Thoughts during the apocalypse, Part Two.

Yes, I'm stuffed. I just took a drive -- a long one -- for takeout food, and I chose well. Given the lessened traffic going in and out of Boston, it was a snap to drive up to Mansfield native Jennifer Royle's restaurant in the North End (see the review at the left-hand side of this web page) and pick up enough food to last me for a couple of nights.

Tonight's takeout dinner from TABLE by Jen Royle.

Jen is one heck of a cook, if you haven't noticed. She was an Emmy Award-winning sports reporter for the Yes Network, covering the New York Yankees, and then after stops in Baltimore and back here in Boston, she made a career change that few could even remotely attempt to accomplish -- first as a private chef, then opening her own restaurant in the restaurant-thick North End.

If you haven't heard by now, TABLE by Jen Royle is unique. It's family-style dining, two long tables in a relatively small space and everyone is served as if they're at their Italian grandmother's house on Christmas. I've dined there twice since it opened a little more than a year ago, and these days, it's tough to get in on short notice.

With the help of a very good product and some very good press, Jen has carved out a niche for herself. She's had to overcome some reluctance over the family-style concept that turns strangers into dining mates, as well as a delay in getting a liquor license from the city (she's got it now), and things were going pretty well until the COVID-19 crisis struck.

Like many other restaurateurs all over the nation, Jen has had to do a 180-degree turn and suddenly come up with a takeout menu until the government decrees that we can all go back to sitting inside a restaurant. That's a snap for Applebee's, TGI Friday's or your local House of Pizza, which already operate with takeout as part of their business model. But Jen's restaurant is truly fine dining, and she's had to be nimble on her feet to keep things going -- and remember, this is HER investment, not some corporate franchise.

I'm sure it's stressful as all hell, but Jen Royle is one tough cookie. She's made a lot of new friends with her culinary delights, and hopefully they will all support her in this critical time. And as I've said before, if you're close to Boston or don't mind a little ride, order online at her web site (www.tableboston.com), choose your pickup time, and she'll have it waiting for you at 445 Hanover Street.

I got the chicken parmesan and ziti with San Marzano tomato sauce, a couple of her famed meatballs (tasted like my Nonni Gandolfa's), and garlic shrimp for tonight, and an order of rigatoni and meatballs for tomorrow night. Oh, yeah, and the ricotta zeppoli for dessert. I can't move.

Now, for some other thoughts along the apocalyptic road:

Boston's Central Artery, probably in the early 1970s.

** How strange was it to be able to drive into Boston at around 4 p.m. and be back in Mansfield by 6 p.m., and not hit a lick of stop-and-go traffic anywhere? And to have plenty of parking at any of the lots in the North End?

I guess people are staying home -- and before you get on my case for going into Boston to get takeout food, keep in mind that aside from the MIAA Tournaments, I've been in Boston all of three times since February 2019. And my body temperature this morning was 97.1, I held a breath for 61 seconds without any hint of coughing, even my springtime-allergies have disappeared for the time being, and nothing new hurts. And when I walked on the sidewalks from the parking lot to Jen's restaurant, I gave all of the runners -- and there were quite a few out -- a wide berth.

The scene reminded me a lot of when I was a mere child -- 60 years ago in fact, when my parents and I would pile into the '56 Chevy and drive downtown on the Central Artery to the old Jordan Marsh, where we would pick up those incredible blueberry muffins that people still recall so fondly. There wasn't a lot of traffic on the Central Artery back in the early 1960s, although few remember it that way.

Aside from the fear of a deadly disease, it was a pure joy to take a carefree ride into Boston for a change.

** While the pandemic restrictions continue, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is trying to address what will happen to the spring sports season once it's deemed safe to resume outdoor group activities.

Right now, it sounds as if the MIAA will opt for reduced regular-season schedules of anywhere between 8-12 games in order to have a tournament. But if the spring season does not begin by April 27, the tournaments will be ditched and schools will just play a few games (if any) before the kids head out for summer vacation.

Don't know what all that means for my North TV telecasting schedule for the springtime, but I'm not holding out much hope until it's time for Glen Farley and I to do King Philip football again in the fall.

** My retirement accounts? Down 25 percent. Maybe I'd better start taking this play-by-play stuff seriously.

** Remember in your prayers, if you will, Jeanne Chambers Farinella (July 2, 1926-March 20, 2015), my mother, who passed five years ago today. Thanks.

** See you soon from further down Apocalypse Highway …