Food culture
It's hard to figure just where the hell America stands in the food world. I mean some of the most innovative and talent chefs in the world come here
and have very successful careers, Food Network is one of the most popular shows on cable and anyone who is anywhere above fry cook at McDonalds
now calls themselves "chef". There is almost a cult of food worship going on right now but is it really a cult of worship or more like sports fans?
Like sports fans the food fans follow their favorites and live vicariously through them instead of actually going out and doing it themselves. There are
the gradient levels of food fans with their own levels of snobbery. There are the people who watch Anthony Bourdain and so consider themselves to
be hardcore even though he has mellowed a hell of a lot through the years. The same people who enthuse over Mario Battali probably never watched
"Molto Mario" because most of those dishes were a bit more complicated than the slop served up by America's Sweetheart Rachel Rey. The thing is
that the people who watch these shows never even try to make the dishes they see, not even Sandra Lee's crap. It's just entertainment.
How many football fans actually go out and play the game nowadays?
How many people who are constantly tuned in to the Travel Channel, Discovery or Food Network ever try to actually cook something outside of their
comfort zone? For all of our new food culture and everyone thinks of themself as a food blogger now, do they cook anything from scratch anymore
or go to places other than chain restaurants? Hell, I've seen chain restaurants be the most crowded places in Italy, Germany, Spain and other
amazing food countries. What is even more insulting is when these same chains try to capture the latest food trend and water it down to serve their
mindless masses. Look at the proliferation of buzzwords that every TGI McWendys puts out because some food trend executive realizes that it is
what the public fanbase wants. Tuscan, Bacon, Chipotle, Sicilian, Buffalo, etc, etc, ad nauseum... And far too many times the foods with the title
have very little to do with what that style actually is. And Americans are constantly looking for the new "hot" item and chasing it like mad so they
can be "edgy" even when it is commonplace. Look at the whole "pork belly" craze going on. Once if some kitchen offered pork belly it was either
a soul food place or some upper end chef being absolutely insane. But now if you look at any medium to high end kitchen they MUST offer pork belly
because it is so "in". IHOP is now offering that wonderfully radical Harlem inspired dish of Chicken and Waffles. Of course they refuse to make it
correctly but instead just throw on what they already have to make it properly watered down for Mr. & Mrs. Minivan so the chicken is boneless
chicken strips. Why? Because the boneless chicken strips cook fast and come in convenient pre-packaged form. And don't get me started on this
freaky "bacon" mania going on. People are thinking they are cutting edge if they manage to put bacon on anything. At least this bacon weirdness
translates from the swamp-dwelling redneck to the most rarified culinary icons.
Another weirdness is this whole molecular gastronomy thing. I understand that Adrian Ferrera is a freaking genius and one of the most inventive
minds in the cooking world. There are others who are also visionaries in this area. And I fully applaud the concept of looking at food and finding
out what other things can be done with it. The concentration of flavors and distilling the essential essence of an items fundamental tastes is fascinating
as well as educational. Much of molecular gastronomy will advance the concept and preparation of food to new levels. Unfortunately this is also a
new rage and you can't go to any "upper level" establishment without having something with a freaking foam on it. I'm opposed to foam. It is
unappealing for the most part and doesn't add much to a dish. In the rare instances when it is done correctly by someone who understands the
concept it elevates the very good to the sublime. But nowadays it seems that "cutting edge" chefs love the idea of foams and liquid nitrogen
far more than the execution.
I guess what I'm getting at is just what the hell happened to food? In my personal culinary wasteland of the Dallas/Ft. Worth region, there are very
few good solid non-chain places to eat where everything is prepared on site and the people actually care about what they are serving. About the
only from scratch places in my area are a couple of Mexican and BBQ joints. Where are the Mom and Pop diners that makes their own corned beef
hash and meatloaf? Where is the Italian place that makes its own pasta? Sure, you can get that at expensive "trendy" restaurants but where is
it for the real world? Oh wait, it's probably on the newest latest thing, a food truck. Or a couple of ethnic restaurants.
