Variety is the Spice of Life...

After spending a wonderful break with my family and friends back in the United States, I could not help but realize how much variety we have in the States. As the saying goes, "Variety is the spice of life!" But I couldn't help but think, is variety really the spice of life or does it just make things more complicated?

Between the time my sister and I spent in our local mall and the five minutes it took to drive to a shopping center near by, we passed by: Charley's Grilled Subs, Chick-Fil-A, China House, Dairy Queen/Orange Julius, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Saladworks, Sarku Japan, Sbarro Pizza, Subway and Taco Bell (all of the previous eateries mentioned were inside of the mall), Cracker Barrel, Olive Garden, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chili's, Old Country Buffet, another Subway, Wawa, Wegman's Cafe, etc. etc. (all along Route 30). Besides the repeat of the Subways, try to find two of the same restaurant. There are little to no repeats and many of the foods are different. Olive Garden offers a menu different from Chili's which is a menu different from China house which is different from Taco Bell...you get the picture.

Then let's talk about New Year's Eve. I think I ran around the party trying every little appetizer and  drink available and all I kept saying was, "I'm not going to have this in Spain when I go back in 4 days, I'm not going to have this Chick-fil-A platter with honey mustard, bbq sauce, ketchup and regular mustard, I'm not going to have BUFFALO CHICKEN pizza...yes there will be chicken...yes there will be pizza...but BUFFALO CHICKEN...absolutely not, I'm not going to have these delicious inside out oreo truffles with peppermint icing topping." And I quickly turned into the "fat kid" at the party.

But what if we simply didn't have this stuff. In Spain, I walk into the grocery store and probably have about 10 cereal choices...not a full aisle. Yes there are many restaurants in Spain...at least 10 on every block. But the food tends to be the same...maybe just prepared a little differently. Yes there are some Mexican restaurants, some Japanese restaurants, some pizza places. But the thing is, it is not overwhelming. And believe it or not, I finish every meal satisfied with less variety than we have in the States without a mound of regret as big as the pile of french fries I just had to ACCOMPANY my meal.

So midway through my New Years Eve binge, I realized there's a serious problem with variety. What if we simply just didn't have it? Many people will tell me it takes self control to avoid all of that, but when it's put right in front of your face at a party, who is really going to have self control? So what's better, a lot of variety or little variety? Not having little variety for a while and then going and stuffing your face when there is a lot of variety? I guess the world will never know. Do what makes you happy, but for me, I'm a little scared to return to that variety in June.

Charley’s Grilled Subs....................524.3132

C Chick-fil-A............................................363.6345

C China House.......................................280.7329

C Dairy Queen/Orange Julius........363.5700

C EnerJuice.............................................363.5203

C Five Guys Burgers & Fries.... 484.875.0755

C Nestle Toll House Café...................524.7050

C Saladworks Café...............................363.5025

C Sarku Japan........................................280.7018

C Saxbys Coffee....................................594.3800

C Sbarro....................................................363.3059

C Subway.................................................524.2900

C Taco Bell...............................................524.2900