Don’t ask me why I stopped writing food/restaurant reviews, please, let’s just agree that many co-existing factors happen to coincide: maybe it is that my last review was written just before I started the pursuit of a second master’s degree…. Perhaps I was frustrated with a lack of advancement, both personally and otherwise, in this increasingly crowded field where shameless self-promotion is everything. I also realize that in the 2 years since my last review, I have spent a crazily disproportionate amount of wonderful time cooking at home than I did eating out or thinking about restaurants. My mind would additionally like to insulate itself against the numerous food trends; who cares that much about unicorn frappuccinos and spaghetti donuts?
Overall, it is probably the same reason that so many comedians and artists are encouraging us to turn off our phones while at concerts and at shows: loving and enjoying my life to its fullest has been my priority since we last spoke, and I felt little need to document my periodic meanderings in the food-based universe.
I feel more settled and centered than ever, yet a little guilty. There is part of me that truly misses writing, sharing awesome dishes and restaurants with you, and I occasionally feel a twang of an indescribable feeling when I forgo detailing what I have learned with all of you. I have solved no great mysteries, and haven’t a clue where this website will go from here, but starting right now, in preparation for my upcoming review, I would like all of you to either 1. Book your plane ticket to the Basque Country, or 2. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in the most fantastic serene and tasty landscape possible.
Before renewing our journey, I promise to try to be less of a self-defeating perfectionist, and to only convey my thoughts when they are most fresh.
The old me would probably finish this piece by saying…
“insert witty mantra here”
but instead, let me simply conclude:
Stay positive, enjoy life, live every day to its fullest!

Daniel