First post...Escapades

Shin-Otsuka, Tokyo, Japan. 
Salt-broth ramen with pork, garlic, and egg.

My yearn to escape always seems to creep up on me, and it begins in my gut. That familiar sensation generally has one common catalyst... food. A quick whiff of dashi broth from the Japanese market and in an instant I am back at a counter in Tokyo surrounded by glowing red hot oil, pickled garlic, freshly sliced ginger, a small ewer of vinegar, and a sesame grinder, face deep into a bowl of steaming ramen. An over sized dish of perfectly cooked broth and noodles that I have dressed to my taste with the array of accompaniments before me. Inhaling that broth, which in Japan has many different characteristics and nuances unique to each kitchen, is a moment that I frequently warp back to. It starts with that recognizable pang in my core, hungry for that feeling of confound wonderment that accompanies being...adrift.

I am a a traveler by heart and a seeker in spirit. Never the type to experience the need to put down roots, rather I am on a journey to push onward and assimilate the memories that incite growth. Like many others before me this is at the hand of the folks in kitchens anywhere and everywhere. Food, cuisine, gastronomy, culture, however you look at food, it is the basic animalistic need for nourishment that is the common trait among us as a species. How we interpret that basic instinct is when it gets interesting.

Ammoudi Port, Village of Oia, Island of Santorini

I am fascinated, humbled, and inspired by ingredients the way a I imagine a sailor looks out at the horizon as he pulls away from the docks. I know I am about to embark on a journey and unsure of its outcome, yet knowing I will be different upon its conclusion. I recall a plate in the tiny alcove of Ammoudi Harbor in Santorini, reached only by descending a dizzying weave of bleach white steps into a port of miniature sail boats and relatively crude fishing vessels. A plate of freshly grilled octopus flavored simply and with the knowing hand of the fisherman who had just earlier towed in his catch of the day. A few glugs of sweet, pungent olive oil from the olive groves of the tiny island, a squeeze of lemon, and the char of the grill were the only preparations needed for a perfect meal. A taste of Ouzo, a thick anise flavored liquor, and the briny breeze coming from the Aegean water, and that moment is frozen in time. A place to go to, if not briefly, just to escape.