So I’ve always been a pretty picky eater. I prefer for my foods to not touch each other, I generally avoid sauces/condiments, I haven’t had seafood (other than shrimp) since I was about 7, and I’m not a big fan of mushy textures such as mashed potatoes (also, I don’t like sandwiches). So you can imagine my struggle with all the meal choices leading up to the Seattle trip. I was sitting next to one of my friends when the first meal choice email from Amanda came in, and I just remember reading off the options to her and saying “I don’t even know what that is, Rachel!” By the time we left, I think she was concerned that between the chicken with unknown toppings/sides, fish, and sandwiches I was simply going to starve in Seattle.
Less than 24 hours into our time in Seattle, the food tour began. And at every turn, I was surprising myself. Donuts and Greek yogurt? Not a problem at all. But as soon as we approached the Mexican tacos and I was told they would have pineapple, cilantro, and some mystery sauce I wanted to run for the hills—but I stayed, and I ate my taco, and I actually kind of enjoyed it. Fast forward five minutes and I’m handed a cup of smoked salmon and told to eat it while I am literally being stared at by a pile of dead fish on ice. I didn’t really have a choice, so I reached into my plastic cup—and the salmon wasn’t as bad as I expected. Then it was onto the clam chowder. I know, I know, the chowder is award winning, everybody loved it, etc. etc.… it was my least favorite food of everything I was handed. Something about the thickness and creaminess just made it way too rich and difficult to swallow for me, and I was grateful when we moved back into the arcade for some cheesy biscuits. I was ready to avoid the Indian samosa until Sumit told me the best way to eat it and reassured me that I should at least try a bite. I couldn’t finish it, but I surprised myself with how much I ate! Finally we moved onto the salmon burgers, our last stop of the Pike Place Market food tour. Now at this point I’d already eaten fish and a host of other new foods, so even though I could have said I was too full and sat out the last stop, I went for it and ate the piece of salmon burger that I was given.
After this exciting morning I was so proud of my newfound adventurousness that I texted my friend to tell her that no, I wasn’t starving and I even discovered that I don’t hate salmon. The food tour definitely set me up for success on Monday and Tuesday, because those days as well were full of being open to trying new things and I’m not sure I would have had the confidence to go for it without the forced taste tests on Sunday. Monday’s lunch—the dreaded lunch without a meat option for which I basically picked a meal at random—ended with me having eaten two pieces of cod, while Monday’s dinner—the first meal choice that set off my concerns weeks ago—gave me an unexpectedly large piece of chicken and sides that I attempted (but admittedly did not really enjoy).
Finally, Tuesday (Wednesday meals were right up my alley, no need to mention that). Oh, Tuesday. A boxed lunch (the bane of the existence of everybody who doesn’t like sandwiches) followed by free time for dinner (which is either incredible or horrible depending on how tolerant your friends are of your picky eating habits). But for the first time in all of my group boxed lunch experience, one of the boxed lunch options was grilled cheese—and as downtrodden by meal choices as I was at that point, I had had the foresight to choose the grilled cheese! Huzzah! No deli meats to deal with! Thanks Boeing! I was feeling really good about myself when it came to food on Wednesday evening, so when Marta suggested a nice seafood-oriented restaurant that didn’t have a ton of options, I decided to go for it without complaining and looking for something that catered more to the palate of a 12-year old. And even though steak was an option, I instead went for the smoked salmon Caesar salad. Even though I didn’t manage to eat all of it (there was a LOT of salmon), I was proud of myself and I did enjoy it.
Basically, this blog post is a really long way of me thanking the PLA and Seattle for pulling me out of my culinary comfort zone and getting me to try new things. I went into the trip pretty sure that I was going to pick at the fancy meals and use my per diem to buy snacks to make up for it, but the first time we ate I quickly let go of that and started eating what I was handed. I’m not sure what it was—being on a new coast, not wanting to be rude, or a growing sense of maturity and confidence, but I tried a lot of new foods on this trip without complaint. My friends are proud of me. When I came home and told my family, they didn’t believe it (my brother might still think I’m lying). I’m not sure if this means I’ll start loving fish now, but I probably won’t put up a fight if somebody wants me to go to a nice seafood restaurant with them. While I got many other things out of Seattle and everybody we talked to, I honestly think the food is what will stick with me the most.
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