My shelf has tilted toward food writing in the past several years. That's about the time I launched a website called Eating In Translation, which began as a collection of field notes on interesting food I'd tried (or planned to try) in and around New York. Since January 2005 I've visited some 1,800 restaurants, lunch counters, cafés, street...more »

My shelf has tilted toward food writing in the past several years. That's about the time I launched a website called Eating In Translation, which began as a collection of field notes on interesting food I'd tried (or planned to try) in and around New York. Since January 2005 I've visited some 1,800 restaurants, lunch counters, cafés, street vendors, fairs, festivals, grocers, and greenmarkets — and my "to eat" list is longer than ever.

The only way to trim it is to hit the road. Four or five times a week, usually with little more than a MetroCard and my Merrells, I track down (or happen upon) food from all over the world. Much of it is new to me (that's where the "translation" comes in); typically it's inexpensive and procured in casual, even humble settings. I'm less interested in celebrity restaurant owners and designer dining rooms than in learning more about the food, and trying it for itself. (Traveling long distances on the New York subway system also gives me plenty of time to read, though never quite enough to keep my books-in-waiting from piling higher.)

If you feel the same about food, and if you have an appetite for something new, Eating In Translation can help point the way. « less