47 years ago today was a pivotal point in my life. My mother had just married my step-father in Dayton Ohio. While that had its own repercussions and indeed many positivities, the marraige, in and of itself had a lesser impact than the celebratory reception meal at a local Quality Courts motel and restaurant. At that time the restaurant was highly reviewed and much talked of for its great food. Being a budding gourmand even at the age of 12, I looked forward with anticipation to a fantastic meal. Who knew, maybe I would even get one of those rare sips of wine. For some reason I wound up ordering what was touted to be the best hamburger on the planet. In Dayton. Ohio. In a motel restaurant. I passed up several familiar and tasty entrees only after being assured of the superiority of this hamburger. When my eagerly awaited sandwich arrived..............it was somewhere between 6 and 8 inches tall! It was actually taller than it was wide! The meat patty was the size of a modern day Whopper (not Whopper Jr). There was most of a grocers produce section piled gratuitously between meat and bun. It was larger than was feasible to pick up by hand. Therefore, a knife and fork were needed to attempt consumption. It was not so much a sandwich as a hamburger steak, salad, bread and a side of fries. My personal preferences in a sandwich BEGIN with the ability to pick it up by hand for consumption. If I truly want 3 or 4 servings of meat, then I also want the appropriate buns and bushes to match. At that time, even being only 12 years old, I figured out that the words gourmet and hamburger should only be used in the same sentence, when that sentence is this sentence. It was, as I say, a pivotal day for me. I learned the most profound gustatory revelation of my life. Food should be served in proper proportions. A well rounded and balanced diet need not be a desperate plea for bigger is better. I grew up with White Castle hamburgers and McDonalds slightly larger but still quite manageable. And tasty. Either one was far superior to the gourmet hamburger at the wedding reception. My own homemade burgers have all I want on them with only 3-4 ounces of meat. Want more meat? Have another burger. But please......let us not cheapen the word gourmet on something as banal as a common sandwich.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 23:34:25 +0000
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