汪曾祺先生写《故乡的食物》，说一雪，他就喝鹹菜汤。他说：“一早，见飘雪花了，我就知：今中午是鹹菜汤！”他说，腌了四五的新鹹菜很吃，不鹹，细、嫩、脆、甜，难比拟。他的鹹菜是青菜腌的。我候中院缸腌的是芥菜，腌了四五最吃，半青不黄，苦苦的。人老了爱怀旧，记忆总是化了童年，化了故乡，连听张艾嘉唱《童年》哭。钢琴荷洛维兹晚年莫斯科演奏，一段舒曼的《童年即景》，台不少人热泪盈眶。文跟音乐、艺术一，是创造“从前”的“骗局”：不加渲染的往是账簿；了颜色的历史是文。蓄意打碎人段梦，不啻焚琴煮鹤。Robertson Davies有倾向。他说，人人一了年纪错母亲弄的食物最吃，真希望有一碰一彻悟的人，承认母亲是厨房的刺客，差一点毒死了他。（“It is odd how all men develop the notion， as they grow older，that their mothers were wonderful cooks. I have yet to meet a man who will admit that his mother was a kit assassin and nearly poisoned him.”）
七十年代胡金铨伦敦，我处逛。有一，他在铺子现口蘑，眼睛一亮，声音变了。他说那是他候在北方老常吃的极品，年不见了。我买了一堆带回我弄。口蘑尽是尘土，洗半死烧给他重温旧梦。味平平，我不声，一替他感动。口蘑在张口集散，产是内蒙，生长在草原的口蘑圈；《老残游记》提口蘑炖鸭，那一定比金铨那一堆吃。，人在伦敦吃口蘑，确比马铃薯饭吃。汪先生说马铃薯山西叫山药蛋，是主蔬菜，农村有山药窖，民歌唱“哥哥迷了窍，抱柴火跌进了山药窖”。人人管山西的群叫“山药蛋派”；那边的民歌原俏，妹妹跌进马铃薯堆，马铃薯一定甜甜的，不那难吃。
我认识的西洋朋友从节俭，一点不讲究吃，不糟蹋，吃必吃清光。Calvin Trillin说：“我母亲最了不，三十年一直给全人吃残羹剩菜，原本的新鲜菜餚始终不见”（“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The inal meal has never been found”）。他喝茶喝咖啡倒是考究，丝毫马虎不。Agatha Christie说，英国咖啡味像化试验品（“Coffee in England always tastes like a chemistry experiment”）。最混账是J B Priestley，硬说英国人了茶瘾是东方人慢报仇，黄河的水绕往英国人的喉咙灌（“Our trouble is that we drink too much tea. I see in this the slow revenge of the Orient， which has diverted the Yellow River down our throats”）。吃吃喝喝扯政治往往了笑话。有日本人说，国快餐店麦劳在东京的分店简直是在报珍珠港仇（“Maald''s in Tokyo is a terrible revenge for Pearl Harbour”）。活该！