Paper #4: Eating from a Distance (Final Exam)

In the last chapter of A Cook’s Tour, “Perfect,” Tony Bourdain writes,

“The whole concept of the ‘perfect meal’ is ludicrous. ‘Perfect,’ like ‘happy,’ tends to sneak up on you. Once you find it—like Thomas Keller says—it’s gone. It’s a fleeting thing, ‘perfect,’ and if you’re anything like me, it’s often better in retrospect. When you’re shivering under four blankets in a Moroccan hotel room, the perfect meal can be something no more exotic than [the] breakfast…you had four months ago. Your last Papaya King hot dog takes on golden, even mythic proportions when remembered from a distance” (272). 

So for your final paper assignment, I want you to describe the best meal you’ve ever had. Now “best” could mean the same as “perfect”: it might not be the absolute best, but for some reason, it was the best for you. Explain where you were, who you were with, what you ate, and what made this food, or this experience, your favorite meal. Could you replicate this meal today if you ate the same food? Or was it frozen in a specific moment in time that can never be truly relived even with the same food, people, and surroundings? 

QUOTE a passage from A Cook’s Tour to help explain what made this meal so wonderful to you, and how it helped you look at food, friends, family, or something much larger. How did you have your own “Tony Bourdain” experience somewhere out in the world with food? 

MUST be at least 3 pages double spaced, but can be longer

CITE and INTRODUCE according to MLA format

DUE no later than Friday, December 11th by 5pm (no later papers accepted—that’s the absolute last day I can accept it, so be careful! You can turn it in earlier, of course!)