Chinese Food

Today is Sunday, and there is one thought that always comes to my mind on Sundays, a childhood memory NOT about a big pot of sauce simmering on the stove, or the smell of the meatballs, sausage, or chunks of meat cooking in the sauce……

One Sunday, my mother wanted to treat us to Chinese food since it seemed so popular to her and so she wanted us to have that same experience as “i Americani” on the block.  Well the day came and we were going to go to the Chinese restaurant!!! This was a major event and would surely be the highlight of the week, if not the month!  My siblings and I went to church and came home.  We sat down and had pasta, with sauce and meatballs.  We cleaned up after finishing and my mom gets dressed up, next thing I remember is walking down Stanhope Street watching my mom looking so lady like ahead of us as we head to Knickerbocker Avenue.  The local Chinese restaurant was up above Harrico’s Drug store on Knickerbocker between Stanhope and Himrod.  It was such a thrill to be walking up those stairs, leaving our world behind us and entering one that was not of us, the smell of that Chinese food as were breathing hard, up those steps with its wooden banister and carpeting that was probably never cleaned surely  made us forget we had just finished spaghetti and meatballs at 236 Stanhope Street.