From Russia, With Love—Once people find out what I do for a living (you're looking at it), it's almost certain that a funny, sometimes emotional conversation about food will follow. It happens a lot, but no two are identical. Food is the great connector, intrinsically bound up in the fabric of every person's life, no matter what their background. Everyone's got to eat, after all.

I am amazed by how many truly great sushi restaurants there are in Albuquerque. Our fair city is strikingly cosmopolitan when it comes to cuisine, and nothing pleases me (and my raw fish-loving palate) more than the rumor of yet another place to get a good caterpillar roll, or a hot, salty bowl of miso soup sprinkled with green onions. Somebody should write Miso Soup for the Soul, because I’m buying, and I know you’re with me, fellow foodies.

“It takes a lot of beer to make wine.” I heard this expression at least a dozen times during my visit to a winery in Napa Valley, Calif. My friend Amy lived and worked on the vineyard, and I had a trip to San Francisco scheduled at the end of October. I thought it would be fun to take a few extra days to visit her in Napa.