I enjoy food. Frankly, I’m the sort of person where, just looking at me, you’d think it was a safe assumption that I like food. I was raised in a kitchen really. While my mother and father were off at work in their respective jobs, I hung out at home with my grandmother in the kitchen. I would watch and be her faithful food tester as she created a variety of traditional dishes, with some newer, more foreign recipes. When I moved to the US at the age of nine, I found myself gravitating towards that kitchen because it brought me comfort. And there, watching my mother as she learned the culinary arts, I once again served as a faithful food tester. Both my mother and my grandmother were good at talking while they cooked. “This needs a little bit of allspice, what do you think habiby?” “Do you think some mint would give this some extra flavor?” I doubt my opinion mattered, though I was always supportive as they deftly utilized the tools at their disposal to make creative and tasty dishes that I would happily consume.

I tell you all that to say that my education into food was rather informal. I learned just about everything I know from watching television, my own experimentation and, of course, watching the excellent cooks in my life – a list, I might add, that was not limited to my mother and grandmother. In my life I have also had the privilege to work in the food industry in several capacities in two different restaurants. I also tended bar for a spell, a job that I enjoyed tremendously. However, I can fairly say that in my walk through my life, I have acquired an appreciation for eating. From the high brow to fast food and from the far east to the mid-west, I’ve done my best to sample various forms of cuisine, and to appreciate them all. It helps that I can always go back to my Mother’s kitchen and sample her delicious fare, or go out with my father, the most adventurous eater I know, to all manner of exotic restaurants.

And there you have it. That’s my culinary pedigree; my foodie resume, if you will. If, after reading this, you feel that I might be able to accurately judge the worthiness of a restaurant, then read on, for that is precisely what I intend on doing in the pages to come. I eat out frequently, and it was pointed out to me that someone who has a flair for words and a passion for food really ought to put their talent to good use and at least inform their peer network about what restaurants they ought to avoid, and which restaurants they need to run to immediately. I ought to be different from most other food critics out there for the very simple reason that I led off this narrative with – I like food. I’m not a snob who sticks his nose up at certain restaurants, or even certain types of ethnic cuisines. The only foods I actively dislike are mushrooms and broccoli, and even then, I won’t go out of my way to avoid them. I just don’t prefer them. I doubt you’ll agree with every review that I have here, but I suspect that most of you will get an accurate representation regarding the worthiness of a restaurant based on what you read. With that having been said, let’s critique!