London, LeBron, Paris and Rome III
Rome! Also, a Barista is Born!
Ciao Amici!
Welcome to my 33rd Newsletter!
My 2010 European tour comes to an end with this final reflection in a series that began in London, carried on through Paris, and then onto Rome. This paves the way for a new series in which I will share and compare my 2023 European tour was like this past summer with Ari.
Before we begin though, I wish to thank everyone who reached out to Ari and me after the devastating Midleton flood, your warmth and kindness did much to help us recover from the shock and trauma. I am eternally grateful for one fellow female restaurateur and rockstar who has become my biggest supporter, and whose generosity allowed me to continue paying rent while my food trailer was temporarily closed due to the flood.
Journal Entry
Wednesday, July 21st
My tour has ended, the crutches removed, and I must walk through Rome trusting only my two feet and I am terrified! Rome is very much like a ghetto, graffiti is everywhere and groups of strange men sitting in small groups look suspiciously at passersby. They call out derogatory or degrading comments, mostly in fun, and laugh at the reactions they get. Motorbikes appear out of nowhere, speeding and nearly hitting you, winding through parked or stopped cars down narrow alleys.
I am having lunch at Ristorante Giovanni at the foot of the Pantheon across from the Tigres River. I am surrounded by potted plants and Vespas, eating Al Fresca under an umbrella, thank God! Italy is suffering from a heatwave with temperatures that they have not had since the mid-1800s. My view is impressive here and the price of my lunch reflects it but, “When in Rome..!” There are statues all along the bridge leading to the Pantheon, angels and philosophers I believe.
My lunch is almost as impressive as the view; Caprese Salad, Bruschetta, and red wine. Simple, elegant and so fresh and flavorful. I’ve ordered a cappuccino, just to keep this table a little longer. I will definitely do as the Romans do and riposo ( go for a nap, like the Spanish siesta) after this, then venture out later, when it’s a bit cooler, for a nice supper!
My room at Hotel Smereldo is one-third the size of my smallest Tremont apartment but I laugh, because it’s really all I need. I am a chef and an artist, traveling through Europe and I am developing a strong desire to rid myself of all that is non-essential in my life back home. I’ve made promises to myself:
Personal
Move into my smallest apartment in Tremont completely. Get rid of all of that huge furniture. Lose the TV. Set up for cooking, painting, sleeping, exercising, and writing.
Ride bike everywhere. Possibly buy a Vespa!
Cook every meal! Something wonderful, EVEN if it’s just for you!
Take art lessons! Mario? Get back to drawing at the Lit on Friday nights!
Attend one cultural event per week; Cinematheque, Cedar Lee Theater, an Art show or lecture, an orchestra, or a museum.
Saturday and Sunday only with Stan. Cook, play, drink, have fun, relax, love!
WRITE EVERY DAY!
Business
Strengthen relationship with Chef’s Garden. Start buying produce from them.
Bring back dinners but move to Saturday nights in The Loft. Buy curtains. Invest in better lighting.
Cook more legumes and grains.
Introduce more specials at the restaurant.
Bake!
Keep Erin in charge!
So! Ride bike from Tremont to Tastebuds and work Monday-Friday starting at 10 am and finishing at 1:30 pm. Have lunch with Erin to discuss the business. Plan dinner and shop on the way home at the West Side Market. Riposo/Siesta! Walk to Civilization Coffee Shop and write. Cook dinner. Walk around Tremont or bike. Paint listening to great music! Sleep!
I’m FREE! It’s CRAZY! Talking to Erin it sounds like she’s more than happy to continue being me at Tastebuds! What a thrill! What a magnificent life, that I can still make money while sitting in cafes writing or traveling, or anything really! WOW! It’s all sinking in. I do not plan at all to rest on my laurels, I plan to become the best that I can be!
On the tour bus the other day we rounded a corner just before the Vatican and our guide pointed to an apartment that once belonged to Sofia Loren. I’ve said many times that if I had to choose a famous person to emulate, it would be her! She’s known for building an independent life where she enjoys cooking and company and has seduced many men, but chooses to be friends, not lovers. Or lovers but not boyfriends or husbands. I love it! Life is like travel; It’s best to travel light and travel alone. You just get so much more out of each and every experience.
