Hello, it's me.

I've thought about you for a long, long time.

Hello, dear readers!

Allow me to express some gratitude to you for being here.

There are almost 11,000 of you now - and according to Substack, I’ve got an open rate of 57%. By that math, I offer an enthusiastic handshake and hello to my almost 6,300 ride-or-die supporters. (They tell me this is a better than average conversion, which delights.)

I am over three years in on this newsletter and enjoying the ride. As with most things I wade into, I’m guided by intuition and good old fashioned gut. This newsletter is mostly food, lots of travel, and a smattering of other things as they feel right. I’ve yet to solicit much feedback, for better or worse. And my wife just tells me “keep doing what you’re doing!”

I still believe Substack is a nascent platform with so much potential. Some of the best writing, reporting, collecting, curating, and “influencing” is being done on this platform. It’s early days, but in a few more years most people will curate their news and interests through a combination of traditional media outlets and more niche Substack/newsletter content. Consider yourselves still among the early adopters!

I hope you’re enjoying following along. I’ve got some great things in store for 2024, including some of my first posts from contributors, more travel (New Orleans, Tangier, Los Angeles, oh my!) and as always, low-frills recipes that reflect what I’m actually cooking.

If you’ve got any specific feedback, encouragement, or words of wisdom, please leave them in the comments. And if you’re not a paid subscriber, I’d love for you to join in on the fun:

Until next week,

Yours,

Brooks