Saturday, November 11, 2006

Comfort Food

Last night, while I was trying to fall asleep, I had all kinds of thoughts running through my head as usual.

Then, it popped to the forefront of my mind. Grilled cheese sandwiches. One of my favorite foods from childhood.

I walked home from school for lunch every day during grade school (grades 1 through 8). It was the norm in our neighborhood in the late 60's to mid-70s. Grilled cheese sandwiches were among my favorite lunches.

My favorite memory of grilled cheese was going to the lunch counter at a 5 and 10 with my mom. Good Lord, does anyone remember 5 and 10 stores anymore? Woolworth's, Kresses, Grants are the ones I remember. Tiny little stores packed with inexpensive necessities of life. They have been replaced by all the mega-marts.

Anyway, the bigger stores had lunch counters and sometimes Mom and I would eat there. It was a special treat. Since I didn't eat hamburgers when I was young (yes I was a weird kid) and I still don't eat mayonnaise-laden chicken/tuna salad sandwiches, my order was always: grilled cheese! With pickles on the side and a fountain Coca Cola. Yummy!

Somewhere along the line, around the time of my adolescence, those places disappeared. They were really holdovers from a time gone by, but I'm glad I was able to experience them.

Now I want a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch!

2 comments:

KinnicChick said...

My kid has been BEGGING for grilled cheese sandwiches lately. I wonder if this is the time of year for them, too.

Did your mom use to combine them with tomato soup like our family always has? Yum. What a combination!

Elizabeth said...

Tomato soup & grilled cheese were always a meal at my house.

This post is so timely because I have been craving a grilled cheese for the past few days.