I’m struggling with the quiet. It’s week seven of social isolation, and of all the strange new aspects of coronavirus life — working from home, compulsively washing my hands, wearing a mask in public — it’s the silence I can’t get used to.

I’m a food writer, and before COVID-19 I probably found myself out at a restaurant, bar, or coffee shop four to seven times a week. Now, like the rest of the world, I’m stuck to eating at