Silver Anniversary

Twenty-five years feels like lifetime. It almost is when you are 27-years-old. Times have brought us closer and pushed us further apart. I think about us all day, every day.

The early years are blurry but joy-filled. As they say, "Ignorance is bliss." The furthest back I can remember leads me to a blistering hot summer day in South Philadelphia. I burst through the screen door and down the street to meet them. Once they were in my arms I gave a full, pearly white grin and hopped up and down. I skipped two blocks home and plopped down on my front step. I placed them carefully in my lap, gazed at them for a second, then tore into them like I hadn't seen them in years. I tossed aside their shrouds and brought them to my lips. What a fateful meeting. This was meant to be.

Now, the likelihood of a kid in South Philly not seeing a Tastykake or Cheesesteak in years is slim. Which is probably why I was not slim. To this day I am carrying around those childhood friends on my hips.

My mother said by age two I was eating whatever her and my father were eating. Anything before that, and "I love you," doesn't count. So, by my calculations, this is our (food and mine) 25th/Silver Anniversary.

As I said before, it hasn't always been easy. I still bare the scars of our relationship, particularly on my right leg. Three gashes below my knee cap mark an unsuccessful sprint towards chocolate cake a la Grandmom (It's worth bloodshed). We hit another serious rough patch and we were not in contact for a few months during the 8th grade. Although I was 30 pounds lighter, the weight on my heart made up the difference. Through college there were ups and downs, gains and loses of pounds, and altogether meltdowns. But I have always said the true test of any relationship is to drag it through Hell and see if it comes out intact. From Hell and back we are still united.

In the beginning it was happenstance. If it were not for my family dumping large portions of broccoli rabe, prosciutto, and crabs and macs onto my plate we may never have come to this point. At first I was angry. Eating all those things became second nature and eating those things in large quantities was just as easy. The verbal abuse I suffered in the 6th grade jolted me to reality: maybe I didn't need to eat as much. As time went on I understood that I was in control. I have accepted myself and now worry about being healthy, not skinny.

Which brings me to present-day situations. I love everything about food. I love to shop for it, cook it, serve it, eat it, play with it, write about it, dress it up, and talk it for walks. Okay, maybe not the last one. But, seriously, food is this girl's best friend.

Today, I am grateful for the force-feeding. It has led me to one of my great loves in life (apparently, you only get three). Not many people know what they want to do for a living. Even less people have something towards which they feel passionate. I have both.

Happy Anniversary, Baby.

Food Snobbery

I felt like after the last entry I should defend my thoughts. Some say I am a food snob. I would like to say, "so not true." No, I do not think $30 for 3 courses during Restaurant Week is worth it. But, like I previously stated, as long as you aren't deluded about what you are getting, go hog wild.

Food snobs are people who believe that only the most expensive, trendiest, most popular and touted restaurants can offer anything worth consuming. Honestly, there have been times when our makeshift dinners at home have tasted better than when we have spent beaucoup bucks on a night out. Sometimes I just want a burger from McDonald's or pizza from the local hole in the wall. I appreciate all sorts of food, therefore, a food snob I am not. It's all about acknowledging and accepting your surroundings. A burger off the $1 menu doesn't compare in quality to the $41 Kobe beef burger at Old Homestead, but it could trigger a similar mouth-watering sensation.

I have a friend who would argue me to the death over this. She is a food snob. If anyone even mentions fast food she motions as if she were about to throw up. Granted, fast food practices and ingredients aren't the most clean or natural, but they haven't killed anyone. No one is promoting these quickie joints to be at the top of the City's Best lists.

Food Snobbery gets you nowhere. You are missing out on the large majority of eating establishments if you set your standards too high. Take things for what they are, don't expect more, and enjoy.

Real foodies try everything: no food snobs allowed.