TBW Daily Diary

Well, it is official. There will be a new restaurant in the old Zephyr Express location. Home 231 will open Monday, specializing (it was first announced) in home-cooked food for neighborhood families. Hooray! We haven't had anything like that since the demise of Castiglia's years and years ago. What a great place that was. Mom always had a big pot roast, a mess of green beans and ham or an enormous bowl of spaghetti on the back burner for those who just wanted a quick meal after work. (And Italian specialties as well, if you were in the mood or were entertaining out-of-town guests.) . . . Well, I soon realized that my trust was misplaced concerning this new enterprise. One of the specialties is to be grilled octopus. Don't sound much like a neighborhood family spot to me . . . Does anyone remember the ham spread that Kessler Meats use to make and retail at Broad Street Market. That was delicious stuff, and I bought a carton almost every week. I still remember it fondly. Bob has had various successes with his own recipes, but nothing has come close to that Kessler treat that remains in my memory . . . The kids had out their magic wands tonight, filling the air with bubbles. Bob suddenly remembered our childhood days before this stuff came along. We both had a wooden bubble pipe that we dipped into soapy water and we blew the biggest bubbles with it. Bet some of you older readers had one of those, too. They were a big item at the five-and-dime . . .