How the hell did I end up in this biz???

School to me was an enormous opportunity, I was so excited to get into school & start a career. Up until this point I was a kid, I graduated high school, screwed around for a few years.. I went to college & HATED IT! I dropped out just before spring break & drove to Savannah Georgia with my dear friend Dave (rip) we spent possibly one of the greatest weeks of our lives (@ least I know it was mine) living in a house loaded with 13 University of Pennsylvania Girls***** (maybe one day I will fill you all in ... )

I spent so much of my time during this period of my youth trying to figure out what it was that I was going to do for the rest of my life. I loved the social aspect of the restaurants, the camaraderie of playing Rugby, the love interests that I had during this time were so important to me & I hope that those women know that! So many of the girls that I dated during this time were truly subjects for my culinary explorations.. I loved to cook for them, i had a blast doing it & the best part is that I wish they could see me now & stop by for a meal.... so AC, MBOB, AF, Thanks!!

My Family... An amazing group of people..

• Da ~ The Irish & Italian, Creative Genius, loves good food! 
• Mom ~ Midwest lady, cool as hell mom, great cook, still uses wondra for her sauces! 
• Big Sis, fun chick, cooks & loves the classics like Gram showed her! 
• Mick & Tom, the "lil" bros, gotta love em', late night fried bologna sammies to La Vigale. 
• Gram ~ You my dear led one hell of a life & I hope that my girls have 1/2 of the adventure that you did. One thing I loved was your passion for the food, its history & its importance in our lives.

My days as a Busboy working @ "keegan's" in Narberth.. hahahah! I can still hear the old waitresses "Hun, go clear off table 21 & get 34 their salad, come awn hun, hurry up" at the end of our shift.. (i was 14) we'd have to go downstairs to meet with Old man "keegan" where he would ask us how much we made in tips & then he would hand us a piece of paper so that we could figure out our taxes.. !!!! hahahahah.. I still laugh about this.

Hey its where I started.. again I go back to the chefs in the kitchen, watching these guys. Smoking cigs out back, weed @ the end of the line, a shot snuck in here & there & god.. the waitresses loved them (or @least just flirted with them so that they could get their food faster!!)

The mystique of the kitchen & the love for it all went a step further when I was a wee lad.... I took a road trip with my buddies... we ended up in NYC for St. Patrick's day. we stopped @ one of the greatest pubs in NYC.. 85th & amsterdam, An ICONIC Irish Pub to see my old babysitters.."Lexi & Babs" my buddies laughed, we stopped by, we got in.. WE DRANK... (Shhh... it was illegal, shit I was only 18) but that wasnt it.. NO it went a step further......it was when I went to look for my Lexi & Babs & someone said.. "They're downstairs"... I walked the narrow steps towards the, GULP, basement of a NYC establishment, (Illegal to even think about doing in some places). I can smell the tobacco, the stale beer, the scent of a meal, I can hear laughing, loud talking, cursing...(remember.. This is St. Pats day in NYC) I pressed my hand against the bottom door & it creaked open... Now I dont know exactly what I saw, but I do remember there was a large group of people in a smoky basement, a storage area of some sort with a few tables & lots of bar stools..

(i now recognize this as a break time in-between 2 shifts) 

As I opened my mouth to speak... & my old babysitter came rushing over & began pushing me up the steps. "Whoa Whoa... no need to be down here..... You should never come downstairs" I was quickly rushed upstairs & said good bye to... where does this lead me in my journey on my road to be a chef????

I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON DOWN THERE.....