Food Inspired Memories

My brothers, twins, used to work at the same Italian restaurant and our family was a blessed beneficiary of their labors. Most evenings, at least one of them would work the closing shift. The restaurant would regularly have a few prepared items that were not sold that day and employees could take something home if they wished. They brought home lasagna, pizza, other pastas and some of the best salads that you've ever tasted.

At first, the food they brought home was hands off to me and other younger siblings. But after a month or two they became satiated with even the delicious flavors of the same restaurant and we young kids were able to go to town with whatever they brought home. Those were some very fun times and maybe because I didn't work there I never got sick of the food they would bring home. Even though it's now closed, I will always think fondly of that Francesco's restaurant because even though I never actually dined there it was the first sit-down restaurant food that I ate more than once.

I remember being a little disappointed when they either didn't work or there wasn't anything that they thought was worth bringing home. Then one day one of the twins came home with food that wasn't from the restaurant. He brought home a macho green burrito from a fast food place called Naugles. I had eaten hard shell tacos from the school cafeteria but these things were out of this world. I didn't know that more gourmet restaurants existed and I thoroughly delighted in the seasoned beef and spicy peppers and salsa that made that burrito delicious.

When I learned that one of my teenage clients had obtained employment at McDonalds I asked him if he still ate the food. He told me that after a few months there he no longer ate anything with the hamburger meat but he was still willing to eat the chicken. Now, I haven't been to McDonalds for at least ten years because I have two children who have been vegetarian since early elementary school and I haven't eaten meat for the past two or three. I didn't even remember that McDonalds offered anything chicken based besides the nuggets. He said that he isn't even sure that those are all real chicken so he stays with the chicken sandwich. Nevertheless I still remember when my oldest sister took me to McDonalds and introduced for the first time to a fast food restaurant.

So as I think of that old Francesco's, the defunct Naugles and the self-forbidden McDonalds, I drown in a flood of memories that washes over a highly stimulated brain. The flavors certainly pleased my palate while it satisfied my appetite. While one can get sick of eating the same dish, one thing that never gets stale is the joy of sibling connections. I love to eat, but my favorite gastronomical memories include my family who I hold most dear.