I’ve always found it strange that I tend to associate food and places together.  For example, I can remember my favorite Pho and sushi places in the place I grew up.  I can remember the best burrito place in the place I went to university.  I can remember the great pancakes where I went to graduate school.  I can remember the pasta and barbeque places I loved around Seattle.  I can remember the European breakfast, chocolate cafes, and ethnic foods in Melbourne.  This brings me back to San Francisco.  I started trying to go back to all the places I used to love when I was here before.  Pompeii’s clam chowder, the Naan n’ Curry on Irving, the Cheeseboard Pizza in Berkeley, and even chain places like Tony Roma’s ribs, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, and the Zuppa Toscana soup at Olive Garden.

The reason I bring this up is that I attempted for the first time since coming back to go back to Olive Garden.  Unfortunately due to the ridiculous crowds on Friday night, I failed miserably.  But I did get to go back to Auntie Anne’s.  Those are some good pretzels!  I have to admit, there are things I miss about living in the US.  They still don’t outweigh all of the negatives of living here though.  For example, I was taking a bus back home and the bus couldn’t go on because the police had closed off the street due to a shooting.  I know it’s not that common in San Francisco, but the fact is that it does happen here, and much more often than people would like to admit.

Anyway, food really is such an important part of my life.  It’s sad but true, but wherever I go, there will always be new and interesting food, and it will always be one of the things that I remember the most.