Ruth Reichl's Last Meal

I can't believe it. I met Ruth Reichl. Knowing what an immense Ruth Reichl fan I am, my amazing friend Minh-Hai pulled all sorts of connection strings to get me a spot at a Seattle food blogging event with the diva herself on Friday. On a nationwide book tour, she made time to talk to a roomful of devout foodies about her newest book, "Not Becoming My Mother."

Finding out who her mother really was and what the book's title actually meant was a fascinating conversation. But I was most excited about the Q&A afterward. She answered queries ranging from Gourmet's advertizing practices to her relationship with her son to her thoughts on food bloggers replacing restaurant critics. I wanted to ask her a question she'd probably gotten a thousand times but, to me, is always intriguing. The segment was ending and I knew I had to act quickly. As my hand shot up, I felt a slow burn spread across my cheeks: "If you knew that today would be your last meal, what would you eat?"

I was right, she'd gotten that question before. But interestingly enough, she's never given the same response. Since her hypothetical last day would be in Seattle, she would take advantage of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer. It would look like this:

Oysters
Clam sushi
Geoducks
A grilled T-bone steak
A Pile of asparagus with really good Balsamic
Sea urchin (she couldn't bear the thought of never having it again)
Finished with the perfect peach

After Q&A, the food bloggers mingled, sipped wine and nibbled delicious tapas from Olivar. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ruth getting ready to slip out. Despite being wedged into a back corner and blocked by 40 people, I shot up, almost toppled a table and made a mad dash for the door. When I reached her, I breathlessly blurted, "I'm sorry to be pushy but I'm from New York, too. Could I get a picture?" She laughed and the rest is history.