I love that Stan sees me so clearly and has no desire to change me or clip my wings. In fact, he’s always pushed me away, because he knows that’s the way up! I love him and cannot wait to be close to him again. Our love is not fire and desire, it’s near and dear friendship, the kind that lasts a lifetime, but may not be enough for me and may prove to be too much for him.
Italy is growing on me! I’m having dinner at Trattoria Moderns, just a few steps from my hotel, because it’s dark and I’m scared to get lost on my first night on my own. I’m enjoying their Lasagna Bolanaise. Very good! Nothing like fresh pasta! I had an inspiring appetizer, an eggplant tower with zucchini, tomato, ricotta, and mint! Oh, what I could do with all of those ingredients! I am finally dining in Rome, I mean really indulging in a rustic-looking place with chalkboards full of food specials and featured wines. I have to admit, while it is expensive, I rather like the glass bottle of water offered natural or sparkling. The bottles have beautiful labels and tend to be blue or green which glisten in the candlelight, which is just a tea light inside a wine glass surrounded by coffee beans! Simple. Elegant.
Still, I am so completely stunned at the lack of flavor and absence of garlic in most of the dishes I have eaten and I am saddened that the only salad dressing is vinegar and oil. A balsamic reduction on that eggplant tower would have knocked my socks off! The only cheeses I’ve seen are Parmesan, Buffalo Mozzarella, and Ricotta, all very mild and dare I say bland if the food they are topping isn’t seasoned properly.
This is starting to feel like my trip to New York City, where I learned that I have NO reason to have an inferiority complex when it comes to being a chef. I’ve got it! What I need to do, is DO a lot more of it, using Saturday night dinners as my testing ground. Practice makes perfect. I am proud to say that NOTHING comes out of my kitchen, at Tastebuds or at home bland or boring. NOTHING! Even things that I’m not exactly passionate about, like the wraps, are still perfectly seasoned and delicious. I can’t wait to get my hands on Chef’s Garden tomatoes, lettuce, and herbs! What fun I’ll have. What flavors!
Mmmm! My Lemon Gelato Dessert has just arrived! I’m not usually a fan of cold, frozen desserts but I am becoming one. It is cleansing and refreshing and in this heat it’s perfect. It’s almost 11 pm and it is still really really hot. In fact, most diners at this restaurant opted to sit indoors and their patio is absolutely gorgeous.
Journal Entry
Thursday, July 22nd 2010
I have to say, that the attitudes of the Italians in Cleveland’s Little Italy differ very little from here. Let’s just say they are not the friendliest and no matter how much you spend, you’re going to be pouring your own water and wine, wishing you had more bread, butter, or cheese, and giving up on finding your waiter until he’s presenting you with a check that’s much higher than you expected! I am having dinner at La Tana de Noantri restaurant and it’s just too much to ask my waiter to do ANYTHING! So, I’ll just try and get through it as best I can.
I’m hanging out in the Trastevere area of Rome tonight and it’s really cool. There are great shops, galleries, and restaurants and there are bands playing on one side and Mass being said on the other, and church bells ringing periodically. The thing that makes me laugh at every turn is the over-use of space. There are dining tables set up, practically on top of each other with no consideration for the cobblestone streets, slants, hills, and curbs they straddle. Diners are wedged into wobbly chairs behind wonky tables and waiters pretend not to notice their discomfort! The mini-cars and motorbikes weasel their way into the tiniest crevices and park on sidewalks along narrow streets or blocking alleyways.
Everywhere you look men just stand alone or in groups checking out the young girls and making fun of the guys. They are handsomely dressed wearing cotton shirts with the top few buttons unbuttoned, perfectly pleated trousers, and polished loafers, looking like gentlemen but acting like pigs. Just like the waiters who look so professional in their tuxedo vests and long aprons, but actually don’t give a fuck about your dining experience! They are just sloppy slobs incapable of great service.
Journal Entry
Friday July 23rd, 2010
I can’t stop shaking. I talked to Erin this morning and found out that all hell broke loose yesterday at Tastebuds with our electrical system. Power went out, the breaker box was too hot to touch, wires were synged and we were very near a full-blown fire. Erin handled it beautifully and while only temporarily, she got the issue fixed and they were able to open today. Five minutes after hanging up with her I thought about all of my artwork and journals and how heartbroken I would be if they went up in smoke.