For as much as he annoys me on a personal level, Guy Fierri at least bases his show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on places that do everything
on site, from scratch. He (well, his production team) researches each place and makes sure to show people there are still last bastions of individuality
amongst the conglomerations. Unfortunately I've been to a couple of places he has featured on his show and haven't been blown away. But it is
nice to know they are out there.
American bloggers spend a lot of time going to upper end restaurants and taking pictures of their food but I think one thing that differentiates
many Americans from other cultures where food is important is that we are merely spectators in the food world. The people of France love
their cafes and bistros and such. But they also know how to cook. Italians know how to make a proper tomato sauce. Any Thai housewife can
make a peanut sauce to rival anything over here. They understand food on its primal level with their own hands and know the magic an professional
can do. When I make a post about some dish I've made for dinner and people write to say how amazing it seems my usual first response is
"This? It's easy, you like it? You make it." I'm not an amazing cook. The stuff I do is pretty simple with no special techniques and anyone who
wants to understand food should just get in there and give it a shot. Food isn't hard. Take a basic cooking class and learn what real food is and
then if you still can't cook at least you can understand the principles and maybe avoid Denny's the next time.
Everyone who has tastebuds is a chef. When you watch Tony Bourdain tear into a goulash in Vienna and you want to try that then you have
proven you can cook. You don't know what that goulash tastes like but you can "see" it in your mind. So go and learn a goulash recipe from
a cookbook or a website and then make it taste like what is in your mind. Figure out what each ingredient in your pantry tastes like alone so
that you can taste your dish and think it needs something then go to the pantry that adds that taste. That's what being a "great cook"
boils down to. Make something taste like what is in your head. Use those fancy shows for inspiration. Cinnamon and butter on a steak?
Sounds weird but why not give it a try? And THAT is something that Outback won't be serving to the masses.
I will give a nod to these celebrity chef/travel host/professional eaters that are so pervasive and that is they are inspiring us dumb fat
Americans to maybe try something new. When bubbly little Samantha Brown eats goose liver and gets all dreamy over it then maybe,
just maybe Myrtle in Columbus might not turn her nose up at braised beef heart in red wine.
And that, my friends, is worth something.
and have very successful careers, Food Network is one of the most popular shows on cable and anyone who is anywhere above fry cook at McDonalds
now calls themselves "chef". There is almost a cult of food worship going on right now but is it really a cult of worship or more like sports fans?
Like sports fans the food fans follow their favorites and live vicariously through them instead of actually going out and doing it themselves. There are
the gradient levels of food fans with their own levels of snobbery. There are the people who watch Anthony Bourdain and so consider themselves to
be hardcore even though he has mellowed a hell of a lot through the years. The same people who enthuse over Mario Battali probably never watched
"Molto Mario" because most of those dishes were a bit more complicated than the slop served up by America's Sweetheart Rachel Rey. The thing is
that the people who watch these shows never even try to make the dishes they see, not even Sandra Lee's crap. It's just entertainment.
How many football fans actually go out and play the game nowadays?
How many people who are constantly tuned in to the Travel Channel, Discovery or Food Network ever try to actually cook something outside of their
comfort zone? For all of our new food culture and everyone thinks of themself as a food blogger now, do they cook anything from scratch anymore
or go to places other than chain restaurants? Hell, I've seen chain restaurants be the most crowded places in Italy, Germany, Spain and other
amazing food countries. What is even more insulting is when these same chains try to capture the latest food trend and water it down to serve their
mindless masses. Look at the proliferation of buzzwords that every TGI McWendys puts out because some food trend executive realizes that it is
what the public fanbase wants. Tuscan, Bacon, Chipotle, Sicilian, Buffalo, etc, etc, ad nauseum... And far too many times the foods with the title
have very little to do with what that style actually is. And Americans are constantly looking for the new "hot" item and chasing it like mad so they
can be "edgy" even when it is commonplace. Look at the whole "pork belly" craze going on. Once if some kitchen offered pork belly it was either
a soul food place or some upper end chef being absolutely insane. But now if you look at any medium to high end kitchen they MUST offer pork belly
because it is so "in". IHOP is now offering that wonderfully radical Harlem inspired dish of Chicken and Waffles. Of course they refuse to make it
correctly but instead just throw on what they already have to make it properly watered down for Mr. & Mrs. Minivan so the chicken is boneless
chicken strips. Why? Because the boneless chicken strips cook fast and come in convenient pre-packaged form. And don't get me started on this
freaky "bacon" mania going on. People are thinking they are cutting edge if they manage to put bacon on anything. At least this bacon weirdness
translates from the swamp-dwelling redneck to the most rarified culinary icons.
