About Paul

For my non-food blog photography check out:
www.paulcypert.com

A boy from Texas goes from cafeteria food to Jean Georges

I’m Paul. I live in Southeast Asia, hail from the state of Texas. I studied film photography as it was dying off at the College of Santa Fe. I made the switch to digital a few years later and furthered my studies in design/graphics at Bangkok University. I grew up in a small town in central-west Texas. Meals were usually Furr’s Cafeteria or some kind of fast food. Travel was comprised completely of trips to relatives in other cities in Texas – usually not more than 3 hours away.

From a young age I realized I wanted to get out… small town Texas was missing something that I needed, though I didn’t yet know what. Thankfully about that time my mother was also stepping out a bit in her own life. We made new friends and developed wider social circles – people that took us on trips, like Big Bend National Park for Thanksgiving where we dined on roasted quail instead of dry turkey. We started supporting the local restaurants our town would occasionally offer (before they would lose the inevitable battle with a national chain like Chili’s or Olive Garden). First we discovered Thai food and ate it 3-4 times a week (this was a good 5-10 years before Thai was trendy), then Indian, Mediterranean, etc. We started traveling to the city on the weekends and ate at restaurants with ethnic or culinary flair.

Then I moved to Santa Fe. After a few weeks of budget food options, my friends and I pitched in and treated ourselves to a real gourmet restaurant – one where the menu was printed daily. It changed me. The flavors were new and surprising and somehow all worked together. I couldn’t go back to “ordinary” food after that and so spent most of my time going for nice meals on the town. About this time an older, more experienced friend took me under his wing and taught me about mixed drinks and good liquor while also showing me some of Santa Fe’s hidden gems. Places like Bert’s Burger Bowl (mmm, green chili cheeseburger) and Maria’s of Santa Fe. I also made friends with a sommelier who taught me the basics of New World Wines and the joys of hosting quality dinner parties.

I started to travel outside of Santa Fe around this time, living in Boulder one summer (discovering fantastic microbrew beers) and traveling the southwest region the next. I continued making great friends who continued my education in developing refined tastes – but thankfully refined minus any airs. People like my chef friend, Joel Trueblood, who encouraged me to not just eat for sustenance, but also for enjoyment.

Later I moved to Bangkok and began exploring all that the city had to offer. I learned that sometimes it’s definitely worth springing for a nicer hotel for an overall experience and sometimes it’s about looking for a bargain – and the trick is knowing when. As my expertise grew, I began covering events, writing restaurant and hotel reviews for travel and lifestyle magazines and websites and was exposed to a greater variety of people and experiences – from caviar tastings to Belgian beer launches. I’ve eaten Kanom Jin on the floors of huts in eastern Thailand and had Dim Sum in a 5-star hotel and was floored by the tastes of both.

The more my tastes grew in any one area the more they would grow in others. As I was appreciating finer hotels and spas, I traded my Crocs for Kenneth Cole shoes… I was learning that everything in life could benefit from the same refinement. There are things you do in life that should be done well and with intention. I hope I can aid those of you out there who, like me, didn’t grow up with Foie Gras and Saint Emillion in your vocabulary… people taking the beginning steps of intentionally wading out into the (sometimes) scary waters of refined living. Sometimes the world seems snooty and unapproachable, as if it’s just waiting for you to mispronounce a phrase or hold a fork with the wrong hand… but there are people out there helping you along, like accidental epicurean

Paul

www.paulcypert.com