The tree and the apple

My family loves to eat. Uncles, aunts, grandparents, everyone. My mom and brothers are no exception. One of the most common questions they ask is "Did you eat? Do you want to eat?" (more common than, "How is your love life?", thankfully enough). Every gathering is around lunchtime or dinnertime, without fail. And even during the meal one of the main conversations is about food.
"I found the best seafood place. They had the freshest crabs! We should go!"
"Really? Which one is this?"
"The one on H street, you know, you take Long street, all the way down past that row of houses and then boom it's right there!"
"Is this better than such and such on G street?"
"Oh much much better... it's so good!"
"This is the one Tom told us about?"
"Yes!" And then turning to me - who's been silently drooling the whole time, "We should take YOU there!"

This is a very typical occurrence on the first night of everytime I go see my family.

And I, of course, enthusiastically agree. Every time. It's in my genes after all.

They talk/argue about the best satay, the best ice cream, the best noodle place on the south side, etc. The most passionate of them would even challenge the first. Like, "Oh no, I went there and their lobster wasn't up to par. You should go to this one instead." Often that means another fam member would chime in to agree or disagree.

Through it all, you are convinced. You buy into their enthusiastic recommendations, because they believe in them. The way they describe the food, the ingredients, the way it's cooked, why it's better than the other place, and the way their eyes light up, you don't even need to know where the restaurant (or in many cases, the food stand) is, you just want to go. This group of people, some of them bound by blood and some by law, happens to enjoy good food - the eating of it, the finding of it, the cooking of it - more than any other group of people I know.

But you instinctively understand it's not entirely about food. Eating is just the main way my family relates to one another, the way common interest propels people to get together. It's the way they show love. They don't say "I love you" or "I miss you" or "I appreciate you so much" - not in those words.

They say, Let's go eat.

And I say, I'm in.