“If you can live in Vegas, or visit Vegas, and leave in one piece, still loving i…” — J. R. Moehringer

My father was a food lover and a deadbeat dad, and maybe a connection between good food and bad dads was forged early, in the deepest folds of my subconscious, where we make so many decisions about our parents.

In Zurich, in a cafe overlooking the Limmat, I ate butter-drenched white asparagus pulled from the ground that morning; it had the aftertaste of champagne. I've been able to appreciate epic meals in San Francisco, New Orleans, Berlin, Paris, Las Vegas.

Food still isn't my thing, but I've learned to respect its power and significance.

You think you choose the subjects of your books. But sometimes, in ways you don't know, the books choose you.