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A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

geno's

Soundless Sunday: Sept. 16

September 16, 2012

“You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food.”

— Paul Prudhomme

Darren at Geno’s Steaks.

Soundless Sunday is a weekly feature where I’ll try and feature a favorite quote and a photo that I’ve taken. Enjoy life — it’s the only way to go!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: food, Friends, My world, Photography, Soundless Sunday Tagged With: food, friends, geno's, geno's steaks, photograph, Soundless Sunday, south philly

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Geno’s is still my favorite cheese steak in Philly

July 26, 2012

Oh. My. Yes, please.

When I go to Philadelphia, I usually like to try and hunt down a cheese steak.

It makes sense, being the city has so many wonderful spots to get an authentic Philly steak. When we hit the city this past weekend for a Phillies game, we had intended all along to hit one up after the game.

I didn’t have anything of major filling up at the game, which is rare as I usually get a hot dog or Bull’s BBQ. Instead, it was some Italian Ice to tide me over.

But for dinner?

Marc chowing down on a steak from Geno’s.

Geno’s Steaks.

Now, I realize that Philly people have different likes and such when it comes to cheese steaks. Some love Geno’s. Some love Pat’s. Some love others. It’s understandable.

But I love Geno’s.

I have to be honest, too. I am biased in that Geno’s is in the family. My second-cousin Joey is the man who started Geno’s. This trip to Geno’s was the first time that I had been there since Joey died last August. In the past, we usually went down early when Joey was working and went inside, chatted with him and had the chance to see things from a different perspective.

This was different.

Though I’ve waited in line to buy steaks here before, I’ve never done it after a game. Holy cow! The line wrapped around the building and we hopped in to wait our turn.

The line moves quickly. I got to see the memorial to Joey at the front. And I got to see things in a different way. Watching the steaks being made on the inside. Seeing other people waiting and enjoying their steaks. It’s really amazing what Joey built.

There were lines at Geno’s, but they move fast.

Marc and Rod were deferring the ordering to me. See, you have to order right. (Three steaks wiz wit.) — which means three cheese steaks with cheese whiz and onions.

Delightful.

We also got an order of cheese fries as they are divine, too.

After finding a place to sit, we dug in. I can say the quality hasn’t changed since Joey died, thankfully. My oh my do I love cheese steaks at Geno’s. Everything was truly awesome.

When we were done eating and heading back to the car, I stopped into a Rita’s for some Italian Ice — the perfect way to end it. Well, close to the hotel was a nice little bar where I had a pint of Guinness. THAT was the great way to end the day.

The next day, we hit up a geocache in Delaware before dropping Rod off at the train station. Marc and I headed back to New York, but we made a quick stop at Sheetz for a final sub.

In the end, an excellent weekend and not a lot of money was spent, thankfully.

I’ll look forward to my next trip to Philly for some cheese steaks though. Those things are simply incredible.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: Family, food, Friends, My world, Photography, Travel Tagged With: cheese, cheese steaks, food, geno's, geno's steaks, geno's steaks philly, philadelphia, philly cheese steaks

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Foto Friday: The archives

February 10, 2012

My external hard drive is starting to fill up. That pretty much means I need to start shifting some things and deleting, or I might not have room for a lot of photos.

I have three external hard drives, but two of them are full and the third, which is a terabyte, doesn’t have much left. I know there’s a lot of waste on all three of them. So, over the next few weeks, it’s my hope to really clear a lot of space. In the end, I’d like to have the TB drive be all photos only — so I can get an online backup service as well.

Anyway, as I do that, I got peeking at some older photos. And that got me interested in looking at some older photos on Flickr, too. So, in this post, I am going to share some of my favorite (or not so favorite) photos from the Flickr archives. Things are going to be random. I am going to hit a few random pages and snag a photo of those pages and share them here.

I’m hoping to head out and shoot some fireworks tonight, so if things come out as I hope, I’ll look to share what I did and such with the images next Friday.

