You Are What You Eat, Daniel Hobbs

Name: Daniel Hobbs

Occupation: In sharply descending order of material gain: paralegal; classical pianist; Editor-in-Chief, Board of Directors, and Janitor of The Hobbs Digest

Borough: Manhattan

Relationship status: Paired off

What did you eat today?

I started out with a cup of good coffee at home, then had some mediocre sludge at the office. I enjoyed a handful of cashews in the morning, had a so-so bacon, tomato and cheddar sandwich for lunch, and had some very empty calories in the form of cookies left over from a meeting and set out for the scavengers mid-afternoon. After work, I met up with my friend Gabrielle and we had an impromptu picnic in Central Park, with some syrupy sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, some lackluster eggplant/goat cheese terrine, rice crackers, olives and bocconcini. The food, sadly, didn't match the brilliance of the weather and the company, but there's no such thing as a bad picnic. Now I'm at home and am not very hungry, but I may have a tangelo. Blah. Not my proudest food day, but it's a true account.

What do you never eat?

I can't profess to having even a perverse, delinquent appetite for franchise fast food, even when extremely hungover, so I never go to McDonald's and the like. Also, I'm not very adventurous when it comes to offal. The appeal of raw meat is generally lost on me as well, so I'll pass on that steak tartare. Find me the best example of anything, though, and I'll try it.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

A baffling range of condiments, prosecco, Indian pickles, wilting herbs, capers, anchovies, yogurt, maple syrup, Branston pickle, seltzer, and various other odds and ends from which it would be impossible to create a meal.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

I'd be hard pressed to have to choose between the most complex and the simplest: my non-human dishwasher and my trusty Lodge cast iron skillet. The two don't get along, but I love them both. [A dishwasher?! In Manhattan?!]

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Unfortunately, I have to say Pret a Manger, since I buy my lunch there at least 3 times a week, but here are some of the restaurants I go to most often, when I have a say in the matter: Sripraphai, Haandi, Saravanaas, Paprika, XO Kitchen.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

I would like to be seated in the middle of a buffet of poulet de Bresse à la crème et aux morilles, bacon, cashews, Sichuan green beans, rivers of great wine, a stupefyingly hot lamb curry, custards of all sorts, a damn good taco truck taco or two, roasted fennel, foie gras, pollo a la brasa with ridiculously caramelized plantains, a cheese plate, perfectly made pasta... Oh, just bring it all on! I wouldn't be too happy if I had to eat in any particular order; it would have to be there to eat as I please. And since I'm creating my own terrestrial paradise before I go, let me stuff my ears with Bach's B Minor Mass.

I love the idea of going into that good night with a soundtrack. You can read Daniel's food jottings at The Hobbs Digest.