It’s no secret that I recently moved from California to the Midwest. There are lots of things that shocked me, and one is the difference in the way some of my favorite dishes are prepared.
When I say I went to the restaurant and got a burrito, what do you picture on your mind? A flour tortilla, various fillings, two edges tucked in and then rolled to make a portable meal? Kind of like you’d get at Taco Bell if you ordered a Burrito Supreme (the way it’s constructed, not necessarily what’s in it).
That’s not what you get in our new area, though. Here, it’s a flour tortilla with fillings, rolled similarly to an enchilada, with either cheese sauce or red sauce over it. We ordered without sauce, for my son, and when it arrived at the table he was flummoxed. Besides taste, the whole reason he ordered it is that the burrito does not, in his experience, need utensils. Now it did. In hind site, I should have just taken his plate and rolled it.
For me, the surprise was with chow mein. I love me some savory noodles! My favorite (don’t hate me) are from Panda Express. Thin noodle, lots of flavor. Now, I’m picky about my chow mein, a friend says I like Hong Kong style. There were lots of places in Cali that I didn’t like their noodles. But they were noodle based. Here, chow mein might be a mix of noodles and rice. I’m still trying to figure out how to order what I want at the restaurants here.
What does any of this have to do with writing?
If you are writing about a specific area, make sure you get the food right. Simple mistakes and misunderstandings can trip up your reader. I looked up pasta salad in my wally world app and got…. A macaroni salad with broccoli. (I was looking for the one that has rotini and a light Italian or vinaigrette as a base).
But also… There are 5 senses and when writing we tend to center on just a couple. Sight. Hearing. Depending on what we write (hello romance!) touch. How much richer will the readers experience be if they can taste the confusion of rice in chow mein? Is your main character’s coffee bitter or sweet? Are they eating that burrito with their hands, sauce dripping down their arms as the kick of the sauce makes their eyes water?
As writers we need to make sure we get the regions food right. And then we need to make readers, near and far, know what our characters are tasting. How they are experiencing those tastes, whether new or a familiar fav.
Ta my lovelies! I think I’m gonna go make some noodles!
Wynwords's Weblog 
Important to remember. Getting those other sense in can really make or break a story.