Page 40

Ahhh, this past September. We got some unseasonably warm weather and this page was basically filled with sports photos — a softball tournament and some flag football. Here’s one of those shots.

Foul ball!

 Page 67

I had been catching up on posting some images, including from my trip to Ireland in 2010. Those photos were on this page.

Good advice!

Page 94

From April of last year, my trip to the Washington DC area and Arlington National Cemetery.

The unknown plots are extremely moving. There are far too many.

Page 123

From November 2010. One of my favorite disc golf photos.

My faithful buzzz.

Page 149

Ahhh, the Ireland trip. This wasn’t long after getting back. This was a shot I took in Howth.

My mother and brothers at Howth Harbor.

Page 165

The Oneonta Outlaws. Love some of the shots on this page.

Pitch coming in.

Page 187

Out on a photo day with a former co-worker. Watershed property…

Stay off!

Page 204

This big snowstorm at the end of February 2010 shut down local schools and even the local college. A great day to be out taking photos!

Snow!

Page 235

Geno’s Steaks, at night. December, 2008.

All lit up!

Page 270 (last page for now)

Downtown Montreal at night. I took this photo from Mont Royal in August of 2007.

Montreal!

I hope you enjoyed a slight trip through the archives with me. I’m sure as I get going through these external drives, I’ll be sharing more — and uploading a lot more to Flickr. I want to get a lot more of my photos on Flickr and put them together as sets. That way, they are there for all to see!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Filed Under: Cameras, Foto Friday, My world, Photography Tagged With: adult softball, archives, arlington, arlington national cemetery, baseball, buzzz, camera, cheesesteak, cold, disc golf, discraft, discraft buzzz, dublin, dublin zoo, foto, foto friday, geno's, geno's steaks, headstone, howth, images, ireland, montreal, new york city watershed, oneonta outlaws, outlaws, philadelphia, photo archives, photography, photos, snow, softball, south philly, sports, unknown soldier, upstate new york, washington dc, watershed, winter

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RIP, Joey Vento

August 24, 2011

Joey Vento, making a cheese steak at Geno's. (December, 2008)

It’s the first time I can say I heard about a relative dying via Twitter and the Internet.

But, that’s how I found out that my second cousin — my mom’s cousin — Joey Vento died Tuesday. He apparently had a massive heart attack Tuesday night. He was 71 and a Philadelphia legend.

It’s a sad day, too, as Joey was a strong man, opinionated and giving. He ran a solid business and made good things out of what he started with. Geno’s Steaks is known throughout the world (as is his competitor across the street, Pat’s) for the steak sandwiches he created.

Joey pointing to his sign that created so much controversy.

Let’s not cover everything up, however. He didn’t shy away from controversy and he became the center of it in 2006 when he put a sticker in his window that said “This is America. When ordering, please speak English.”

People came down hard on Joey, though he always defended his decision as freedom of speech.

On one of my visits there, he told me that he didn’t deny service if someone didn’t speak English, but that it was more of a fight against illegal immigration. It was a fight he was willing to take on and take it on he did.

Take a peek at Joey taking about this controversy on the Glenn Beck show:

To follow that up, here’s a little more from Joey on the situation — but in a different light as this was for an interview for a documentary.This clip also shows him telling how to order a steak, and some of the history of Geno’s.

For the record,after he was chased down for being discriminatory, he eventually won his case showing he wasn’t discriminatory.

But don’t think that Joey Vento was a bad person. He was far from it. He lived the American dream and he wanted to defend it. And when he made his money, he gave back.

He was known for his kindness. His support — vocally, financially and every other way — toward policemen, associations and everything law-abiding was known well. He didn’t hold back when giving to charities. Every time I talked to him, these were some of the things he told me he was most proud of.

I always tried to visit him when I went to Philly for a baseball game. I stopped there last year and hadn’t been to Geno’s this year. He always invited me (and friends) in for cheese steaks and fries and we’d sit in the “VIP” booth and chat for a bit. He always had the smile on his face and he never stayed away from being an active participant in his business.