I’ve been lucky. For seven years I haven’t had to think much about those evil bastards who did the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC system. I know nothing was done properly or up to code, otherwise, they would have secured the necessary permits. Maybe it is time we move to a safer, smaller, and more efficient space.
Fuck! I wish I wasn’t having to think about this right now. I feel so powerless and helpless. Two days ago, I felt on top of the world and that the sky was the limit! I’m sitting at Pri Mo Food Coffee and Wine Bar on the Piazza Campe De Fiori. The open-air market has just broken down and the piazza looks like the alley that runs behind the West Side Market in Cleveland. Pigeons are pecking at watermelon rinds and orange peels. Squished tomatoes are baking in the sun. The reverse warning beeps of trash collectors and the hums of the street cleaners spraying and sweeping are constant. Men and women are hurling boxes and bags into the garbage truck and they smile at the sound of glass bottles crashing into one another. Being a tourist, I am enjoying the sights and sounds as I sip my cappuccino and shoo away the flies.
Ah! My last day! I’m sorry, but I am so happy to be going home. Shopping has never been my thing and it is all there is to do here in Rome once you’ve visited all of the religious and archeological sights. Of course, if I had company it would be quite different. I have a hard enough time eating alone back home, so you can imagine dining alone in Italy has taken its toll on me.
It’s getting dark.
I’m getting full and buzzed.
Pasta and Wine!
I am surrounded by so many different languages.
None of them are English.
The lighting is beautiful and there is finally a bit of a breeze.
I am homesick.
Alas, if I was still in Paris I might not be. I understand Paris. I love Paris! I’ve been learning about Paris most of my life, through art, film, music, literature, and cooking. The language of love, the city of love, the food of love. In both cities, I have overindulged and overpaid but in Paris, it was done with pleasure, in Rome with pain!
Perhaps, a week in Rome was just too long to be alone.
Journal Entry
Saturday, July 31st 2010
I’ve been home a week and everything surprises me; my feelings, Stan’s feelings, what’s happening with my family, and with Tastebuds. Just when I decided that Erin had proved herself capable of taking over Tastebuds, and I was planning on handing it over to her, allowing me to pursue other interests, she told me she had an announcement. I really thought we were on the same page and that she was going to hand me a proposal. Instead, my little girl is moving to North Carolina to attend Johnson and Wales and I couldn’t be more proud and happy for her, despite the fact that it crushes my hopes and dreams at the moment!
The End!
Meanwhile in Midleton…
A Barista is Born and a Business is Saved!
I am not gonna lie to you. The last few months have been brutal for Tastebuds Cork! I took comfort in reading old journals and being reminded that Tastebuds Cleveland started very much the same way 22 years ago; everything that could go wrong did. My credit cards got maxed out, bills piled up with no way to pay them and the temptation to give up grew with each slow and challenging day. My business was hard to find and road construction made finding parking even more of a challenge. Shortly after opening in Cleveland, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 happened. Just two months after opening in Midleton, we experienced a catastrophic flood that damaged or destroyed most of our businesses. (No, I am not equating those events, just mentioning that both forced temporary closures.)
But there were fundamental differences as well. My family helped me tremendously when I opened in Cleveland. My dad offered his business advice, my brother helped with some light construction, and my mom and sisters helped me scrub the ceilings, walls, floors, and equipment that were left in deplorable condition by the former tenant, a Chinese bakery. They all helped with the menu, from testing, tasting, and pricing to printing. Of course, everyone promoted the restaurant to everyone they knew, which was not as easy as it is today, and friends, relatives, and previous co-workers all came out to support us. Even my nieces and nephews, who were quite young at the time, sat at outdoor tables during their visits which helped to draw new customers.
Also, I had tons of experience in the restaurant business in Cleveland. I had listened to customer's likes and dislikes for nearly a decade and was ready to fill an underserved market of people looking for healthier lunches. I had no reason to doubt my menu.
