Amanda's Take: I’ve long suspected my reticence to eat Mexican food stemmed from my senior year at Point Park College—and specifically those two long semesters of Spanish. While my declared major was journalism and mass communication, my undeclared major was Shots and Beers. Hey, a wise man once said there’s a time and place for everything, and it’s called college. Despite the partying that went along with being newly 21 and soon-to-be graduated, I was earning no less than B grades in all of my classes. All, of course, except Spanish II. In that class, I was hovering dangerous close to the F …

Candy's Take: If we took a break from visiting God’s churches, we were certainly visiting God’s country.   As we drove to the Mt. Pleasant Township Fire Hall fish fry, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the rolling hills and beautiful landscape. Fully aware of the proximity to the city, I hoped the Lenten cuisine would be as enjoyable as the country aesthetics.   The minute we parked and were greeted with smiles, I took it as a good sign. Sometimes people hide when they see us coming (or at least they should), so I appreciated what I could only assume was the benefit of the doubt.   To my …

Amanda's Take: When I walked into the Canonsburg borough building Friday afternoon, one of my favorite people was debating what to have for dinner. All she knew is that her new diet required her to eat an obscene amount of chicken. So that was off the table. I quickly offered an easy solution: Why don’t you get take out from a fish fry? And of course, I promptly gave her the scoop: My friend and co-writer, Candy, and I were headed to a Bethel Park church to check out a fish fry where one of our friends was volunteering. As it turns out, even the quick-and-easy nature of a Lenten fish fry is …

Candy's Take: Whether by force of habit or part of an unofficial writing process, I’ve typically discussed with my mom the people and places I’ve visited before submitting a story for publication. I’ve always learned something with each interview and inside every sentence, and I’ve shared those lessons with her much the same way I used to show her school papers that were ultimately hung on the refrigerator.  When I recently described the adventures of Candy and Mandy at St. Patrick’s fish fry, and all of the people we met, my mom said, “They sound like good people to me.”  And that’s exactly …

Candy's Take: Hearing that it was “the fancy fish fry,” I was a little surprised to happen upon a constable outside of St. Mary’s in Cecil Township.   I was expecting to see the kind of guards that stand at the gates of Buckingham Palace and contemplated how I might greet them while in my writer’s rags.   Would my outfit, while fashionable and professional, match a church-basement menu that included the healthiest oil in southwestern Pennsylvania — a combination of safflower, grapeseed and canola oils — and salmon in lemon crème sauce?   My fears were lifted when I saw cans of Faygo in the …

Candy's Take: Unless you’re there for the Friday fish fry, you have to be a member of the Muse Italian Club to walk through the door.   Regardless if you’re someone who pays dues or not, the club has an easy, laidback atmosphere that’s not unlike the comfort of walking into a good friend’s house. The long line that wraps through the kitchen, into the bar and outside along Muse-Bishop Road is a testament to that. Those visitors are sure to find hefty helpings of both cod and character.   Two big pieces of fresh, lightly-breaded, fried fish are caught between every Italian bun. And it’s served …