St. Patrick's Day Parade

By Ryan  

What was once an annual tradition, the La Salle St. Patty's Day Parade was missed for many years. Last year, the parade was resurrected and a new annual tradition was begun. On Saturday, March 12th at 1 o'clock, La Salle will once again host it's "Annual" St. Patty's Day Parade.

To help celebrate, we will be serving corned beef and cabbage all day both Saturday, March 12th and Thursday, March 17th. We serve a generous 8 ounce portion of corned beef and fresh vegetables (not canned or frozen); steamed cabbage, baby carrots and boiled whole new potatoes.  Come down and watch the parade, then celebrate with us. All for $11.50!

The story of the connection between corned beef and cabbage, the Irish and St Patrick's Day is convoluted and somewhat unclear. It appears that this connection was American in origin rather than Irish. Organized St. Patrick's Day parades may have begun sometime around 1845 in the Northeast United States, but there is no mention of corned beef connected to these early celebrations.
 

There are several theories, or perhaps more correctly, legends about the emergence of corned beef being associated with the Irish. One which seems to have a ring of authenticity about it, asserts that this began occurring after the U.S. Civil War. As we know many thousands of Irish, many newly immigrated to America, fought on both sides. Corned beef, which by it's very making is designed to resist spoilage, was one of the staples of the military diet. The story goes on to suggest that many of the poor Irish were thus introduced to this delicacy (for them) and carried this taste back to their homes. Corned beef being relatively cheap, ultimately became a staple on the tables of the Irish. Whatever the origin, corned beef and cabbage is now and forever associated with the Irish and St. Patrick's Day. 

An Irish Toast

"Here's to you and yours and to mine and ours
If mine and ours ever come across you and yours
I hope you and yours will do as much for mine and ours
as mine and ours have done for you and yours."   

Traditional Irish Coffee 

By Aly

With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, Irish coffee has been warming the hearts of many since the 1930's. Like most recipes, it is disputed who came up with it first. The Port of Foyne, Ireland was a busy air traffic point between Europe and the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. It was the winter of 1934, a flight from Foyne left to New York in extremely bad weather that eventually caused the flight to return. Chef Joe Sheridan working at the restaurant in the terminal building offered tired passengers the coffee drink mixed with Irish whiskey. One American passenger asked if that's Brazilian coffee, and the chef answered, "that's Irish coffee." This warm beverage creation consisted of dark roast coffee, irish whiskey, cream and sugar. The whipped cream gives this warm beverage a unique, yet delicate flavor alongside the whiskey and coffee. Regardless, if this is the true story of the origins of Irish Coffee, this drink has become popular around the world. The secret behind the true Irish coffee you might think would be the Irish whiskey; however, it is the whipped cream that makes this drink. "Hand" whipped cream gives the best flavor, not something you pour out of a can. Irish Coffee has become a classic after dinner drink. Through the month of March, we ask you to come in and try a traditional Irish coffee made with our own housemade whipped cream that has a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg. Taste the Irish for $3.75.

Cognacs
By Jimmy

In continuing to highlight a few of the liquor selections we offer on our back bar, we go from the American bourbons in last weeks newsletter to the Cognacs of France. Whenever I hear the word cognac, I think high class and sophisticated. I picture the Dos Equis beer commercial guy with a cigar and a snifter of cognac. Although I am not an avid cognac connoisseur, we do have the area's nicest selection to choose from.

Cognac, which means "waters of life", is produced by double distilling the white wines made from a certain grape. The main grape variety is Ugni Blanc. You may have heard the saying "All cognacs are brandies, but not all brandies are cognacs. " This is true because cognac is named after the wine growing region surrounding the town of Cognac, France. Cognac is said to have been born because of a dream. In the 16th century, Knight Jacques de la Croix-Maron dreamt that Satan, wanting his soul, tried to boil it but did not succeed. When the devil threatened to reboil it, the Knight awoke and the idea was born. It must be distilled twice in copper pot stills and aged at the minimum 2 years in French oak barrels. This is where it develops its high quality. However, during this process, cognac loses about 3-4% of its volume every year. Although a loss, it is necessary for the maturing process and is known as "the angels share."  

Most cognacs are aged considerably longer because, like most wines and whiskey, they get better with age. Overall, there are about 200 cognac producers in the world but about 90% of them are made by four companies; Courvoisier, Hennessy, Martell and Remy Martin.  

Our list includes Courvoisier VS, Hennessy VS, Hennessy VSOP, Martell VS, Martell VSOP and Martell Cordon Bleu.  

