Discovery and Comfort

The other day I did not have the energy to cook supper, so I headed on down to one of the local links of a large sandwich chain for some convenient and healthy, fast food.

“Welcome to SubStandard, may I take your order?”
“uh yeah, I’d like a large Traditional Sandwich please”

“White, Whole Wheat, Honey Nut, Chappatis or 17 Ancient Grain bread?
“White please”

“Would you like Roast beef, Turkey or Ham?”
“ummm all of them please”

“Cheddar?”
“yes please”

“Swiss?”
“OK”

“or Mozzerella?”
“uh…well..cheddar then.”

“Black olives?”
“Sure”

“Lettuce?”
“yup”

“Tomato?”
“Why not?”

“red onions?”
“ya”

“pickles?”
“uh-huh”
“sliced, diced…raw or sautéed?”
“grr, sliced and sautéed please”

“Shrimp or Crab?”
“no thanks”

“Bacon?”
“check”

“Ranch, Italian, Balsamic or Low-Cal Thai Soy Teriyaki dressing?”
“Italian”

“Hot Peppers?”
“not much tradition around here is there?”

“Pardon?”
“Yes…peppers”

“anything else?”
“no…anything else?”

“No”
“are you sure? Did you want to add a drink or fries?”

“No Thanks…..uh…that will be $12.50 please”

What a disappointment. Not only did that exchange at the drive through window take nearly as much time and certainly as much effort as selecting a dinner menu at home, it once again robbed me of comfort and discovery.

What a comfort it was as a child, teenager and now adult to head out to your favorite burger joint or restaurant and order up that traditional dish…you know the one. That’s why we ordered it…it was the best in its class and had a taste all its own, if we wanted a culinary adventure we’d go where they made something else. I don’t want to stress about how it’s made…I just want the comfort of my favorite dish. I have trusted The Colonel’s choice of herbs and spices for a long time now and am not gonna mess with it now. I’d like a burger like you make it ‘cuz that’s the way I like it.

What a discovery it was to unearth that first Big Mac…Teen Burger….ahhh the sheer joy of experiencing the taste of that special Ethiopian dish in a place that only you and a few friends know about. My diet might get pretty boring if I alone were the sole arbiter of what gets slapped onto my culinary palette.

In an al a carte world we run the risk of losing our sense of discovery. Would the Eagles or The Grateful Dead made as much impact in the music world as they did if I-Tunes were their introductory distribution method?
Rather than simply cherry picking the singles we were presented with the Christmas morning-like anticipation of listening to the deeper cuts every time we ventured out to the record store.

In life we can’t always choose each detail of every experience and that’s a good thing…give me what you’ve got and I’ll savor each new discovery and horizon with gusto and take comfort in their rediscovery.