I think that this is an important point that can be taken one step farther. If there are hundreds dishes like this served in regional restaurants then there are millions of weird and strange...
I think that this is an important point that can be taken one step farther. If there are hundreds dishes like this served in regional restaurants then there are millions of weird and strange dishes that are served in individual families homes and shared and modified by each generation. It is a bit of commonality and hopefully cohesion between siblings and cousins that is proof of common roots. My family roots come from the Cincinnati area and so this style of chili has a special place in my heart even though I no longer live there. But our family has a variation on this recipe that we call 'chili-spaghet' and I have never encountered our version of this dish outside of our family. We have it anytime a group of us gets together.
These dishes that we all have may be strange, but the taste alone is not the point, it is the history of the dish in the family or the memories it invokes. I don't have to appreciate the flavor of your particular regional or family dish in order to appreciate it's importance to your place and belonging in this world.
I think that this is an important point that can be taken one step farther. If there are hundreds dishes like this served in regional restaurants then there are millions of weird and strange dishes that are served in individual families homes and shared and modified by each generation. It is a bit of commonality and hopefully cohesion between siblings and cousins that is proof of common roots. My family roots come from the Cincinnati area and so this style of chili has a special place in my heart even though I no longer live there. But our family has a variation on this recipe that we call 'chili-spaghet' and I have never encountered our version of this dish outside of our family. We have it anytime a group of us gets together.
These dishes that we all have may be strange, but the taste alone is not the point, it is the history of the dish in the family or the memories it invokes. I don't have to appreciate the flavor of your particular regional or family dish in order to appreciate it's importance to your place and belonging in this world.