Breaking bread

Last night I had dinner with Ben, Jaden, Stephanie, Samantha and her husband, Danny. Today, the lovely Paula bought me a lobster roll lunch as an early birthday present. (Thanks, Paula!) Tonight, as DPaul has a late meeting, we will probably pop out and enjoy a quick meal at our favorite restaurant, Contigo, helmed by Brett. 

I have often said that blogging is a first-person activity, and that's true. Each blog is a perfect snowflake, a unique expression of one individual's (or, if you're like us, two individuals') view on the world. Yet while the act of blogging more or less necessarily involves sitting alone at a computer, bloggers -- food bloggers in particular -- are far from solitary creatures. By sharing our views and opinions, our sensory highs and lows, we find affinity with each other, and that connection often manifests into "real world" friendships.

It makes perfect sense. When you meet a stranger, you have to begin from ground zero to find common ground. Do you like the same food? Music? Are you into politics? Technology? Sports? Crafting? Humanity is so richly varied, and each person so particular, it's practically a miracle that we should find anyone with whom we share a single common interest.

But then hey, here's this huge community of people who have openly and directly expressed exactly that: An interest. And while you may not agree 100% with each person's unique and particular take on that interest, that's fine. Debate makes for better conversation. 

And if that interest is food, so much the better. Food is innately a social thing. For all of human history, sharing a meal has been a sure indicator that the parties involved are bonded. And it's small wonder that our language (and others) is so richly peppered with food-themed idioms. Breaking bread. Chewing the fat. Easy as pie.

Since starting this blog nearly four years ago, I have been fortunate enough to meet many, many wonderful people in this community. And to demonstrate that, I will be going through my blogroll (in my copious spare time) in the right sidebar and adding marks: One asterisk means that is a blogger I have met in person; two will mean a blogger I have dined (or at least drank) with.