“Good Food,” by Boyce Upholt (Fiction ’16)

“Good Food,” an essay by 2016 fiction graduate Boyce Upholt, was recently featured in Guernica. Read an excerpt below:

Good Food

I am a food writer—or at least a writer who sometimes delves into food—and, like most food writers, I began as an eater. As a seven-year-old I fell in love with fresh-caught seafood, whole fish grilled beachside in Costa Rica. Later, it was fresh churros dipped in thick hot chocolate in Andalucía. My family kept giant tubs of Vermont-fresh maple syrup in our basement for Saturday pancakes.

Food was an adventure, a quick dip into other ways of living. I was particularly attracted to what I saw as authenticity. At some point in my pre-teen years, I discovered a cowboy-themed barbecue warehouse near our home in suburban Connecticut called W.B. Cody’s. It became my consistent choice for birthdays and other formal occasions After a platter of smoked pork ribs, I always ordered its signature dessert, a lump of ice cream dusted in a layer of cinnamon so thick it looked like a baked potato. Soon, under the tutelage of my travel-loving father, I embarked on my first food quest, sampling all the state’s best-reviewed barbecue restaurants.

I dredged up this memory as proof of my blue-collar taste in food, and as a hedge against my white-collar privilege. Then, trying to factcheck my memories of W.B. Cody’s, I came across a twenty-five-year-old interview with its owners. “This is no yippy-ki-yay cowboy,” one said. “It’s meant to be for the Easterner.” Barbecue ribs in suburban Connecticut? The only person I was fooling was myself. What I was really learning was the thrill of the chase.

Read the full essay here: https://www.guernicamag.com/good-food/