Remembrance Of Meals Past

One thing made clear by the weird, smooth sameness that characterized the nontragic aspects of the pandemic lockdown was that the “out” part of dining out is as important to me as the food itself. The fact is, during quarantine, I ate better than in most 10-week periods of my life, seeking refuge in cooking as a salve against lost income and lost connection.

But even as I cranked out dishes that could reasonably be rated as “restaurant quality” (the term used in our family since my children were growing up in New York City, because that’s how obsessed with eating out we’ve always been), I was pining for the flow and performative nature of the restaurant experience. Restaurants are theater, at every level, from food truck to, in the midst of the call-and-response experience of good food with good friends and a lucky perch, as the room behind you roars with energy.