Expectations For Cosmo's Cucina

            From what little I know about Romance Languages I know that cocinar means to cook in Spanish, so when I see cucina I think similarly. I think it must be Italian, and so when I go to Google and I am correct I assume that a restaurant with the word cucina in its name may have a little Italian flair. Tonight my mom, her fiance and I will be attending Cosmo’s Cucina for dinner, and this is the restaurant that I plan to be reviewing for the class. Cosmo’s is located within the Vine Street Neighborhood in Kalamazoo.

In my opinion, that seems a little bit off the beaten path in terms of restaurants. After living in Kalamazoo all summer most of my dining haunts were located in the Tiffany’s vicinity or the downtown area, or even off of Westnedge (I do love Bagel Beanery). Going to a newer area is a form of tourism itself, especially when Kalamzoo is pretty familiar to me. Their website mentions nothing about Italian like I originally thought, but instead states that they want to bring, “simply creative cooking to Kalamazoo.” In this claim, they’ve really set me up with some interesting expectations. I love creative things. I enjoy new blends of flavors. I wonder exactly what they mean when they say creative? This comment makes me think of our conversations in class over the subject of food as art. I wonder how the food and the atmosphere intersect to foster this so-called creative atmosphere.             From their picture on the website, I see a restaurant with big windows lit up with twinkling lights. I am quite fond of white holiday lights, and I believe that they better any environment. Good choice, Cosmo’s.  I heard about the restaurant from my roommate Tessa, which may also have clouded my judgments about the place. She says that it’s one of her favorites, because of the atmosphere of the restaurant. I will just have to see what she means!

The article, Culinary Tourism, that we read for class discusses new experiences for the sake of the experience itself, which is what this situation truly is. I am going somewhere for the sake of taking it all in and experiencing it. In this way, like the article suggests I am thinking of this restaurant as, “somehow different, new, or exotic.” It is a “tourist” destination.

Upon looking over their menu words catch my eye like Feta, Goat Cheese, Hummus, Spinach, all a few of my favorite words. These flavors make me so hungry. I imagine biting down on warm, cheesy, flavorful food.

  I’m happy to have included my mom and her fiancé, because not only will they want to buy me dinner, but also because she has quite the background in food experience. My mom has spent the majority of her life as a travelling and cooking woman and this background could potentially help me to better understand the food by taking in information from her into my own perspective. I know that I still have a lot to learn about tastes and the world so it’s important to learn from the people who still know more than I do.

As for my mood before I go to review this restaurant? It’s absolutely soaring as I just found out that I’m going to study away in New York City for my Winter Quarter!