Lent brings fasting, fish to OU
By Jeremy Bookmyer, Staff Writer
March 10, 2008 | 6:24 p.m.
During Lent, the Catholic population of Athens turns away from meat and embraces fish on Fridays. When Catholics stop eating meat for part of the year, local eateries take notice.
During the 40-day celebration of Lent, many Christians attempt to give up a vice such as chocolate or alcohol. Many Catholics will also refrain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays.
For 24 hours every Friday during Lent, Catholics are asked to skip the meat dishes. It is common for fish, which Catholics are permitted to eat on Fridays, to take the place of beef and chicken.
Many of the local restaurants on and around Court Street serve meat in some form, whether it is chicken in a burrito or pepperoni on a pizza. Goodfellas Pizza on Union and Court streets serves both cheese and pepperoni pizza. Catholics who are observing Lent can still eat Goodfellas, though they are limited to cheese as the sole topping.
On the first day of Lent – called Ash Wednesday – many Catholics attend a special mass, during which a cross is marked in ash on their foreheads. Ash Wednesday also marks the first day Catholics are not permitted to eat meat.
Gabriel Eby, a Goodfellas employee, was working during lunch on Feb. 6, which happened to be Ash Wednesday. After masses ended, some Catholic families visited the restaurant.
“The families were all ordering cheese,” Eby said.
Eby also has worked several Fridays during Lent this year but has not noticed much of a change in how much cheese pizza is sold. Pepperoni is still made on Fridays in Lent, and it still sells well.
Eby said that during the two months he has worked at Goodfellas, he has noticed that business tends to change more during Ohio University events like siblings and parents weekends.
Eby said he was unsure how many Catholics in Athens adhere to their Friday Lenten tradition and how many eat meat anyway. The additional business added by university-sponsored events is more noticeable than Catholics not eating meat on Friday, though Goodfellas may sell more cheese than usual on Fridays.
“People come uptown for the bars and come here,” Eby said.
Like many other local restaurants, Goodfellas seems to have devoted fans who may not be willing to give up their favorite pizza after a night at the bars.
Local restaurants can only do so much to accommodate for Lent. The dining halls have more flexibility and a larger menu to work with, so providing a Lenten menu for Catholics is not as difficult.
Patricia Withem, a lead cook at Shively Dining Hall, said her staff does a great deal to ensure that Catholics will have options when they come to Shively on Fridays during Lent.
“Every Friday, not only do we have the fish tail, which we have every Friday anyway, but we combine different fish like cod or flounder,” Withem said. “We try to accommodate their [Catholics] needs.”
Shively, like other dining halls on campus, provides vegetarian and vegan meals as well. Withem said that Shively tracks the ingredients for its meals as well, so it can be sure that it is not accidentally serving people food that they do not want to eat, whether for religious or personal reasons.
On Ash Wednesday the Shively staff was ready to provide fish for Catholic students. The dining halls have a dedication to providing meals for all of their students, so it came as no surprise to them when people lined up for fish.
“Fish went out a lot on Ash Wednesday,” Withem said. “We certainly would like to give them [Catholics] whatever is required.”
Though Withem is not Catholic, she is aware that during Lent there will be a demand for non-meat alternatives. Shively, she said, is on a two-week rotation with its menu. This means that every two weeks, the menu will repeat again.
During Lent, though, Shively Dining Hall may rotate in more than two fish dishes to add some variety. For example, instead of just baked fish, Shively will be serving clam on Friday, March 7.
“We try very hard to accommodate [Catholics],” Withem said.
In addition to fish, Shively offers a wrap bar. Wraps can be made with or without meat, and the bar often offers steamed shrimp. Someone who is avoiding meat for Lent can still enjoy a wrap on a Friday without the meat.
“If there’s anything that anybody would like to have, suggestions are always welcome,” Withem said. “We are always looking to find something newer, cleaner, quicker, better everyday.”
Catholicism and Lent are part of Athens and OU, but neither is new. The dining halls make sure to offer more non-meat alternatives for Catholics during Lent, and local restaurants plan for any losses they might experience.
“It [Lent] affects business, but you know, it’s in the budget,” Eby said.
More information about dining hall menus as well as nutritional information can be found here.
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