Memoir

Raised in Restaurants and Movie Theaters

Cooking and sitcoms are some of my least favorite things

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I have a confession: I can’t cook and I’ve never seen “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

I guess that’s two confessions.

What do these two things have in common, you might wonder? I’d describe them as incompetencies I have as an adult because of the way I was raised as a child.

Let’s go out to eat.

When I was growing up, my mom, a single working parent, didn’t have time for nonsense such as cooking.

She took my younger brother and me out to eat most of the time. We’d frequent a plethora of fast-food chains, mall food courts, diners and pizza parlors.

Some of my favorites were Steak ‘n Shake and A&W.

At Steak ‘n Shake, I always ordered a strawberry shake with my meal and couldn’t wait to eat the cherry! At A&W, mom pulled her car into a slot under an awning and pushed a button on a sign to order our food. A lady brought the food on a tray that she attached to our car’s window. I always ordered a “teen” burger and a frosty mug of root beer at A&W. They had the papa, mama, teen or baby burger on their menu. I wasn’t quite a teen…