If there was such a weekly meeting group as “Basic Girls on Social Media Anonymous” my confession would go something like this: Hi, my name is Melanie, and I have a food Instagram.
No, I am not ashamed of my basicness, because I love my food Instagram. I originally created it because my sister told me she was sick and tired of seeing my incessant food Snaps on my Snap Story while I was abroad. I wanted a place to show off all of the crazy, delicious food I was eating, but I was only going to post my favorites, so I wouldn’t annoy my sister. Little did I know that my food Instagram would become more about documenting memories rather than showing off my food.
The more I posted pictures of my food, the more I realized that each picture was associated with a different memory. Like the very first picture on my food insta was from my very first meal in Dublin where I was interning abroad last summer. Finding an internship had been a bit of a disaster for me, and the internship coordinator offered to take me out to lunch since I had arrived a day early. I ordered this amazing cured salmon, avocado, and quinoa salad from this farm to table style, open-air restaurant called Brother Hubbard. It was definitely a safe haven for anyone who considers themselves to be a “yogi” or a healthy food fanatic. It was sunny and beautiful, and it was great to get to know the internship coordinator. It was a wonderful introduction to Dublin, and its one of the first things I point to when I describe my study abroad experience.
All from study abroad in Dublin: Cured Salmon Salad, Salted Caramel and Pistachio Donut, Squid Ink Paella
Another one of my favorites is a picture of food that might not be the most aesthetically pleasing, but it was crazy delicious. My mom and I had gone out to lunch at the place called Krog Street Market back home in Atlanta. There’s a whole array of different food stands from Mediterranean to Spanish to Chinese that makes it really overwhelming to pick what you actually want to eat. My mom settled on a Pita sandwich while I got red beans and rice with house made cornbread and sweet tea from the Southern food stand called Richard’s Southern Fried. When I was ordering, I was bonded with the stand-owner about going to U of M because he was born in Detroit but moved to Atlanta for a job about 10 years ago. I guess he really liked talking about his hometown because he gave my mom and I some fried chicken for free to take home to my dad. It was so kind of him, and I’ll always know what that meal looked like because of my food instagram!
Spaghetti alla Vongole from Malta, Kinoko Mochi and a Power Bowl from Ann Arbor
Eating food and making memories with people go hand in hand. You can’t really eat food without making memories. Whether it is that pizza you ate while you were hammered at 2 am, or you and your significant other went out for a fancy dinner for your 2 year anniversary. My food instagram has become a way for me to commemorate the wonderful memories and the amazing food that I am fortunate enough to get to eat. I am so glad I made this instagram because it’s a creative way to share the foods that I love while giving me away to commemorate important moments in my life. So, don’t judge me for pulling out my phone when my waiter or waitress shows up with my food.
Shameless plug: please go follow my food Instagram @not_just_meat_and_potatoes.