WILLIAM ARCHIE - MCT
Lenten fish fries are reminders of the Catholic Friday fish tradition.
Lent, the Christian church season that begins on Ash Wednesday and leads to Easter, is right around the corner. For some, that means deprivation: abstaining from chocolate or alcohol or meat.
For others, it means enjoying pancake suppers and fish fries. Pancake suppers - traditionally held on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday - began as a way for frugal housewives to use up sugar, butter and eggs, consumption of which was often restricted during Lent. For Roman Catholics, fish fries echo the old tradition of not eating meat on Fridays.
For my husband and me, those fish fries have become a Lenten tradition.
In the first few months of our relationship - you know, when you are trying hard to find interesting outings - we ventured to the fish fry at St. Michael The Archangel Catholic Church in Cary.
I'm sure it was the result of our conversations about Pittsburgh - my hometown and where my husband lived for a couple of years. I was longing for home, and this time of year triggers cravings for crisp battered fish.
The fish fry in Cary felt familiar: It was held in the school gym. The fish, potatoes and green beans were served by the young fathers and crusty grandfathers of the Knights of Columbus. But best of all and unknown to us until we walked into that gym, there was a live band. A polka band.
And in what is likely one of my most surreal Southern experiences, we soon discovered why the Polka Plus Band has "plus" in its name. As we enjoyed our dinner, the band went from playing those oom-pah polka classics to Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire."
Now every year, we try to return to St. Michael's fish fry for the Polka Plus performance. (This year, it's March 23.)
But to truly experience this season, I think we may need to start another tradition: attending a Shrove Tuesday pancake supper.
Pancakes were not a part of my Lenten experience, but they are very popular here.
Last fall, I wrote a story about a church barbecue fundraiser and included listings of upcoming church suppers. That list was so popular that I decided to compile another timed to Lent. You can find that list on Page 4D. More than a third of the events are pancake suppers.
If you are like me, that list is a calendar of good eating to take you through Lent feeling far from deprived.
