Slumdog Millionaire

I went to see Slumdog Millionaire this weekend and it was an absolutely amazing movie. I started to think about ways to describe the movie and I remembered something from Top Chef. I am new to the culinary world and foodies. Top Chef was one of the first things that brought attention to that world for me. I remember the editor of Food and Wine Dana Cowin stating that a certain dish “made me SO happy.” That stuck with me and it is the best way for me to describe the way Slumdog affected me. It made me SO happy. Everything about it; the way it was structured, the actors as children, the actors as adults, the way Millionaire was corny, everything about the movie struck a chord with me. Jamal is one of the noblest heroes in movie history.

Watching that movie for the first time is going to stick in my memory for a long time. I started to think of other great memories that involved something created that moved me so much. There are touchstones moments in my life such as the birth of my children, first love, and deaths that have become a part of my fiber. Then there are moments that I get intense pleasure from because someone created something that touched me. I remember the great meals of my life. My first bowl of Pho that Mom made. The roasted pork over steamed rice at the only good Chinese restaurant in Dallas in the late 70s and early 80s. The first time I tasted mam nem the stinky fish sauce at the behest of my wife. The dinner at the French Room on May 27, 2002 our second wedding anniversary. The dinner at Nana’s grill for my parents 20th anniversary. Someone made that food for me, someone with their hands and brain made something so memorable that I to this day can see the dish, smell the dish, and taste the dish. I will never be a great director, I will never be a great writer, I may never be a great chef, but I can make a meal my kids will never forget. I can make a meal that a dinner guest might remember. Cooking gives me a chance to maybe touch someone they way some great meals have touched me.