Welcome to a delicious new thing!

Well let's get the formals out of the way so that we can dive into the good part. My name is La Tosca Goodwin, Tosca to my friends. I am a Chicago (Chi-town) native and love food. I love to look at it, touch it, smell it, eat it, cook it, and if the sizzling is right to hear it as well. Yes siree I give in to every sensory I have and truly enjoy my food experiences.

So while eating terrible tasting and equally terribly priced cuban cuisine in Downtown Disney with friends. I revealed the idea for this blog. I wanted to create a space to rate the good, the bad and the ugly as compared to our beloved food haven - Chicago. We pondered names and I settled with "On a scale from 1 to Chicago." I mean really what other comparison is there right?

For this site I will be eating and judging how that food stands up to food in Chicago. I will grade apples to apples when it's at all possible, but because my food repertoire has increased considerably since my days in Chicago eating hot pickles with candy canes, bar-b-que ribs and links, pizza, fried chicken and fish, italian beef and sausage sandwiches, gyros, and chinese food, I will also grade food based on how it affects my sensories. I remember Chicago food with a fondness that almosts equates my mother's love. I crave it desperately some nights to warm my belly and tell me everything will be alright. Ok, I'm exaggerating. I got over that in college - well just a bit - anyway you get the idea.

The food more than the White Sox stadium, more than the Sears tower (or Willis or whatever they call it now), more than da Bulls or da Bears, even more than growing up hanging on corners and playing football in the street - the food is what I remember and miss most about my hometown. I remember my dad coming home from the bowling alley at 3 in the morning with rib tips from Leon's and lapping up the bar-b-que sauce with the square pieces of white bread and the side of fries. Bar-b-que just tastes best after midnight in case you didn't know.

I would also like, no love, for you all to weigh in. I really want my fellow Chicagoans but am open to the thoughts and opinions of those less cultured pallets. No really I want us all to join in the conversation. This should get interesting, but PLEASE no imihating, irrihating or hateration on my site. I'd like cheerful banter and exchange, but most of all let's really get the conversation going and see where our tummies lead us.

Happy eating and start rating your next meal on a scale from 1 to Chicago!