In her new book Foodist, Darya Pino Rose writes about mindful eating. That is, rather than just shoveling our grub into our gaping mouths while we sit at our computer screens or in front of a television, we stop to really appreciate the tastes and textures of the food we ingest to sustain our bodies.

As part of this mindful eating practice, she talks about what she calls the Psychology of Good Taste. She develops the idea that because of poor grocery-store quality produce, or a bad experience we've had with some canned vegetables as children, we are unwilling to open our minds to new taste experiences.
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As cocktail culture grows around the world, people are starting to pay much more attention to everything that goes into the glass. The spirits, the juices and the garnishes in our cocktails have all undergone serious improvements in the last two decades, and the champagne coupe has had a rebirth as a glass of choice in many craft cocktail bars. But it's only in the last half-decade or so that the eye of your local mixologist has really turned toward scrutinizing the ice in your drink. The Aviary bar in Chicago even has an "Ice Guy", whose full-time job is creating the wide variety of ice used in their incredibly creative drinks.
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