Food and Away Games at Herk, Part II

On many occasions our team had takeout pizza while going down the New York State thruway in the vans. And sit down meal meant middle-class midlevel chain informal family restaurants with buffets like Shoney’s and Sizzler. “We would go to these all you could eat places,” said teammate Jeff Fagan. Restaurant like Sizzler, which started in 1957 in a trailer in Culver City, California, had all you could eat buffets. “I remember all you could eat shrimp and salad bars we gorged on," said Fagan. Sizzlers had deals where you could order an inexpensive steak and get unlimited access to salad bars loaded with shrimp, potato salad, steamed beets, peas, cherry tomatoes, croutons and much more. The deal came with beverages and basket after basket of piping out dinner rolls and little glass dishes with individually wrapped butter squares. Coach would call ahead and haggle a deal with the restaurant manager that would stretch our $5 per diem, fill our stomachs and quench our thirst. For largely poor junior college student athletes, Sizzler’s seemed like a meal at the Tage Mahal. I’d love to hear comments on away game food from others who played for the coach Wehrum.

Food and Away Games at Herk

I will never forget my first Junior College (JUCO) lacrosse season as a freshmen at Herkimer County Community College. In high school teams traveled to away games on yellow school buses. At Herk we travelled in 2 sixteen passenger vans that our coaches drove. During my two years at Herkimer we traveled to Long Island to play Nassau County Community College, West Point, and Hobart College in Geneva, New York. But for reason that I will discuss later, the trip to Syracuse University stands out most in my mind. When we played against colleges and universities, we played the schools B team composed mostly of freshmen. After away games, we packed back into the vans without showering or changing. Funky and hungry we sped off for something to eat. In those days, the college allowed each player a $5 per diem for each meal which would have been fine; but Coach Wehrum did not think highly of fast food restaurants. As a result he had to come up with created ways to feed his teams. For example, he would organize with parents to host at family homes. They would both feed us and bed us in sleeping bags on the floor. Herk’s lacrosse budget made the cost of hotel too expensive for us.

I’d loved to hear about away game food stories from others who played for the great Paul Wehrum. Please share your thoughts and the years you played for him.

Herkimer Food Memories Continued: Now that’s a Thick Shake!

Classic Thick Shaker Maker from back in the Day

As a freshmen at Herkimer County Community College I went food exploring down town early on while other teammates searched for happy hours at town watering holes. The deal with me was I never liked carbonated drinks so I stayed clear of beer or soda. When I did drink soda, I shake up until it was flat, crazy but true. I quickly discovered that the same eatery that made great wedges also made a terrific vanilla thick shake and that's where I had my happy hour. We call them smoothies today but it was the same concept back then. They made the shake so thick and rich, with more vanilla ice cream than milk, that the straw would stand at attention in the 20 once cup it came in. My lips would get tired from drawing out the cold sweet vanilla bean flavored beverage. But I never stopped piercing my lips from around that straw until the last bit when down the back my throat. The taste of the shake merited the strenuous effort and it’s something that stays with me today put in a healthier form. Today I make smoothies for me and family vanilla soy milk and frozen fruit. Every brand of soy milk taste different so try several and stick with vanilla flavor soy milk, plane honestly tastes like chalk to me. The right one in the end is a healthy choice however. Instead of ice cream I use fresh frozen fruit and about a quarter cup of vanilla soy yogurt. My kids love strawberry smoothies which I mix with a little frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, and honey as a sweetener. I make the smoothies straw standing still thick just like back in Herk. I have burned out the motor in several blenders over the years. So I asked my wife to get me one of those high powdered professional blenders. They are like 300 bucks put they tell me they are well worth the investment and most come with a lifetime warranty. You know the ones. You seem them doing demos at Costco with them from time to time; they look like they have monster truck engine under the hood. Yes, that’s the bad boy I want for my birthday one day!

A Herkimer Food Memory: Hot Sandwiches Too Good To Be Legal

The Classic Egg and Pepper Sandwich Like I Had in Herk in the 1980s

Phone conversations with Herk folk triggered other food memories from the Mohawk Valley. Coach Paul Wehrum, the only Junior College Lacrosse Coach in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, told me that Herkimer had an Italian immigrant community that dates back to the turn of the century. With them came Italian culinary culture that penetrated the menus’ of eateries in downtown Herk. Some of us student athletes at Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) remembered a place in down town, perhaps a pizza parlor, that sold these awesome hot Italian wedges, I think they call them subs in Herkimer County. The egg and pepper sandwich is the one I can still see and taste the most. The tradition developed as Italian Roman Catholics developed creative ways to eat well during the Lenten season six weeks before Easter. I never had such a sandwich growing up in Westchester even though I grew up around lots of Italian Americans--perhaps the sandwich became a regional tradition over time. This small Herk eatery made the sandwich to order cooking the ingredients in front of you: seasoned eggs and green peppers. The cook behind the counter filled a piece of Italian bread as long as my forearm with the eggs and peppers, It was a simple sandwich but oh so good! The cook wrapped the sandwich in foil with the top portion open and then put it in the oven used to make pizzas. After five minutes in the oven they pulled it from the oven with the top of the bread golden brown and the eggs and pepper steaming hot. Basketball player Ed Anderson of Rochester reminded me that the same restaurant also sold what can best be described as the Herk version of the Philly cheese steak. They made it on the same forearm length piece of Italian bread. They filled the bread with thinly sliced and sautéed pieces of roast beef, onions, and mushrooms. You could get it served with a choice of melted cheese or a red Italian gravy. Those sandwiches tasted so good that they should have been illegal!

Egg and Pepper Sandwich Recipe: http://prouditaliancook.blogspot.com/2008/01/humble-pepper-and-egg-sandwich.html