Getting A Regular Meal

I went to Luby’s  last night. I’ve gone to Luby’s since I can remember. The other thing I can remember…since I can remember…is eating the exact same meal. Since I can recollect teeth and the ability to chew I have eaten the LuAnn platter of fried fish (with tartar sauce), corn and macaroni and cheese. I remember later adding two small side cups of pico de gallo, which I think subliminally makes me feel like I’m getting vegetables in this very monochromatic meal.

Sometimes a salad. Sometimes not. Usually a dinner roll. No butter. Sometimes dessert – home to the best tapioca pudding out there.  Now, I’m usually a mix it up kind of girl – who gets something new at the same place. Not here. I’ve had bites of mom or dad’s liver and onions, chopped sirloin, things like that. But nothing comes near the perfection that this trifecta holds.

 

I know. I know you’re wondering, why the big deal over such a meal that costs less than the amount of change I can find in my couch? I don’t know. The nostalgia? The idea that I’m “so old” at the ripe age of 31 that I still remember when they used to have the drink cart lady with the silver coffee pot who used to serve my parents coffee. This place used to be “uptown” – at least in my head.

I remember my sister getting the two bowls of macaroni and cheese and then the blue or green jello. That was dinner. I’m assuming at this point my parents were really seeking respite and didn’t mind for one night what we ingested. I remember as a small child wearing a mink stole (something that my dad had brought home I believe) to dinner. With my best dress. and getting a rash from the heat, but the mink stole was elevating the experience for me. I wore it anyway. I remember my mom pinning my hair up nicely even. I knew that fine dining had to be in my future.

It’s odd that Luby’s is a southern favorite as I wasn’t exposed to Southern Food there the way that I know it now, but that said, it was my childhood memory that continues to keep me loving it there. and I’ll continue to eat the same thing and hopefully my kid will too.

Luby’s – various locations – www.lubys.com

Rating: Spoon & Fork : it’s not overwhelming, it’s nostalgia