In a recent blog post, Dan Jurafsky, a San Franciscan who writes The Language of Food, speaks eloquently and intelligently of sweetness, pork products, and cultural differences. It is worth a read taste. Here are a few bites:
…the nearby hipster donut shop, Dynamo, whose most popular item is the Maple Glazed Bacon Apple donut…
…reserving sweet dishes for the end of a meal is thus a recent development. In the Middle Ages, a main course in England or France might include a dish like rabbits or beef tongue in gravy covered in sugar…
Business is slow at the Marin County Indian restaurant that Ram owns. In my opinion, he should take this time to do some cleaning in the back, but instead he leans on an elbow and tells me about his last visit to Delhi.
Near the end of my stay, to thank me for my efforts, six Japanese executives took me to dinner at a very upscale Tokyo restaurant. I had read guidebooks that highlighted cultural differences and how Americans abroad should behave, but nothing had prepared me for this. 
Several years ago my brothers (Lanny and Doug) and I were on Long Island where