Confessions of a Foodie by Belle Calhoune

Okay! I'm about to come clean. My family loves to eat out at restaurants. In good times and in bad, we tend to seek comfort in a nice restaurant where we can eat and talk and bond. There's something about eating at a new venue that feels particularly exciting to us. Will the food be good? So-so? Do they serve Sangria? Are those Yelp reviews truthful? Will it become a family favorite?

Chicken and waffles seem to be all the rage at the moment and we've enjoyed some all around the world. The best had to be Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in California.

For me, food is a joyful thing. And I've come to realize it's something to celebrate. When my brother was terminally ill he lost his appetite. For the first time in his life he didn't want to eat and the smell of food made him sick. I think it reinforced to me the idea that life is short and one never knows when things in your life will change. SAVOR the moments...as well as the food.

These are some pictures from our Paris trip. I smile when I look at the earthy looking dish with the potatoes. It was really exciting to enjoy different cuisine.

Earthy French food..it was delicious.

My daughter and I at a cafe on the Champs Elysees! We enjoyed the best mussels. 

Sometimes I decide not to post all my dining pics on my author page because I don't want to give the impression that we eat out all the time. It's usually for celebration purposes, and since life has been good lately, we've had a lot to celebrate. Praise the Lord! But in the future, I'm going to share more, because enjoying food is a wonderful thing. Recently we celebrated Fourth of July at my sister Karen's house and she brought out a dessert my mother used to serve us. It brought back all those wonderful childhood memories and it felt like my mother was sitting right there with us even though we lost her back in 2000.

When I was growing up in a family of seven we rarely ate out. I totally understand why. I wouldn't eat out if I had to pay the tab for five kids either! But when we did it was usually while on vacation or the occasional seafood outing in Cape Cod where we had a summer house. We recently took my dad out for father's day at a seafood place on the South Shore of Boston. There's nothing better than fried clams and scallops!

Fried Scallops. Sheer perfection. No one does seafood better than Massachusetts.

I still believe dining out as a family is a celebratory thing. Graduations! Honor roll! My daughter's first big job in New York City! A film deal! We celebrate it all! And I love it.


A different take on chicken and waffles at my niece's graduation celebration.

Spicy fish taco wrapped in lettuce.

Italian food. Lasagna, one of my all-time favorites.

Who among us doesn't love a churro? With chocolate sauce?

Calamari, one of our favorite dishes. 

French toast with flair!

Apple crumble with vanilla ice cream.

Bolognese...my all time favorite meal. I've eaten it in more restaurants than I can recall.

Edamame. It's so good...and good for you.

Dining out is enjoyable for my family. It allows us relaxing time during which we can catch up on the day to day stuff and talk about goals and dreams. Recently we went out for Mexican food and I spotted this sign. It still cracks me up!!!