I like to dine.
I especially like when the dining is fine.
I should explain, though. As I am sure is true with all of us, I love food that is incredibly tasty. The kind that causes me to make yummy noises. Yes, I still make yummy noise. It is an involuntary reflex when my palette is introduced to the wildly scrumptious.
So. In that way, I love fine dining.
However, I’m not so crazy about the socially generated term “fine dining.” The kind where you have to wear sparkly dresses and know all your forks, and when to crack the partridge egg, and all of that.
If you all haven’t noticed, I’m not the haughty type. I like to be comfortable in my clothes and my surroundings, hence the rotating hoodies and baggy blue jeans. Running shoes. Staying home.
I especially like to be comfortable when I’m eating roast beast and loafy-bread stuff. It is easier to administer the distribution of mayonnaise that way.
Anyway, when I think of fine dining, I think of the Michelin Guide.
But today, I thought of that guide because it is the birthday of André Michelin, an industrialist and publisher. He was born in France on this date January 16, 1853.
Andre’ and his brother Édouard founded the Michelin Tire Company (Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin) in 1888 in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand. Oh. We all do know that Michelin Man. The fatty tire guy.
But the curious thing is that 12 years later, in 1900, André Michelin published the first Michelin Guide. That treasured guide. Now. Many may think. What do tires have to do with fine dining?
Well, the purpose of that book was to promote tourism by car, thereby supporting his tire manufacturing operation.
André, to start out with, was a successful engineer. But he abandoned that successful career to take over his grandfather’s failing business — in agricultural goods and farm equipment.
He talked his brother into helping him. But. Alas. Neither brother had any prior experience. They did not know about selling goods. Somehow, they shifted things to the tire business, making great strides in repairable tires for cyclists. And that launched them on their way to tire fame.
But then they had another bright idea.
They came up with the Michelin Guide. The intention was to help motorists develop their trips. They produced a small guide filled with handy information for travelers — maps, information on how to change a tire, where to fill up on gas, and all that good-going stuff. And they smartly included a listing of places to eat or take shelter for the night. And so it began.
By 1926, they began handing out those treasured Michelin Stars. Now they rate restaurants from zero stars to three stars. Woot.
I should add. The guide now assesses over 30,000 establishments in over 30 territories across three continents. You can buy a guide online if you choose.
I might pick one up and see how many Camden restaurants have been rated. Or. I could save my money and guess my guess. Which I’m pretty sure would be around zero, which is the same number of times you will ever see me in a ball gown eating at Fifi’s.
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“The true definition of a snob is one who craves for what separates men rather than for what unites them.”
― John Buchan
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Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
— James Beard
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He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.
— Jonathan Swift
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The tire guys go yummy.
