The food-crime connection

I'm not alone.  Linda Fairstein's new novel, described here, may make me break my rule of no modern, no US crime fiction.  For a Manhattan a sex-crimes prosectur turned crime novelist, she sure seems to know her way around a restaurant.  But what exactly is it about the connection between food and crime?  I'm not particularlyimpressed by the other argument mentioned in the article, that food provides comfort to the reader in an otherwise grim story.  Me, I think it rounds out the characters more, esp. Our Hero, when s/he has a side-interest in making sure there is at least one good meal once in a while.  Such sensory exploration suggests that there is more to life than just getting the bad guy.  What do you think?