Table of Contents
- That Jaw Breaking Gum
- Nebaletan Word of the Day – SPAGHETTI BENDER!?
- Pizza Review – Calusa Brewing/PigFish GastroPub, Sarasota, FL
The series will likely include:
- Baseball – Why Do I Love Thee? (here)
- Baseball – Baseball Cards!
- Whiffle Ball
- Cocini Bros!
- Baseball – The Pros and The Cons (the cons of statistics that is…)
- Maybe more…!
That Jaw Breaking Gum
With the dime from Grandma Maouri, I could buy two packs of cards at 5 cents each. I’d hand Alvira (last post) the dime and eagerly head off with my treasures, hoping to find an Indian card.
In the short two-minute walk back, I’d have both packs opened, sorted, and the two sticks of Topps gum jammed into my mouth.
Topps gum was not soft like Double Bubble or Bazooka; it was hard and took several gallons of saliva to soften it up enough to chew resulting in a parched and sore jaw. For some reason, I couldn’t get enough of that gum! Maybe because if I had the gum, I had a new pack of cards to sort! Topps – Wikipedia
Nebaletan Word of the Day – SPAGHETTI BENDER!?
I’ve been working my way through Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy by Tommaso Astarita. About halfway through, I came across this gem:
“By 1546 [there was] a guild of maccheroni makers… in Naples… edicts issued between 1546 and 1600 addressed the production and trade of maccheroni. New presses developed in the early seventeenth century made production cheaper… By the 1630s Neapolitans were known across Italy as maccheroni eaters.“
That instantly brought back memories of my father — Grandpa Tony — and a favorite phrase: SPAGHETTI BENDER.
Now— to many Italian ancestors, SPAGHETTI BENDER sounds like a racial slur. It’s one of those stereotypical jabs Amerigan tossed at (Southern) Italian immigrants, and in most cases, I’d call it offensive.
But Grandpa Tony? Around our house, SPAGHETTI BENDER was a term of endearment — for my friends and even my kids (his grandkids).
In context:
- Me: “I’m going with (Capo) Donnie to (Capo) Carm’s house.”
- Grandpa Tony: “How are doze (aka those) SPAGHETTI BENDERS doing? Tell doze guys to stop by and say hello. I got tomatoes for dare (their) moms and dads.”
In Grandpa Tony’s world, being a SPAGHETTI BENDER wasn’t an insult — it was a badge of honor. It meant you belonged to the tribe. And honestly? It’s a tribe I’m proud to be part of!
Pizza Review – Calusa Brewing/PigFish GastroPub, Sarasota, FL
Ok, when I say “Pizza?” You say…come on, you say….BEER. Right? Right!
So, when my Florida cycling buddies said that we’d have an end-ish of season get together with our SO’s at Calusa Brewing, it took little. But, one of my buddies Dave C. raved about their pizza – they had me at pizza and beer!
Now, let me say, Dave C. has great taste! Why do I say that, he’s eaten MY pizza and said it was one of the best he ever had. So, if Dave raves about Calusa’s pizza – I gotta’ try it!
Sorry – no pictures of Calusa here – see their website link below.
| Date | March 22, 2025 |
| Pizzeria | Calusa Brewing – PigFish Gastropub |
| City/Neighborhood | Sarasota, FL / South Sarasota |
| Website | PigFish – The Gastropub Experience inside of Calusa Brewing Calusa Brewing | Sarasota Taproom |
| About Us | No – but there was a big deal with Calusa moved to the current location. In the old location, they would often have food trucks, but PigFish came in with Calusa’s move to Macintosh Road. If I recall, a local chef helped start the menu for PigFish but left once the pub was established – TOO BAD! |
| Style | Other – kind of like a Roman al Taglio pizza style |
| Ambiance | Brewery with concrete floors and high ceilings (which I don’t like – way too load). Luckily we were with a large group of my cycling buddies and SO’s and had a private room which was better – although still load! |
| Beverage Pairing | Calusa Zote! Well, I’ve always enjoyed Zote, then I went to Brugge, Belgium in May 2025. Zote took on a whole new meaning for me with I tried Brugse Zot | The crazy beer from Bruges! Next time I go to Calusa, I will ask if there’s a connection. |
| Rating Criteria | |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Dough/Crust | Tickness – Medium Cook – Soft and chewy Flavor – bready and salty (could be the excess blue cheese). Way too much garlic and blue cheese taste – almost overpowering. It’s made so that you drink extra beer to cover the taste! |
| Cornicione | Not really existent, the body of the pizza extended directly to the edge where the cornicione should’ve been (not a bad thing, but couldn’t really call it a cornicione) |
| Toppings | Blue cheese, some type of grated cheese, garlic, arugula, sausage (which was excellent) Fresh – mushrooms, arugula and sausage yes blue cheese – when is it considered fresh Given the granularity of the grated cheese – this was Kraft style out of the plastic shaker can – ugh |
| Sauce | Lots of creamy and salty blue cheese when warm, a hunk of blue cheese when chilled |
| Cheese | Cheese Type – Other – Blue Cheese, something that was granulated Cheese Distribution – All over – Stinky and Salty |
| Cheese to Sauce Ratio | Sauce – none so to speak – since the sauce was the cheese Cheese – none so to speak – since the cheese was the sauce Balance – not sure if I can rate this |
| Value | The pizza that I ordered is no longer on the menu (PigFish Menu — PigFish – Not Your Momma’s Fish Sandwich., as of the first week of June 2025) but they still have a pizza at $18. The pizza was approximately 6″ x 10″ (60 square inches) since the pan was a 8″ x 12″. Therefore, the cost of this pizza is a WHOPPING $34 for a 12″ round equivalent – NOT GOOD! |
| Overall Rating | Meh – the pizza was good. The crust was mostly bready tasting and had way too much salt way too much garlic and the cheese was like a cream cheese. Mushrooms were good. Sausage was excellent at best pizza is shy of good. The price takes it even lower on the Meh scale |
| Would I Go Back? | Yes to the brewery, no to that pizza |
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