Hello, and welcome to Moviefone. Okay, not really. What’s this blog really about? It’s about whatever I want it to be, but mostly it will be about food. For me, food is life and life is food. Food is central. Food is vital. Take the etymology of the word vital (from the Latin vita, meaning “life”) and you may see what I’m getting at. The importance of food, however, goes beyond sustenance or its role as a substrate for exothermic reactions. It is about Life with a capital “L.” It’s more “Life Magazine” than Biology 101. It’s more about Billy Joel’s “My Life” or Roberto Benigni’s “Life is Beautiful” than it is about fuel.
Eating is universally a social event. Many people won’t go out to eat alone. I’m sure that some anthropologist has studied this type of communal eating behavior and attempted to divine the purpose of it all. I’m sure that animal behaviorists have watched prides of lions (lionesses?) hunting various larger beasts and subsequently devouring their unfortunate prey within a defensive perimeter. I’m sure researchers have tried to figure out why we seem to eat within a social context by studying our leonine cousins. Whatever the reasons, it is one of the rituals of life. We eat with friends. We eat with families. We eat with other people for company. We talk about how the food was at a wedding reception. We eat with potential mates. Some of us (myself included) try to get to know a person by what she orders and how she orders it. I’m assessing our compatibility here. Eating is a mating ritual whether one realizes it or not, whether one is on a date or at a party. Isn’t mating central to life? Isn’t good company and a great meal a wonderful way to spend an evening? Aren’t these moments some of our best experiences in life?
I recently had an extremely pleasurable evening with good friends and fantastic food. We’re talking about some of my best friends in the entire world. We’re talking about one of the most amazing meals I have ever had in my life—whether at a domestic venue in the United States, or one abroad. That priceless (read: expensive) experience is what inspired this blog more than anything else. Reflections on that meal at Ken Oringer’s superlative Clio in Boston reawakened the impulse to blog. Of course, television programs like “Top Chef” or “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” fed the impulse its breakfast. Currently, I live in a metropolitan area that is not known as a great destination for culinary tourism. When I find good food in this Motor City (or elsewhere), I am, as Mr. Bourdain states in his show’s introduction, “hungry for more.” This blog is about my quest for “more” and my enjoyment (or displeasure) on the journey of discovery. This blog is about life’s centerpieces: the meals we eat.
