Why do I eat at Red Hawk?

Dear Red Hawk Bar and Grill,

Some people don't understand what I see in you. Do I seek your comfort food? Your predictability? Your strong but ordinary flavors augmented by several bottled hot sauces? Good ingredients, like the quality meat in my burger tonight? Your offering of several kinds of garnish on the burger (shown -- guacamole, salsa, tomato-lettuce; other possibilities -- grilled onions or peppers, several kinds of cheese, bacon...). Your sides of fruit or slaw instead of french fries, for years your default side dish -- does that make me come back? Do I like various textures such as the pulled pork on cornbread? Do I like other possibilities -- grilled chicken, tuna salad, or reuben sandwiches; quesadillos or burritos; salmon, omelets, crab cakes, or caesar salad; faddish pizzas; pretty standard beer and wine choices?

I don't know. But when we want a plain meal without challenges we go to you, Red Hawk. Your atmosphere is especially nice on an evening like this because the noise level isn't too high. On weekends, it's pretty loud even though you always mute the TVs above the bar. I like to sit by the big windows looking out on State Street. I like daylight, night light, and passers by.

I don't seem to mind if your waiters are a little forgetful sometimes, I remind them to check the kitchen for my food and later to pick up the credit card receipt instead of watching the TV. I forgive your mediocre coffee. I never have room for dessert -- lucky, since you usually don't have more than one or two.

We always think of you, Red Hawk, and everything about you gets more familiar every time. Why do we keep coming back to you? It can't be love.