I had the strangest thing happen to me yesterday -- and it is kind of embarassing.
My team at work do these lunch meetings that we call food challenges. We pick a food type and each person on the team picks a place. We go to each place and, once done, pick which one was the best. So far we have done pizza, wings, burgers and BBQ. This time is "meat and 2"... places where you can get a blue plate special or something of the sort.
Yesterday was the first one. We went to a place called Mary Mac's Tea Room. If you are ever in Atlanta and want some authentic, yummy, homemade southern food you MUST go to Mary Mac's. It is fabulous!
If it is your first visit to Mary Mac's, the waiters bring you a true southern delicacy... it is called Pot Likker. This is the broth that is made when one cooks greens - collard greens. OMG! It is SO good! The Pot Likker comes with a hunk of cornbread. You dip the bread into the pot likker and it is heaven.
Anyway... when the newbies at our table got their little cup of pot likker, one turned up her nose and I asked if I could have it. When I smelled it, I was taken back in time.
I was suddenly back in my grandmothers kitchen. It brought back a flood of memories of being safe, warm, and loved. I remembered the yellow walls of her kitchen. The white cabinets above the sink and the floor to ceiling dark wood cabinets on the back wall. The plastic table cloth with the flowers on it draped over the formica kitchen table. And my granny... standing at her stove stirring pots of my favorite foods... telling me stories and chuckling when I ask her if I can help make the biscuits.
I started crying.
Not big ol' guffaws. First my eyes got misty and suddenly I couldn't hold it back - a couple of small tears escaped.
I was so embarrassed, but no one on my team laughed. They just smiled at me and said "that is how you know it is good food. It brings back good memories."
Yes, it does. I miss you, Granny. SO much!
oops.
5 months ago
10 comments:
So sweet.
Ah, the sweet joys of good food.
Mama was a good cook. And she made everyting from scratch. None of this store bough frozen food for her. She bought the vegies from the back of Jr. Moss's pickup truck twice a week when he made his rounds. The breads, all types, biscuts, cornbread, and some loaf bread were made from scratch by hand. And she made the very best bananna pudding and chocolate cake ever put in one's mouth and on the hips.
Coffeypot always pushed us to eat the biscuit dough. Coffeypot was always stirring the trouble pot on Bolton Road.
Hate to disagree with you, Coffeypot, but my mama's banana pudding is better than your mama's. OM declared it so.
beth, I didn't make you eat the biscuit dough. Mama though it was amazing that you wanted to eat it and ask for it everytime. I would have made you eat bugs or ants or mud pies. And of course OM had to say that if he wanted to ever get any, uh, dessert again.
I love the way food can bring back memories like this.
Other smells have done that to me as well. I was once at a garage sale where someone was selling these little Avon statues hold perfume. I picked one up and it smelled just exactly like my aunt, who had died the year before. She had worn that Avon perfume for years. I came very close to crying.
I wanna go to Mary Mac's Tea Room!
I still have both my grandmother's. I really, really miss my Grandpa!
This is so sweet!
I love how certain smells can bring back wonderful memories.
I was at Chipotle eating soft tacos yesterday, and I started thinking about my Mexican grandmother and how she used to pull the hair on the side of my head when I was bad. It was as if I could still feel the sharp pain. I, too, began weeping while eating.
that is really touching, its funny what things can trigger our memories, for me it is that horrible izal toilet paper that my granny always used!
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