Kinda alike but kinda different, too.
Like the difference between spaghetti and spezgitti.
Spaghetti is a wonderful dish, the gold standard of Italian cooking.
It's the aroma of half-day simmered sauce.
A symphony of fresh tomatoes, freshly crushed and roasted garlic, peppers, onions, and a heirloom blend of spices and seasonings.
It's a smell that cries "Mama Mia" and pinches your cheek as you breathe in.
And there's meatballs, perfectly formed and seasoned, placed with exact care.
Like small planets orbiting in a delicious, red galaxy.
All this over perfectly white al dente noodles on glistening plates of fine china, flanked by shining silverware on a clean, crisp tablecloth.
A great meal. Eaten with great care and decorum. A special meal.
And then there's spezgitti.
The sauce comes outta a jar from the store. It's usually on sale. The noodles come outta a box with the lowest price. And ground beef is fried in a pan, drained, and dumped into the sauce.
It's all thoroughly mixed in a big bowl, plopped on plates at a noisy dining room table, and slurped with puckered lips and strange noises. It's a noodle-sucking, sauce-splashing time of laughter with those closest to us.
Spaghetti and spezgitti.
Both great.
Both enjoyable.
But different.
In a good way.
Like the friends we accumulate.
"Quiet meal" friends and "feed-each-other-with-a-slingshot" friends.
It can get fun.
It can get messy.
But then, that's what napkins and apologies are for.
Ciao, eh?