Life's Persistent Questions

Question: best meal ever?

I love gnocchi. One of the best meals I have had was in Naples, Italy. It was there where I first tasted the fluffy, buttery morsels of potato heaven. Ever since, I have this craving for great gnocchi, and whenever I'm in a half decent Italian restaurant, I'm tempted to order it, trying to duplicate that meal. I have been to more famous, popular and fancier restaurants since, but it hasn't happened yet. Ironically, I don't remember the name of that restaurant. Or the neighborhood. Or whether it was the city of Naples for that matter.

Intellectually, I understand this phenomenon, Everything around that meal was serendipitous. I was on my first trip to Europe and Italy. The trip was a last minute, a spurt of the moment decision. I was traveling with one of my best friends from school. We just happened to run into two other friends out of the blue, five thousand miles and an ocean away from home. The restaurant was nondescript and unpretentious. The menu's English more "abstract" than functional. The selections were random. Of course the meal was magical.

I would never be able to find that little restaurant again. But I don't regret that. It gave me wonderful memories about a time in my life. My search for the great gnocchi is more of a yearning than a regret that I didn't stay there longer, take photos, or write down the address and the name. Isn't that the reason we continue to go to new restaurants, to recapture the magical feeling and create more memories? I realize this is much similar to a failed relationship. I should feel lucky that after the goodbye, all I have are the wonderful memories. For a long time, I was full of regret, but that is foolish. I should be grateful. The relationship is over just as I would never go back to that magical gnocchi again. What I have is the yearning for finding that special feeling again-that I truly loved someone and I was loved. I am the lucky one. I could be the one that left the relationship only remembering the shouting, the fights and the slammed doors. Just as I'm sure not everyone at that restaurant that night had as good of a time as I did, like my friend and his ex-girlfriend. So my search continues, for love and the love of gnocchi.

posted by hedgehog @ 1:52 PM