Balls to the wall

Well, where does one start when having to write about testicles?

How about on Fat Tuesday at a tavern.

Mardi Gras literally means “Fat Tuesday” in French. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting upon a fattened calf on the last day of Carnival. The day is also known as Shrove Tuesday (from “to shrive,” or hear confessions), Pancake Tuesday and fetter Dienstag. The custom of making pancakes comes from the need to use up fat, eggs and dairy before the fasting and abstinence of Lent begins.

Carnival comes from the Latin words carne vale, meaning “farewell to the flesh.”

web link for my reference

Ahhh, farewell to the flesh. It’s got a great ring to it, doesn’t it?

So this is basically a cheap beer night with free pan fried testicles thrown in for good measure. It started about 15 years ago in Ashton, WI at a small tavern called “Connie’s” and eventually became so popular they needed more space.

Fast forward to modern times to the Springfield Inn. And, yes Virginia, there is a town named Springfield, WI. In fact there are 5 different Springfield(s) in various counties, in Wisconsin, the most important one is Springfield Corners, an unincorporated “community” in Dane County’s Springfield proper.

More like a commune at the crossroads of Dane, Prairie Du Sac, Middleton, the West Side, University Avenue, and the mighty Wisconsin River. Here you’ll find farmers, cops, local politicians, suburbanites, college kids, fellow bartenders, and of course their own set of regulars.

Why not get ’em all together and hand out shreds of deep fried turkey served on cafeteria trays, picked at by every unwashed hand in the joint. Why not pass the paper plate of butter soaked Rocky Mountain oyster goodness to that same crowd. And why not wash it all down with your favorite frosty beverage in a can or bottle.

Damn, now that sounds like a carne vale, doesn’t it?!

Screw the beads on Bourbon Street. Come to Springfield, WI.