On Saturday Nate and I sat on the patio of our local supermarket, enjoying a hamburger and fries, drinking cold beer, thinking, "life is good." Oh how we love our Central Market, and we loved it even more on that warm summer evening. Not only were our hamburgers delicious and our draft beer cold and refreshing, the scene around us was fabulous as well. The entire patio area was filled with families, groups of friends, and couples, all enjoying the rather mild July temperature by North Texas standards. True, the band playing in the background was one of the most awful cover bands we've ever heard, but that was our only complaint. Nate and I felt an overwhelming sense of community in Fort Worth, and it made us even more glad that we moved out here a year (or more) ago. Sure, we can't walk to our local supermarket (but this is a car-culture out here) and we don't always get local produce; but for us, the Central Market "feeling" is one of the reasons why we love our newly adopted hometown. I think, unconsciously, we chose our new house last fall based on its proximity to Central Market. Nate and I do love food, after all. But, mostly we love how food brings people together.
Food has always been a central part of Nate and my relationship. I was remarking to him the other day how I remember when he made me beignets for the first time, or how we used to experiment on different pasta dishes when we first got together. When we lived in Albuquerque, we always had friends or family over for dinner parties, birthdays, graduation parties, or just dessert. People seemed to gravitate toward Nate's house, mostly because of all the space, the warmth, and his fantastic backyard, but also because he always had something on hand to nosh on and some wine or beer to drink. When we moved to Fort Worth, I wondered how much we'd miss cooking for or entertaining our friends and family. Thankfully, we had some "built-in friends" (as we've all branded ourselves) move here from Albuquerque as well. We never hung out with Jeff and Catherine when they lived in Albuquerque; but when we were all out here in big, crazy Texas together, well, we've hung out together at least once or twice a month over the last year. This weekend we had them over for brunch (it was my excuse to use all our wedding china and flatware) and it turned into a perfect Sunday afternoon. After brunch, the four of us ended up sitting in our cozy house, talking, watching the dog, and getting to know each other. It doesn't get any better than that.
So...we might not be that eager to join a gym, but we will always be ready to prepare a meal for friends or family...and all the ingredients will come from our neighborhood Central Market.
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