Fat Tuesday!
Days of Indulgence Before the Lenten Fast!
Fat Tuesday in French is essentially Mardi Gras, a fact this indulger did not know before writing this article. Days seem to rip off the calendar faster than normal for me during this time of the year but I also found time to slow down with family time at restaurants in West Palm Beach and in celebrating at a gem of a church festival in Delray Beach. Sprinkle in the Delray GreenMarket and Muscle On The Beach Car Show
and it’s like we had our own days and nights of indulgence with lights, rides, tasty food and drinks, pastries, performances and sights easy on the eyes, like a Ford 1966 Shelby Mustang GT 350.
Elisabetta’s in West Palm Beach didn’t disappoint as we had a beautiful dinner outside for my mother-in-laws birthday this past Wednesday and I had the Fruti Di Mare translation “fruits of the sea” complete with calamari, clams, mussels and gulf shrimp tossed in San Marzano Tomato Sauce with homemade linguini pasta. I paired it with a Peroni draft beer and it was like I was transported to Tuscany for the evening. Speaking of the evening, temps were in the 60s as we sat under a cloudless sky, enjoying a stellar late February night in South Florida. Love, KatieKakes made a tasty Coconut Cake for her Mom’s birthday that was richer than Warren Buffett’s bank account!
Friday night the church festival began and my wife and I volunteered for a few hours. I found volunteering rewarding. My wife sold drinks, hot dogs and cheeseburgers outside in the tent to support the church and I served as a sous chef for Monsignor Tom as he made his famous 17-item Clam Chowder sold at the festival. Monsignor Tom made his homemade Clam Chowder in the church kitchen all three days of the festival to support the church. On Friday night, I did the dishes, brought the clams and mirepoix to the chef (Monsignor Tom) as he stirred his masterpiece, once again, it was nice to volunteer for a worthy cause. That night my daughters rode the carousel, balloons ride, helicopter ride and trampled through the fun house. We enjoyed shrimp tacos
and an al pastor quesadilla from Tacos Veracruz,
a tasty taco truck out of Boynton Beach that’s a staple at the festival.
Additionally, my wife and I, enjoyed a new indulgence, Surfside Iced Tea & Vodka and Surfside Lemonade & Vodka.
A good friend drove up from Broward County with his son and we all had a great time riding the rides, tasting the fare and indulging our senses with all the beautiful lights of the festival. My older daughter met up with a friend and drove around in bumper cars for the night cap - oh what a night!
Saturday we sold our Love, KatieKakes regular sweets, gluten-free, paleo and vegan sweets, cookies, muffins, pumpkin bread, Key Lime cookies etc. at the Delray GreenMarket.
We went home, napped, and went back to the festival where we feasted on some scrumptious Colombian empanadas from J & P Latin Cuisine.
Our daughters rode festival rides under a beautiful moon and the planet, Venus. We closed the festival with some everything and the kitchen sink fries from Fry Masters, Wings & Things, and capped it off with elephant ears dusted with powdered sugar - Wow!
We closed the festival Saturday night, another great time with family and friends.
Sunday, we got to church on time and afterward enjoyed a great breakfast at Howley’s in West Palm Beach. I had a three-egg omelette with ham, Swiss cheese and mushrooms that was out of this world like a Juan Soto home run! We made it back to the festival for garlic Parmesan wings, a few of the coldest $6 Bud Lights I’ve ever had and more rides for the kiddos. This was followed by a performance by my daughter and the baton and twirling team. Great music and good times at the festival.
