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Nino's Diner
"Come over for lunch tomorrow," Nino invited Sharon and me as he left Bruno and Iole's. We arrived at his apartment the next day at noon. Nino had a large collection of English language movies. I scanned the titles. Dracula. "Why do you have Dracula?" I asked. "It helps me with my linguistic skills," he answered. I nodded. Mr. Tubby's classic line popped into my head: 'I'm a chic zombie.' I was beginning to understand why they said some of the things they did. "Come and sit in the kitchen," Nino suggested. "I'm making pasta and fungi di carne, a favourite recipe of mine from a Sicilian friend." He opened the oven door to check the proceedings and I spied the slices of meat inside. "What kind of meat is that?" I asked. "What?" he said, seeming confused. Ha, I thought, doesn't the great English teacher understand? "Is it beef?" I asked. "No, Louie," he replied. "Pork?" I tried. "No, Louie." "Lamb?" Nino gave me a large smile, but shook his head. "Is it beef?" I asked again. "Yes, Louie," he sighed. "It's beef." A few minutes later he served the pasta and fungi di carne. I took a bite. To my surprise, the "beef" turned out to be mushroom - it only looked like meat. Aha. Fungi di carne - mushroom meat. "This is aptly named," I said, taking another bite. Nino flashed me an immense smile, and asked, "How's your beef, Louie?" |
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