52 Cuisines in 52 Weeks

A few years ago Himself and I made a new year’s resolution (yeah, I know, they’re made to be broken) to do three things each month: 1. See a play 2. Take a hike somewhere outside of L.A. 3. Try a cuisine we’d never had before. While we didn’t succeed with all three, sampling new cuisines became a passion.

Since I’ve spent so much of my life in school, to me the new year begins in the fall (in fact, every morning when the bell rings at the elementary school a block from our house, I jump, thinking, “Oh no, I’m late!”). So this seems like a good time for a new year’s resolution, and here it is: Each week for the next year (and possibly beyond) I will sample a different international cuisine and report on it in this blog. I already do this fairly regularly, but I want to be more intentional and systematic about it.

Most of these adventures will be in cafes and restaurants, but some will involve cooking at home and seeing what we can duplicate. I’ll still be reporting on wine adventures, cooking experiments—both the successes and the fiascoes—trying new ingredients, and I-found-this-growing-in-the-yard-let’s-see-what-it-tastes-like. But a major feature of this blog in the coming year will be the concerted effort to explore international cuisines while the passport is tucked away and awaiting a stronger economy.

Living in one of the largest and most international cities on the planet makes this challenge easier than it would be in a lot of places. But you know how inertia is—you find your favorite cuisine, your favorite restaurant, your favorite dish on the menu, and it’s difficult to climb out of the rut and try something new. As you know, I’m certainly not afraid of trying new and different foods. But I’m taking you along this time. Intentionally. Systematically. Starting now.