The family went out to eat again. I’m not exactly sure where we were, so let’s just call it Chotchkies. “How many tonight?” asked the host with seventeen pieces of flair. “Four,” I responded. “Name?” he asked. “Um…looks like Stan,” I said, squinting at his tag. “Not my name. Yours.” “Oh, sorry. It’s Charles, but most people call me Charlie. Or sometimes just ‘dork’. Once in a while it’s Charly, which I know sounds the same, but is spelled different, but I don’t like that, because that reminds me of Flowers for Algernon and that’s kind of sad. So, let’s just go with Charlie.”
I never can figure out why people look at me funny. We got to the table and the waitress with fifteen pieces of flair asked, “Any kids menus?” “Yes! Two, please.” I don’t know why we bother because it doesn’t matter. Every single kids’ menu has chicken fingers and every single time our youngest daugher Rachel orders them. Of course, there is the crayons thing. But still…
I’m a picky eater now and was worse when I was a kid. And as much as I like pizza and cheeseburgers and have said on many occasions that I could eat those things on end for years and not grow tired of them, we both know I’m not serious. Variety in our food seems to be very important to us, as a species. And when you go out to dinner, presumably it’s for the food experience, so why order pizza, cheeseburgers, and chicken fingers over and over and over? Isn’t this the one time to try something different?
Mostly yes, but sometimes no. Because for all of us, whether we order off the kids’ menu or the grown-up menu or even just the beer list, there’s That One Dish. And more often than not, That One Dish can only be made at That One Restaurant. And no matter how many times you go, no matter how many times you entertain the idea of ordering something else, you’ve just gotta have it.
Plus, it’s okay to have more than just one That One Dishes. I know I’ve had many. For some reason, the one that popped into my head tonight came from a prior lifetime. Nachos. From Julio’s. In Des Moines. I don’t know what it was about them, but I’d never had anything like it before nor since. The chips were very light, almost flaky: certainly made from flour and not corn tortillas. The meat and toppings went together like Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. I honestly don’t know if Julio’s actually served anything else because I never bothered to look. I’ve moved away and they’ve long since closed down, so I know there’s no going back. Oh sure, there will be other nachos, but they’ll never be the same.
Although I can see Rachel, maybe thirty years from now, writing, “One of my fondest food memories growing up was ordering chicken fingers at Chotchkie’s…”
on January 16, 2009 at 12:13 am
Steamers at the T&C, hands down the best food memory of my childhood (although mud pie at Manchester’s is a close second). I LOVED steamed clams, and they had some kind of magic pixie dust that made theirs the Best. Clams. Ever.
When I had to have my head stitched up after the Great Spear Incident of my seventh year, all I wanted was to go to the T&C and have clams and Shirley Temples.
What’s the point of taking a spear to the face if you can’t winkle bivalves and grenadine-laced beverages out of the deal??
The T&C is long gone and I can’t get Ipswitch clams (the ONLY clam for proper steamers) in Georgia unless I want to order them from Maine and pay a fortune for shipping if they are even available…sigh…but I will never forget steamers, chourico, and corn…mmm…cue Homer Simpson gargle here…
I wonder what my son will remember…
Shade and Sweetwater,
K
on January 16, 2009 at 3:48 am
Don’t feel bad, Charlie, people look at me funny, too.
I have a friend I eat out with alot and we don’t pick a “restaurant”, we pick a “dish” and choose the restaurant accordingly.
on January 16, 2009 at 6:14 am
Chili’s lettuce wraps…oh they are sooooo good!
on January 16, 2009 at 6:22 am
Nachos at Julio’s! I hadn’t realized you were a fan, too. My apartment at the Plaza was on the same block as Julio’s and I was in there all the time. They had some great drinks, too.
Nacho Momma’s was right down the street and they had a seafood nacho dish that was stellar. Once. We could never get them the same way again.
Nothing worse than having That One Dish only once.
on January 16, 2009 at 6:25 am
Spicy tuna roll from Sushi Popo in Peoria, IL… every day… for 2 weeks in college.
I still always order a spicy tuna when i go for sushi, but its never the same.
on January 16, 2009 at 6:46 am
Stuffed burritos from The Blue’s! It was an old blue drive-in right down the street from the high school. Just a frozen burrito, deep fried, cut open and stuffed with salsa, lettuce and tomato. Oh, the memories!
Hey, On that refried bean soup, how about subbing ground turkey for the beaners. I bet that would be good!!!
on January 16, 2009 at 7:41 am
My roommate when I was in my early 20’s worked at a Mexican Restaurant in Chicago called Hat Dance. They made something called Seafood Fundido. Basically, it was gobs of cheese with seafood; shrimp, lobster and it came in a dish and you would scoop out a little and wrap it in a warm tortilla. I had it every time I went to visit her at work. I haven’t been back in years, but I would try it again.
on January 16, 2009 at 10:38 am
Here’s my strangeness coming out, but when I go to a diner I have liver and onions. My wife doesn’t allow that type of food in our home since she can’t stand the feel of that stuff when it’s defrosted. There is of course that very special dish that a lot of restaurants make, and that’s shrimp scampi. You know it’s good when you can melt the face of the person sitting next to you with the garlic that lingers on your breath.
on January 16, 2009 at 10:38 am
My life pursuit the last few years has been taking all the “That One Dishes” and trying to recreate them at home with less calories. Sometimes, it works. I make a mean chicken tortilla soup. Sometimes it doesn’t. Baked (fried) shrimp failed miserably. But I pretty much don’t pick restaurants as well, I pick dishes. Like today, I’m not going to Pho Van, I’m going to #18 add broccoli. 🙂
on January 16, 2009 at 11:01 am
OMG, that is too funny. It took Hannah until the age of 13 to order anything other than chicken fingers, and she’s become quite the adventure eater! Fried calamari, Thai shrimp rolls, putting onions in most dishes – these were all foreign things to her just a scant 4 years ago!
Do you remember the Pepperoni Pasta at Julian’s in Richmond, Virginia? That was my One Dish that I haven’t had since!
Happy Friday Chowlie!
on January 16, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I actually pride myself in NOT doing that… but there’s one restaurant that I succumb … and it’s not just ONE dish, it’s the whole damn meal. PF Changs. Start with a Cosmo, then an appetizer of Lettuce Wraps, then a dinner of Lemon Scallops. YUM! I tried something else once and it just ruined the perfectness of my PF Changs experience.
on January 16, 2009 at 7:40 pm
I get that “One Dish” at every Thai place I go to. Every place makes it different, but I love every version of it! I never even think about getting any of the 100 other offerings Thai places typically have.
on January 21, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Ahh…mine is the blue cheese wedge salad at Sullivan’s Steakhouse. Fresh made blue cheese , crisp lettuce and fresh tomatoes with fresh ground pepper. I’m a cheese hound, so this one beats all for me.