday Hours and Specials
Easter Sunday Specials
by Kris
easter specials


We will be serving Easter Sunday from 11 am to 8pm. Make your reservations soon.

Brown Sugar and Mustard Glazed Ham

Crab and Shrimp Stuffed Tilapia

Beef Short Ribs over Spaetzle with Veal Demi Glaze

Pasta Primavera with Garlic Chicken

Slow Roasted Herb Crusted Prime Rib

Asian Chicken Chop Salad

California Cheesecake
Lent Special
Fish Tacos
By Jimmy

tortillas
Up until a few years ago, I had never heard of fish tacos. I guess I really never put the two together.  I was introduced to them by Ray when he came across the idea on putting some new things on the specials menu for the Lent season. He had a listing of all kinds of different ingredients used in fish tacos. They seemed very interesting but I thought "no way, tacos are meant to be made with ground beef. Fish in a taco?  That does not even sound good." But I was wrong, they actually go very well together. I thought that this was some new food fad that started in recent years and again, I was wrong.

Beginning 1958 Ensenada, Mexico maked claim to be the birthplace of the modern day fish taco. However, people along the coasts of North and South America have probably been eating them for thousands of years, taking their fish catch and putting them in hand made corn tortillas.
 
Southern California, San Diego in particular, may be the most popular place to find fish tacos in the United States. They are so common that they are even the signature fast food item in the southwest because they are cheap to buy and fast and easy to make.  They became popular in 1983 after Ralph Rubio, who tried them on spring break in Mexico, brought the idea back to his hometown, San Diego. He had tried to coax a Mexican vendor, Carlos, to move to the U.S to start a business with him. Carlos declined the invitation but did give Rubio a recipe. Rubio's current chain of 35 stores makes him king of the fish taco world.

fish tacos
Our version of the fish taco features soft flour tortilla shells with battered whitefish, red cabbage, fresh mango black bean salsa and avocado lime sour cream. Come in and try for yourself.  They will only be around through lent.
Around the Valley
Tastee Freez, Brain Freeze
By Kris
tastee freezDriving through Spring Valley recently I saw what has become one of the first vestiges of spring.  For the 35th year (under the present owner)  the Tastee Freez has opened for the season.  Even on late winter evenings in the 30's and 40's there is a line of cars at the drive up and people standing in the cold to enjoy what many feel is the best soft serve ice cream around.





Once again I am dating myself, but I can remember sitting in the car at the Tastee Freez in the mid 70's feeding my daughter ice cream.  She was just a toddler at the time, but you could see the look of "brain freeze" cross her face as she got excited and ate a little too fast.

Of course this was way before the "Google" era, so we never really found out what caused the "brain freeze" phenom.   Now, of course all you have to do is type it into your search bar and like so many other things, the mystery is solved.

Scientific explanation:brain freeze The reaction is (obviously) triggered by the cold ice cream or beverage; coming into contact with the roof of the mouth. It triggers nerves that give the brain the impression of a very cold environment. To heat up the brain again, blood vessels start to swell, which causes the headache-like pain.  Once the roof of the mouth heats backup, the blood vessels constrict again and the pain is gone.

In the Google search, I found some interesting suggestions as to what you can do to alleviate the pain. One said to pinch your nose with your thumb and forefinger, at the same time blowing through your nose, not too hard, with your mouth closed, allowing a little air to escape from your nose and mouth and keeping the pressure up by continuing to blow.  A little complicated for me, just put your tongue on the roof of your mouth and it will warm up and the pain will go away.

The bottom line is that it's an arguably avoidable pain.  Just slow down (if you can) and you can enjoy the creamy cold deliciousness without the pain. Welcome spring!

Around the Industry
"Counter Culture" -
 Stories of  the Career Waitress
By Ryan 

A new book ccounter culturealled Counter Culture was recently written by Candacy A. Taylor. Candacy is a 30 year old who was working part-time as a waitress while attending the California College of Arts for her Masters degree. While attending college she came up with a masters thesis; to document the lives of "career" waitresses. 

