Photo by Ramsey (he stole my camera while I was in the kitchen and took the best shot of the evening)
Most people cite family members as having the most influence over their personal taste and culinary development, but for me, that person is my friend Vince. We’ve known each other since I was born, and without him, I would have never experienced such a wide range of foods and cooking styles over the years. He’s managed to track down every wonderful restaurant off the beaten path in our declining upstate NY hometown, including Korean restaurants hidden in strip malls, Thai restaurants on residential side streets, small restaurant/bars serving cocktails and sticky toffee pudding. He researches new restaurants in New York and is always ready with a recommendation when he is in town (he took me to Momofuku Ssäm Bar for the first time). The man even gives me cooking supplies and candied chestnuts as gifts on holidays.
Culinary finds aside though, I believe what’s had the most influence on me is Vince’s attitude towards food: he works hard to find the best and shares it with those around him. Meals are meant to be shared with friends and food is a glue that holds together the social fabric of a circle of friends, or brings together new ones.
One of Vince’s finds during our college days was a dish listed on a menu as “Awesome Chicken” at a Thai restaurant in Buffalo. It was chicken with peanut sauce over rice, but as I discovered during one of my visits to the city, the restaurant was correct in their assessment. I tried to recreate it last night, and while I don’t think it reached “awesome” status, I’d dub it “pretty good.” » Read the rest of this entry «