Thursday, October 29, 2009

A Romarsi Feast


Sitting through the raffle drawing at the booster club preseason dinner a few weeks ago, there was only one thing I set my eyes on winning. No, not the team autographed basketball. No, not the "Dream Seats" to an upcoming out of conference game. And no, not even a free lunch at Bunny's with Gonzo and the coaching staff. Rather, the one thing, and one thing only, that I set my eyes on was Romarsi's famed basil sauce and olive tapenade. So when Vince announced my name as the winner of the Grand Prize, I could not believe my luck!


Then, it occurred to me. What better way than to kick off the season than to have Ben over to my new apartment for a Romarsi feast? As the first guest to eat at my newly assembled Ikea dining room table, Ben and I chowed down on some gnocchi with basil sauce and olive chabatta bread with the olive tapenade, reminiscing about our apartment, fine Italian specialty foods, and, of course, Wawa.

After briefly discussing how a simple basil leaf could produce such an amazing sauce, the conversation quickly turned to tomorrow night's exhibition game against Carlton and the upcoming season. What would the starting five be? How many minutes would Big Mel play? Would Garcia get through the game with both knees intact? With Lisa subconsciously writing the name and number of her new favorite player in her dinner plate, Ben and I could not be happier. We were finally back in our element, discussing the ins and outs of Seton Hall basketball and, perhaps just as importantly, how we would get out to the game tomorrow night.


While the mystery of the basil leaf is still unresolved, one thing is for sure. Tomorrow marks the first game of what should be an unbelievable season. With all the prep work done, it's finally time for the games to begin. All the waiting is done. The curtains are drawn.

See you tomorrow night.