Fond Food Memories –

Pictured Above - The Green Bean Fries at TGI Friday's -

I have a great food memory that engages all of the senses – not only taste and smell, but texture, feel, sight, and essence. 

I also have a photographic memory – I totally think in pictures.  I can remember this amazing dish I had at about thirteen years old in Alexandria, VA at the Seaport Inn along the Potomac River. 

It was huge and I had no idea how I was going to eat it all - as a southern belle from the Deep South – we were from the “clean plate” club. 

It was tiny shell pasta with an amazing creamy alfredo-style sauce with plump pieces of white chicken and broccoli florets and it had just a sprinkle of fresh shaved parmesan on top. 

It was mounded high on an oval white plate – that to me - looked as large as a serving platter.

My Dad eyed me as I looked down at the task ahead.  My grandmother always told me that my eyes were bigger than my stomach and she was often right, if she could only see me eat now!

I dove in as if I were famished - but then quickly steadied to a marathon pace that could get me through.

It was comfort food.  It was amazing, especially for the palate of a thirteen year old.  And it was a dish to remember…like so many others that have passed my lips over the years.  Remembering every little detail of such delectable flavors can still bring a sense of smell to my nose as I envision the experience time and again.

I also remember riding in the back of my Dad’s truck to get ice cream at Jan’s Drive-in.  My favorite: A “Ripple” cone.  Except later - I preferred it in a cup - why let that crazy cone taste get in the way of my tasty fun? Ripple was half vanilla and half chocolate from the same nozzle all swirled around soft-serve style. I can feel it on my tongue even now. Oh yeah.   

Other Fond Food Memories Include:

•        The first time I tasted Homemade Peach Ice Cream at my Aunts’ House
•          The Amaretto Sour at Dementi’s in Mountain Top, PA
•          Conch Fritters at Russell’s in Murrell’s Inlet, SC
•          Oysters at Dusty’s in Panama City, FL    
•          The Green Bean Appetizer with Wasabi Ranch at TGI Friday’s
•          The Best Lobster in the World at Chateaubriand in New Orleans
•          Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms at Park Grill Steakhouse in Gatlinburg, TN
•          The Beer Sampler at BJ’s Brewhouse
•          My Seven Mushroom Soup – When I finally nailed it!
•          Chicken Nuggets at Chick-fil-A

There have been some amazing dishes – I tend to forget the unpalatable or even the mediocre all-together.  But- give me something amazing and I will sing its’ praises for decades – all the while plotting to return to the scene of the crime.

By TR Hughes, © 2010 FoodandWineDirectory.com. All rights reserved worldwide.
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