Zesty, creamy, juicy, refreshing… acrid, sour, unbearable, nasty—  good or bad, food makes a  strong impression; similarly, different environments impact the mind in various ways— inviting or uncomfortable, it is all dependent on opinion.  Students of Air Academy are no stranger to these significant experiences of the culinary type, and therefore they easily recall their most memorable meals both fondly and often humorously.

Kenzie Weller–

“My most memorable meal was at The Villa by Palmer Lake during a quiet night around Christmas time. The restaurant had nice decorations, tables by the fireside, and even a singer. I had bread rolls with pesto and other dishes that were fantastic. Overall, the restaurant was very inviting and quite romantic.”

Emma Wood–

“When I was in Scotland, I often enjoyed a traditional Scottish dish called Haggis, which is a savory pudding made of a series of interesting ingredients. It’s pretty good and often served on Burns’ Night- a holiday that celebrates a famous Scottish poet.”

Sophie Braker–

“When I was eight or nine, I went to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate my birthday. The food was very good and I even had some ice cream with a candle in it- an amazing, Chinese-y vanilla- it was a memorable birthday.”

Kayla Wiitala–

“I go to Las Vegas a lot and the first time I went I ate at a restaurant called Paris Buffet. It was very fancy with a mural on the ceiling, waitresses with French outfits, and a great variety of pasta.”

Katie Rainsberger–

“Every year at Thanksgiving I eat my favorite meal because I love stuffing and it’s the only time my mom makes it. Spending this holiday with my family was good, but what I really love is the food.”

Jenny Beth Maynard–

“I was just outside of Yellowstone at a restaurant called The Lighthouse with my family and I tried a meal dubbed ‘Mushroom Macaroni’ with flower petal- it was odd, but delicious.”

Maddy Jahelka–

“I got to go to this really awesome restaurant called Pok Pok while I was visiting my brother in Portland and I fell in love with the city because of it. The restaurant began as a house, then they built trailers off of it to expand it. They have chicken wings and other food that is really good. Portland is famous for its food trucks- and this is one of them in a sense- a ‘food house’ rather than truck.”

“Another memorable restaurant is one in Louisville called Hammerhead’s. Complete with a life-size hammerhead shark over the door, they serve gourmet burgers and French fries fried in truffle oil. It was 60x better than Red Robin and was in a neighborhood in a really small, but nice space; it was kind of rough around the edges, but so good.”

Carys Jacobs–

“I was a vegetarian for a couple years at the beginning of high school. Once, my mom tried to cook a vegetarian recipe. It ended up being so spicy that my eyes burned if I was in the same room as it. We had to get safety goggles from the garage just to eat the dish. My mom then decided to never to try vegetarian cooking again- we laugh about it now.”

Saoirse O’Connor–

“I was at a coffee shop in Seattle that had trees on the inside, cool furniture made out of trees, and really good coffee. I was on a trip visiting my Godmother and I had a great time with her there in the shop’s great almost hippy-like environment.”

Nikol Podlacha–

“During my last visit to Poland we stopped at this old-fashioned Polish restaurant- the building looked awesome and the food as really good. I ordered 5 Kapika- they were huge with and accompanied by 2 massive chicken breasts. It was so good I ate it all, and I wasn’t hungry for like 3 weeks.”

Sasha Kandrach–

“My grandma always makes corned beef hash, rum cake, black pudding (dried pig’s blood- this one is gross) and sausage links for special events. It’s a traditional Irish meal and we eat it during holidays like Thanksgiving. It’s really good and I enjoy having the tradition every so often.”

Tali Valentine–

“One of the most memorable meals that I’ve had was when I went to Jason’s Deli with Nick and my mom- celebrating my brother’s birthday and mine. The meal I got was really good- tomato soup, Caesar salad, garlic bread, and unlimited ice cream. It was probably my favorite meal because of the unlimited ice cream, but also because it was a good day.”

Christina Herrera–

“My most memorable meal was in Acapulco, Mexico with my family and a few native guys who were in the Navy. We headed to a beacrestaurant which had a specialty for fish. The fish they had were huge and they were cut to look almost like a pizza with the teeth and head visible. All you had to do was cut off a bit of the fish and eat it- it was really good.”

Chloe Reindl–

“After a Hosier concert it was about 2 a.m. and my mom and I spontaneously went out for waffles and pancakes. It was pretty good because breakfast is definitely better when it’s late at night- the later the better.”

Helen Savell–

“My most memorable meal would definitely be when I went to Navarre Beach, Florida with my family. We were visiting my sister and her boyfriend. He catches fish for a living, specifically these flounder-like fish called dabs. He ended up catching some for us during the middle of the night, and the next day he fried them. They were really good and I’ve never had food that was that fresh- right out of the ocean that we were right next to.”

Overall, each meal is as memorable as the next, good or bad, with different defining characteristics. The environment, the food, the time spent with family and friends all make a meal great for each and every person.