Mission Pizza | my fake food blog

Saying Goodbye to Winston One Bite at a Time

An excellent group of boyz/men once said: it’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

And they’re not wrong.

Many of you know this by now, but after 12 years of living in Winston-Salem, I’m moving north. I got a job in Richmond, Virginia. (C’mon, you didn’t expect me to leave the south, did you?)

It’s exciting. And sad. Scary, but thrilling. I have no idea what’s around the corner. (Hopefully, not an axe murderer.)

(God, I hope I don’t get murdered by an axe murderer.)

(But I wouldn’t mind watching So I Married an Axe Murderer again soon.)

(I love parentheses.)

(I love overusing parentheses.)

It’s going to be tough to leave Winston. It’s been my home. So many people I love are here. One of the benefits of leaving, at least gastronomically, is that I get to do a bit of a tour de food to say goodbye to my favorite places. Going away lunches, dinners, Togo on the couch, beautifully laid dinners on the porch. Every bite is a way to say goodbye to something I love. Well, hopefully not goodbye–more like ‘see you later.’

I’m lucky because I’m going to a city with some pretty serious food chops, but I’m going to miss some Winston favorites. I’m going to miss the chicken souvlaki from Hero House. (…that’s right.) I’m going to miss massaman curry from Teeter Thai. The burgs from Diamondback Grill. Greek salad from Mama Zoe’s. Tawook and fettoosh from Mooney’s. Cranberry turkey sandwich and spicy noodles from The Carving Board. I’m going to miss pretty much everything from Mission Pizza and The Porch.

I think it’s safe to say I’m going to miss the people with whom I have been lucky enough to share those meals more than the food itself. But, people can visit (…please, come visit) and the food can’t really.

But if a chicken souvlaki hitchhiked it’s way up to Virginia, I would let it sleep on my couch. We’d watch So I Married an Axe Murderer toether. And halfway through the movie, I would lovingly unwrap it and tenderly eat the shit out of him.

It would be rude not to eat him. I mean, he came all that way.

Chef: A Movie About Food So It Is On This Blog; Also It’s GREAT

There are book people. There are TV people. There are movie people.

I’m definitely a movie person.

If by movie person, you mean a person who has seen at least one in movie in their lifetime.

I like movies a lot. But I forget when they’re in theatres or I fall asleep when I’m watching them. Admittedly, these are lame reasons. But the movies that I see, I love. Including, but not limited to, Dumb & Dumber.

When I saw the trailer for the movie Chef, I was really excited. 1) I love food. 2) I recently saw Swingers with my framily, Anna and Kevin, and really enjoyed it. (I’m just now getting to movies from 1996. Next up, Sling Blade!) 3) And I love Jon Favreau. C’mon, you know Elf is one of the movies I’ve seen.

My framily and I decided to get a bite at Mission Pizza and see the movie when it opened at Aperture Cinema last weekend. And this was a wise call. This is not a film you can see on an empty stomach.

The movie is terrific. Sure, it’s really focused on the food. The basic storyline is about chef who has a meltdown and reignites his passion by starting a food truck. And the food part of the movie does not disappoint. Jon Favreau partnered with Roy Choi, who is often credited with starting the food truck movement with his Kogi truck out in LA. Fun fact: like Favreau’s Avengers movies, there’s a little bonus clip of Roy Choi mentoring Jon Favreau in how to cook the perfect grilled cheese after the credits roll. A little nerdy, but worth the wait.

Artsy shot of Jon Favreau and Roy Choi via Huffington Post.

The food in the movie will make your jaw drop. Bacon and brisket and roast pork, oh my. But this movie is so much more. It’s about relationships. It’s about overcoming creative stagnancy and unleashing your passion. It’s about family and love. It’s well written, it’s well acted, it’s funny and fun.

When the movie ended, the audience actually clapped (I KNOW!). The lights came up, and Kevin said to Anna and me, “You know, I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t enjoy this movie.”

We all sort of paused and then agreed, “well, maybe vegetarians.”

Go to your favorite restaurant—or be bold and try something new—and then go see this movie. You will not be disappointed. Then go home, make a batch of them French fried potatoes and watch Sling Blade.

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Saying Goodbye to Winston One Bite at a Time

Chef: A Movie About Food So It Is On This Blog; Also It’s GREAT