USA Today's "A trip down comfort food lane"

USA Today's website still carries an interesting David Grossman article from 2004 entitled "A trip down comfort food lane." Grossman has a travel focus:

When Bill Cosby dines at the Mansion at Turtle Creek in Dallas, he always orders a big bowl of chili, according to chef Dean Fearing. Along with many Americans, it's his comfort food. People may envision frequent travelers feasting on exotic dishes during their journeys, but most get tired of fancy restaurant cuisines. They just want a meal that reminds them of the comforts of home.

"Comfort food is familiar food," says Noah Bekofsky, executive chef at the Aria restaurant in the Fairmont Chicago Hotel. "They are foods we associate with positive memories in our lives."

My mother used to make a wonderful chili from scratch, full of beef and kidney beans. I haven't had a bowl in more than twenty years but I can almost taste it still. Of course, mom's chili - as with most chilis - provided little that might be called "comfort" hours after ingestion, but if I can dig up the recipe I'll post it here.