Soft, Tender Fumo: $2.99 A Pound

Seems everyone has an opinion on State Sen. Vince Fumo’s indictment. (That’s him with notedHepatitis B research mascot Oliver in the photo at right, by the way.) Well, I’m sure that’s not true. In fact, it doesn’t even sound like that. But like most journalists, I’m too lazy to fix the lead. And I’ve even used this same lazy lead joke before, making it doubly worse.

Er, anyway, so remember back when Justice Antonin Scalia gave an obscene gesture to a reporter and said “Fuck you” in Italian? Eh, no, you probably don’t. But you might remember Joe Bubbles, who the Inquirer interviewed as part of an article about what people in South Philly thought about it.

Well, it’s been almost a year since that article, and so the Inquirer decided to send Alfred Lubrano to South Philly to do some man-on-the-street interviews to find out what people south of Washington Avenue think about Fumo’s indictment.

The people of South Philly are divided on the issue, as such, but a trip to the Melrose Diner (natch) led to this flowery writing:

During lunch at the Melrose Diner, prime rib and eggplant were the specials, but at least one customer at the counter was chewing on Fumo, savoring the taste of a man who might be cooked.

When reading a food metaphor, I always wonder if the writer was just hungry.

In South Philadelphia, fans and foes weigh Fumo’s fall [Inquirer]
March 31, 2006: Meet Joe Bubbles