Gaining any knowledge and experience here in Ireland was impossible. I tried to get a job cooking or serving here to learn what people like to eat, where restaurateurs shop, and what ingredients are best but no one would hire me. (I would find out later that at least one potential employer assumed I was looking to secure a visa from him and considered that too much work to hire a chef from America.) The disadvantage this has put me in is disheartening, especially when potential customers come to my food trailer, look at my menu then thank me and walk away without buying anything. Ireland has its customs and tastes and I cannot quite figure them out!
And then there are my shortcomings as far as the use of technology and social media to promote my business. I was so proud of myself when I created a Tastebuds Cork Facebook page. I woke the next day to find that I had over 200 followers, however, they were all friends in the US. Because I am a trailer in the middle of a small car park and don’t have a fixed address, Google assumes I am in the US and I have no idea how to change that! It is the same with Instagram.
Of course, my legendary stubbornness is partially to blame! Everyone told me I needed to sell what the Irish and most Europeans that live here call proper coffee, but I didn’t listen. I thought that I could get by selling quick and easy American-style freshly brewed coffee, what they call (with a frown on their face) filter coffee. After all, the whole point of my food trailer was to sell great food, food that I am known for in the States, fresh salads, great sandwiches, and my famous Greek pasta, I didn’t want people to have to wait in a long queue while I steamed milk. My American mindset needs to change drastically. Time is not money here and a long queue is seen as an opportunity to have a chat with someone new, a laugh with friends, or just a nice long look around.
Not too many people are looking for healthy food here and no one is in a hurry so having the words Tastier, Healthier, and Faster written on my trailer has probably done as much to dissuade customers from trying my food as the words Gourmet Salads have! The word salad doesn’t really mean what it does in the States. To older folks, it conjures up images of coleslaw or just lettuce with a bit of tomato and salad cream which is as bland and boring as it sounds! And younger folks don’t like lettuce in their salad at all, think egg salad, ham salad, and potato salad!
I don’t think there has ever been a time in my life that I have been so wrong about so many things! Rock bottom came when 2 darling little girls noticed my special display of Halloween cupcakes that I made using my mom’s award-winning recipe. They were so excited when their mom turned the stroller toward my trailer and agreed to treat them.
I was beaming with pride as the little girls gleefully picked out their cupcakes. A minute later, I wanted to shrivel up and hide when I heard the older girl say, “Mommy, I don’t want this anymore. It tastes disgusting!”
“Ok, honey. Maybe we will just take off the icing and you can just eat the bun.”
“No Mommy, I don’t like any of it!”
“That’s it!” I thought to myself, “What chance do I have if kids don’t like my cupcakes, grown-ups won’t try my salads and nobody likes my coffee?” I was ready to throw in the towel then and there.
Pretending not to hear the girl’s comments and knowing that her mom would not accept her money back even if I tried because that’s how Irish people are, I offered her a free sample of the Greek Pasta. I guess I was trying to give the mom at least, a reason to come back!
A few minutes later she asked if she could purchase an order of Greek Pasta which made me feel worse. I thought I inadvertently pressured her into spending even more money, so I explained that I genuinely wanted to make up for the cupcakes. She said that the girls love the pasta and that she genuinely wants to bring an order home for their dinner! I wouldn’t have believed her if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes!
Tastebuds Cleveland’s rock bottom came on our first really busy day, when I stayed late into the night prepping and a speeding car plowed into my van, totaling it and leaving me unable to shop for the restaurant or make deliveries. Paul’s mother swooped in to help us out with a loan that helped pay off our credit cards and buy a new van. Who knows where I would’ve ended up without her generosity?
Similarly to 2001, a helping hand came unexpectantly when I needed it the most from a family member, making it possible to press on here in Cork. Like someone with a gambling problem, I took the money that was meant to help pay off some of my debt and I rolled the dice one last time, betting that a cappuccino machine was all I needed to turn my business around. “Give a man a fish he eats for a day.” Give a girl a cappuccino machine in a country that is currently having a love affair with coffee and she can eat and feed her son from her tips alone!
Interestingly…
I was desperately looking for a letter I wrote to Howard Schultz, the founder and CEO of Starbucks Coffee, to share with you and I stumbled on this instead. As someone who believes that everything happens for a reason, I’ve decided to share it.
