Best meal I ever ate:
Hard to say, depends on criterion. Some of the best have been very humble or cheap. Pressed, I suppose it would have to be a long tasting menu enjoyed at Manresa, or some from fanatic chefs around Burgundy, e.g. Meneau and Parra senior. One telltale is remembering specific courses years later.
I really wish I could:
Spend more time tasting things and trying restaurants.
My top 5 favorite restaurants:
By which criterion, please?? (Animal satisfaction, value, technical skill, creativity, etc.). Ranking all restaurants on a single scale is kind of obviously absurd -- like using a single number to sum up a person. Or a wine.
My most tattered cookbooks:
aren't this week's best-sellers. Earlier cookbooks and food writing also reveal ideas to be older than many folks assume. Like US popularization of authentic Sichuan recipes (early 1970s) or of French cooking for US home cooks (repeatedly since early 1800s). French rebellion against thickened sauces (1800). Wide range of greens and herbs for salads (1600s).
