Although I’ve only been a food columnist for the Indiana Daily Student for three semesters, I’ve been an avid foodie my whole life. As a Georgia native, I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy the pleasures of chains such as Publix, Waffle House, Cava and Yogli Mogli. Yet, like most things in life, being a food enthusiast has its downfalls.
To quote the American journalist, Hunter S. Thompson, “You can’t miss what you never had.” It takes having these staples in your hometown to notice their absence in a college town. While I am lucky to have grown up with these regional chains, I’ve faced the challenge of moving more than 500 miles away from home.
In all honesty, I love grocery shopping so much that it could be considered one of my hobbies. Whether I go to the store to collect items that I need for a recipe, or just aimlessly walk down the aisles searching for new food items, I find joy in the task. However, not all grocery stores are created equally, and in my mind, Publix is the cream of the crop.
I think Publix should take pride in knowing that its coined slogan “where shopping is a pleasure” is extremely accurate. The Publix staff works hard to keep the store clean and tidy while also being friendly and approachable to the customers. When I would occasionally ask a Publix worker where a certain item is, they could always tell me the item’s location off the top of their head.
However, the real star of the show is Publix’s deli. The deli section sells a plethora of items including fried chicken tenders, mac and cheese, potato wedges, freshly squeezed lemonade and customizable sandwiches. As a child my mom brought Publix chicken tenders to our neighborhood pool and wrapped in a beach towel, I would eat the tenders with my waterlogged fingers.
As my taste palate expanded, I grew to love Publix’s sandwich station. My typical sandwich order contains sliced turkey, pepperoni, sliced cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, onion slices and dill pickles chips. I always like to ask that my sandwich be toasted to allow the wheat bread to crispen and the cheese to melt. If I wanted to combine these two great memories, I could order Publix’s chicken tender sub. What other grocery store chops up their great-tasting chicken tenders and stuff into a sub?
Another hometown-staple that I miss in Bloomington is Waffle House. However, with all the great and comforting memories I have at Waffle House, I may as well refer to it as Waffle Home.
Waffle House was pioneered by two Georgia men, Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner, who wanted to create a welcoming diner that was open all-day. With 445 locations opened 24 hours a day, the franchise is a staple on almost every street corner in Georgia. While Indiana has 18 of its own locations, the Waffle House culture is exclusive to the Southern region.
With three Waffle Houses in a 10-minute proximity to my house, I found comfort in knowing the diner was always open. For my 14th birthday, I stopped at Waffle House for an early morning celebratory breakfast before school. When the roads and schools shut down because of the winter weather, my family walked to Waffle House for breakfast. After high school football games, my friends and I liked to end those Friday nights at a nearby Waffle House. And last Thanksgiving break when my friends and I could only spend one late-night together, we chose to spend it at Waffle House eating All Star Specials.
Additionally, a newer franchise that I love in Atlanta is Cava, a fast casual restaurant where customers build their salad or rice bowl. In summer 2022, I went across town with my friend and tried a nearby town’s newest Mediterranean chain. After a great first impression, the restaurant became one of my favorite spots when a closer location opened near my house.
At Cava, I like to order a custom bowl that includes basmati rice, arugula, grilled chicken, red pepper hummus, whipped feta dip, salt-brined pickles, pita crisps, chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. My custom bowl tastes like a deliciously fresh Greek salad with an extra boost of Mediterranean flavor from the red pepper hummus and feta dip. I miss Cava when I am in Bloomington because I think it’s the perfect meal. The restaurant has quick service, the bowl is filling and the dips are delicious.
My final restaurant is a dessert spot where I spent many evenings with my high school friends: Yogli Mogli. This franchise is a frozen yogurt shop founded by Roi Shlomo in Sandy Springs, Georgia, that has outlived the nationwide frozen yogurt hype in the early 2010s and is still one of well-known classic dessert spots in Atlanta. In high school, my friends and I would follow up our weekly dinners at a local Mexican restaurant with a trip to Yogli Mogli. We would finish eating our two tacos at Los Rancheros and then walk across the street to satisfy our sweet tooth. When I go to Yogli Mogli, I get cookies and cream and cake batter frozen yogurt topped with cookie dough bits. With no self-serve frozen yogurt shops in Bloomington, I savor my few visits when I’m home.
As much as I love Bloomington, there are voids in my heart that this town can’t truly satisfy. I may sound dramatic, but these spots shaped me into a food enthusiast in the first place.
