There is an epic struggle in the human psyche between choice and happiness. Giving people a choice gives them a sense of control, which leads to empowerment. But in the end, it really is happiness that holds the trump card for long term satisfaction – and the kicker is that people are generally happier with less choice not more. Think of how Steve Jobs upon his return to Apple immediately cut out the bulk of their SKUs to hone the message and get their customers happy.
Therefore in many cases (but none that I’d publicly admit to), its best to either give no choices, or a paper choice – the later which is even more problematic to yield publicly.
Thus it is also so with my grilled chicken wings. I use to serve them with five different sauces, from basil pesto to an Asian cumin sauce. Now I just do one at a time – and this time it was my favorite pomegranate and lime juice sauce, topped with cilantro.
Secret ingredient: a hearty amount of ground cinnamon and allspice in the sauce – who would have thought?
Music accompaniment: Ali Farka Toure for the pomegranate sauce
