Lunch with Grandma

Honestly, I have never felt more at home than when I walk into a Jewish Deli. I have a Jewish mother who waves food at me like the apocalypse is coming, so I'm used to being surrounded by edible goodness. The savory aromas of corned beef, reubens, fries, soups, and more came floating past my nose as I entered the deli that my beautiful grandmother insisted was "necessary" to visit for lunch. My dad, brother, and I drove a good hour and a half to see her and the angelic black ball of Shitzu she calls Prince, and by the time we visited my grandfather's grave and escaped the torrential downpour of rain harassing the Florida coast, we were starving.

Lara snagging a kiss from Prince during our visit last week.. Yes, he always looks that confused

Normally I'm not big on eating huge meals midday, they leave me feeling sluggish and wanting to lapse into a lunch food coma. However, I found a couple items on the menu that didn't make me feel too worried about an impending afternoon catnap, and I ordered excitedly. This particular deli served pickles as a pre-meal, so I nibbled on most of a pickle until my first course arrived: the matzo ball soup. For those of you that have never eaten matzo ball soup, please head to the nearest deli possible and order a bowl immediately. Jewish or not, it is possibly one of the most delicious creations known to the soup world, and it has the magical healing powers of chicken soup (or so many Jewish mothers will say).

The matzah ball itself was two of my fists put together

Unfortunately by the time I finished my generously portioned soup, I knew I wasn't going to be able to fit my salad into my filled stomach. But it was delivered to the table anyways, and I knew I was going to have to be a champ about it and at least try my best to work on the massive plate of greens next to me. Not to be outshined by the soup (okay, a little outshined. it IS matzo ball soup, my favorite), the lettuce was topped with heaping portions of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, 2 giant bell peppers, olives, sliced carrots, and grilled chicken. I lightly poured some balsamic on top, and tried my best to finish the superhuman salad...

...And to little avail. I took the rest home to eat for dinner, but it was definitely a meal worth getting. Trip to grandma's: success.

-KIM