Dining

I ate this …

Frozen soul.

Greg Thilmont

Smokey Robinson, the Motown legend, is smiling at me in a Vons frozen-foods aisle. No, it’s not the actual Robinson, but rather his visage on a box of his personal label of frozen foods that beams at me. So I take a bowl of his seafood gumbo and another of red beans and rice home and pop them in the oven for the recommended 55 minutes. It’s prepackaged food, so I’m not expecting (I can’t help this pun) a culinary miracle. To my surprise I finish both. The savory gumbo goes down especially fast. The tad-too-salty red beans and rice takes a little more fork-lifting effort. But it’s better than something Stouffer’s and its ilk might roll out of food factories. I understand that Robinson owned a house in Henderson in the past few years. If you’re out there, Smokey, I’d like to taste the homemade version. Call me.

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