See you in the next decade, a restaurateur emailed me, and I had to stop and think: “Oh, yes, tomorrow’s not just the new year but the 20teens.”

The last day of the year is always a time for remembering what we liked about the last, but I think looking ahead is more appropriate for a brand new 10 years. So what do I want?

1. That food safety comes to the forefront of American attention. Those stories about ammonia-treated processed (or as one insider calls it “pink slime”) beef sold for school lunches because it can reduce costs by pennies even if e coli and samonella might be present are truly horrifying. And disgraceful for a country rich with agricultural resources.

2. That farmers, including vegetable farmers, be recognized and rewarded fairly for what they do.

3. That independent, gimmick-free restaurants do well by feeding us well.

4. That obesity become a past-tense problem.

5. That hunger be diminishes, if not wiped out.

6. That we eat wisely and well.

We’re just back from South Beach (and, yes, it was gloriously warm). I don’t think the dining scene there matches Boston, SanFrancisco and certainly

Chef Rodriguez

not New York, but maybe the sun is too bright.

However, we did happen to drop in on D. Rodriguez Cuba’s second night. This is Douglas Rodriguez (OLA, “godfather of Nuevo Latino, Top Chef), who has a new spot that’s dedicated to only Cuban cuisine. It’s a little more downscale price-wise than OLA, and has some interesting twists on what can be a delicious but pretty heavy cuisine

Octopus salad esbache was delicious and so were the short rib skewers (though they tasted sort of pan-Asian — wasn’t that soy sauce), but the arroz con pollo, tried because it’s such a classic, was odd. The rice and peas were just right, but the chicken, advertised as thigh meat, was definitely breast meat covered with a creamy sauce. That was tangy and tasty but overall, it wasn’t the homey dish one might expect but instead a kind of hybrid — Cuban meets Continental??

Because the liquor license had’t been finalized, the restaurant was offering rum cocktails gratis — a lovely lime daquiri and a rum punch, both well-made, not too sweet, and not too boozy.

The staff was pleasant, friendly, and really nervous. Even the laid-back feeling of South Beach, and the beautiful surroundings of the Hotel Astor didn’t seem to calm them. And when I happened to see Chef Rodriguez with his wife Nelly in the lobby, he too seemed jittery. I guess that’s understandable in an economy that’s affecting even the golden edges of Florida.

But give Rodriguez and his staff a little time. I’d definitely go back to graze through more of his Cuban food — and I’m sure others will, too. Maybe Nelly’s roast chicken would be a better choice. Next time.

For those of us working in the world of food, the subject of hunger is vexing. That some seek out the most luxurious and rarest in comestibles, others consume much, too much, and yet so many never have enough to eat seems unreconcilable.

Boston area restaurateurs and chefs are famously known for being charitable to hunger-related causes. But even the waves of donations — from benefits for Greater Boston Food Bank  to Share Our Strength to local groups such as My Brothers’ Table  in Lynn — are a drop in the bucket. This year, especially the need far outstrips the giving.

So what can we personally do about hunger? I have no set answer, no panacea for the ills of the world. Only the beginning of  a gift list.

Heifer International and pig gift

 Yesterday, I went online and bought my parents, who spent their younger years giving as much as they could to their extended families, community, church, and those in far away places, a pig. Well, not really a live, squealing pig Fed-exed to them, but $120 to Heifer International. This will pay for a family in a developing country to have a pig that can feed and provide for them. Oh, and I dropped a couple of dollars into a Salvation Army bucket (my mother rang a bell for years at Christmas time).

Next week, I’ll decide how much I can give to My Brother’s Table, which feeds and cares for homeless in Lynn. After that, I’ll consider my New Year’s Resolutions — what will the next year bring and what I can do — from helping to find restaurateurs willing to participate in charitable events to volunteering to putting up some money. 

It’s only a little, a drop in the bucket of need, and certainly miniscule compared to what others give.  But it’s my drop into the bucket of hunger.