You often hear people say "dress your age" these days, but "eat your age" seems to be a rarer expression. That's too bad, because it's certainly something that should be talked about. Not that there's anything wrong with the occasional grilled cheese, but it's probably not something your diet primarily should consist of when you approach your thirties.
The issue, or so I think, comes down to people finding something they're comfortable with and sticking to it. Ask any restaurant proprietor around town and they'll have stories of people breaking out in sweat when their favorite is removed from the menu. That, really, should be the perfect opportunity to try something new.
It's not that everyone should eat everything of course -- dog-meat might not be appetizing to most -- but really, there is a middle ground, and moving outside your comfort zone isn't a bad thing.
Spokane has slowly evolved into a city where you now can try something more exciting than a tuna steak with soy sauce or a slab of beef with mashed potatoes. Once upon a time it wasn't that simple, and tracking down something other than the same ol' could be a project in itself. So for those in their twenties complaining about the lack of culture in this town, now is the time to participate in it instead.
On their previous menu, Sante rocked not just one foie gras centered dish, but two. Mizuna recently had sturgeon on the menu. I believe you can still get frog legs at Rain. Tripe can be found at El Mercado del Pueblo. None of the aforementioned dishes are particularly odd or unique, just a few examples of things anyone approaching their 30s should at least consider trying.
To flip it around, as many restaurants have vegetarian and vegan options, this might be the time for meat-eaters to experiment a bit with that too. Just because you were fed steak and meatloaf once a week for 20 years doesn't mean you have to continue down that road all the time anymore.
My point, I suppose, is that when you reach a certain age, you might want to start exploring some of the more interesting sides of life. For food, that means getting outside your comfort zone, and eat around the world.
Here is but a handful of places you probably want to familiarize yourself with while growing up:
- Bon Bon: For spirits.
- Bottles: For their beer and wine selection.
- Cassano Grocery: For Italian foods like pastas, meats, and sauces.
- International Food Store: For a large selection of Middle Eastern groceries.
- JB's: For their beer selection.
- Kim's Korean: For a large selection of East Asian groceries.
- Latah Bistro: For great food.
- Mizuna: For great food.
- Rocket Market: For just about anything.
- Sante: For great food.
- Vino!: For their wine selection.