i can’t decide. am i just a really picky eater? (my family would totally vouch for that.) or, am i just not being impressed lately?

my life revolves around food. i cook food for a living. i eat food as a religion. i read about food for a hobby. but, these days, i’m feeling very uninspired and unimpressed. it seems like chefs are falling short of my expectations, and i can’t yet figure out the cause. are my expectations just way too high when i read about a restaurant for weeks in the build up to my first visit? or, are they just simply trying too hard?

the food i’m loving lately is effortless and simple and just really celebrates the ingredients without trying so damn hard. at juliette, i can’t get enough of the shaved fennel salad with crisp green beans and asparagus, covered with a sprinkling of ricotta salata. at aurora, it’s the crunchy and juicy and perfectly olive oiled artichoke appetizer that makes me want to eat dinner there every night. at fette sau, it’s the juicy pulled pork that i find myself unabashedly shoveling in my mouth. today, i ate the best snack of my life with a jersey peach from the greenmarket, whose juices ran all over my chin.

maybe it’s the former hippie in me coming through. maybe it’s the picky little girl in me. maybe it’s my craving some sort of small town intimacy in the middle of this city. maybe it was the farm tour i went on last week. regardless of the reason, i find myself continually craving rich, beautiful, fresh flavors and not some fancy plating or quirky chemistry. it’s all about the food, after all. is it not?