What does the VS and VSOP stand for. VS stands for very special. This type of cognac is stored for at least 2 years. VSOP, or very special old pale, is stored for at least 4 years. The next level XO or extra old is stored for at least six years but usually the average is around 20 years.

The most common process of tasting fine cognac is usually done in a snifter. This lets the aromas release progressively throughout the tasting. The first step should be looking at the cognac itself. You must judge transparency, color and viscosity. It should not be cloudy nor have sediment. The next step is the scent. Although the first hit on the nose is very strong vapors, once you get past this you will then get more of what the bouquet should be. By swirling the glass, new scents are opened with each sniff. Finally, the taste. This is important. You must first take only a small sip. Let it sit in the front of the mouth and appreciate the taste. Follow that with a bit more and let it suffuse the whole mouth and it will bring out the full flavours.

Why do you go to work at 8am?
By Ryan

All the way back when I was in high school and I'd tell my friends I had to go home because I have to work at 8 in the morning, they'd always ask me, "why in the world do you have to go to work at 8am, you don't open until 11?" I still get that question a lot, even today. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure 8am is early enough half the time. So, I thought it might be interesting to give our readers a behind the scenes look at exactly what it is we do every day, 363 days a year at 8am. 

This week we'll start with something from the kitchen. Many of you may or may not know that we bake our own breads in house daily. Along with our breads, we bake our pies and our cookies too. One of the first things the chefs will do in the morning is to proof our bread. Proofing is simply a step that is taken prior to baking, to make the dough rise. The overall process is known as fermentation but to simplify the process, we'll just leave it as making the dough rise. 

To make this happen we use a dual oven. The top half is our baking oven. The bottom half is our dough proofer. The dough proofer is a chamber that encourages fermentation of dough by yeast through warm temperatures and controlled humidity. We make this happen by adding a small amount of water to the proofer, and we raise the temperature up on the proofer to create a little moisture inside. The warmer temperatures increase the activity of the yeast, resulting in increased carbon dioxide production and a higher, faster rise to the dough. Once the dough is ready, it is baked and our bread that you enjoy on your sandwiches and in your bread baskets are prepared for the day.   

Spaghetti Dinner ~ Monday Night March 28th ~ 4:30pm to 8:00pm
By Ryan 

The Lighted Way Foundation is a school for students with developmental disabilities located in La Salle. They are a non-profit organization that services children and young adults ages 3 through 21. This spaghetti dinner is one of their main fundraisers with 100% of the proceeds going to  

the Lighted Way Foundation.

Save the date. We are very proud to say that this will be our 12th year hosting the annual Lighted Way Spaghetti Dinner. It will be on Monday, March 28th from 4:30 to 8 PM. We will once again be serving spaghetti to the masses. 

The donation is only $7 per person and it includes salad, Italian bread, spaghetti with meat sauce, cake and coffee. If you can't be here, we also offer carry-outs.

Thank you to all of the volunteers from the past and the future, we look forward to seeing you again this year.

All lent specials are available all day for dine-in or carry-out! 

FISH AND CHIPS.....9.75 

"Fish 'n' Chips." Harp battered and served with malt vinegar, coleslaw, tartar sauce, lemon and "chips". We offer one of the more authentic "Fish 'n' Chips" around.


 

TORTELLACCI.....14.75

Our tortellacci are very light because they are made from very thin hand rolled dough, unlike some of the store bought products that are very heavy and have very little filling. We prepare them with a white wine cream sauce and top the dish with fresh Reggianno parmesan.

SEAFOOD TRIO.....19.75

Every Friday, not just during lent either, we offer our version of a Seafood Trio. We serve a 4 oz. portion of broiled cod with a basil creme sauce, a 4 oz. portion of our whitefish parmesan with lemon caper butter and a 4 oz. lobster tail with drawn butter. All for under $20.

Birthdays

Josephine Brady

Marlee Giacometti

Francisco Zamora

Trisha Battaglia

Jennifer Neider

Nicole Pelligrini

Ryan Anderes

Ray Anderes

Anniversaries

Chris Plankenhorn - 19 years
Tracey Schmitz - 1 year
Nikki Galetti - 1 year   

Click on the Picture to see a video of Robbie Fulks and Nora O'Connor

Robbie Fulks

Nora O'Connor

Click the picture to watch a Bill Kirchen video

Tickets SOLD OUT!

If anyone has any extra Bill Kirchen tickets, we would like to buy them back!