Food for Thought: Impression vs. Taste

Does your food taste better when you make it yourself or when someone makes it for you?

From experience...

Food usually tastes better when I make it myself (this excludes food made at fancy restaurants that just blow my mind). Why do I think it tastes better when I make it? For one, there is the self accomplishment factor. When you make your own meal, you not only enjoy whatever you made, which is tailored to suit your own taste buds, but you also get to relish the results of your hard work. So when you bite into that sandwich or that cake, what you experience is something that was specifically seasoned to your own liking and the fruits of your labor. In this way, the enjoyment factor is amplified by, what I call, suspense, creating a more satisfying impression.

Scientifically...

When you make your own food, you are constantly exposed to the smell of all the ingredients you are using. When you bake a cake, you are constantly smelling the vanilla extract or chocolate while making the batter. When you finally put the cake in the oven, the smell of the cake fills your entire house, so from the time you begin making it to the time you take the first bite, you have been exposed to the smell of the food. Since much of tasting is the result of smelling, this makes a huge difference. This prolonged olfactory stimulation results in habituation and desensitization. Therefore, when you finally eat the fruits of your labor, you are essentially eating without smelling. According to this, you would enjoy food more when someone makes it for you, in which case you would not be exposed to this constant stimulation.

Does this mean that your own impression of the food contributes more to enjoyment than does the actual taste of it? Perhaps some of you may prefer food made by others and would disagree.
What do you think?

Restaurant Week 2013: Unforgettable Experience at Dovetail

All my life, the "best-tasting" and "fanciest" and restaurant I had ever been to was probably the Bonefish Grill. So when I realized that we were going to be eating at Dovetail, a Michelin starred restaurant in New York, I had no idea what to expect. A few words, however, came to mind. Avant-ougarde. Delicious. Pretentious. Mind-blowing. Overrated. These are the key words I would always come across when reading about the best restaurants in the country. On the other hand, when I read the reviews for Dovetail, my expectations skyrocketed. The majority spoke well of the restaurant and I automatically deemed the harsh critics as the foodies who get to eat at these types of restaurants on a near daily basis.

Our reservation was for Friday, 11:45AM. While we got there a bit late at around 11:55AM, I was surprised to see the restaurant somewhat empty, causing my expectations to drop a tiny bit. However, within minutes, people coming out of work for their lunch break filled the empty tables.

Before I begin talking about the food, let me first establish that my expectations, on a scale of 1-10, was already a 9.

Our Dovetail experience began with the amuse bouche: white cheddar cornbread and black truffle arancini. As far as cornbreads go, that was undoubtedly the best cornbread I have ever eaten. The outside was very crisp but easily gave way when bitten into, revealing a super rich, moist, and soft inside.

Considering that I have never had an arancini before, I cannot really compare the second component of the course to anything. However, what I certainly can say is that it literally tastes like a little droplet of heaven…and cheese. At that point, I was at a loss for words and the only indication of the glorious flavor that filled my mouth was the giddy grin plastered across my face. I cannot imagine a better start to an unforgettable meal. 

For my appetizer, I ordered the beef carpaccio. The texture and bite of the meat somehow really reminded me of prosciutto and raw tuna at the same time. While the taste of the meat alone did not do much for me (in other words, no fireworks), I have no complaints about it – it was well seasoned and the bite was certainly interesting. However, once I paired it with the horseradish sauce and the frise (at least that's what I think it was) on top, the whole dish really came together. The acidity and heat from the horseradish sauce was perfectly balanced out by the bitterness of the frise, bringing out the meatiness of the carpaccio. This left me even more excited for the main course than ever.

For my main course, I chose to have the cobia escabeche. Upon first glance, the dish, while beautiful, did not look remarkable. Originally, I saw it as "just fish". But once I cut off a corner, scooped up some sauce, and took my first bite, I was amazed. That was, by far, the softest, most tender fish I have ever had in my life. Do not get me wrong, it did not crumble; in fact, it had a strange sort of elasticity to it. Quite honestly, the only thing that comes to mind is how the bite is similar to that of al dente pasta – cooked thoroughly, but not overdone. Just like the fish, the sauce too had an interesting aspect. It had a rather citrusy taste, which worked well with the fish. The bits of caviar (if it was not caviar, I really do not know what it was…) gave yet another interesting texture to the dish. While I thought it was impossible, this dish definitely exceeded my expectations, leaving me very happy and satisfied.

Finally, onto the dessert! I, of course, chose the most decadent one - the chocolate cremeux with whiskey-spiked marshmallow, coffee crumble, and dulce de leche. First of all, I could not help but notice how beautifully this dish was plated – I literally stared at it for a good minute, not wanting to ruin the masterpiece. Finally, I gathered up the strength to pull myself from my food-trance and cut into the chocolate cremeux. Whoever said that this was the most decadent dessert was not lying. The crème was extremely rich and creamy and melted right in my mouth. For my second venture, I went for what apparently was the whiskey marshmallow. I never thought alcohol would pair too well with a child's favorite snack, but of course, I was wrong. The marshmallow strip was super fluffy and had a real kick to it. When I then tried a bit of each component of the dish – marshmallow, cremeux, dulce de leche, and coffee crumble – I had an explosion of flavor happen right in my mouth. The coffee crumble was much crunchier than I could have imagined and brought a beautiful aroma to the dessert, whereas the dulce de leche gave a sweet and slight stickiness to the bite.

When all was done, I sat there with a rather stupid grin of satisfaction. After a near 7 block run on a warm day (in an attempt to make it on time to our reservation), $25, an afternoon in the city (yes, I am one of those people who hates spending time in a super crowded, hectic place), I can definitely say that it was all worth it. When asked what was so special about the dishes, the only thing I can say is that the meal was unimaginable. The flavors I tasted that day literally could not be imagined beforehand. In other words, I can mentally taste tomato, pasta, pound cake, etc. when prompted, but even after reading the main ingredients of the courses I had at Dovetail, my ideas of how the dishes should have tasted did not even come close. That, of course, proved to be a blessing.

After an unforgettable lunch, I am left with a final thought, both exciting and scary: If Dovetail, a one Michelin starred restaurant, blew my mind, what would a 3 Michelin starred restaurant do?