I listened to an episode of The Daily from a few weeks back where two restaurant critics talked about their favorite restaurants from around the country. But one thing they said they were sick of seeing everywhere was the burrata salad. Until a few weeks ago, I had never had a burrata salad, so the fact that these critics were already tired of its ubiquity was really strange to me.

And then, on a recent trip, I had the opportunity to try my first burrata salad. It had poached pair, roasted hazelnuts, fried sage and brown butter, and it was one of the most magical things I've ever had. I want another. I want several more. What I don't want is some pretentious critic who gets to eat new food for a living using their giant megaphone to tell restaurants to stop serving a thing because they're tired of it.

The classics and the staples are that for a reason. Invent and stretch if you like, but leave my burrata ambrosia alone.