Good Pilgrim,
If the heavens find thee upon the frayed ways of Toledo, heed these words. Venture heartily amid the tangled paths and belching factories until thee come upon the storied house of Mancy. 'Tis here I guide thee to rest thine beasts and fortify thine flesh.
Within the solid walls, thee shall find a comforting warm light and air fragrant with roasting meats. No finer a slice of beef shall thee enjoy or generous pour from the skin, but this, good pilgrim, is not from whence my bidding stems.
I beg thee order a dish of mushrooms--yes, that lowly fungus that grows beneath the cloak of night. Then cast thine eyes upwards, for the saucer of gilled fungi shall not be delivered unto thee upon the arm of the kitchen wench. The shingled roof shall indeed open to the starry sky and two glowing dots shall appear. As they descend, they shall be revealed as tiny fluttering cherubs on either side of a steaming saucer, which holds the finest marriage of wine and butter and earthy fruit thine lips shall ever know.
Spear one with your fork, good pilgrim. Crush the tender flesh betwixt tongue and roof of mouth. Now close thine eyes and let thine breath stream so slowly outward as thee savor pure divinity.
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7 comments:
Really? I haven't thought of Mancy's in years and years (like 31 of them). Having grown up in Toledo, I ate at Mancy's at least a couple of times. I think at least once with my first boyfriend when I was a senior in high school.
Oh how I wish I could be there right now eating any old thing on the menu. I'd take the mushrooms, but I wouldn't care if they were out of those and I had to settle for something else.
Tony Packo's, too. Me and Hubby. Oh yeah.
Sigh, twinkly
Really, Twinks.
It is just the same as you remember. I have no idea if the mushrooms were as good back then, but they sure sent me to the moon.
And yes, the Goat and I stopped at Tony Packos as well.
Mancy's I don;t know, but Tony Packo's? God, those pickles. Those PICKLES!
The Goat and I were hungrier than we realized when we got to Toledo. Packos was right there and such a delight. And yeah, the pickles rocked. I bought an oversized hoodie too. yay!
We were celebrating our 20th with an overnight at the lodge at Maumee Bay State Park, which is so lovely and secluded and right on the water.
Toledo turned out to be a perfect mini retreat. The only snafu? Your dumb hostess left the camera in the car overnight and the ancient battery drained. So no Toledo photo essay for the readership, just a few night time refinery pix (like the one at the top of this post).
Happy 20th Goat!
Nothing like a refinery at night to bring back those dear memories of Toledo, that and my Mudhens cap
Stop by Libby Glass and grab me a handful of marbles, please.
One of the many advantages of driving a car old enough to have a metal dashboard is I have a place for my Tony Packo's refrigerator magnet, to wit : Tony Packo's: Gas with Class!". Also have the baseball cap.
When I usta sail out of Maumee on a C&C, we would stumble into Packo's after landfall. I'll be lookin' for Mancy's. Gotta get up to Greenfield Village and Edison's lab to purge this damn digital culture out of my head.
Belchdogs!
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