I am blessed to have close girlfriends who I have known for over a decade. We've been through a lot, and we will continue to go through a lot. Such is the beauty of life. The other beauty of life is restaurants. I am definitely one for heading to a hole in the wall just as likely as going somewhere nicer. I don't have a ton of hangups on whether something is Michelin starred or not - don't get me wrong, I love those - but I think good food comes from love and proper use of salt. It doesn't come from a pedigree or school or certain body type or skin color. I just want the food to taste good, to look good, and be from good sources. I'll talk another time about food quality and animals, but today I am talking about community. Communities aren't built around shitty food. I mean have you ever heard people tell stories about their families or friends that centered around consistently crappy food? I don't. (If you do have stories, please share!)
A gift of living in San Francisco and the Bay Area is that I have SO MUCH at my fingertips for food. There's literally nothing (apart from not being a millionaire and enjoying cooking) stopping me from saying to a friend - "Want to grab dinner?" - and having a completely new experience with them. And then we laugh and talk and reveal our secrets. We seek comfort, we share joy, and we eat. After a good meal, you feel happier. That happiness feeds the soul, so we come back. It's an ecosystem that feeds itself if done right.
Tonight was no different. We went to Scoma's in Fisherman's Wharf. Seafood is their main spiel. We sat outside and ordered raw oysters on the half shell. Important for an oyster is that the juice, called oyster liquor, is still there. No one likes a dry oyster and the oyster liquor lets you taste the ocean. After that, I had a mushroom soup with lemony, buttery croutons. I loved the way the little bit of lemon zing gave the dish a balance from the earthy mushroom. After that, scallops and shrimp with roasted vegetables and rice. They were a little heavy-handed on the salt for this dish, but otherwise, it was delicious. I treated myself to a glass of red wine called "the Counselor", because I loved the name. It was a sweeter cab, easy to drink. I was super full after all that. They also had sourdough bread with butter, which is one of my favorite things on the planet.
During the meal we talked about all of our lives and planned for new adventures. All in all, my favorite type of meal. One where you remember past joys, are present to experience the laughter and know you will have more in the future. As I drove home I was reflecting on what food enables. Beyond a full belly, it enables communication. For a healthy community to exist you need healthy communication. I looked up the origin of those two words because I had never noticed their similarity. While my quick googling didn't reveal a secret DaVinci code, it did reinforce a few things.
'Community' and 'communication' both leverage something we have in common ('commun'). For a community, you have shared values and beliefs. For language, you have the same sounds, and words and meanings. I think that's what food does, it brings everyone to a common place or common ground. It has the power to take away differences that drive us apart and bring together what is most valued: survival. But I think beyond that, it fosters a space of thriving. So, I say to you, I hope you have a fun time at your next meal where you get to communicate with your favs and build that community one bite at a time. Muah!
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