I can’t tell you, precisely, but I know it has one location, is authentically itself, and is what some might describe as a dive. Interestingly, you can find it anywhere in the world if you know where to look.
PROMPT: Favorite Restaurant
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Tag Archives: eating
PROMPT: Eating Meat
I have no strong feelings. Everything that lives becomes food, so I don’t see a sound moral argument against meat. There is certainly a nutritional argument against eating excessive quantities of meat (which I would grant many meat-eaters do) but this is not an argument for dropping meat altogether. I accept that there is a reasonable environmental argument, but — counterpoint — it’s delicious.
I see no argument at all against choosing to eat vegetarian or vegan, so I certainly wouldn’t try to talk anyone out of their decision to do so. (i.e. The “you can’t get enough protein” argument is bullshit.)
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BOOK: “The Virtues of the Table” by Julian Baggini
The Virtues of the Table: How to Eat and Think by Julian BagginiMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher Site – Granta
This book examines the nexus of food and philosophy, from the ethics of butchery to the virtue of authenticity to whether hedonism is a necessary component of eating philosophically. Much of the book challenges or debates conventional wisdoms such as whether local foods are inherently better, whether dining is always and everywhere a social activity (or should be,) and whether organic is always preferable. The book covers a wide variety of topics including: mindfulness, gratitude, skepticism, fasting, willpower, spontaneity, technology, etc.
The book offers many ideas for reflection though sometimes it felt like it rambled on for more than the issue in question necessitated.
Each chapter ends with a discussion of a particular food and its preparation as thought relevant by the author. This is a nice grounding mechanism for discussion that tends otherwise to be cerebral and philosophic.
I’d recommend this book for anyone interested in thinking more about food and its intersection with philosophy of life.
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PROMPT: Do More
Pie eating. I don't mean to be gluttonous about it, but I seldom eat a proper piece of pie. I'd say I get enough dessert, overall, but perhaps need to shift more of the balance of dessert in the direction of pie. Or maybe I just have a momentary hankering for pie, and this is all just meaningless rambles. I do not intend to build a pie-eating action plan, so things will probably remain as they are on the pie-eating front.
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PROMPT: Foods
Those that are authentic to wherever I am at the moment. [Nothing fancy, but with nutritional value.]
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FIVE WISE LINES [September 2025]
The aim of introduction is to conceal a person’s identity.
George Mikes, How To Be an Alien
From the beginning our philosophers have tried to teach us how to die,
Jonathan weiner, Long for this world
and our poets have taught us that to contemplate death
is to learn to live.
Nothing is harder to see into than people’s natures.
Zhuge liang [a.k.a. Kongming], The WAy of the General
To know how to eat is to know how to live.
Auguste Escoffier
Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.
Mark twain
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PROMPT: Expensive Meal
Daily writing prompt
What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it?
I can’t remember, but it’s never been worth it. Seems like the more one pays for a meal, the hungrier one leaves it. Enjoy your “foam reductions” if you like, but it’s not for me. I’ll take street food any day — cheap, filling, flavorful street food. It’s got character and doesn’t try too hard.
My palate may be unrefined, but — also — I’m no sucker.
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PROMPT: Comfort Food
It depends on where I am. I recently discovered that my Busan comfort food is “Hotteok with seeds.” In Central Asia, it’s tandoor bread — by whatever name it’s called in the local tongue. In Tblisi, it’s khinkali. In Peru, a lomo saltado is a beautiful thing. Chicago is the only place I’ll eat a hotdog, but I do love one there.
As a traveler, I find it’s important to not get attached to any one thing. If you crave a bagel, you’re great if you’re in New York or Tel Aviv, but if you insist on one in Hyderabad, it will be a sad experience. But, by the same token, if you order Chicken Biryani in Des Moines, expect to be underwhelmed (or — if not — to pay an exorbitant amount, either way it’s depressing.)
Probably the single most widespread comfort food would be whatever the local dumpling is, be it called mo-mo, khinkali, pierogi, dim sum, etc. All quite unique, but with an underlying familiarity.
So, in the immortal words of (the apparently quite slutty) Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, “If you can’t be with the one you love… love the one you’re with.”
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PROMPT: Fruits
As my personal philosophy precludes having stable favorites, I’ll go with the fruits I had at breakfast (in no particular order): Mango, Banana, Leechee, Watermelon, and Cantaloupe.
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PROMPT: Favorite Restaurant
I don’t have a favorite restaurant, but I do have a type: mom-and-pop hole-in-the-wall that only does a few things but does them all exceedingly well. I don’t care for frou-frou places, and it drives me batty when a place has a thirty-page menu and you have to play the “guess what they actually have” game. I always loved watching Monty Python’s “Cheese Shop Sketch,” but have loathed reprising the John Cleese part in so many restaurants.
Chains have their place in the travel pipeline or in a busy schedule, but I generally prefer a novel experience over a cookie cutter one.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 