Of all the emotions, fondness may be the sweetest. It’s not a ‘hard’ emotion, like love or anger. Those are full-spectrum emotions, charged with loads of energy, and perhaps some history to arriving at those respective places, at those specific times. Nor is it a complicated emotion, like disappointment, which is full of nuance and metaphorically speaking, like taking a winding path through a forest – there is a same-ness to what you see but because you are traveling in an indirect line, there’s a new-ness to what you see, also. Plus, disappointed is a small act of betrayal, and comes with thoughts of ‘what could have been.’ It’s fair to point out, that while others may disappoint us, we sometimes disappoint ourselves.
The joy of feeling fond of something, or someone, by contrast, is that it is easy and uncomplicated. It’s not an emotion that requires much thought. In fact, most of our emotions are a product of much thinking, even over-thinking. Fondness is the sweetest of emotions, also, because it doesn’t require a big commitment. There’s a purity to it because it sort of creeps up on you and then, you feel it.
A couple nights ago, a friend and I were sending text messages to each other, asking about our traveling this year, and he was texting from New Orleans.
I have a fondness for the New Orleans restaurant, Restaurant August, because it brings back certain memories, all very pleasant, but also fun, and funny. Not to mention, the food, environment, and service, are excellent. We posted a piece on this back in February 2022, if you want to revisit that story.
We want to France in May of this year. It was epic in scale and style, with 23 days of eating and drinking our way through Paris, Corsica, the Cote de Azur, Provence and Lyon, and yet here we are late in the year and I had not posted a single note from that trip. Perhaps because the trip overwhelmed our senses – though doing the trip was not overwhelming, at all. A bit exhausting, but that is the nature of multi-city traveling. It makes you know, without having done it, why people like cruises so much. “You board the ship, get to your room, unpack, and that’s it,” they say. I get it, but it’s not me. Besides, as a former backpacker, I can unpack in 8 minutes and re-pack in about the same time. As the memories of that France trip go deeper into my psyche, I am sure there will be moments of fondness that I am left with.
As emotions go with food, ‘comfort’ comes to mind, because there is a food category of that moniker. And so it was last night, with a dear friend in town for a few nights, I made comfort food. Penne pasta finished in a truffle cream sauce, baked fennel, mixed with butter, lemon juice and parmesan cheese, and pan-seared chicken (boneless, skinless) cooked in a basil-infused olive oil, with red and green peppers, chopped garlic and green onions, and zucchini. The other day I read a column about one of my favorite chefs, Eric Ripert, and the story theme was ‘cooking at home with Eric” or something like that. As everyone knows, his 3-Michelin Star restaurant in New York City, Le Bernardin, does a lot of seafood. At home, the only spice he keeps around his kitchen, other than salt and pepper, is Herbs de Provence. Hence, I used a little of that with the chicken and vegetable dish. After a bottle of Bandol Tempier Rose (2021), for the meal I went with a Central Coast wine that paired perfectly with dinner, Sardius, a red Bordeaux blend from Red Lantern (2018), in Paso Robles. It’s 82% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Tempranillo. Fantastic, and only for about $50.