CleverRoot

2 6 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t THERE ARE THOSE who travel for golf, those who travel to surf, and those who travel for culture. Then there are those of us—overlapping with the other worlds or not—who travel to eat. I fall firmly into the latter category, and while my wife and daughter travel to shop (and do very well at it, too), I sit in our hotel room trying to figure out where to have our next meal, and the meal after that. I do not eat room service, and I don't go to the hotel buffet, even if it's included in the cost of the room. What would be the point? Except for certain breakfast buffets found in Europe, the food is fodder, not the Life-Altering Experience I crave. It can be an obsession—heck, no, it is an obsession. The notion of a wasted meal haunts me. Like a medieval scholar bent over an illuminated manuscript, I study guides and lists, speak to experts and locals (the valet parkers at hotels are a great source for insider tips), walk the streets, and scan for crowds; each strategy ensures I dedicate my days to figuring out what I want to eat next to make my tummy happy. And if I'm lucky enough to be in a city with prolific chefs, I try to collect the whole range of their cooking by visiting restaurant after restaurant. Basic rule: If they do it right once, then twice, they'll probably keep doing it right. Chef-Driven Meals VERTICAL RESTAURANT TASTINGS WITH SOME OF COOKING'S BIGGEST NAMES by Merrill Shindler PHOTO: WILLIAM HEREFORD David Chang, Chef and Owner of numerous Momofuku restaurants found around the world from Australia to Las Vegas. The namesake dish at David Chang's Ssäm Bar in New York City is a slow- roasted pork shoulder served with raw oysters and various accoutrements. WHERE WE'RE EATING

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