California Dreamin'

We've been in Missouri for about 7 weeks now, and we've decided that California spoiled us. Not only with weather and beaches, but with restaurants.

See, for one thing, in California there is no smoking allowed in restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, etc. To a life-long non-smoker married to an ex-smoker (who quit about 15 years ago), that's a wonderful thing. In Missouri, they still have smoking sections in most restaurants (and nearly all bars and bowling alleys are smoke-filled). In the part of the state where we are, the smoking section takes up the majority of the restaurant, usually the part right by the only entrance so that non-smokers have to walk through the smoke to get to the non-smoking section. Or worse, if you go to the truck stop "down the road a piece", the buffet is in the smoking section. So your food is sitting in smoke for god knows how long before you get it. Or in places like the cafe across the street, there is no ventilation to speak of, so the entire place reeks of smoke. Even sitting in the "non-smoking section" (which is in no way closed off from the smoking section), if you spend 20 minutes or more in the cafe, you come out smelling like an old ash tray.

The next thing is price vs. quantity. Sure, there are restaurants in California (as well as other places in this country) that will cost you $30 and up for an entree. But there are plenty of others that run about the same prices as here in Missouri, with entrees on one menu ranging from $5 to $15. The difference is, in California, if you go to one of those places, two people can split one entree and sometimes still leave with leftovers. In Missouri, you can bet on both of you getting a separate entree (unless you're just wanting a real light snack), and you might not have any leftovers.

And lastly, taste. Yeah, there are a few things that are hit and miss in California, mostly gravy-based things like biscuits and gravy or chicken fried steak. But on the whole, everything just tastes like it is fresher there. You would think that in the middle of farm country, everything would be fresher here. But that's not how it tastes. I think it stems from the way people cook. In California, veggies tend to be steamed, blanched or stir-fried and served still a little al dente, or "tender-crisp". In Missouri, the tendency is to boil veggies, sometimes until they are almost soggy. And often times, meat dishes are greasier and sauces heavier in the mid-west.

So, yeah, California spoiled us. As much as I love a good thunderstorm and the fresh "green" smell of Missouri in spring/early summer, I do miss California.