March 11, 2009
A massive fire destroyed three homes in Oregon Hill yesterday, though, thank Christ, the blaze spared and didn’t come anywhere close to the neighborhood’s popular, delicious, spine-tingling, breathtaking and simply uncanny Italian restaurant Mamma Zu, the fire department said.
“Thankfully, while some folks have been displaced, everyone walked away from this fire without injury, including the man I consider probably the best chef in the city and maybe even the whole damn world, Ed Vasaio,” said fire lieutenant Barry Forshey. “Luckily, we hear he has been in California visiting family for two weeks.”
“So he pretty much narrowly escaped,” Forshey said, handing off his oxygen tank to finish off the last of his squid and white beans, one of the restaurant’s most popular antipastos.
Fire crews brought the two-alarm fire on Albemarle Street under control at 4:53 p.m. yesterday, but were still forced to make sure their entire party of 14 was present at the restaurant later in the evening before being seated.
Vasaio said in a phone call that he would help the victims as best he could, so long as they didn’t ask for extra water, talk loudly, or mispronounce a dish or anything.
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oh thank god mamma zu is okay?!?!?! WHO CARES
Pretty distasteful for those of us who lost everything. Everyone at mama zu has actually been extremely supportive, especially Ed. The whole neighborhood has been. While you’ve been cleverly blogging like a poor man’s pete humes, your community has proved most active and compassionate.
I guess Micheal Guedri didn’t lose his computer, or his sense of humor…
Michael,
I totally sympathize with your loss, but I hope you didn’t just come into this web site for the first time. It’s not just this story that is meant to be satire, it’s simply life around Richmond told, well, sometimes – sometimes – with slightly darker sense of humor. I didn’t see this story as a slam on anyone in the fire, just moreso noting that Oregon Hill is really known for a popular Italian restaurant, and everyone relieved its OK.
Its not satire if you have to keep reminding people that is satire. It just kind of sux.