I have a wild and passionate love affair with food.
It’s not that I like to eat junk food. I’d much rather make something at home than eat something that came from a drive through window. And cupcakes out of a box? No thanks.
This is not some cheap, late night booty-call for food. It’s a mature romance full of lust and wonder.
Here, there’s a temptation every day to indulge.
Mondays I’ve got a long break between classes, so driving to Picasso’s seems like a reasonable use of my time. I mean, it’s just a sandwich, right? Wrong! It’s a Mona Lisa with turkey, Swiss, artichoke hearts, spinach and basil pesto.
Tuesdays are a different story.
After my longest day of classes and meetings I am quite prepared for a nightcap, and if I go to 1201, then I get two tacos with my adult beverage.
Then when I’m there, I remember how much I love it because it’s decorated with the coolest sculptures and art that I want to go back for lunch for the ramen.
I know what you’re thinking, “Seriously, Brianna? You’re going berserk for Ramen. It’s like 89 cents and it takes three minutes to make at home. Why—”
Let me stop you right there.
This is not the orange, square package of processed pasta. This is a steaming hot bowl of wavy noodles tossed in exotic vegetables that I don’t even recognize topped with an egg and pork belly rib. This is Nirvana in the form of food.
The week just kind of snowballs from there. There are just some things I cannot make at home.
El Toro Loco – rest in peace – was the best Latin American restaurant in Erie. It was conveniently located one block from my apartment – and made El Sinoloence, which loosely translates to strips of steak or chicken covered in Monterey cheese and chorizo.
“What’s chorizo,” you may ask. It’s like the bacon bits of Mexico.
Glorious sausage in a spicy mix of sauce that is probably 60 percent grease, but it’s 100 percent delicioso.
In light of recent events, I now understand better why I was so addicted to that restaurant.
On my less passionate and spicy dates with food, I may feel in the mood for sushi. I have a myriad of places to choose from. Asian and Japanese Cuisine makes some mean sushi, but there’s 1201 that is sheer perfection, the new restaurant Chopsticks; even Wegman’s is a viable option.
Yeah, I said it. Wegman’s sushi is the bomb.
I was recently introduced to a new friend, Pulled Pork Nachos. I have to admit, I was quite tentative to put pork where my salsa lives, but it was a delicious juxtaposition of flavor. I have no regrets.
I met this new friend of mine at Pufferbelly’s where I normally get the Pasta Sophia. She is just like she sounds. She appears to be quite a lady, coming out on this big white dish, looking all refined and whatnot, but then, BAM, she’s got a spunky side. She’s all tomato and spices.
My love affair with food is, as you can see, totally nondiscriminatory.
It may not always be healthy, but it is always fresh, hot, steamy and extremely satisfying.
BRIANNA WOODS
