Eat @ Joe's By Ralph Raffio for 2015 WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RALPH RAFFIO Ralph Raffio has been a writer and editor for more than 35 years. He is former editor-in-chief of Restaurant Business magazine and currently writes the award-winning food blog Mister Meatball. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, he is now based in suburban Portland, Maine, and curses United Airlines whenever he has to connect to almost anywhere. He'll always stop for BBQ at The Salt Lick when he's at Austin-Bergstrom International and is convinced you should eat at Don Peppe while stuck at Kennedy Airport in New York. November 19: I HAVE FAMILY IN PARIS NOW. WE ALL DO. I finally made it to Paris, for the first time ever, about a month ago. Today all I can think about is booking a flight, any flight, back to Paris. When your family needs you, when they're really, really hurting, you show up. And Paris is my family now. May 28: BEFORE HIPSTERS, THERE WAS A REAL BROOKLYN Brooklyn has become "the great cliche," but before the hipsters and the smug artisan goods and gear, there was a real place with real people and real food. I am a born-and-raised Brooklynite and I return home to find five places that have withstood the test of time. February 5: EAST OF EDEN, A MEATBALL IN THE SNOW When an historic blizzard missed New York City by a few miles, weather forecasters actually apologized and jackals attacked politicians for heeding the weather warnings. But what about the flyers east of Eden who got buried? Why does a blizzard only matter when it hits New York? Digging out from four feet of snow in Maine, Ralph wonders why the rest of the frequent-flying world doesn't matter. These columns originally appeared at JoeSentMe.com. Copyright © 2015 by Ralph Raffio. All rights reserved.