When people are asked to define comfort foods, the answer is variable. There are as many variations to the answer as there are individuals who are asked the question. What makes something a comfort food while others are not? Is it related to diet or type of recipe? Is it related to region or country?

At a restaurant, a waitress was asked the question of what she thought of when she was asked about comfort foods. She did not hesitate to answer, "Oh, meat loaf and potatoes, green beans. Stuff like that." When asked to describe how she came to her answer, she said, "These are the things that I had growing up at family meals." It appears she related to meals that she had at home with family.

Comfort foods remind people of home and family. It is food that gives them comfort, a sense of family and home. People think of family gatherings, holidays, and special occasions. It does not necessarily have to do with a secret family recipe (although the secret might be that eating gives members of the family a warm feeling of home). It is not surprising that everyone has an image of a family meal.

Yahoo! News Search Results for comfort food
Yahoo! News Search Results for comfort food

Marilyn's dishes out comfort food in Minetto (The Palladium-Times)
Oswego area residents looking for home-style cooking, without having to actually make it themselves, can now find it at Marilyn?s Daily Dish in Minetto.
Creating comfort food from family recipes (The Times of Northwest Indiana)
For decades, Sarah Starewicz's family has enjoyed recipes that originated in Poland and Lithuania. Now this fledgling entrepreneur is making those Eastern European dishes available through her new business, Buscia's.
They give comfort food (The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
Amy Johnson, owner of Amy's Cafe, grew up learning how to cook in her grandmother's kitchen. But she was only 17 when Helen Irving got cancer--too young to care for her grandmother before she died....
Little comfort offered for library crisis (The Toledo Blade)
Democratic state House lawmakers, standing in front of the downtown Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, said yesterday Senate Republicans are holding the House's proposed state budget "hostage." But they had few words of comfort for area library systems that are facing the loss of 50 percent of their state funds under their plan. At first, Rep. Edna Brown (D., Toledo) mistakenly said the funding ...
Cold comfort :Don?t get steamed by summer soup (South Bend Tribune)
AKRON, Ohio ? It?s hard to imagine soup other than in a steaming bowl.
Gus & Gabriel Opens with Comfort Food and Flask Service (Gothamist)
              Before he had ever spent any substantial time in restaurant kitchens, the chef Michael Psilakis went to college and earned an accounting degree. Oddly, it was a fluke, part-time post-graduation waitering gig at a T.G.I. Fridays that first convinced him that he should be a chef and restaurateur. His father Gus had always been a generous culinary daredevil, having built a spit in the ...
The perfect sendoff (The Buffalo News)
It all started with a ?deadly funeral,? Sue Bailey and Carmen Flowers recall with sad smiles. Their friend had had an exciting journey through life, with problems, scandals, forgiveness and ultimately a bravery that led to deep healing. But the preacher who eulogized him was angry, the people who spoke didn't really know him, ?and the food was bad!? says Flowers indignantly. They left feeling ...
Montreal Restaurants (New York Times)
Authentic Québécois cooking ? pig?s feet stew, game meat pies, and the like ? has become an endangered species in this area. But foodies will appreciate the Quebec-style fusion cooking of this high-end restaurant with a laid-back vibe that gives comfort food a modern twist.
America's melting pot cooks up novel cuisine (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Americans have a global reputation for being too disinterested in food to develop a complex national cuisine.
Skid Row to Hip in Toronto (New York Times)
Rawlicious, a ?living foods? cafe in the Junction section of Toronto. The area is enjoying a post-industrial revival.