THE greatest of all the great food holidays is among us, folks. May 11. Mark it on your calendars. There are a lot of fun food holidays out there so you might have thought your favorite was National Chocolate Chip Cookie day, or perhaps Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, but no. The ultimate best food holiday is none other than “Eat What You Want Day” on May 11.

Why don’t you sit and ponder your ideal day of how you could celebrate this day to the maxes? I’ve given it some thought and here is what I’ve come up with.

If money was no object and I could fly back to some of the places I’ve lived, I’d grab the love of my life, hop on a plane and we’d go to all our favorite restaurants from those places. Here is what my day would look like on my ideal “Eat What You Want Day”.

Breakfast at My Mom’s House in Rupert, Idaho

I just have to start with breakfast at my momma’s. She is the world’s best cook but her breakfast is sublime. I dream of my mom’s biscuits and sausage gravy (and perfectly cooked eggs and freshly grated hashbrowns). This alone could be enough for me for this holiday, but no! This is just the first stop of many! Off we go to Salt Lake City.

Lunch at Red Iguana in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I’ll never forget the first time I ever tried mole sauce at the Red Iguana in Salt Lake City, Utah. This restaurant is one of the highest rated in all of Salt Lake and the moles are their speciality. Since it was our first time, they brought us a little mole sampler tray to see which kinds we liked and we ordered burritos and enchiladas with those mole sauces on top. It was heavenly. I highly recommend going there if you are in the area. The flavors and experience are very fun and memorable.

2nd Lunch at The Wedge in Iowa City, IA

We absolutely adored the two years we got to live in Iowa City and the thing I miss most of all, okay, fine--besides my friends :) -- is the cheese bread from The Wedge. They have the perfect dough, best blend of garlicy/buttery sauce, and of course lots of cheese--all dipped in the most perfect ranch dressing I’ve ever had in my life! If you like pizza, or cheese, or bread--so basically any living breathing human--you will LOVE this cheese bread and be addicted to it just like I was the first time I had it. I wish so badly I could somehow have this cheese bread in my house right now!


Honestly it was hard to choose just one spot in Iowa City. The downtown there is a really hip, cool place with TONS of good restaurants, art galleries, thrift stores, boutiques and pubs. Lots of pubs. The people in Iowa LOVE their beers and they are they are about the friendliest people in the world so they love going out on the weekends to these pubs and hang out with friends, new and old. And they’re tough. It would be 20 below zero outside but those pubs would still be packed around town. I feel like Iowa City is the super-friendly version of Portland in the Midwest. You should visit sometime in the fall on a football game day--you won’t regret it!


Dinner at (Don’t remember the name of it but I remember where it is located) Pizza Place in Long Branch, NJ


Next stop for dinner is New York style pizza in New Jersey.


When we were newlyweds we moved to Long Branch, New Jersey for my husband to sell alarm systems door to door. We were fortunate enough to have a tiny apartment that overlooked the ocean. It was so cool! There were a lot of businesses below the apartments and there was the BEST New York Style pizza down there that we would frequent a lot after my husband’s long days. It was so cool too because the owner’s name was Vinny. It just seems right to be regulars at the best pizza shop and be buddies with the owner named Vinny (with a cool Jersey accent, of course). Vinny made some great chicken parm pizza.


Dessert at Gelato Shop in Long Branch, New Jersey


After we got pizza we’d stroll down the block to the gelato shop which has a live band with a guy that sounds just like Frank Sinatra. We’d sit out on the chairs overlooking the ocean, with the breeze surrounding us, the sound of ocean waves and crickets softly filling the air and then we’d slow dance to “Cheek to Cheek” after finishing our delicious, sweet ice cream.


Midnight Snack On My Couch


After we’d had enough of that perfectly romantic evening by the Atlantic Ocean, we’d hop back in the plane and fly home near the Pacific Ocean. When I arrive back home, one of my friends here would have been so kind as to leave me my favorite authentic crunchy tacos from my favorite Mexican restaurant here in my town of Fontana, California right on my doorstep because tacos are the PERFECT late night snack after a busy day of, you know--eating all of the good things!


Wow, well what a day it’s been! I am beyond full but very happy with a day with my favorite person in the whole wide world eating our very favorite foods! It doesn’t get much better than that!


What does your “Eat Whatever You Want Day” look like in your world? Or the one of your dreams? Please share in the comments below! I’d love to hear some of your very favorite meals ever.