Rant #3,195: My Favorite Things

It is funny how you go back to old things as you get older.

At age 66, my yen for chocolate milk continues to be strong … and not just during Passover, when I have waxed poetic about my love for Kosher For Passover U-Bet chocolate syrup and what it does when you pour it into a tall glass of milk.

Yes, even during the dog days of summer, I just love my chocolate milk.

And yes, year-round, it has to be made with U Bet syrup; I will accept nothing less.

The other syrups are OK, but when you mix it into the milk, the final product simply isn’t as good as when you mix U-Bet into the milk.

It simply does not have the same rich taste as U-Bet brings to you.

So why settle for something less, when you can get something magical with U-Bet chocolate syrup—and the Passover version is preferred, as I think it has even a richer taste than the usual U-Bet.

But there are times that U-Bet and whatever you are eating with it just don’t go together, and as they say, “Things Go Better With Coke.”

Coca-Cola continues to be my favorite soda of all of them, and again, I think it has to do with the smoothness of the beverage and its adaptability to any food that you are pairing it with.

I drink a lot of milk—always have, always will—but milk simply does not go with most dinner options, so Coke is my choice, and has always been my choice.

When my sister and I were kids, my mother would not have soda in the refrigerator, as she felt that having it there would preclude us from drinking milk, which is obviously a much healthier beverage.

But as I got older, I was already drinking a lot of milk as it was—my doctor told my mother that I would never break a bone because of all the milk I drank, and I haven’t in my 66 years—but I found that drinking milk while eating a steak or a hot dog or a hamburger just wasn’t cutting it anymore.

So the beverage that I just used to have outside of my house finally ventured inside, and the rest is history.

I still drink lots of milk, and while I don’t drink as much soda as I used to do, when it comes to soda, it has to be Coke.

Pepsi is OK as a substitute, but I actually prefer RC Cola if I can’t have Coke. It is nestled somewhere between Pepsi and Coke--not as sweet as Pepsi but not as smooth as Coke—but even though I do drink other sodas, it generally has to be Coke for me.

And then when I have a Coke, what am I eating with it?

Well, even after 66 years, my favorite foods remain hot dogs and hamburgers, even though I eat lots of fish and pasta and better things for me.

Let’s start with hot dogs, frankfurters, wieners, red hots … whatever you want to call them, I have loved this food probably since the first time I ever had one as a kid.

Having a frank on a bun is just so natural, so compact, so perfect that I even hate to have to chow it down because it looks so good, but I do it anyway.

I prefer Hebrew National hot dogs, but Nathan’s, Sabrett, and a whole host of others are fine too.

But there is nothing better than a Hebrew National hot dog on a bun with some mustard and sauerkraut, all washed down with a Coke.

As for hamburgers, I eat plenty of the fast food variety, but there is nothing better than a real hamburger that you either make yourself from raw chop meat or one that you pick up already made from your local supermarket.

Again, like hot dogs, it just looks perfect on a bun, with a little ketchup, maybe some relish, and maybe some onions and even a slice of melted cheese on top.

It looks so good that you really hate to eat it, but you have to have something to chow down with the Coke that you have sitting in front of you, so down it goes.

It is so funny to think that after 66 years of life, I have not changed one bit when it comes to my favorite food and beverages.

I still like the same things, and even though my adult palette is a bit different from my childhood one, my go-to foods and beverages have remained the same since virtually day one.

And did I mention that I have always liked spinach, always liked cream cheese—Temp Tee please—and always liked peanut butter—Skippy if I can get it?

I may have gotten older, balder, and more skeptical as the years have gone by me, but my food choices have pretty much remained what they are for the length of my life, and probably will continue to be that way until I reach the end.

How about you?

Have your food and beverage choices pretty much remained the same for your entire life?

Hot dog!