Rock musician Warren Zevon famously said, after learning of his lung cancer diagnosis, he was reminded to appreciate the little things in life and “enjoy every sandwich.” He was being interviewed on Late Night With David Letterman in 2002, and he would die less than a year later.
Zevon’s sandwich advice became a widely shared meme, and I embraced it as a mantra. His musical friends, from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen to the Pixies, even produced a tribute album of his songs titled Enjoy Every Sandwich.
For the past 20 years, literally every time I eat a sandwich I hear a voice in my head saying, “Enjoy every sandwich.” It’s the same voice that says “Righty tighty, lefty loosey” whenever I have a screwdriver in my hand or “Turn into the skid” when I drive on snow. Do you have a voice in your head repeating decades-old instructions? I hope I’m not the only one.
Sandwiches are one of the basic building blocks of our culinary world. They’re humble, they’ll go anywhere with you, and they just want to make you happy—kind of like your dog. Sure, you can occasionally dress them up and hope they behave, but they’re more comfortable just hanging out on your lap. Is the sandwich man’s other best friend?
I’ve extended my “enjoy” mantra over the years to most food experiences, especially eating out. Diving into the area’s top 10 new restaurants in this issue, I’m really impressed with all of the time and talent that went into launching these businesses. I’ve eaten at just three of them so far, and I enjoyed every dish. I can’t wait to try the others.
We all know that not every restaurant visit is awesome. Sometimes the food isn’t great, the service is off, they lose your reservation, or they forget to put alcohol in your drink. But so many different details go into a dining experience: the person you’re with, the smile on the hostess’s face, the ace parking spot you nabbed, the music playing in the background. I try to focus on something I can enjoy at each place, and let everything else go. Thanks always for the reminder, Warren!
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