The Foodies of E3: Blog Post #1

Food has always had a tendency to bring my family together. Whether it is Thanksgiving cooked by either my mother or my grandmother, or a huge family reunion dinner, these big feasting events bring with them a slew of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Unfortunately, despite great taste, these foods never meant much to me personally. Luckily, I discovered in what one would perceive as an ordinary string of events - quite the perception-altering food. The sandwich means more to me than any other food due to its ability to bring me closer not only to my family, but to my friends. Also, it possessed the uncanny quality of making me feel happy and at peace when I was away from other people. The sandwich is so adaptable and so versatile that it would be preposterous to not be loved by all.

It all began just this summer. I would always pick up one of my closest friends Zyprin from his house almost every day of this summer. Before hanging out became routine, we both asked one another a simple question, “what are we going to eat?” Being as frugal as I am with my money and Zyprin being a typical poor teenager, we wouldn’t be caught dead spending money on food. That was practically taboo. Simultaneously, we decided that a sandwich was the best course of action.

We started eating sandwiches everyday from that point. After explaining what we called, “the sandwich diet” to our friend Dylan, he joined in on the sandwich-gorging action. We ended up eating sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And just like that, what was originally perceived as a rugged substitute for “real food” became the greatest and most interesting source of nourishment.

The beauty of the sandwich is that it can be almost anything you want. If you are the type of person who enjoys multiple types of food eaten together, then a sandwich can make that meal easy to eat and just that much easier to enjoy. If it is breakfast time, gather some eggs, bacon, and whatever else you were about to consume, and place them between two slices of toast, and you have a sandwich. If you would rather feast upon some pasta, cram your pasta and sauce between two slices of bread, and you have a pasta sandwich.

And they can bite you back!

The love of the sandwich is deeply rooted in one’s love for bread. You must love bread to love the sandwich because that is the backbone of the sandwich. I love bread. As a matter of fact, an acquaintance of mine, AJ, gave me several slices of bread as a Christmas present. This love for bread is likely due to the fact that bread stayed by my side and in my stomach almost every day of my life. Bread was always accessible. It was the first "complete" meal I learned how to prepare.

The first dishes I learned to prepare all involved bread. Turkey sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, toasted sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, egg and bacon sandwiches, hamburgers, and even hotdogs all required bread lest they be deemed incomplete. Every time I devour a sandwich, with all of its breaded goodness, it reminds me of the past, a time when I first learned to prepare meals for myself, when I became self sufficient, when I transformed into a man.

I suppose the sandwich never brought me very close to my family. Being closer to my family however, was never something that I actually wanted. I wanted independence. The sandwich helped me achieve that independence by being simple, easy to make, satisfying, and nourishing. It was every food I wanted in a tiny package.

The sandwich actually brought me closer to my friends. Whenever I bite into a sandwich, I am reminded of the time I spent with all my friends back in California. All the good times we had driving around in my run-down Lexus, affectionately dubbed “5JAM” as was written on the license plate. It reminds me of all the times we would sit down for countless hours playing duel monsters and eating sandwiches because we were too lazy to cook anything fancy. It is a small taste of familiarity in this foreign world in which my own hand has bucked me.

It is also quite possible that I love sandwiches because I hate tomatoes. My hatred for tomatoes comes not from the taste or the smell (even though they are horrible), but from the fact that I am allergic to them. It may appear odd to many, but where I come from, putting tomatoes on one’s sandwich is a foreign practice. The sandwich was one of the extremely few foods that I could go to war on without checking it to make sure there was no tomatoes or ketchup inside. The first time I saw someone place a tomato on their sandwich, it was too late. I loved sandwiches far too much to stay mad at them for the “tomato-betrayal” incident. I forgave them.

The sandwich is one of the only foods that almost every human being in the world must love. If a person expresses any element of affinity for any kind of food, then they are obligated to like the sandwich. This is because whatever food one likes, throw it between two slices of bread and you have a sandwich. Do you not want two slices of bread? Then why not three slices? Do you want an expensive meal? Then eat a steak sandwich. Do you want something cheap? Then why not the famous and equally appetizing grilled cheese sandwich? Anything goes with the sandwich.

Just like anything goes with UFC. That is correct, sandwiches are similar to an Ultimate Fighting Championship!

Therefore, the sandwich not only harbors memories of my desirable past, but is also an all around excellent source of food. It is healthy (of course that depends on what you put on it) and easy to prepare. Due to all of its superb qualities, I am confident that anyone can establish a personal connection to the sandwich in some way, shape, or form.