Food means two things to me: family and adventure. Ever since I was little my
family and I have constantly gone out to eat. Living only 15 minutes away from
Chicago, we could be eating at the latest trendy new restaurant or we could be
eating at a local dive on the outskirts of town. By the time I was 12 I had
tried Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese (sushi being my favorite). My little
sister and I would get so excited when we were told we were going out to eat
because we loved traveling to new places and trying new things. As a little kid
I used to think of eating new food as a challenge, if my parents were eating
oysters then I was going to eat oysters. If my dad was eating escargot then by
all means I was eating escargot. I learned what food I liked and didn't like
after my first trip to a Mexican restaurant and accidentally bit into a jalapeno
pepper; I can not handle anything spicy. Even after all the adventures and
challenges I had with food the most important aspect of eating was being to
spend time with my family and also have our own mini adventure.
Another important aspect of food is family. Coming from a Greek family, every
family function would include a feast that could feed 50 people even if there
were only 12 of us. But it is less about eating the food than it is about how
sitting at the table made my family interact with each other. Eating food meant
catching up with one another, reminiscing on old stories and making sure the
kids had enough to eat. Preparing the food is also important my aunts and uncles
are always running around in the kitchen tossing ingredients to each other,
yelling and always somebody gets burned using the stove. It is always loud with
everyone talking over each other and laughing. I always look forward to these
events, not only am I guaranteed a delicious meal but I also have a chance to
catch up with the people I love.
family and I have constantly gone out to eat. Living only 15 minutes away from
Chicago, we could be eating at the latest trendy new restaurant or we could be
eating at a local dive on the outskirts of town. By the time I was 12 I had
tried Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese (sushi being my favorite). My little
sister and I would get so excited when we were told we were going out to eat
because we loved traveling to new places and trying new things. As a little kid
I used to think of eating new food as a challenge, if my parents were eating
oysters then I was going to eat oysters. If my dad was eating escargot then by
all means I was eating escargot. I learned what food I liked and didn't like
after my first trip to a Mexican restaurant and accidentally bit into a jalapeno
pepper; I can not handle anything spicy. Even after all the adventures and
challenges I had with food the most important aspect of eating was being to
spend time with my family and also have our own mini adventure.
Another important aspect of food is family. Coming from a Greek family, every
family function would include a feast that could feed 50 people even if there
were only 12 of us. But it is less about eating the food than it is about how
sitting at the table made my family interact with each other. Eating food meant
catching up with one another, reminiscing on old stories and making sure the
kids had enough to eat. Preparing the food is also important my aunts and uncles
are always running around in the kitchen tossing ingredients to each other,
yelling and always somebody gets burned using the stove. It is always loud with
everyone talking over each other and laughing. I always look forward to these
events, not only am I guaranteed a delicious meal but I also have a chance to
catch up with the people I love.