Eat Your Luck

Every New Year’s there’s another food I’m supposed to eat that will bring me good luck. I think I’ve tried them all.

I’ve done the Southern thing with the black eyed peas.

Southern luck thing.

I’ve even tossed in a ham hock to make sure the Hoppin’ John concoction would be more effective.

Ham hock luck assurance

Based on something I read,  I once tried collard greens on New Year’s.

I can’t say that eating greens brought me any luck. And I know if I ever hit the numbers, I would have remembered. Whatever, the greens were delicious…and healthy too.

As long as you have your health….

The Italians have their superstitions too, that’s for sure. I bought into the lentils and sausage scam a few times thinking that maybe by eating them on New Year’s,  the following year would be truly remarkable.

A lucky legume?

If the year after the lentils and sausage was particularly amazing, I can’t remember.  Not that it mattered. They were so good I would eat them again even if they meant a mess of bad luck.

Eating fish on New Year’s is another superstition. I tried that one too.

And you would think that eating a fish’s head would give me some serious good luck mojo.  Sadly, though the fish head was memorable, any luck derived from eating it was not.

Since I’ve tried them all, this year I’m going with something not even on the New Year’s luck radar.

And I promise, if I have a particularly bad year, I’m not pinning it on fried dough.

When it comes to luck,  in reality that old sports cliche, “you make your own luck” is probably most  true. Just make sure that whatever luck you make tastes good.

Happy New Year!

Tags: Cheap Eats, Chinese Food, cooking, culture, Dining, Food, Holidays, humor, Italian food, New Year's, New Year's Eve, New York City, restaurants, Traditions