Meat with a Side of Meat

Last week I was in Minnesota for work. Well, kind of for work. The fundraising event I was planning on attending was cancelled last minute (really last minute), but my client's development team felt just bad enough that I was flying out there that they offered to take me out for breakfast.

And, while I had been greeted by a disturbing chill upon exiting the sliding airport doors, and spent the night prior catching up with a dear friend over wine, it was not until that breakfast that I truly remembered what it was like to live in Minnesota.

When one of my Mid-west colleagues pointed out the meat loaf scramble on the menu, I started to laugh along with her. Until I realized she wasn't laughing. She was looking at me confused, and I attempted to disguise my laugh into a small throat-clearing cough. "Yeah, look at that." I was not committing to judgement one way or the other. I was, however, desperately searching for the asterisk beside the selection that would indicate the meat was free range and organic from a local farm, which--on Bainbridge Island--would be the only way that item would stand a chance in hell of survival.

The other Minnesotan at the table murmured what was, apparently, the correct response. "Yeah, mmm. That looks good...I think I might try that too. But do you think I can get that with a side of ham?" Turns out, she could. Of course.

Oh, Minnesota. Land of the 10,000 lakes, fried candy bars on a stick, and the meat loaf scramble. How I missed you.