14.1.09

The 100th

100! Well I suppose I deserve to pat myself on the back a little. Or maybe not. TV shows make a big deal about their milestone episodes, but then again, it takes a show years of keeping its head above water in the cut-throat television industry to reach that magical number. A writer could write a thousand episodes of their TV show, but if it gets cancelled at episode 99, it does not matter. So it's not like anyone is stopping me from churning out 800-word pieces into the deep abyss of the Internet. I can't really get cancelled – unless Blogger or GoDaddy got really expensive, or folded themselves. In fact, this has recently become a subsistence blog, and I thank you. So click away.

But in all honesty, it is not about time or popularity and definitely not about money. It is about me wanting to impart a little of my culinary passion, creativity and anecdotes to you and hopefully getting a few impartings back my way from you in the meantime. I don't look at 100 blogs as anything to rest my, well, fingers on unless I had no more ideas, no more foods to try, restaurants to experience or dishes to create. But there are so many more. Thousands more. My passion has only been enlivened by the equally passionate reactions from readers whom I already knew and from those I've met along the way.

If you've loved my 22 restaurant review entries, expect many more. I've been double publishing many of my reviews on Menuism.com, a really neat restaurant reviewing community. I was even awarded the Menuism October Restaurant Review of the Month for my very first review I posted – on one of my favorite DC restaurants, Zaytinya. I hope to write many more reviews that instantly grab you and make you intrigued and hungry, like that one did.

If you have enjoyed my 52 personal recipe entries, I can guarantee that you will see more and more, as I love nothing more than to create dishes (and subsequently talk about them). I am even honing my cheffing skills by testing out a few local amateur culinary instruction businesses, including the newly-opened and very intriguing CulinAerie in DC. I can't wait to attend my class on crepes. I guarantee you'll see a crepe or two of my own on here after that.

And if you've enjoyed my 26 pieces on nutritional and other culinary philosophies, then you can continue to read in peace, for my soapbox is never too far away. I try to impart what I truly believe and reflect how I truly act, not how I'm supposed to. While I try to be healthy and nutritious, I'm not going to pretend that I never get a hankering for fried chicken. That is me.

So now, rather than bore you with more of my blither blather, I'll close with one of my signatures: a top ten list, of my personal favorite entries thus far. And get ready for the biggest top list of them all (so far) for Entry #101. Because as my motto has always been, when tomorrow arrives, the BeaT goes on.

My Top 10 Favorites (This was a very hard cut.)

10. Leek Burgers - One of my more innovative dishes. Also see Eggplant Cheddarean, Pie In The Sky and Vegetarian Scampi -- okay so I cheated a little.

9. Top 10(12) Olympic Cuisines - I'll always have an answer to "what is your favorite food?" after this. Sort of.

8. Olive You, Olive You Fanatically - Actually started a little food vs. wine debate.

7. Bottom Ten Trans - Contains a lot that surprises people.

6. A Word From The Pickle Snob - Purely me.

5. That Place - Even more purely me. A funny one too.

4. Julia's Dinner Party - An awesome family occasion that I'll always want to look back on through this series. Course 2 -- Course 3 -- Course 4. The supplementary comments from my Dad are fantastic.

3. Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - For my Ann Arbor culinary nostalgia.

2. Popeye's Psychodrama - This one still cracks me up (see fried chicken reference above)

1. Zay Yes - Hey, you can't mess with award-winning.



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