Food Teaser

About a month ago, GirlFriday, at my urging dedicated a week on this blog to food. I promised I would blog on the subject as food is, well, one of my favorite things ever. Only I didn't post on the subject. As I understand it, at least one reader of this blog was very disappointed, not to mention this sites host. So in the next week or so, I hope to make up for my delinquency. (Hopefully, I will not overstay my welcome on this topic . . . but don't count on it. I really love to eat.)

I want to start with some background and a couple comments on the All American food franchise.

First, as I stated before, I LOVE to eat. When I'm done with one meal, I am ususally planning my next even while my stomach groans. My brother has often found this fascinating and when we are together he usually askes me at least once, what my thoughts are on dinner before I've put the last bite of lunch in my mouth.

Second, I am not a picky eater. My husband debates this, and I am not so blinded that I can't see his point, as his explanation of "picky" is defined by the fact that at any given time, I will not eat just anything or go to just any restaurant. I ususally have put a fair amount of thought into what I really want to eat at that moment. If it's a hamburger and fries, then by gosh, McDonald's will do just fine. But if it's not, then that's the last place I want to go. Even at breakfast in my own home on any given weekday morning, I carefully weigh weather I want yogurt with granola, a bagel with cream cheese and an egg, or plain old Rice Krispies. It's rarely the same from day to day.

That said, the much more traditional definition of "picky eater" is explained as someone who has a fairly extensive list of food items that they will not entertain. FOR EXAMPLE, my husband who I think is a somewhat picky eater will not eat pecans, almonds, walnuts, shrimp, crab, lobster, any other shellfish, cream cheese, most soft cheeses in general. Further, he doesn't care for entrees that mix fruit and meat together (i.e. - no Sunday ham with the pineapple on top; no pork chop with a cranberry infused sauce), he'd prefer not to eat ravioli, doesn't much care for mayonnaise, and his sense of adventure with regard to food doesn't go off-road much. (In his defense, he is a good sport, and he'll eat at any restaurant of my choosing, even seafood restaurants. As he is quick to point out - "they always have chicken on the menu.")

So far, the only foods I REALLY put my foot down on are olives (no, it doesn't matter what color they are or what country they are from - they are all "yuck!"), artichokes (unless they are in dip - then I love them), black licorice, and root beer (the WORST of the four). I like healthy food, but I like fast food too. I like food you eat with your hands, and food that you eat with several different types of flatware in several courses. I like big meals, small meals, meals that are quick and meals that take hours to eat. I love Indian food, Mediterrean, Italian, German, French (despite myself), and good old American. Sweet, salty, tart, bland, spicey. I pretty much like it all.

All of this is to say that for the most part I am not a food snob. You can find a good meal almost anywhere in this country (as our expanding waistelines clearly indicate), but don't go looking for diamonds at Wal Mart. So, one of the things I'm going to do in the next week or so is "review" some food franchises that I consider to be above the mark. Laugh if you must - none of these are making Zagat's - but by gosh you can find a meal at these restaurants that will make your toes curl if you know what to order.

Some of my favorites are Macaroni Grill, Cafe Ole, Blake's Lotaburger (Albuquerque, NM), Dion's Pizza (Albuquerque, NM), and my all time favorite, Cracker Barrel.

Talk to you soon.