Friday, July 6, 2007

Imaginary Food: A Treatise




There is no food as delectable as the cupcake in my head, a warm gem of moist, yellow cake-out-of-a-box crowned with a thick smear of out-of-the-can chocolate icing.


I love the way the paper pulls away from the dream itself, the very edge adorned with yellow crumbs, poised impossibly. The comforting smell of vanilla mixes with the dark come-hither beckon of chocolate and makes you want to take a big bite and unabashedly lick the icing out of the corners of your mouth. This cake begs for a glass of milk. This cake makes you close your eyes and lean back in your chair. This cake makes you want to say bad things really loudly and pound your fist on the table. This cake does not exist.


Well, it sort of does. In my mind, it does. Most people have had a cake like this, or a meal, or even one bite that they are always half-consciously seeking to eat again. They will describe it to you in great detail. That great meal. The perfect bite of (insert food here). Their eyes will get sparkly with nostalgia as they expound on the virtues of this delicious dish. They try to duplicate it, or find someone else who makes it. Most of the time, they have only eaten this ambrosia once. But they remember it always, this kiss from a stranger, alluring phantom food.



This is the feeling that we get when we eat truly great food. This is what keeps us coming back for more, experimenting in our kitchens, trying new restaurants and new combinations of tastes as we jones for our next table-slapping, eye-rolling bite of heaven.


That is what this blog is all about: the search for imaginary cupcakes, in whatever form they take.


1 comment:

Pop Startled said...

You have encapsulated perfectly what the Food Network executives call a POV selling point. Nice work. =)