Savin' the best for last?

[Mooshmouse]

Prompted by recent dinner conversation with some fellow eGulleters, I'd like to know if you save the best part of your meal for your last bite(s), or do you eat the tastiest tidbits first?

For me, it's all about last bite planning. When I'm reaching the end of a plateful of food, I quickly assess what's left to ensure that my final mouthful is nothing short of ambrosial. C'mon, admit it. There are fewer things more infuriating than being so engrossed in a conversation or a television show that you eat the last piece of chocolate without realizing it. Or having that final brussels sprout to cap off your main course because you forgot to save a delectable morsel of duck confit.

One of my dining companions posited a theory that it's all about birth order. In other words, if you're the youngest in the family, you're more likely to dive in and eat the best part of your meal first so that you stand a chance at getting seconds without being scooped by older siblings. Untrue with my husband, the youngest of three. He, like me, wants his end bite to be a good one.

So, 'fess up. What's your strategy?

[Luckylies]

best first. you avoid cold good bite, sister eating it, filling up on the meat (when what you want is the skin) filling up on the veggies when what you really want is the pork etc. you are guaranteed that if your first bite is the best, your next bites will only get progressively better (as you learn to combine the textures and flavors on your plate. what if you misjudge your last bite, forget the cranberry jelly or something? start good get better, thats what I say from Greedyville...

[lannie]

Ten years ago, I was having some fabulous sushi with some older Japanese friends. They observed me manoeuvring around the o-toro, avoiding the anago, and bypassing the ikura in favour of the tamago and other bits. Perplexed, they inquired if I did not like those kinds of sushi since I wasn't touching them and they had promptly gobbled theirs up. With a big grin, I told them that I was saving the *best* for last. They all had a good chuckle at the workings of the young mind.

Funnily enough, after that incident, I came to the realization that I was often too full and my palate too 'muddled' by the end of the meal; so, from then on, I always savour the best *first* (I'd even eat dessert first if I had my way!). I used to also try not to use the good stuff (dishes, towels, etc.), waiting for some special occasion to pull them out. However, life is too short not to treat ourselves to the luxuries.

[Mooshmouse]

you are guaranteed that if your first bite is the best, your next bites will only get progressively better... start good get better, thats what I say from Greedyville...

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Ten years ago, I was having some fabulous sushi with some older Japanese friends.  They observed me manoeuvring around the o-toro, avoiding the anago, and bypassing the ikura in favour of the tamago and other bits.

Funnily enough, after that incident, I came to the realization that I was often too full and my palate too 'muddled' by the end of the meal; so, from then on, I always savour the best *first* (I'd even eat dessert first if I had my way!).

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Interestingly, lannie, it was during an omakase dinner that this topic of conversation arose... and o-toro was my last bite.

I absolutely do start with the tastiest bite, but I like to end with it too. After having gone through the bulk of my meal and determining what tastes best together as Luckylies does, I'll save a little bit of the most fabulous taste combination as my last morsel. In my books, a cold (or, rather, lukewarm) bite of foie gras is miles better than a hot bite of rutabaga.

[touaregsand]

Depends on what I'm eating.

Typically though, I eat some of the best first, this opens up my appetite for more. I go back and forth, always saving a little bit of the best but not for the last few bites. The last one or two bites left are composed of bits of food that I have rejected. It is pathological for me too leave at least one or two bites of food. Birth order you ask? I'm the youngest, most of my cousins are older as well. My parents and other older relatives spoiled me rotten by usually giving me the best bites first when the other kids weren't looking. My mom also felt that I should eat only "pretty foods" so that I would be a pretty girl. Further spoiled by my husband who willingly consumes my leftovers. He tells me to just eat what I want and he'll finish whatever is left.

Wow this was therapeutic. I've discovered where my pathology comes from.

I don't even eat a burger without a strategy. How much meat and tomato is in my mouth now, should there be more lettuce for the next bite... And yes, even with a burger, I will always leave one or two bites.

[jhlurie]

Honestly? In the middle.

I just can't help myself!

(you think I'm joking, but I'm not)

[maggiethecat]

Har. I'm an eldest child, which perhaps explains my mature, balanced and worldly approach to the dinner plate. I size it up, decide what flavors would taste best in sequence -- brussel sprouts after the roast pork, before the potatoes -- and try to predict at which point in the meal the sauce will turn cold. I do try to save a bite of the best for last.

[Pam R]

Honestly?  In the middle. 

I just can't help myself!

(you think I'm joking, but I'm not)

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What... like you try to save it for the end but never can?

I'm the youngest, but still save it for the end. I want the last bite to be memorable.

[touaregsand]

Come to think of I do both. As I said I always take a little bit of the best first. When there is no more of the best left, I stop eating. Hence the chronic one or two bites I leave at the end.

[Vancouver]

Hm....I know which omakase dinner this came from!

I wonder if it has anything to do with things like planning for the future, or living in the moment?

So do all those last biters (me included) tend to invest for future gain in other things besides the dinner plate? While those first biters live life enjoying the moment, but not thinking as much about the future?

Cheers!

[SuzySushi]

Good topic!

Best first, and last, depending. When it's an "ordinary" dinner, I usually eat the meat or poultry part first, and leave the vegetables (which I like less) for last.

When it's an "extraordinary" dinner, I start out with a taste of one of the items I like best, and pick my way carefully around the plate, leaving a morsel of the best for last. For instance, I like to end a sushi dinner on a rich hamachi or uni note, followed (but not too closely) by an umeshiso roll to clear the palate.

