I love food. And I don’t mean just the eating part. Of course I need to eat to live, but what’s really going on is I live to eat. It’s my favorite thing to do besides being with my loved ones, but perhaps my favorite thing to do with my loved ones is to share a meal, so there’s that too.
Almost as much as I love eating food, I love talking about food. And what I mean by this is the pasta dinner I’ll be eating later on and am getting excited about now. Or that meal we had seven years ago when I came over and you served that ridiculously amazing stew with vegetables and beef. Or Des’s first all-beef hot dog that he ate at the Chicago airport at 8:30 one morning while I sat there excitedly cheering him on with every bite he took.
I also want to hear about what you barbecued last weekend. What was on the grill? What sides did you make? And how much did you eat? Was there a spice that made it all come together? Did you get the temperature and timing just right for optimal juiciness in that chicken? More details please!
I don’t consider myself a foodie. I do like fine cuisine and artisanal creations, but in my book they’re no better than the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich at lunch. Generally speaking it’s all about comfort foods for me, those tasty treats that give me pleasure over and over again, like burritos, fresh bread and Reuben sandwiches to name a few.
I moan when I eat. Not all the time, but a lot. I can’t help it. It’s an involuntary expression of joy. Or as soon as I take a bite I want to talk about it. Sometimes I’ll chime in on the finer points, like the complex yet wonderfully balanced flavors of your soup, but most of the time I just want to let everyone know that I’m in heaven, that everything tastes spot on, that the food is satisfying me in more ways than one. It satisfies my hunger of course, but the deliciousness inspires me too. I’m also a sucker for a beautifully moist inside surrounded by a perfect crisp, thank you very much. It’s kind of a spiritual experience.
“Oh my god this is delicious!” I’ll say, and I’ll mean it with every fiber of my being.
This commentary and the moaning that accompanies it has also served me well I might add. Ever since I was a boy, when I ate at a friend’s house and I loved the food I’d let it be known.
“This pork is unreal! I love it!” Words like this would flow naturally from my mouth between bites.
And guess what? My friend’s mom would usually head right over to the stove and grab the serving dish and put another huge helping on my plate. Yes!
As I scarfed up my seconds I’d continue to chime in freestyle. “This tastes so good! Is the recipe from a book? Handed down from a relative? Please tell me where it came from and what it means to you. I also hope there’s more and you’re not planning to save any for tomorrow because if you don’t mind I’m going to sit here and keep eating until it’s gone. If I was by myself I’d honestly pick up the serving tray and lick it clean!”
It’s actually pretty common for me to be eating something and for that thing to be exactly what I’d want to be eating right then and there if I could choose anything in the world. I’ll go all in with it. The food and I become one. I’m serious about this. The food literally becomes the cells of my body as I devour it with passion and ferocity.
What this means is I don’t really have a favorite food. I probably have fifty of them and at any given time one will be the perfect food for that moment.
Variety is the spice of life and that’s especially true when it comes to eating. Mixing it up brings wonderful new flavors to my mouth. It also creates an interval between the times I eat the same meal. Since absence makes the heart grow fonder, my love for that meal grows the longer I go without it.
I feel deep gratitude and happiness whenever I eat good food, especially if someone has prepared the meal with love. It blows my mind that I get three meals each and every day to experience such bliss.
But before I go, hold on a second. Did you just ask if I’d like to try out that new jerk chicken place in your neighborhood? Of course I would! What did you get last time you went there? Have you tried other stuff on the menu? Since you can order two sides with your meal, which ones do you recommend?
Food is awesome. It’s edible poetry. And there are always more meals and snacks to savor. But there’s only so much room in my stomach. My capacity to talk about food is limitless though. I can keep going and going, finding delight in every succulent detail.