04
Dec
2022

Mount Vernon Photos

While in the DC Metro area visiting my cousin, we took a side trip to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. They were having a “Colonial Market and Fair” which meant there was more going on there than usual. After browsing the market vendors and walking all over the grounds, we took a guided tour of the mansion. Despite being from Philadelphia and having been in many of the buildings where our country was founded, walking through Washington’s home was fascinating and a bit awe inspiring. It portrayed him as a person, not just the mythical history book character who led our country. It also meant walking the same halls he did and seeing his work and living spaces up close. It was easy to imagine what it was like in the 1700’s when George lived there.

Check out all of the photos here.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
21
Mar
2022

Mummers Mardi Gras Photos

Thanks to the COVID pandemic, it’s been a while since I’ve posted any new photos on my site. Hopefully you’ve been following along on Instagram or Twitter in the meantime. Now, I’ve finally “traveled” someplace that was worth photographing.

If you’re not from Philadelphia, the terms “Mummers” or “String Bands” probably don’t mean a lot to you. However, to Philadelphians, they’re a New Year’s Day tradition going back over 120 years. While looking for someplace to go for the weekend, we discovered that about a dozen of the bands (a majority of them) were performing at Renault Winery in Egg Harbor City. It was a new event called Mummers Mardi Gras. It made for a fun mini-vacation. Even though it was only less than an hour from home, the festivities were all outside which made it a nice COVID-safe way to get away for a few days. We stood out in the barely above freezing temperatures for over 5 hours and enjoyed the string bands. A glass of mulled-wine helped me stay warm too.

Check out the photos I took and even a little video compilation right here.

Posted by Michael
14
Jul
2021

Review: Celebre’s Pizzeria – Philadelphia PA

There are hundreds of pizza places in Philadelphia but Celebre’s in South Philly is one of my favorites. It’s conveniently located in a shopping center with its own parking lot which is nice when you want to run there for lunch during the workday. The staff is friendly and if you call ahead they’ll have your pizza ready right when you get there which is also great for workday lunches. We only go there a few times a year since I try not to eat too many carbs, but the waitress always remembers us and if we don’t call ahead, she remembers what we usually order as soon as we walk in.
Yes, the reason she remembers our order is that we’re hooked on the same thing every time. I’m a sucker for white pizza, and theirs is great. We get it with onions. It’s not something I would’ve thought to order, but a friend suggested it one of the first times we went there and it’s been our usual ever since. I’ve even driven into the city, and past about 1000 other pizza places, during the pandemic to grab one for takeout.
Posted by Michael in Reviews
14
Jul
2021

Review: Charlie’s Crepes – Merchantville NJ

We discovered Charlie at the Collingswood Farmer’s Market where he serves up his crepes from a cart. After tasting them, we knew we needed to go try his shop. Since we started visiting him after the pandemic began, we’ve only done curbside takeout so far, but I definitely foresee us sitting in the cozy little outdoor seating area surrounded by his wife, Lisa’s flower gardens enjoying a meal in the near future. Why do we drive 30 minutes to get crepes when there are closer places we could go? Because they’re delicious, of course! He has a great variety of crepes (both savory and sweet) and constantly changing specials. My personal favorite is the smoked salmon. It’s made with brie cheese, pickled red onion and capers. We’ve tried quite a few others also and have yet to find one we didn’t like.
We’ll be back many more times to see what new creations Charlie comes up with. I’m sure they’ll all feature fresh and tasty ingredients.
Posted by Michael in Reviews
14
Jul
2021

Review: Thai Terrace – Washington Twp NJ

I will gladly admit that I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to Thai food. I almost always order Pad Thai. That might seem boring, but I like the dish and it’s a good way to compare restaurants. Thai Terrace is one of the best I’ve had. The only complaint I have is that sometimes the spiciness is a little inconsistent. However, I’m willing to chalk that up to varying depending upon who’s cooking on a given day. They have four levels of spiciness. I usually go with #2, medium. It’s usually within my range of spice tolerance.

We also order typically a lot of appetizers. They have some really good ones. The pork dumplings are delicious. The chicken satay is incredibly tender. They also have one called Thai Shrimp Green Wrap that’s really unique and tasty. It consists of shrimp, peanuts, coconut, sweet chili sauce, lime, scallions, ginger and red onions in a lettuce wrap. It seems like a lot of ingredients but they all combine incredibly well.

