Restaurant Rantings: A Hunt for Simplicity & Unadulturated Good Food

Father's Day this year, for my family, has turned into a weekend affair in the mountains. My dad asked for a quiet weekend with all of us, just relaxing and spending time together. So, here I am, sitting in a little house, with no recipe or pictures with which to please you. No banana bread. No dinners. Not even a special Father's Day Weekend Breakfast or Brunch.

I considered not updating this weekend. I'd like to spend my time outside, trudging through my copy of Anna Karenina that has been weighing down my bedside table since the beginning of the semester, and forgetting all about trying to draw attention to this blog, trying out new recipes, and combating family members who have wildly different ideas of meal composition than I do. However, I wanted to ask all of you a question:

What are your thoughts on restaurants?

You see, I'm growing to severely dislike them. Maybe it's because I'm a control freak, a frugal spender, and a nutrition & dietetics major. Maybe it's because I enjoy cooking my own food and sharing it. Most likely, it's all of these things combining and preventing me from appreciating a much-loved American past-time. We went out to breakfast this morning, and I ordered an English Muffin. An English Muffin! That's it! You see, I was going to get their french toast and ask for it with blueberries. There's this amazing blueberry farm near the restaurant and I was convinced they would get their blueberries fresh from there. However, being the perpetual pessimist that I am, and highly skeptical of the quality and nutrition of all prepared foods, asked if the fruit was fresh. It was drenched in syrup. The toast comes buttered. There is not a fruit cup on the menu. Egg whites are $1.50 more than regular eggs - do you know how much of a mark up that is?

So, I ordered an english muffin, and figured I'd get some fruit when I got back to the house. Of course, the english muffin came slathered in butter. I ate it anyway, since I refuse to send food back to be thrown away. I'm not so much of a health-food snob that I can't bear to eat a pre-buttered piece of bread, right? Right?? But all I tasted was the butter, and it just got to me, you know? It was the icing on the most disappointing, mood-tipping piece of cake.

Where did simplicity go? Where did fresh food go? Why do restaurants rob you blind for wanting to be healthy? I don't want syrupy blueberries or english muffins drowned in butter. I don't want to have to choose between a defrosted veggie burger patty with no flavor, and a regular specialty burger with spices that sound new and exciting. Health food does not have to be boring or bland, and it certainly should not be so difficult to find on a menu.

So, because my family so evidently finds me insane and unrelated to them as a result of my opinions on this matter, I turn to you. I'd like to know what other people think of the issue. Maybe you don't think it's an issue at all, and that I am making a mountain out of a mole hill in the eyes of many people. That's okay. Agree with me, disagree with me. Sit on the fence! I'd just like to hear the opinions of other people. Sitting in this small house surrounded by the people who raised me, I could use a little shake up.

And when I get back to civilization, I promise you a recipe, complete with pictures. And, in the spirit of shaking things up, let's make it a fantastic new...chicken recipe! I know, I know, my ingenuity surprises even me sometimes.

Happy Father's Day to everyone! I hope that you find a spare moment to spend with your family - whether it be in your own kitchen, or someone else's.