To the extent I am known, I think I am known as a person who expresses his opinion freely about things - and I was sensitive to the possibility that if I was seen taking money for saying nice things about a product, my comments and choices and opinions would become, understandably, suspect.

Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one's life.

The older I get, and the more I travel in particular, the less I care about what exactly is in the dish than who's cooking it and why.

Wholesome food is wholesome food anywhere. I may not like something but, generally speaking, if it's a busy, street food stall serving mystery meat in India, they're in the business of serving their neighbors. They're not targeted toward a transient crowd of tourists that won't be around tomorrow. They're not in the business of poisoning their neighbors.

The world they live in now is in no way the world the Michelin system was set up to evaluate back in France, which was all about motorists and seeing if it was worth driving an extra 50 miles for a restaurant. It's a silly thing. Why do you want to help a tire company? You don't owe them nothing.

Sometimes the greatest meals on vacations are the ones you find when Plan A falls through.

I, personally, think there is a really danger of taking food too seriously. Food should be part of the bigger picture.