Being a die hard Packer fan I was more than happy with the NFL weekend, though I would have loved to have seen the damn Lions win one, if only because they were playing the Vikes. (And that was a dirty win.) I don't know what it is about that team but I have no respect for Vikings since Bud Grant last walked the sidelines. In a pinch I could be a fan of Da Bears but never, ever the Vikings. Even in the dark ages when the Pack was coached by the likes of Phil Bengston I would rather have suffered through the agony of defeat (after defeat, after defeat, after defeat) than jump on the Minnesota band wagon. But I still love ya.

Speaking of garlic . . . (okay, that was a few days ago) I have indeed partaken of the fare at the Stinking Rose on a number of occasions. Nothing like eating garlic, garlic, and more garlic on Fiestaware. Fun place! As is the Gold Spike, Caffe Sport, Columbus Avenue and all of North Beach. My favorite eatery in that part of The City is, however, a little hole in the wall a bit further south on Green Street from Caffe Sport, Sodini's. Best gnocchi anywhere outside of my kitchen. Anyway, after reading your blog I remembered that I have one of the Stinking Rose cookbooks so I broke the sumbitch open and made a 40 clove garlic chicken this past weekend. Nobody would talk to me today.

Marco