We occasionally try new local Thai restaurants as we discover them, but we always seem to wind up back at Thai Terrace. The atmosphere in the restaurant is quiet and peaceful; the owners and their staff are really friendly and the food never disappoints.

Posted by Michael in Reviews
22
Mar
2021

Winter in Wilmington Photos

I just posted some photos from another one of our socially distanced Christmas activities this past year, a visit to Winter in Wilmington. It was a light display set up in a parking lot on the waterfront in Wilmington, Delaware. You may recognize this (but you probably won’t) as the area where Joe Biden gave his victory speech when he finally won the presidency a month or so earlier. It was a fun excursion since we weren’t doing much else over the holidays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Conveniently, it also is right across the parking lot from one of our favorite seafood restaurants, Big Fish Grill, so we did some curbside pickup and took home a delicious meal. Check out the photos here. 

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
21
Mar
2021

South Jersey Christmas Lights Photos

I’ve finally gotten around to posting the few photos I have from this last Christmas. In a normal non-COVID year, we would spend Christmas week visiting with friends and family, cooking big meals at my house, meeting them at restaurants, going to Christmas shows, traveling to their houses, etc. Of course, thanks to the pandemic, none of that was in the cards. So, we did something we haven’t done in a long time. We researched some of the most wildly decorated homes in the area and drove around to look at them. From a small home in Hi-Nella to a compound in Hammonton, we found a high tech digital light display, an entire street that goes way overboard with lawn decor, and more. It was a fun way to spend a few socially distant evenings. There’s even a video! Take a look at the photos and video here.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
20
Mar
2021

Review: The Avocado Mexican Grill – Runnemede NJ

I’m always on the lookout for good Mexican food and will happily drive a long distance to get the good stuff. When I noticed that a new Mexican place had opened close to home, I had to check it out right away. With the COVID pandemic limiting us to only getting takeout, close is a good thing. Their menu includes all of the standards, so we ordered a bunch of stuff to make our own sampler. Yeah, we’d have a lot leftover, but if it’s good, who cares!
When I say the standards, I mean tamales, enchiladas, chiles rellenos and few other items. Sure, they have a lot more than this on the menu, but if they can make these items well, they can probably win me over. Well, they certainly won me over and I have a new go-to place for Mexican food! ALL of the dishes that we ordered were some of the best I’ve had anywhere. I can’t wait to go back and pick up some of their steak dishes.
I look forward to the day when it’s safe to start eating out at restaurants again because Avocado Mexican Grill will be on my list of places to go. However, their great food and close proximity to home means I’ll be ordering curbside pickup many more times between now and then! Plus, despite only interacting with the staff on the phone and at the car window, they were incredibly friendly and helpful.
Posted by Michael in Reviews
10
Dec
2020

Coronado, California Photos

Our annual meeting that’s usually in May was moved to February this year. That was a lucky change because it meant that it took place right as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning but was not so bad that we couldn’t travel. As fate would have it, this would be the last trip any of us would take for business or pleasure for quite a while. The meeting was on Coronado Island this year. In our off hours, we enjoyed a lot of delicious Mexican food in San Diego and even found ourselves an incredible Mexican diner for breakfast every morning.

Click here to view the photos.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
09
Dec
2020

Gatti Family Yahoo! Group Shutting Down 15 December 2020

It’s been quite a while since anyone, myself included, has posted to our Gatti Family Yahoo! Group. So, the news that Yahoo! is planning to shut down the Yahoo! Groups service on December 15th probably won’t upset anyone too much. However, I thought I should make sure everyone is aware of it since it’s been available for everyone’s use for over 18 years now.

I also want to take a moment to thank everyone who participated and shared volumes of invaluable family info and stories using the group over the years. It predated my family tree website and without it, we never would have had the massive reunion in 2002.

My family tree site (michaelgatti.com/familytree) is still available and hopefully I’ll finally get around to updating it someday soon. Despite the lack of updates there, I’ve still been doing a lot of genealogy research including a DNA test a few years ago and a lot of records searches recently. It’s amazing how much spare time you can find during a global pandemic!

Posted by Michael in Genealogy

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