Now another question for everyone: do you eat the cake first, the frosting first, or both together? What do you like as your last bite?

[jscarbor]

I always try and get a great first bite then 1/2 way through the meal I start strategizing on how to maximize my last bite. That way i can beat the law of diminishing return theory.

[ghostrider]

Only child.

Eat best bite last, but adjust for climate - i.e., if the air is cold such that that last bite of perfectly charred steak next to the bone is going to be cold if I leave it till last, then I'll move it up in the sequence.

Cake - eat both together, but in such a way that the proportion of frosting to cake increases as I work my way through it.

[rooftop1000]

I was contemplating this the other night ...it was just diner food roast beef and mozz panini french fries cole slaw pickle and ..a side of escarole and beans....tried to fill up before the last bite of sandwich but there is allways a cold fry to lure you in for one more bite

[NulloModo]

I am the oldest of three kids. While I was growing up I admit it was a bit competitive between me and my youngest sister (heh, perhaps because we are both Gems, not that I completely believe in all that...) I blame this as a good bit of my weight problem, I just got used to grabbing the the best (and therefore the fattiest and carbiest) morsels first. Nowadays I definately like to save the best parts for last. I will cut up morsels on my plate to taste everything first and find out what I like, just so I can make sure what I am most enamoured with is that last thing to hit my tastebuds.

[jgarner53]

I will start out with a bite of the tastiest thing, then ration it out through the meal so that I can have it at the end. When it comes to sushi, I'll usually save the pieces that are my favorites until the end.

Cake's not my favorite dessert (too sweet most of the time), but when I eat a piece of a tart or pie, I always eat from the point of the slice to the outer crust -- that's my favorite part. If it's a composed dessert (tart plus ice cream plus sauce, for example), I try to integrate everything into each bite, as I imagine that's how the pastry chef intended it to be eaten, each flavor enhancing and complementing the other.

[Allura]

Elder of two kids.

I'll start by eating a bit of everything, and somewhere in the middle decide what my last bite will be - usually a "best for last" for me.

[Mooshmouse]

Now another question for everyone: do you eat the cake first, the frosting first, or both together? What do you like as your last bite?

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...when I eat a piece of a tart or pie, I always eat from the point of the slice to the outer crust -- that's my favorite part. If it's a composed dessert (tart plus ice cream plus sauce, for example), I try to integrate everything into each bite, as I imagine that's how the pastry chef intended it to be eaten, each flavor enhancing and complementing the other.

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Cake. I eat it and composed desserts pretty much the way jgarner described them, except the outer crust isn't necessarily my favourite part.

And I'm an only child, but the eldest of 5 very close cousins. Hence my two-sided best-first-and-last approach.

[Ling]

I prefer to eat my sashimi according to the amount of fattiness in the fish (o-toro last) but since my favourites tend to be the richer fishes, I guess I do same the most delicious bites for last.

I always eat the things that tend to decline in deliciousness the longer they sit on my plate first (e.g. pie crust because it gets cold, or fried items that can get soggy).

And I'm a first-born, but my parents usually made sure that there was always enough of the tastiest items on the table.

[cakewalk]

I'll taste everything on my plate, decide what I like best, and then save the best bit for last. I have always done this, whether it be dinner, dessert, or anything in between. Best for last. I'm a middle child.

[purplewiz]

I hate to say this, but: It Depends.

I'm a planner, so when I was growing up, the best bits were ALWAYS saved for last. Even now, my preferred way to work on any project is get the stuff I hate to do done FIRST, and then have time to linger over the stuff I like doing, without the threat of all that icky stuff.

Now, I eat the best stuff as soon as possible, because if I save it to the end, I'm often too full to enjoy it. There is nothing worse than realizing you filled up on stuff you hate, even if it is good for you.

Cake is still an exception. I don't have it often, but when I do, I eat all the cake first, and save the frosting for last. As far as I'm concerned, cake is nothing more than a vehicle for serving frosting.

When I was growing up, when it came to snack food and the like, there wasn't anything to save for last. You either ate it when you saw it, or you didn't get any. It took years and years after I left my parents' house to realize I did this, and then to change the habit.

And as for sushi, I always end my sushi meal with tamago. It's just a habit I picked up from an ex-SO.

Marcia.

[butter]

I think I have converted. Used to be 'best for last' because I loved how the taste would linger in my mouth, but after listening to my husband for years saying, "What happens if there is an earthquake and you never get to finish?" (Is this a Japanese thing?) I'm starting to think 'best first'. (Is this an age thing?)

Re: cake If it's layered, the icing between the layers is enough usually. I leave the outside icing especially if it's thick.

[Daddy-A]

This question reminds me of eating a bowl of Cheerios topped with bananas. When I was a kid, the game was to space the spoonfulls with banana slices so that you would have one slice left for the last spoonfull. Of course the Cheerios were all soggy by then, but it didn't matter. The texture matched nicely with the banana ?

A.

[Andrew Fenton]

The nice thing about doing my own cooking is that I like everything on my plate. If there's something that I don't like, I don't eat it. Simple, really, and that way I can work out which combination of flavors will work best for each bite, or sequence of bites.

[touaregsand]

I eat the way I make love. I take a nibble or good chunk of the best and than ration it throughout a meal, always leaving more than enough for the last bite.

I don't understand this first or last dichotomy. You cum before you finish or you puritanically wait untill you get to the end? The whole meal has to fuck right.