cheddar cheese

It wasn't until high school, when I met my first south of the Mason Dixon line native, that pimento cheese and I were introduced. My friend Russ' mom flew from Memphis to see him, with a sizable vat on ice packs of the one thing her son had requested. You know, back before blended cheese could potentially be a weapon.

The last time I was in England, I had a sandwich I didn't even know was famous. It just sounded really good: aged or "mature" cheddar, chunky Branston pickle (a very popular spicy-sweet-sour condiment also known as chutney, or simply "pickle," loosely related to sweet pickle relish), and sliced tomato. The cheese and pickle sandwich.

I always wonder why, during that sacred time of the weekend known as brunch, people order things they could easily make at home. I scan the menu for something I could never pull off in my kitchen, which is also my living room and bedroom "hallway," and savor the inaccessibility of it all.