I am not a food snob..or a foodie for that matter,.and maybe that's my problem. Compared to the many food obsessive people around me,,,I am best described as a food fuddyduddy. I'm fussy. My palate is not sophisticated. A lot of foods and flavors make me sick.I don't like being sick. (This sickness thing is a long dull story - and I'll spare you) My taste range for flavor and spices (especially spices) is narrow (you'd think with all this my butt would be narrow too...but it isn't). So when the simple act of meeting someone for a late weekend breakfast becomes a struggle...I know I'm going to have to figure out how to step up my game or skip food dates with friends.
Let me begin this with a critical piece of information. I was born into the House of Butter and I spent a long stretch of time in the House of Hamburgers, corn-on-the cob, spaghetti and boiled meat. I don't know if there have been studies on this but I believe that the first eight years of life may play a critical role in forming a person's food tastes. At least it formed mine. I lived mostly with my grandparents and my grandmother was a lousy, really really lousy cook. I simply cannot recall anything she ever cooked except pot roast which I think she boiled in buttered water for days . (Today we would call this braising...but we would add some flavor). But there was no one on earth who could bake like she did - that more than made up for it. My grandfather was from the old country - Italy. He kept a vat of "medicinal" Dago Red in the basement, loved eating the fat on the meat, ate tons of bread and fresh vegetables with gallons of olive oil. I don't know how he survived her cooking.
When I wasn't with my "Gug" and "Pup" I was with my aunt and uncle. My aunt hated anything to do with the kitchen. She could cook 4 things: hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob, spaghetti and Campbells soup. When I was with her at their lake house - one of these (sometimes only one of these) comprised our dinners - unless we went out (which we did often). I never fully realized that having only corn-on-the-cob for dinner was not healthy. Who thinks about this stuff at 6,7,or 8 years old? Not me.
When I went to live with my Mom I enjoyed amazingly high calorie, fatty foods - most of which were cooked with lots of butter. The only spice she used was garlic and salt. She made the best fries (cooked in butter), the best burgers (also in butter) and the best leg of lamb I've ever eaten. She also had a cholesterol over 400 for most of her life.
Fast forward to now. I understand healthy eating. I eat a balanced diet and love veggies and fruit,. My meat consumption is low. I am terrified of fresh fish because who the hell wants to eat something that swims in its own feces and is full of mercury (I make an exception for salmon and canned tuna with mercury). Sushi (especially anything from the pacific) isNOT on my menu. Ever. But I have never acquired a taste for anything spicy that is hot, semi-hot or overpowering. So I eat minimal Mexican, no Indian, loathe most German (hearty) foods on so on. Boring ol me. Like my Mom, I cook mostly with garlic - but unlike my mom, no butter (mostly)
So today I am meeting a foodie friend for breakfast. I don't like breakfast - I'd rather have a tuna salad sandwich. Eggs are dull. Bacon is unhealthy and heavy, I never touch sausage of any kind and pancakes/waffles are too sweet. I DO love lox and cream cheese but it isn't available everywhere.
My friend tossed out a few places we might meet. She suggested a tea room where we once ate lunch and I had to stop on my way home for some real food. She suggested a German place with a menu full of sausages and thick bacon. Other suggestions were a vegan/vegetarian place that specializes in raw foods. (seriously?) A tofu and cucumber sandwich? A sweet carrot and radish sandwich? RAW mocha cheesecake? Quinoa skillet? Yuck. I'd rather lick the inside of a fish tank.
So I found a place that may suit both of us and we're meeting there at noon. I hope this works. It is also a "healthy" restaurant (quinoa and kale are both on the menu) but I can construct something that may be filling and tasty. But I confess that I just tossed two left over Halloween chocolate bars into my purse...just in case. Just in case.
