This red shoe box contains more than a decade of eating, drinking, and traveling — from Dharamsala in India, to Buenos Aires in Argentina, these cards have traveled from different cities, countries, and continents, managing to make it through several inter-state moves to become the giant collection it is today. It all started more than a decade ago, when the sentimentalist in me decided to start saving business cards from the different places at which I shared a memorable meal or drink, as somewhat of a keepsake and a way to remember the place for the next time. Eventually as they began to accumulate, they moved from my wallet, to an envelope, to a bag, to a box.

The best part is to be able to pick up one and remember a moment in time (that meal of fresh seafood in Marseille on our road-trip through the South of France; those late-night dosas we ate while on a reporting trip in Bangalore; that tiny Italian restaurant in Boston’s North End that my family has been going to for years). They range from home-printed paper cut-outs, to fancy embossed gold-lettered cards, each one representative of the character of the restaurant, cafe, or bar — a flowery cutout from a small French cafe in New York City’s West Village; one resembling a playing card from a speakeasy in London. There are some places where I’ve been once, and others where I’ve been several dozen times (you know you’re a regular when you walk in and they know your order).

There’s some nostalgic value to them too, as with all of the digitization of the world these days, it’s somewhat of an old-fashioned thing to carry physical paper cards around (I’m also still a diehard reader of the print newspaper!). Sometimes when I ask for one on my way out of a restaurant, they have to dig behind the bar for a few minutes before finding that lone stash that looks like it hasn’t been touched in a while. And more often than not, a smile lights up when I ask for one, as it’s a nice way of saying you enjoyed your meal and plan to return.

It’s also become a great way to offer recommendations to friends and family who happen to be traveling to those cities where you have lived or visited. When my memory fails, I can always go back to my trusty card collection. This has happened so often that I’ve finally gotten around to building a section of this site where you can find all of my recommendations for restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, bakeries, bars, bistros, and many more: See here.

From cards to corks

I’ve taken a similar approach to wine corks in recent years — as there are often memorable events attached to each bottle (dinner parties; holiday meals; or just a casual get-together with friends). This collection also spans across countries and continents, and across red, white, and rosé. You can go the extra mile by writing the date/event on each wine cork.

Both the cards and the corks are a way to remember moments big and small (whether it’s a celebratory dinner or a low-key summer Sunday). It goes back to the old saying, “there’s nothing better in life than good food and good company.” Like laughing, eating and drinking are those universal languages that bring people together, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or religion. So the next time you pop in a restaurant or pop open a bottle, think of keeping that card or cork as a keepsake, and before you know you’ll have your own shoe box to fill.