International Love

            Growing up, the only international food we had for dinner was when my mom would pick up taco salads from Taco Bell.  I remember eating food from other countries during a class project in the 8^th grade, but in eighth grade it wasn’t “cool” to like things we did in class, so I did my best to act completely disinterested.  It wasn’t until I got to Clemson and met my Ethiopian friend and roommate, Nathan Schneider, that I began to try food from other countries.

            It truly amazes me how much a country’s cuisine says about their culture and history.  For instance, in Ethiopia the harsh terrain is not suitable for any grains other than teff.  The Ethiopians used this to their advantage and came up with a genius creation called injera.  Injera is a flatbread that resembles a sourdough pancake and is made with the local teff flour.  It is utilized as a plate, eating utensil, and a sponge to absorb the sauces that are placed on it.  I guess there is some truth to the saying that ingenuity rises out of necessity!

            Despite the fact that I have never traveled out of the country, I feel like I have connections with different cultures after eating their food.  I love traveling to the Buford Farmer’s Market in Atlanta.  It is a large global supermarket that carries everything from Indonesian swallow’s nest to European cheeses.  It is a great way to get a little of every country in one place.  If it was up to me I would spend my life traveling around the world trying the best food there is until I become so fat that I crash the plane with my fatness.  If anyone has any stories about food they have had in other countries I would love to hear about it.  Hopefully I can live vicariously through these stories until I can afford to travel around the world and delight myself in my own fatness.  Also, I would like to thank my friends Chengho, MengChu, Kaiti, and Nancy for introducing me to Korean BBQ.  It quickly became one of my favorite international experiences.

Waffle House

Oh Waffle House…  Waffle House evokes different emotions in different people.  Some people think of greasy truck workers and a “D” health score, some people think of being completely wasted and trying their best to balance hash-browns on their fork, and some people are reminded of a simpler time.  As you may have guessed, I fall into the third category (and sometimes the second).

            Growing up, Waffle House was my dad’s go to restaurant.  My mom wasn’t particularly fond of Waffle House, but it was always perfect for my dad and me.  Whenever my mom was out of town, we didn’t need to ask each other where we were going to eat for dinner, all he would say, “It’s time!”  That was all that he needed to say.  Once we pulled up to the parking lot, I would start telling him about how I was going to finally try the T-bone steak, but I never would.  Sitting in the booth, watching my dad eat country ham and talk about guns he had bought and traded reminded me of a simpler time.  In that moment I was transported to my own little world where I never had to worry about homework or going to work the next day, none of that mattered anymore.  That is what Waffle House means to me.

            Those of you who are still reading this post are probably wondering how this story benefits you.  What I want all of you to do now is to think of a food or a restaurant that takes you back to a simpler time.  Whenever I am stressed out about a big exam or paper, I will make a little trip to Waffle House, sit in a booth and eat an order of hash-browns.  It doesn’t have much to do with Waffle House itself, but the memories.  I encourage all of you to do this food memory exercise and share your memories in the comment section.

Side note: I just got a coupon for a free slice of pie from Waffle House.  Yeah Buddy!

"Chicken" McBites

McDonalds.com

I have a confession to make.  As most of you already know, I love fried food.  I can be sitting in the middle of a nutrition lecture and all I can think about is a supreme combo from Bojangles.  While I do have a deep fryer at my apartment, deep frying food at home can be a really big hassle, especially when there is not enough counter space.  This leads me to eat fast food more than any individual should.  When I heard that McDonald's was introducing a new popcorn chicken product I knew it wouldn't be long before I was in line.

After  I usually order chicken nuggets from McDonald's, I am always asked the same question, "What kind of sauce would you like with that?"  I then ask them what kind of sauce they have, this usually buys me enough time to figure out which sauce I am "vibin" that day.  To my surprise the McBites have two new sauces, habenero and chipotle barbeque.  I ordered the chipotle barbeque and nervously waited for my order to be completed.  After fiddling with the box for a while in a sad attempt to set it up like the picture above, I ended up jamming my thumb into the sauce and sent my McBites flying all over the table like some sort of medieval catapult.  I then convinced myself that the tables at McDonald's were completely sanitary and I had nothing to worry about.  Unfortunately I quickly found out that the McBites were some cruel game of hide-and-go-find the chicken.  After eating an entire snack size of the Chicken McBites, I had one that had enough chicken to be considered the same menu item as the picture at the top right.  The picture at the top right is what the McDonald's official website shows as the new Chicken McBites.  The picture in the middle is what I received when I ordered my Chicken McBites.  Even after gnawing my way through the container of "chicken", there was not much flavor there other than salt and pepper.  The only part of the McBites that wasn't disappointing was the chipotle barbeque sauce.  While it tasted a lot like their original barbeque sauce, it had a kick to it that seemed spicy enough to cover up the bland flavor of the McBites.

The Verdict:  Chicken McBites are perfect for you if you love breading and barbeque sauce, but if you want any chicken, you'll have to search elsewhere.

Introduction

Hey there!  Welcome to Needtoeat, my blog about everything that has to do with food.  I’m not going to lie, I am very easily sidetracked and I might have a few blog posts that aren’t related to food, but I’ll try to keep those to a minimum.  By creating this blog, I am hoping to share my love of food with the world.  Please allow me to introduce myself and give you a glimpse of where my love of food began.

On May 31, 1990, God graced my parents with their fourth and favorite child.  It wasn’t long until this little boy fell in love with food.  In fact, most of my memories as a child are associated with food.  One of my first memories is refusing to put down a chicken leg that I had in my hand. Even though I was only four years old, I knew once I set it down someone else would pick it up and eat it.  The next thing I remember is waking up slumped over in my chair with a death grip on my chicken leg while everyone else was outside playing.  My mother remembers looking inside the porch window and seeing me with the biggest smile on my face eating the rest of my chicken leg.

Growing up, nothing brought our family together like my mom’s cooking.  My brother and I would be punching each other in the face, while my other two siblings would be playing basketball together, but as soon as we heard dinner was ready, the race was on.  We all needed to be in our seats for the blessing to start.  If one of us put our hands on a piece of food before the blessing or before everyone was at the table, we knew someone was about the get “smacked upside the head.”  There was always something about Momma Sides’ fried chicken, green beans, and fried squash that made being hit in the head worth it sometimes. Whether food is bringing together friends, family, or random strangers, there is no doubting its effects on the heart and soul.

Side note: The picture of me and my chicken leg will be coming soon!