El Mejor Pan

I remember some famous chef, or maybe it was Anthony Bourdain, saying that the most satisfying food in the world is a really good piece of bread. That's been stuck in my head since hearing it because I've never even liked bread that much or thought it was all that special-- it's not very tasty, it's not all that healthy, and I generally treat it as nothing more than a mop for my leftover sauces on my plate. Yet after a delicious lunch in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, I walked past an organic Forn (bakery/bread shop), and had to go in. It wasn't the bread that drew me in, but the fact that finding anything organic in Barcelona is a huge rarity... buying organic foods is of no concern in Catalunya. So, accordingly, I had to go in and buy a loaf to see what it was all about.
Well, lesson finally learned that I should always ask the price of an item before I buy it... because it was a $13 loaf of bread. Then again, I don't think I did learn my lesson because it was the best bread I have ever tasted in my entire life... by so so far. And I would buy it a million times over...until I was therefore tens of millions in debt, because it was so good. Luckily it's in a far-away barrio from my house. But I finally understand why a good piece of bread can be the most euphoric eating experience: all your life, you think you know what bread is-- that it's very plain-- until you have your first bite of real artisan bread. It makes me wonder what the possibilities are for all average foods to be simply extraordinary.