5 months ago ((tomorrow)) I hopped in a tiny black prius and set off on a road trip with no return. But this post isn’t about any of that. I needed to post about food. And probably other stuff but mostly food.
Nothing could have prepared me for life without In-N-Out. I’ve been through a lot, but the pain that brings me is by far the worst kind of pain. I would do some reeeeal shameful things for a double double and a shake right now let me tell you. Don't ever bother trying to explain it to a Mainer. "It's probably not as good as the Shake Shack", they told me. YeahalrightokNO.
“Okay okay,” you might say. “At least there’s Souplantation, right?” WRONG!! “Sweet Tomatoes?” WRONG AGAIN! The nearest location is 8 states away. Imagine being 8 states away from your true love! Woe is me, y'know. I don't care that a lot of people think Souply is trashy or gross. I was raised in those restaurants. Been to every one in OC. That place means more to me than almost anything else, I mean it.
This one is the worst. My heart aches thinking about it. There's this takeout restaurant in Fountain Valley called Lucky Chinese. Basically it owns my soul. My family started going there when it first opened like 10 years ago. The mean Asian ladies behind the counter got to watch me grow up on their food. ITS SO GOOD. And so important! So important that LC was actually the last meal we ate in California.
Other qualifiers include Jamba Juice, Bruxie, Yogurtland, Chick-fil-A, Weinerschnitzel, Corner Bakery, Bagels & Brew, BJs, Del Taco, Cinnamon Productions, Buca di Beppo, Cheesecake Factory, Ralph's (yes, the grocery store), Blaze Pizza, Pieology, Ruby's, Baskin Robins, and many others, I'm sure.
The point is, my security comes from familiarity. Driving through the states, whenever I saw one of those restaurants, I felt okay because it meant I wasn't far from home. But then Baskin Robins became Friendly's and Ralph's became Hannaford's and you know it's bad when no one's heard of Del Taco. How they've lived without a Fiesta Pack is beyond me. Del Taco, man. Anyways, when I moved here I didn't realize that I'd be so impacted by this. It doesn't seem like a big deal, it's just food. But thinking about it gives me the same feeling I get when I look at the Atlantic ocean or go to Dunkin Donuts. It just feels wrong, you know?
I'm writing this hoping that in the next 5 months, I'll be able to try new restaurants and make new memories and not feel so dang sad. So my track team is having a team dinner tomorrow night at Margaritas ((???!)) and maybe I'll start there. -C
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