mark bittman, good morning.ll us about this table. >> this is the greatest hits. i understand you guys like to eat. >> we do. >> jalapeno poppers stuffed with cheese, grilled. this is like my favorite thing in the world. shrimp with garlic and olive oil. you can call it scampi or whatever you want. it's the simplest best shrimp dish you can imagine. arugula salad with chickpeas, oven baked fries with olive oil if you will. we've got to be seasonal. rue bard pie. >> as we toast you, what are we drinking? >> tequila with grapefruit juice. cheers. >> we heard all of the different jobs. but when did you know food was a profession for you? >> things got really -- i started wry writing about food in 1980 but things got interesting around 2000. >> why? >> that's when there srt of felt leak there was this change when you could talk about food in a more social context, and i don't mean hanging out. part of food as aer issous jikt like the economy or politics. >> you wanted the wroot about politics in the beginning. >> i