Erin from Boston has chew choreography on the brain:
Do you start with the best bite, or do you save the best bite for last? It wasn't until college when my roommate noticed how I eat sandwiches (I eat them in circles from the outside saving the middle bite for last), that I realized I have been methodically saving the best bite for last my whole life. For example, when I eat a meal such as soup or a casserole, I will save some of each ingredient until the end so the last bite I enjoy has all of the parts of the dish. I try to eat around some of the whip cream on my ice cream sundaes, so my last bite has some to savor...I never want a sub par bite to be what I last experience. Am I crazy (my college roommate seemed to think so)? Does anyone else do this?
Crazy? Definitely not. Dan and I ponder this all the time.
Erin makes several great points, and I'm very impressed with the deep thinking on bite selection. I do agree that the last bite is important and try to plan and execute it well. But I don't agree on saving the "best" bite for last where dish temperature is a factor. If it's served hot or cold, like the ice cream or soup she cites, the latter bites are always going to be degraded. (Though to be fair, a case can be made for melty ice cream as a special experience.)
So in those cases, I can't support hoarding the best components for final bite deployment. They need to be scooped well before the ice cream melts and the soup gets cold. That's my take, but what say you? Do you slot your best bite in the beginning, middle or end? Or are you more like Dan in that you try to achieve consistent bites throughout the meal? (And as far as ice cream toppings, check out Episode 37 for my case for the pure deliciousness and superiority of unadorned ice cream. /mark) Photo: Flickr CC / sflovestory
