Thought for Food

It’s a cliche, but it’s true: dates are vital. At home, we cook well and often, and we have superb wine, wine that would set us back in a restaurant, but getting out, having someone else do the work for us so we can simply sit and talk and rejoice in foods we wouldn’t make for ourselves — like a gorgeously plated Hearst Ranch Beef Carne Cruda with cavalo nero, parmesan, lemon aioli, crispy shallots — that is where we make headway, where we are so relaxed that talk of Careers, Money, The Future, and Us unfolds with love and equanimity, and where, finally, after a bit of fresh cheese with hazelnuts, honey, and house-made poppy-seed bread, after I’ve licked the last drop of wine from my lips, we leave, contented to walk home on a November night, together.