Journal Entry
January 11th, 2000
I feel so in tune with my spiritual self it is really almost frightening. I honestly believe that God and I have entered into some sort of agreement or understanding. The details are vague, but I feel that I have a very important job to do. For days now I’ve been high on life just searching my soul, deeper and deeper. Sunday I got out the bible and read it for the first time in my life without being forced or threatened with bodily harm! I opened it randomly to St. Luke and began to read about how the whole Immaculate Conception thing happened. I learned that Mary’s cousin Elizabeth, who was quite old was also with child at the hands of God and the angel Gabriel. She was to have a son and name him John the Baptist.
Well, dig this! As I am reading about John the Baptist, the phone rings, I get distracted and I end up downstairs watching the news with Paul. I started to tell him about what I was reading and to my amazement the news started showing footage of the Black Nazarene being carried through the streets somewhere in the Philippines and a celebration happening in Israel (I think), to mark the anniversary of Jesus’ baptism…by John…John the Baptist! Who I just read about after opening the Bible at random! HELLO? PRETTY CRAZY!
Well, today I’ve felt God, or my inner spiritual self saying, “You KNOW your calling, FOLLOW YOUR HEART!” I feel it is to teach people how to be nice again. To teach them to smile, to say hello to one another as they pass on the street, to be kind, and to be generous. Americans respond to money more than anything else. So my idea is to catch people in the act of kindness and reward them with a one hundred dollar bill! As much as I can afford! I got the idea when all alone and miserable, living in Pittsburgh and going to culinary school. The driver of my homeward-bound bus was so warm and friendly that everybody sat in the front of the bus just to talk to her, which sparked conversations between strangers (like me) who quickly became friends. She knew everybody by name and my God, you could tell how much they looked forward to seeing her.
I would just sit there frustrated, trying to think of a way to let her know how truly amazing she was, and how she brightened so many lives and made a difference in the world. She got to know me and even though it was just a little bit, I felt a sense of belonging and a closeness like family as we all rode that bus home together.
Boy, then there was that 70-year-old woman, Mary, in Millvale, who actually shoveled me out of my parking space in front of her house, even though I kept getting out of my van shouting, “This is ridiculous! Please let ME shovel! If anyone sees us, I’m surely going to jail!” But she wouldn’t hear of it!
These people have got to know how wonderful they are and I’m going to be the one to tell them! And maybe if the word spreads that some crazy woman is going around giving out hundred-dollar bills to reward simple acts of kindness, maybe people will start being more kind and friendly and they will start to see that the joy and happiness they will feel is worth much more than money!
And the world will be a better place. And the world will be a better place for you and me!
And Finally…
"Remember, no man is a failure who has friends." -Clarence (It’s a Wonderful Life)
I came to live in Pittsburgh just the same way I came to Cork, without knowing a soul, but somehow managing to find the best people with the kindest hearts and hoping I’d have the opportunity to let them know how special they are and to show my gratitude. Now that I have the ability to make Lattes and Cappuccinos, I am meeting more and more people and having delightful conversations while frothing milk! The question I am most asked is, “What made you move to Ireland?” To which I respond, “The people!”
Often I get to elaborate about how Ari and I are in a constant state of bliss because everywhere we go we are met with warm smiles, kindness, and humor. I mention that we feel safe for the first time in our lives as well. A small few let me know that things aren’t as good as they used to be, but generally, they are happy and proud to hear this.
It means a hell of a lot to me that I can express my gratitude to total strangers all day long, and while I am still very far from making this business viable, I find it so fulfilling. I swear, my heart fills to its capacity as customers do their best to support me, encourage me, keep me company, or simply make me laugh in a way that just comes so easily to the Irish! Every day that I turn to leave my trailer I grab my heart and I thank God for my life, my business, and all of the people that have entered them, just the same way they did at Tastebuds Cleveland all those years ago and I think to myself, ‘what a wonderful world!’
A Very Merry Christmas to Everyone and a Heartfelt Thank You to all of my Wonderful SubStack Subscribers. Enjoy Every Moment of this Magical Holiday Season!
Thank You for Being Here My Friends!
Cheers!
Bridget