Monday, January 27, 2025
One of my favorite memories was visiting with Alfie and Debi on the way to see Mia and Rob years ago. At the time I was vegetarian. Julie, who had also been vegetarian, was pregnant with our first child, Angelica. She had been wildly craving meat and protein for baby building. So, Alfie offered to bring home some good cuts and make a steak meal for her.
Alfie being Alfie, had no concept of what a vegetarian was or how a human could exist on just eating leaves. In true Alfie the Butcher fashion he prepared an amazing carnivore dinner. The smells filled the room as he presented the plated meals to each person, proudly placing them down one by one. Lastly, to my place, he brought a mostly bare plate with a chunk of iceberg lettuce, a slice of tomato, and a bottle of Italian dressing, dropped it down with an air of confusion, and quickly distancing himself walked away shaking his head with clear familial disappointment.
Needless to say, the steaks were done to perfection. Julie was thrilled and devoured hers with gusto and enthusiasm, quickly endearing herself to Alfie’s A-list. And I on the other hand lost some pretty significant street cred with The Butcher that day. I seemed to have been forgiven over time, but the whole concept remained an enigma to him for many years afterwards.