What is it about staying out late with friends that makes me want to eat in the middle of the night? It doesn’t matter whether I am sober or drunk, I always want to go get a “snack” in the middle of the night on the way home from wherever we had been. It usually involved going somewhere after we had closed down the bars. In NY that meant we were hitting these eateries at 4:30 in the morning, finally returning home when the sun was rising or already in full glare.
The food doesn’t even have to be that good. When I was in college and had a part time job, it was Denny’s or some little diner for eggs & hash browns for $1.99 because that was all I could afford. Then when I had less money (or drank it all), it involved a trip to the 24 hour grocery store (Price Chopper – my former employer) with friends Jim M and Zam to make my own omelets. (Moment of truth: there is a story about Jim’s dad walking into his kitchen, I’m drunk, in a long T-Shirt and pantyhose at the stove. I ended up cooking for him too.)
As I aged and changed, so did my late night snacking desires. There was a spate of time where I wanted cheesecake from a tiny diner on Lark Street in Albany, NY (I forgot the name, but if memory serves it was owned by the same people who owned Quintessence at the time). There was the poutine phase. When I met my husband it was chicken salad club sandwiches (complete with bacon thank you very much!) and French fries.
It has usually been breakfast food and now that I am in the Southwest, it’s Mexican breakfast. Chorizo and egg burritos have been the starring feature in the past. There is a particular incident with Julie C, Lisa M and I getting off the El in the wrong part of Chicago, finding a good dive bar anyway, and me eating a burrito on the El on the way back to the hotel, directly under a sign saying “no eating or drinking”, all the while dripping chorizo grease onto the floor. Right now it is Machaca and egg burritos (Thanks Dani – this is all YOUR fault).
Of course I have a few places that are my faves, but one of them closes before I am ready to eat most nights/mornings, so I rely on Roberto’s Taco Shop. I know, kinda cheesy, but everything is made to order, it’s always hot, no nonsense, and really fast. In fact, I got my son hooked on them too and he knows where the closest one to the house is and when he’s home from college, frequents that location as often as possible.
So back to the original question, “What is it about staying out late with friends that makes me want to eat in the middle of the night?” I know it isn’t because I am REALLY hungry. And it has nothing to do with booze, because this happens even if I am the designated driver as I was this past weekend. So what is it? Habit? Comfort? Does it make me feel like the “dirty stay out” I was in my younger years? As I write this blog, I am beginning to think it is because I don’t want the night to end. I want to continue with the camaraderie of my friends, pretend we are younger and enjoy a few more laughs. Because I try to choose my friends wisely (we all should), the people I hang with are people I want to spend as much time as possible with. We laugh, dance, people watch, make fun of karoke singers (FYI – I can’t stand karoke and the only thing that saved me from having to go this weekend was that I was the driver!) and generally enjoy each other’s company. Yeah, I think that is it!
This week’s Food Memories involve cooking for one since John was out of town, eating soup for breakfast because I was so cold, dinner with my main squeeze before an art opening, dinner with Laurie and Lynn before volunteering at the Contemporary Arts Center.
In an effort to preserve the sanctity of my Girlz Nights Out, the only picture I am sharing this week is my new spoon rest. It’s actually supposed to be a cigar ashtray, but I am re-purposing it. It’s a flattened out Stone Brewing Ruination IPA bottle. You all know what drunken revelry looks like, go flip thru your own pics!
Until next week, Go out and make your own Food Memories.
