Comfort Food...

Hello, friends!

One of the huge blessings about AAMSC19 was that it was in Orange County, about 15 minutes from where my parents live and where I grew up. Besides the joys of a Southern California February and being able to see my family, the fact that I was so close to most of my old favorite spots to eat was spectacular.

It may seem stereotypical but we as an AAM staff team love to eat. It's just a part of who we are. When I first looked at the schedule for the conference, I was astounded to see that we had a THREE HOUR lunch break. But, as I thought about it more, it made total sense. Most everyone was using Uber or Lyft, so you needed to wait for your ride to show up, get to the restaurant, order, take photos of your food, eat it, sit and talk about how good it was, decide where you were going to go tomorrow, order another Lyft, have that Lyft take you to get dessert of some sort (often boba), then grab a third Lyft back to the hotel. That's about a 3 hour trip, down to the minute.

Southern California has so many great restaurants, especially when it comes to Asian cuisine. I saw great photos posted from staff enjoying Korean BBQ, pho, Chinese food, sushi, and the like. I know there are some really great spots with delicious food and authentic flavors.

But I didn't want to find the best out there... I wanted to go to my old spots.

You've heard me say before that I'm a creature of habit. I love rhythms and structures. That is true when it comes to food too. I have no problem trying a new place if the folk I'm with want to go do something different. But if I'm left to my own devices, I'm going to hit the spots I know and love. Especially since I don't get back to Orange County as much as I used to, as soon as that plane touches down, I am a man on a mission.

Does Tommy's have the best burger? We can debate that all day long but we'll be debating it while I'm eating it. Is Kaju better than BCD? Almost certainly but BCD is never crowded, is right next to the Boba Loca (they use real red bean in their red bean milk tea!) and give you a fried fish as part of the bonchan, so you'd better believe we're going there. Is Korea House the best Korean BBQ joint in all the land? Not a chance but my family has been going there for 20+ years and as long as my dad is paying, we'll keep going there.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to everything. The Mandarin Noodle house was a bit too far to get to justify the trip, as was the pho place I like. Still, when I boarded my flight to get back to Omaha, I was happy, full, and maybe a little bit fat. That's the right way to end a conference.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Back Home