Another weirdness is this whole molecular gastronomy thing. I understand that Adrian Ferrera is a freaking genius and one of the most inventive
minds in the cooking world. There are others who are also visionaries in this area. And I fully applaud the concept of looking at food and finding
out what other things can be done with it. The concentration of flavors and distilling the essential essence of an items fundamental tastes is fascinating
as well as educational. Much of molecular gastronomy will advance the concept and preparation of food to new levels. Unfortunately this is also a
new rage and you can't go to any "upper level" establishment without having something with a freaking foam on it. I'm opposed to foam. It is
unappealing for the most part and doesn't add much to a dish. In the rare instances when it is done correctly by someone who understands the
concept it elevates the very good to the sublime. But nowadays it seems that "cutting edge" chefs love the idea of foams and liquid nitrogen
far more than the execution.
I guess what I'm getting at is just what the hell happened to food? In my personal culinary wasteland of the Dallas/Ft. Worth region, there are very
few good solid non-chain places to eat where everything is prepared on site and the people actually care about what they are serving. About the
only from scratch places in my area are a couple of Mexican and BBQ joints. Where are the Mom and Pop diners that makes their own corned beef
hash and meatloaf? Where is the Italian place that makes its own pasta? Sure, you can get that at expensive "trendy" restaurants but where is
it for the real world? Oh wait, it's probably on the newest latest thing, a food truck. Or a couple of ethnic restaurants.
For as much as he annoys me on a personal level, Guy Fierri at least bases his show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on places that do everything
on site, from scratch. He (well, his production team) researches each place and makes sure to show people there are still last bastions of individuality
amongst the conglomerations. Unfortunately I've been to a couple of places he has featured on his show and haven't been blown away. But it is
nice to know they are out there.
American bloggers spend a lot of time going to upper end restaurants and taking pictures of their food but I think one thing that differentiates
many Americans from other cultures where food is important is that we are merely spectators in the food world. The people of France love
their cafes and bistros and such. But they also know how to cook. Italians know how to make a proper tomato sauce. Any Thai housewife can
make a peanut sauce to rival anything over here. They understand food on its primal level with their own hands and know the magic an professional
can do. When I make a post about some dish I've made for dinner and people write to say how amazing it seems my usual first response is
"This? It's easy, you like it? You make it." I'm not an amazing cook. The stuff I do is pretty simple with no special techniques and anyone who
wants to understand food should just get in there and give it a shot. Food isn't hard. Take a basic cooking class and learn what real food is and
then if you still can't cook at least you can understand the principles and maybe avoid Denny's the next time.
Everyone who has tastebuds is a chef. When you watch Tony Bourdain tear into a goulash in Vienna and you want to try that then you have
proven you can cook. You don't know what that goulash tastes like but you can "see" it in your mind. So go and learn a goulash recipe from
a cookbook or a website and then make it taste like what is in your mind. Figure out what each ingredient in your pantry tastes like alone so
that you can taste your dish and think it needs something then go to the pantry that adds that taste. That's what being a "great cook"
boils down to. Make something taste like what is in your head. Use those fancy shows for inspiration. Cinnamon and butter on a steak?
Sounds weird but why not give it a try? And THAT is something that Outback won't be serving to the masses.
I will give a nod to these celebrity chef/travel host/professional eaters that are so pervasive and that is they are inspiring us dumb fat
Americans to maybe try something new. When bubbly little Samantha Brown eats goose liver and gets all dreamy over it then maybe,
just maybe Myrtle in Columbus might not turn her nose up at braised beef heart in red wine.
And that, my friends, is worth something.