I recently went to an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant with my friend and it seems that whenever I go out to eat sushi I often think about my first memory at a Japanese restaurant. Although I was trying to pay as close attention to Jared talking about his dreams and aspirations as possible, I couldn’t help but think about “George’s Restaurant” in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. I can’t remember the real name of the restaurant, and probably never cared, but always heard it referred to it as “George’s” because it was across the street from my grandparents’ apartment building and they went there frequently. So frequently, in fact, that they knew the owner, and he knew them, by name.
I ate my first piece of sushi, probably a tuna roll, at this restaurant, which was a very important stepping stone in my culinary experience, but that is not the reason why I think of it whenever I go out to eat sushi. Instead, I am reminded of how much I enjoyed the luxury of eating out. There’s something fancy about Japanese food. Maybe it’s the exotic-looking food, chopsticks, or soy sauce on the table instead of ketchup, but as a young boy, it seemed very special going to George’s. He would greet us like he had been missing us since the last time we went, and that felt special to me.
Many of my memories of restaurants from my childhood are related to my grandparents because I went out to dinner with them so much when I was younger. I have a few theories about why my grandparents were so intent on eating out so much. But at its core, I think it is simply that going out to eat is fun. You usually don’t have to travel very far to experience something different and unique. I’m not saying that eating chicken parmigiana at a nice Italian restaurant equates to traveling to Florence, but I’ve never been to Italy, so I’d like to think it’s very similar because I hate flying. It will save me a trip.
Going out to eat with friends and family has been important to me since my first escapades to George’s. Since then, I have gone out to eat hundreds of times and the experience of going to a restaurant remains just as important to me. The idea of relaxing with friends and family, eating good food, getting pampered, and not having to do dishes excites me. Bowling and mini-golf can be fun. So can movies, concerts, baseball games, and Rock of Love reruns. However, going out to eat is my favorite thing to do on a Saturday night.
