Entries from Required Eating tagged with 'Lent'

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Lent's Own Fast Food Sandwich

Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 26, 2007 at 11:14 AM

"In 1962, Lou Groen was desperate to save his floundering hamburger restaurant, the first McDonald's in the Cincinnati area. His problem: His clientele was heavily Roman Catholic. In those days, most Catholics abstained from meat every Friday, as well as during Lent, the 40-day period of repentance that begins this week with Ash Wednesday. His solution: He created the Filet-O-Fish — a sandwich that saved his restaurant and eventually would be consumed at a rate of 300 million a year."

I've never really given much thought to the classic items on the McDonald's menu so it was a trip to discover that the Filet-O-Fish was invented by a franchise owner and not headquarters—the same is true of the Big Mac and the Egg McMuffin, as it turns out! And while it seems like a no brainer to me that Hawaii leads the US in weekly Filet-O-Fish consumption, I'm kind of surprised that Ohio comes in at number two, even if it is the Filet-O-Fish's home state!

2 Comments | Tagged: fast food, Filet-O-Fish, fish, Hawaii, Lent, McDonald's, Ohio, religious restrictions, sandwich, seafood

Fish-Fry Fellowship

Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 21, 2007 at 4:56 PM

Yesterday marked the start of the Lenten Season, during which Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays to honor the Passion of Christ. Seafood is exempted and so in many communities with large Catholic populations, parish fish frys on Lenten Fridays have become a tradition. Nicki Britton of the Houston Chronicle visited parish fish frys in the area and talked to the people that run them: "The fries "build relationships,'' she says. "Many of the (volunteers) are retired. They may not have an organized plan for every day. But they know that every Friday for six weeks, they will be coming together and sharing an experience.'' The recipes for fried fish, coleslaw and potato salad come in two scales each: one for big groups ("Makes 200 pounds fish") and one for six people.

2 Comments | Tagged: coleslaw, fish, fish frys, history of food, Houston, Lent, potato salad, religious restrictions