4:07 PM
You know what I miss? I miss--and this is going to sound strange--I miss bad Chinese food.

Here in Madison, we have a lot of Asian restaurants, and most of them serve somewhat authentic and at the very least adequate food. This has had the effect of raising the bar; what was 'great' food when I was a kid becomes merely good, and what was once 'okay' becomes 'bad'.

In almost all respects, this is a good thing. Better food all around, right? But there are times I miss the Chinese food from the restaurnat in the small town across the river from my home town, celery and beef in a glutinous gravy poured over crispy chow mein noodles.

Yeah, I could make exactly that with fine Chun King products from the supermarket. But I want to go somewhere and buy it once in a while. Y'know: comfort food. Sentimental food.

And, likely, the kind you find is never as tasty as you remember. But the memories--they're good...