2022 in Review, Part 1

back to school

Jan 2

After an 11-month sabbatical, I’m rejoining the workforce tomorrow! It feels like I’m getting ready for the first day of school: I’m excited yet anxious, I’m not thrilled to have to set my alarm clock on weekdays again, and I gotta be prepared for questions about what I did this summer. So:

You started a food blog?

Yeah! This year I wrote 20 posts, covering over 100 restaurants, bars, malls, and banana stands. I’ve never really thought of myself as a writer before, and I’ve enjoyed this new, expressive outlet.

How many restaurants did you go to?

I had food or drink from at least 500 different places in 2022, I think. (I spent 1/3 of the year outside NYC.

I counted about 350 distinct spots in the city, where I kept the best records.) Shockingly, I’ve lost weight.

Oh, you’ve been to lots of restaurants? Name your favorite restaurant.

It’s so hard to choose.

Your twenty favorite restaurants?

I’m going to split this question off into a separate post. Stay tuned for 2022 in Review, Part 2!

What’s your favorite post?

The one about Jerry, the most obnoxious sushi bro I’ve encountered in my life:

A Mannes Gotta Eat

Restaurant Review: Shion 69 Leonard

Pete Wells writes in his review of Shion 69 Leonard Street, an eight-seat, $420-a-head sushi counter: [M]any people who have cultivated an appreciation for the quality of sushi served at Shion will feel that they can’t afford to go there, and some seats at the counter will fall to customers who won’t think twice about the cost but won’t really know what …

a year ago · Eric Mannes

What else did you do with your time off?

I traveled. I attended five weddings. I learned to ski. I moved. I read. I chilled out in New York. I went birding. I connected with friends old and new. I spent more time with my parents, going to art museums with my mom and to 1980s Hong Kong action flicks with my dad.

I feel like I’ve found better answers to my important questions.

… and?

I… played Pokemon Go. Gotta catch ’em all! I only started in mid-April—I missed the original 2016 wave—but I’ve traveled across the land, searching far and wide, and now there are only 22 Pokemon left to add to my Pokedex.

How much time did you spend playing Pokemon Go?

Did you say something? I couldn’t quite hear that.

Where were the best trips you went on?

Penang and Singapore for the food, Iceland and Greenland for the natural beauty, a dozen other places for quality time with friends or family, and [redacted] for [redacted].

Are you still going to write once you’re back at your job?

Yes! There will be less weekday lunch material—I don’t expect to write about the office cafeteria—but I’ll still have regular updates. Subscribe and tell your friends!

Is there anything you’d like your readers to know?

Thank you! It’s gratifying to know that you’ve found this blog useful or entertaining or interesting. If you try a place I mention, I’m always curious to hear your take, even if (especially if?) you think I’m dead wrong.

Any parting words?

Thank you to my editors: usually TW, and occasionally GM. My posts are always improved by your comments, and my meals are always improved by your company.

Almost exactly 1/3. It came out to 122 days.