Quill Shiv has a new Haiku writing prompt… A photo of Saint Patrick.
My result:
You can make your own
corned beef, cabbage and salsa
at the taco bar.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Tacos… In 1986, back in my Restaurant Days, I went to work for Jerry Franco. Jerry was a bit of a culinary impresario on the Sacramento restaurant scene. He had just reopened The Town House on 21st Street, down the block from The Sacramento Bee newspaper. The Town House had been a Mexican Food tradition, and had been sitting empty for a few years after the owner retired. Franco had opened in a blaze of glory, courting the news hounds and the denizens of California State Government. Having just left a job managing The Fabulous Fifties Cafe, I was ready to mingle with and serve adults. So I went to work for Jerry as a waiter/bartender/manager.
It was a fun place to work, and we did some crazy promotions to try to make the The Town House a success. Big lunch business, big after-work bar business. He kept a few Mexican items on the menu, along with the ‘Upscale Designer’ dishes he came up with. Each Happy Hour, we featured a Taco Bar, where the patrons could make their own tacos, to wash down with their Martinis and G & T’s. For me, that taco bar was a pain in the ass, since I had to leave the bar and run back in the kitchen to replenish the supplies. But the tips were pretty good as long as the food held out.
Saint Patrick’s Day was coming up, and The Town House, along with every other bar and restaurant in Sacramento… no, in the United States… was looking for ways to make some money off one of our more important Drinking Holidays. I had the bright idea to put corned beef and cabbage on our Taco Bar for the day. Jerry agreed that it was a brilliant idea, and gave me full credit, in case it bombed. Getting free publicity was not too difficult, since we always made sure to ‘take good care of’ certain writers from up the street. Low and behold, we saw some nice mentions in the gossip and the What’s Going On In Town sections of the Bee the day before, and our Happy Hour was packed that St. Paddy’s Day. In fact, two guys drove down from Hangtown at lunch time to try the CB&C Tacos. I had to plead with the cook to make some for them. At Happy Hour, the idea was well received, lots of new people came in, and best of all… Mr. Franco even stuck around to help stock the Taco Bar.
So, when I saw the photo prompt for this week’s Haiku… for some reason, I thought of those Corned Beef and Cabbage Tacos, and working at The Town House.
About 4 months later, I left for the Neon Restaurant Lights of Chicago. I later heard that the Town House had closed and that Franco was the chef at a seafood joint in Cape Cod. Last time I was in SacTown, it was a gay bar.
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TedBook 
Good Story Ted, I like the Idea of corned beef and cabbage Tacos, sounds good to me, I hope you have a nice restful weekend my dear, take care
… and if you enjoy haiku, why not visit ‘the zen space’? http://thezenspace.wordpress.com
M
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Marie Marshall
author/poet/editor
Scotland
http://mairibheag.com
http://kvennarad.wordpress.com
This is a wonderful haiku and such an amazing story!
I’m very glad you’ve decided to join the Haiku Bombers.
Love the incongruence–corned beef at the taco bar! Good one! http://furiousfictions.blogspot.com/p/haiku-bombers-2-saint-patricks-day.html
Brilliant idea Ted. Maybe you should contact your former employer and suggest a seafood taco! Loved the story. Hope you have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Great story Ted!!!
Fabulous Haiku Ted!! And the tacos too!
Nice recollections… I don’t quite understand the haiku business so well… But I want to try my hands at it sometime.
As for tacos… I happen to be in Sacramento these days. Any recommendations for vegetarian food?? 😀
Oh and Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 🙂
Were they good? I don’t think I’ve ever had a taco before, corned beef or otherwise! I’ll have to hunt one down!
Actually, they were delicious. Not the usual taco filling. Have you not been to a Mexican Restaurant and tried a taco? You must!
Reblogged this on TedBook and commented:
Thought I’d bring this back for St. Pat’s Day this Friday…