Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

In reading over these comments, I think it's more the timing of the gift that we all remember, and the personal nature. If someone is a baker and brings their special bread, or if a neighbor carts over a homely casserole when someone is sick or grieving, or if a gardener offers up a moist bag of fresh-picked lettuce -- that's what we remember. Knowing that we love New Zealand, a friend once cooked me a memorable birthday dinner with a NZ sauvignon blanc, wonderful lamb, etc. etc. The meal was lovely, but it was her thoughtfulness and the effort she went to that I treasure.

I've had trouble with cookie texture at altitude -- I live in Colorado. Lately I've been weighing my cookie dough into 1 oz. portions and freezing it and then baking the cookies frozen and they've come out much better. Plus, we can pull them out a few at a time and always have warm cookies to eat!

Re sandwiches out West -- does a green chili burger qualify? A truly great invention that I've never seen outside Colorado, New Mexico, etc.

Let's not get hysterical -- nobody goes to Costco for the ambiance. But there are some quality ingredients to be found there, as he points out. There are supermarkets in France, too, and they aren't much different than supermarkets anywhere. Lots of us go to Costco for their wonderful avocados, affordable red and yellow peppers, beautiful little green beans, nice cheese selection, excellent meat department, etc. and also support our local farmers' markets.