We just came for the food

Rob and I have been in Cape May, NJ, this week to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. This is where we came on our honeymoon, and we love it here in November. It's not terribly crowded and our favorite restaurants are open.

Rob and I are foodies. We love good food, well prepared and presented. We don't indulge on a lot of things, but we do love food. Mike was the same way. I loved to take him to good restaurants because he appreciated the food.

Danny loves tasty food, but he's not as picky about all that goes with it. He used to tease Mike about how critical he was of almost every restaurant they went to. He tells me, "You sound like Mike," when I say the tuna should be rare or the risotto is sticky. I guess you could say he has more of an appreciation for what's put in front of him most of the time. With four kids, you don't get to the four-star restaurants very often unless you're the recipient of a government bailout.

This is also the 25th anniversary of the time Rob's mother made meatloaf for the boys. It was dreadful -- mushy, almost gelatinous in the middle from too many eggs and not enough cooking time, and with no spices. Really awful. But when she asked who wanted meatloaf for supper, both Danny and Mike agreed enthusiastically. They loved my meatloaf. How were they to know?

Mike took a couple of bites and decided it would be better to go hungry. He said he had developed a stomach ache and wanted to go to bed. Danny, not wanting to hurt her feelings, took a second helping.

After that, he saw to it that there was never any ground beef in the house when she came to visit. Once, when she was looking after them for a weekend, she sent him to the store to get some and he came back and said the store was out.

And while he's not one to complain about food in a restaurant most of the time, he does get enthusiastic about good food prepared well. His favorite restaurant in Asheville is Early Girl Eatery, which uses fresh local ingredients. One time we were there he ordered three breakfasts because he couldn't decide and he wanted to try them all.

That was one place MIke never complained about either. But my grandkids aren't into imaginative food preparations, so they'd rather go somewhere else.

That's the thing about kids. You can expose them to fine foods, but they're just not ready for it. My parents understood that and had dinner by themselves on Saturday nights sometimes. I think my grandkids will gain an appreciation for good food, as soon as they make enough money to be able to afford it.

Anyway, Rob and I have had a half dozen incredible meals this week, and a couple of overpriced disappointments. A couple of favorite things: The chocolate and bananna bread pudding at the Black Duck, the creme brulee at the Blue Pig Tavern, the tuna at Freda's, the scallops at the Ebbitt Room ...

We walked an average of four miles a day to be able to eat like this. It's worth the effort.