I’ve only been to a few sports stadiums in my life. A couple with my dad, a couple with friends, and a couple by myself. I’m really not sure why I didn’t go to more. In addition to track, baseball was my favorite sport. If I couldn’t be there in person, I guess I preferred to watch games on TV and listen to the announcers.
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Dodger Stadium & Vin Scully
One of the few stadiums I visited by myself was Dodger Stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was not far from my home near Pasadena, and I was a big Dodgers fan at the time. The thing that made it memorable was my all-time favorite announcer Vin Scully – he just had a way with words. Scully was the play-by-play announcer for first the Brooklyn Dodgers, and later the Los Angeles Dodgers. He did this for sixty-seven years, beginning in 1950 – the year I was born – and ending after the 2016 season at age 88. Scully passed away on August 2nd of 2022. He was 94 years young.
For me, Vin Scully was the epitome of broadcasting and likely the greatest sports broadcaster of all time. I never grew tired of listening to him. Sitting on the 1st base line and watching the Dodgers while I listened to Vin Scully’s voice over the stadium P.A. system? Nothing better – except maybe enjoying a hot dog and a beer at the game I attended back in the summer of 1975.
Marichal, Hooton, Curveballs and My Passions
Funny though, how life sometimes throws you a curveball, not unlike many tossed by Dodgers greats Juan Marichal or Burt Hooton back in ’75. Those were the days, my friend. At the time, I had just discovered that putting pen to paper and telling the truth had become a goal for me. That, and restaurant kitchens had both become my passions. Thinking back, I don’t believe it was much different from Vin Scully describing a home run tagged by Ron Cey (later to play for the Chicago Cubs!). Scully so much loved the game. You could hear it in his voice.
So, after a few restaurant gigs in kitchens on the west coast, my passions led me to the Midwest, where I started to write reviews of restaurants. It’s also where I met Lauren. Together now for thirty years, we worked together much like the famous trio of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance, who played played for the Chicago Cubs from 1902–1912. Lauren and I dined together, I wrote about it, and she took pictures of the many restaurants in the Chicago area at which we enjoyed dinners – from roughly 1994 to 2007.
Tell it Like it Is
And then, a different kind of curveball was tossed at me. A restaurant owner, upset about a re-view I wrote, and disturbed because I had made some truthful comments about terrible service and two absolutely egregious meals that Lauren and I had at his restaurant, lost both his cool and his temper. He erroneously took my remarks as a personal attack.
That’s just the way I write: I tell it like it is. I have never pulled any punches. I doubt I ever will. Unable to handle the truth and speaking of me, he openly stated to a friend of mine that he “wanted to take that guy out behind the woodshed and beat the sh– out of him.” I guess my thin skin got the best of me. So, I stopped writing reviews… and anything else, for a long time.
A Priority
It has been quite difficult for me to 1) describe my feelings regarding this whole experience and period of time. But importantly, 2) I still love to cook, and I will not forget any of my mentors and their passion for, and in, the kitchens of restaurants. More significantly, I have resolved to continue my career of “putting pen to paper and telling the truth.” This is especially a priority when it comes to writing about restaurants.
Solid Contact With That Curveball
I may not have all of the feistiness I used to, but I have stepped up to the plate and made solid contact with that curveball. And I will definitely continue to review restaurants and write articles, regardless of some insecure and unconfident restaurant owner / manager who may threaten to beat the shit out of me. As an old proverb says: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” A huge thank you to Joseph Insalago for your inspiration in kitchens and restaurants.
Your Table is Waiting…
Ralph Pancetta
Lauren’s Links
- Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation of Vin Scully (Amazon book)