Now, I've always been offended by the way most people would describe someone as a "career" waitress, almost with a snide undertone. The truth of the matter is, and ultimately what appears to be the point of Candacy Taylor, is that these women aren't miserable and they are not "career" waitresses because they have to be. They are waitresses because, they enjoy what they do, they are happy doing it, they enjoy the people they take care of and most importantly, they are good at it. You won't find too many "career" waitresses because quite honestly, there just aren't too many people that are capable of doing it. As Candacy points out during her short stint as a waitress during her college years, she was exhausted physically and mentally as a 30 year old doing the job. She questions how someone over twice her age could handle it. Take a look at the article and go out and read the book.  I look forward to finding these stories.


San Francisco Gate Article
Yet another Holiday to Consider
Christmas Parties
By Kris
 
xmas party invite

I know, we haven't even gotten past Easter! However, now is the time to think about your Christmas Party.  Each year we have to turn away several party requests for our banquet facility.  There are just not enough dates to go around. 

The key is to be the early bird! Don't wait until the dates are all gone. We currently have choices for prime weekend dates available.  Offering many options for meals, bar arrangements etc. we are very flexible and accommodating when planning your party.

Call today to see what dates are available.  You can view our banquet information and menus at the following link.

Banquet Menu
Win a Free Lunch


Foodie Fight Free Lunch Contest
by Kris

foodie fightEach week in the newsletter we will ask 3 questions from the Foodie Fight cards.  The first person to email us (see link below) the correct answers to all three questions will receive a complimentary free lunch.  The winner has to have the correct answer for all three questions, no exceptions.  The following week we will publish the correct answers and the winner from the previous week.  So come on in and have a drink, study the cards, test each other and have fun.    Good Luck!




1. Which French Impressionist painter was a gourmand and an avid recipe collector who cooked from his farmyard, pond, and kitchen gardens in Giverny?

2. What is the name for a stemmed, wide-bowled dish used to serve ice cream sundaes?
 
3. What  "Cuban" drink, made popular by Ernest Hemingway, is said to have been invented in 1896 by an American working in Cuba?
 
 
[email protected]

Fine Print...
You must be the first person to respond with all three correct answers.
The response must go to the email address in the above link.
You must reply within 24 hours from the time the newsletter is published.

Last Week questions and answers....


1. Who was expected for dinner in the 1996 movie Big Night? Louis Prima

2. What did C.W. Post introduce in 1897, claiming it prevented appendicitis, helped cure tuberculosis, and tightened loose teeth? Grape Nuts Cereal
 
3. What is a silence cloth? A thick liner used under a tablecloth to protect the table and reduce noise and breakage.

This weeks winner of the free lunch ... Sarah Wick  3:16pm
Lent Specials
 
Guinness Battered Fish and chips $9.75

Homemade Tortelacci $15.50
White Wine Cream Sauce

Fish Tacos $9.75
Soft flour tortilla shells with battered whitefish, red cabbage, fresh mango black bean salsa and avocado lime sour cream.

Fajita Fridays $20
Fajita Fridays will take a little bit of a twist during lent as we will be serving your choice of our usual chicken fajitas or a lent option of shrimp fajitas. As always, Fajitas for two, served with a 64 oz       pitcher of margaritas.

Mixed Seafood Grill $19.75
4 ounce lobster tail, whitefish parma, grilled salmon.
Served with a trio of sauces.


We will be serving these "Lent Specials" all day, every Friday during lent.

Who said you had to give up all of the good stuff  for Lent?

On Our Special
Stuffed Jalapenos with Crab Meat and Cream Cheese
Grilled and Chilled Asparagus
Bagaduce Oysters on the Half Shell
Panini - Imported French Madrange Ham with Brie and Honey Mango Spread
Nicoise Tuna Salad
Orange Roughy Etouffee
Seafood and Spring Vegetables over Angelhair
Honey Dijon Glazed Infused Chicken Breasts
Roasted Cauliflower Parmesan
Playlist Theater
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Upcoming Shows    


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March 31st


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April 30th

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Jeffrey Foucault
Friday
April 16


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Uptown Grill
601 First St.
La Salle, Il 61301
815-224-4545
Mon - Thur 11 am to 10pm  - Fri & Sat 11 am to 11 pm
Sun Noon to 10 pm
 
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