I’m Not Making Any Accusations
I’M GOING TO BE PICKY TODAY. Actually, I’m picky on a fair number of days, so this will be just one more.
My wife, the lovely and intensely selective, Dawn, and I have just returned from San Diego where we attended the annual meeting and conference of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. Don’t waste too much time trying to figure out what all of that is – just think “The Pilgrims” and “Plymouth Rock” and you’ll be fine.
My pickitude today has nothing to do with the meeting itself or any of the fine and wonderful people there. I’m being picky about the food. It was all very good. It was tasty, and well prepared – but it was all pretty much interchangeable.
The salads that were served on Day One were identical to the salads served on day five. A little variety might have been nice. We were there for almost a week and chicken was the entrée for three days. Mahi-Mahi and salmon were served on two days and beef once. While that fish was in there the preparation was such that it could have passed for chicken.
To be honest I’m really just taking their word that that was actually chicken on those three days. I’m not making any accusations, but there we were at the seashore, on the vast Pacific Ocean, but I never saw a seagull the entire time we were there.
The entrée we ate on Day Five, to the best of my knowledge and belief, was meat from an animal with hooves. That’s all I’m willing to say about that.
The desserts on all five days followed a theme: Cake. One of those was a “Cheesecake” so I’m willing to slice them some slack on that. I was hoping for some pie, but no such luck.
I understand that when you are preparing meals for a room with several hundred diners that you can’t please everybody. The folks with food allergies and dietary restrictions were easily accommodated. Perhaps I should have indicated to someone that I needed to have my “emotional support” pie. It might have worked.
We have gone to a number of these annual get-togethers over the years and the quality of the food has varied. Some were more “diverse” in their menu than others. One year we ate more pasta than Don Corleone. Another year it was fish, fish, and more fish. However, one year, I think it was in Salt Lake City, we had something different every day – it was all wonderful and you could never predict what was going to be on your plate.
Considering that we were in San Diego this year I was kind of hoping that we might score some tamales or fish tacos. Nope. More Seagull Chicken and cake. There was a special event dinner one night for those willing to fork over an extra bill or two. They had a Mexican buffet, a Mariachi band and a dance troupe. We didn’t go, but I heard that they had seagull chicken. Maybe we were better on our own that night.
I know that all of this makes me sound like I consider myself some sort of gourmet “Foodie” snob. I’m not. Maybe your dog is happy with Kibble and Bits every day, but me – I like to have a little treat once in a while to break up the routine.
Gimme some chicken, but let’s cross the road every now and then to see what is available on the other side.
Down the Hall on Your Left 