I was thinking about when I took over my first place in Rockville in 1955. We served great amounts of beer and the only food we served was warm beer. Warm beer is therapeutic early in the morning. It doesn’t seem to taste like ham and eggs, but who cares after 2 or 3 warm beers. My mother prepared bourbon as a breakfast food and she lived to 98 or so. I guess it was tastier than juice from a bottle of pickled herring.

Being from Russia, the herring juice might have been their version of orange juice--don’t know; never tried it. Mama only had one glass before breakfast. She never talked fuzzy. It just proves what a Russian background will lead you into. Sure was a fine mother; only yelled at me once a day.

Let’s face it. I might have been at fault, but knowing myself I doubt it. My father only cried out of frustration. Man have I mellowed. Even goats think I am a sweetheart. (A bit of advice. Never kiss a goat.)

Getting back to my early days in Rockville, old Montgomery Avenue was an interesting street, but it is long gone. The street was so rough on Friday and Saturday night, that I would break the front, large window on the front as a safety measure. If the windows weren’t broken out, someone would get badly cut when they were thrown through such window. I was always aware of customer safety.

Let’s put it this way. The above was the good part. Back in 1955 you really don’t want to know the more exciting parts.

Besides thinking about my dear old Mon and her dietary habits, and the weekend fun fights, I will slip into something nicer and tastier

Sometimes I would get some nice thick pork chops. This was when pork tasted like pork instead of the way it tastes now-this doesn’t mean going back as far as 1955, but at least one score of years back.

You would get the butcher or do it yourself. Have deep slits cut between ½ to ¾ of an inch into each chop. Take some pitted prunes and stuff them in the slits. Then brown them in a heated skillet until nicely brown on each side. Drain any extra drippings out of the pan. Pour cooking sherry over them. Cover the chops with light garlic and ground ginger. Don’t bury the chops in ginger. Then glaze the chops with drippings of honey. Then cover the pan with foil and cook on medium low heart. They should take about 20-25 minutes. Check by sticking a fork in the chop. If it pulls out easily, it is done.

you can do the same thing in 350-degree oven. But put chops in pan that you can seal with foil or if you have one with a lid. Then do the steps after browning.

Serve with turnips and potatoes mashed together and your favorite green.

All pork must be non-Kosher. Take a beer and eat well.