2008 Year in Edible Review

12/31/2008

Dear Readers:
2008 was a year of truly remarkable events – sea change moments that we collectively thought we would perhaps never see. We saw: the demise of a handful of venerable financial giants, and subsequently, investment banking as we knew it; the first truly viable female presidential candidate; arguably the greatest Olympic feat ever – 8-gold medals in a single Olympic games by the same person; billions of dollars worth of fraudulent activity orchestrated by mere individuals; and of course, the event that became this country’s (and the world’s) fixation over the course of the year, a phenomenon that transcended race, religion, and conventional thinking as to what is possible, and, I dare say, the reclamation of a lost faith in the American Dream…this, of course, was the creation of the Edible Review.

I had mulled over the idea of a food blog focused on restaurants for quite some time but only in early 2008 did I decide that I should just jump in and do it. Although I have no illusions (despite what is written above) about the size of my readership, it has been a wonderful learning experience and an opportunity to express and hone my thoughts on food, restaurants, and hospitality. I hope that it has also been as worthwhile for the five or so people who have read my entries. The point, as the title of the blog suggests, is first and foremost to be useful. If anyone has learned anything from it aside from me, that makes me quite happy.

Here are some random thoughts that come to mind as I look back on 2008 and also look forward to what will surely be the year in which the Edible Review supplants the Michelin guide as the world’s most renowned restaurant guide:
- The breadth and energy of the NYC’s food industry never fails to amaze me. It’s an education in food, and no one is above it, certainly not food writers.
- Food writers have it a whole lot easier than the people making and serving the food. I try not to get on my high horse too much for several reasons. Chiefly, even though this blog isn’t the New York Times, anything you put in front of the public eye has potential to affect a business, and thus someone’s livelihood. Most industries don’t have this level of exposure and vulnerability, and it’s not something to take lightly. The big other reason is that I don’t think we respect and appreciate enough, the difficulty of running and working in a restaurant. The reality is that I don’t have the guts to do it myself and so here I sit comfortably up on my perch. I feel like a coward, and even a jerk.
- It will be interesting to see how the food industry reacts to the economic woes – it’ll be survival mode in an already tough industry. But there is so much passion in the food industry that, I don’t doubt for a second that the culinary evolution will continue unabated.
- There’s nothing that satisfies quite like slow-cooked meats.
- Soccarat was my favorite new restaurant of 2008 and probably my favorite overall.

With that, I say thank you – restaurants and readers - and happy 2009.