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B52's, dining, Father's Day, Food Blog, foodies, Halibut, LA, Larkspur, Marin, Napa, restaurants, SF, The Six Gastropub, Twitter, Virginia Woolf
The Amazing Butterscotch Creme Brulee at The Six
An Anthropological Look at “Deathbed Food”
Don’t let the term “deathbed” scare you. It’s really the opposite! This blog is meant to celebrate and affirm life. I live to eat rather than eat to live, continually seeking out the new, the innovative, or simply the best food out there “on the scene.” And now, I’ll share all of this with you.
Recently, I was at LA’s The Six Restaurant enjoying a benchmark-setting butterscotch creme brulee and blurted out, “OMG! This is Death Bed Food!” (something I’ve said my whole adult life whenever I’ve had amazing food and wine experiences).
I tweeted from my original Twitter (@DianeTweeting) about the dessert right away:
To which they responded:
That was all the encouragement I needed to launch this blog (long overdue).
Fast forward a week and I’m at my parents house excitedly telling them about my epiphany to start a food blog under the “Deathbed Food” name. My Dad says, “That’s great … oh yeah, I remember making that up.”
My Dad, the inventor of the “Deathbed Food” movement.
I was SHOCKED!! That had been MY saying since forever … I thought it was just the dramatic flair and edge I’d developed … but no! It was simply me internalizing HIS edge and sense of humor. Once I got over that blow, I asked him if I could video him explaining its origins but it didn’t go well:
Me: “Hey Dad, could I please make a video of you telling us how you came up with the term?”
Him: “No, this isn’t really a good time.”
(Hours later) Me: “Hey Dad, so do you think we can make that video? We don’t have to use it if you don’t like it.”
Him: “I’ll think about it but not sure.”
(Day later) Me: “Hey Dad, please, can we just try the video – I swear I won’t use it if we both don’t love it!!”
Him: “No, I don’t like that stuff.”
Me (thinking): “WHAT?! Is this my educated, successful, hard working, articulate father sounding like a 12-year-old who doesn’t want to eat his veggies?”
So, defeated, I’m left to relay the story to you second hand.
Several years ago when I was in high school (let’s just say the B52’s were big), my parents were having dinner at a lovely neighborhood restaurant in Larkspur called the Blue Rock Inn where my Dad had ordered the Halibut Rosemary. He declared to my Mom: “This is so good it that it could be my deathbed meal!” While I wasn’t there to witness that dinner, he later bantered the term around (selectively) as we had other breathtaking meals – it became a dynamic, living list of food experiences for our family.
Part of what struck me about his telling me this story (beyond the fact that I thought I had invented it), was that it clearly demonstrated what a “Foodie” family I came from. That my Dad could recall the details of a dish he had that many years ago is 100% consistent with the passionate focus we as a family have always had around food.
I grew up in Marin County from the age of 10. During the late 1970’s, when Napa was coming into its own, my father took us there frequently. While I didn’t taste the wine, I developed an appreciation early on for the Valley, the winemakers, the grapes and the tradition.
I’d like to leave with one of my favorite quotes, by Virginia Woolf, who said, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Agreed, Virginia, agreed!