A NEW KIND OF HOLY ROLLER

Having been raised in a devout Christian household, giving thanks (aka saying grace) before every meal was a deep-rooted tradition in our family and one of which I was not very fond of. My incoherent mutterings followed by loud “AMENS” were only to emphasize the silent sarcastic prayer I’d just said in my head. “Yeah. Thanks a lot Lord for giving people the idea that it’s okay to take every food item from the fridge and the cupboard, cook it all together in a deep dish and call it meatloaf casserole.” Amen.

But holy aioli, I found myself thanking Jesus out loud this weekend as I roamed around the Santa Anita racetrack feasting on The Last Supper. “Oh my God. That was so good,” I found myself saying to no one in particular as I sat on a bench staring at the empty sandwich tray. Yep. I’d eaten the whole thing.

See, there was this food truck and I thought I’d just get myself a “little something,” but apparently Jesus had other plans for me because there was nothing little about anything from that point on, from my sandwich to my newly-expanded waistline. Don’t worry if you can’t decide what to get because in the end you’ll try them all. The Duke of Milan is so good you’ll eat the second half without even bothering to chew, wipe your mouth with the back of your hand and go get another one.

I don’t know what they’re doing behind that little pick-up counter that I’m too short to see over, but I’m telling you this Holy Aioli movement is nothing short of a spiritual revolution sweeping across the California southlands enticing followers with it’s modern culinary approach to comfort food with a twist that will baptize your taste buds in a new kind of holy and leave you with a born-again palette.