Joey had battled some health issues last year as an Associated Press story noted that he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer and underwent surgery this past November in New York City.

I didn’t know him for his controversy or a lot of the things he did with charities and all. I knew him as my second cousin. I remember going to his house as a kid and having the chance to beat around his large property with a golf cart. I also remember the ride he gave me in his blue Jaguar — and that speed wasn’t an issue. As a kid, I wore a lot of Geno’s shirts because he gave us so many. I have a few from a recent trip that I’ll hold onto as well.

He always took the time when I’d call ahead to let him know I was coming down to chat and he’d never take a dime for a steak sandwich or drinks. Not from me. Not from my friends. And he always sent me home with a few extra. And yes, when they made it back to New York that night, the next day they were just as good re-heated!

Joey on one of his motorcycles.

I like my steaks “wit wiz” and one of the last ones I had at Geno’s was one he cooked up for me (see top photo). It was amazing how good it was.

He was proud of his motorcycles and always took the time to show me them in his showroom, which is across the street from Geno’s.

My memories of Joey will be fond.

He was a good man, a good businessman and thought highly of people. He always treated me well and he always spoke highly of my mother. And he always told me to give her a hug from him when I left Geno’s.

Next time I’m in Philly, I’ll make sure to get there and order a steak. Wit wiz, of course. I’ll sit outside as I’ve done many times before, under the fluorescent glow of the shop and chomp away at the steak with some of his outstanding cheese fries. I’ve eaten there at all hours of the day — morning, afternoon and late night — and the steaks are always outstanding. The next one I have will be a little bittersweet, however.

Rest in peace, Joey. You’ll be missed.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Filed Under: Current events, Family, My world Tagged With: family, geno's, geno's steaks, joey vento, philadelphia, philly, rip joey vento, south philadelphia, south philly, steak sandwiches, vento

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She was so still for this photo. Make sure you f She was so still for this photo. 

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You know, of course, Santa Paws travels with Santa Clause, making sure to find treats and toys for all the good little doggies! (We know they are all deserving, right?) So, Harper put out some milk for the big guy, carrots for Rudolph and the reindeer, and special cookies for Santa Paws! She is ready! 

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One of the best parts about having Harper as my be One of the best parts about having Harper as my best friend… ❤️
Couldn't resist stopping on the way to work to sna Couldn't resist stopping on the way to work to snap this shot. The colors in the sky were fantastic and the scene was nice looking (though, to be fair, I drove by what I think would have been a better scene -- the valley and hills full of snow etc.)

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I look at her and sometimes still can’t believe I look at her and sometimes still can’t believe I have her. It’s been a year and four months and she makes me smile and laugh more each day. It’s amazing how much a dog changes your look on life, and how much joy they can bring. 

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I’ve recently realized how many photos I have to I’ve recently realized how many photos I have to post here, as well as on Harper’s (@harper_dublin) account). So, as I start to transfer photos, I’ll try and catch up. So photos coming could be from all seasons and who knows when. 🤣

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From a few weeks ago. I was trying to get Harper t From a few weeks ago. I was trying to get Harper to put her paws on the bridge and looked out, but she was more content jumping on me and looking up. I do love the way she seems to be looking at me.
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Harper’s friend Lucy is around this weekend! #g Harper’s friend Lucy is around this weekend!

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So… @harper_dublin wants to know why she can’t So… @harper_dublin wants to know why she can’t have @mallons_homemade_sticky_buns.
This is why we can’t have nice things. Saw this This is why we can’t have nice things. Saw this on me morning walk Friday with Harper. Likely some college kids, but also as chance at local hooligans. I had Harper so not a lot I could do, but I managed to get the cart off the chair. (See second photo) This was in a local park.
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A video looking at my first year and a half of owning a golden retriever, my first dog. It's had its ups and downs, but I've truly loved the ride and look forward to the future. 

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