Random Obsessions, #6: FOOD.

I know, I was a little surprised that food was all the way down at #6, too. There's a lot of competition for those top spots among my obsessions*. Don't get me wrong; despite not making the top five, I am a total, complete and utter freak for good food, not just your average foodie-with-way-better-tastes-than-she-can-really-afford**.

When someone tells me they went to a restaurant, my first question is, "So what'd you have?" And people, let me tell you something: I am not just being polite. I have this unquenchable need to know exactly what your meal was, in as much detail as you can recollect. And then I want to know how you liked it. I am fascinated by such things. You may be shocked to learn, at this point, that I am also very easily entertained.

Pity the poor tourist that stops me on the street for a restaurant recommendation. They end up with WAY more information than they needed (or, perhaps, ever dreamed it was possible to have). The other night, my foodie friend Pam and I actually went so far as to recommend specific items from different restaurants' menus, so that the poor sap would know what to get regardless of where he went. (But seriously, the Keg's berry salad IS fabulous, and so are their crab legs even if I can't handle dismembering the legs. I hope he went there.)

Sometimes when I'm having a bad day, I go online to read the menu for one of my favorite restaurants. I think reading it actually releases some sort of endorphins in my brain. I also love to read cookbooks; in fact, my collection is starting to outgrow the three-shelf bookshelf I've dedicated to it.

The downside to being obsessed with food - and I am so curious if this happens to other foodies a lot - is that I all too frequently get that refrain, "FOOD, glorious FOOD!" stuck in my head. Oh, and I hate to work out, so instead of a six-pack I have, well, a 40. Um... maybe a pony keg. It ain't pretty. But oh, it is so worth it.

The irony of this obsession is that I have a somewhat limited diet. For more than half my life, the only meat I've eaten is seafood. Plus, I hate cheese of any type, which tends to freak out my fellow foodies to no end. Take away meat & cheese, and a hell of a lot of people have no idea what to feed themselves. Believe me, I make do. In fact, I make out like a bandit... Picky foodies, unite!!

*Including, but not limited to, craft beer, Carolina basketball, and Winston Churchill.

**One time I actually tried calculating the amount of my debt that came from dining out on Uncle Visa, but it got so depressing that I quit and went out for some comfort food. Yes, on the card. Shut up.

Pssst... If you're a fellow foodie, check out my cooking & baking blog, http://annlovesfood.blogspot.com.