food/porn

[plumerai]

I went to wd-50 last night, and I was planning on posting about it. But in talking to a friend about it, I found myself saying "They tied foie gras in a knot!" and "It was pizza, in pebble form!" and shuddered a little. Not because of the ethical considerations of foie gras, not because of any disenchantment with whimsy, but more the idea of, Why

Comments

[chaosinaskirt]

I don't like eating at places where I don't know what's on the menu without having to go look it up. (Translating is less an issue, probably because I speak enough menu to know what I want in most cases, and most menus will have an english translation around.)

While I like trying new food, when push comes to shove, if I can't picture the combination of flavors (or at least the combination of scents) together, I won't order it.

I write about food more for me than for anyone who reads; I'm so spastic that I constantly lose recipes, and my blog lets me post them and my thoughts (and if I remembered the camera, a photo)...

[plumerai]

>I write about food more for me than for anyone who reads<

Maybe I'd write more about food if I had this approach to any writing--I only write for myself when I'm all angsty. I mean, I'm always writing for myself, but as far as writing solely for my own purposes as opposed to wanting to share something.

[sybness]

Much public fetishising (I use the word deliberately) about food leaves me cold. I think my reaction against rhapsodising, for a listener/audience, about food comes from as far back as that moment in the 80s when noodles became pasta in Wisconsin.

From that point on it seemed talking knowledgeably about food was meant to indicate the talker's good taste and experience of fine dining. Love of food arguably--very arguably--became, at that time in the greedy 80s, subsumed by love of showing off.

I love going out to eat and am glad of my experience working in restuarants, as I learned a lot about food then. (They were good restaurants.) But generally I leave the talking about food to others. I find it gets somehow competitive.

Interesting post, clearly touched a nerve in me :)

[plumerai]

It's unfortunate that the showing-off aspect so easily eclipses the people writing about food because it's really their passion. I was thinking further about why I do appreciate reading what certain people have to write about food--I don't think it's just because they're friends. I think it's that because they're friends, I know that their love of food is akin to mine (not about status or one-upmanship, but about flavors and techniques), and that they simply verbalize it better than I do.

The competitive aspect is why I stay away from online food communities and hesitate to call myself a foodie. I go to Chowhound sometimes and inevitably leave annoyed for that reason.

[snarkout_rat]

So talking about food is like dancing about architecture? (I believe that original quote had to do with talking/writing about sex, and I generally agree with that. Now that you mention it: yes, food is in the same category, and at age 34 the food talk I hear around me in the world definitely does remind me of the sex talk I heard a decade ago.)

There's a Richard Thompson song, "I read about love. Read it in a magazine." Great, cynical song.

Please post your recipe for mango lassi ice cream.

Cheburekis are rotating in my head.

[fuzzilla]

It was actually music in the "dancing about architecture" quote. I didn't know Elvis Costello said it 'til I looked it up

[fuzzilla]

Apparently there's a big debate about who said it, but they gave Elvis Costello the most credit at my first Google search result:

http://home.pacifier.com/~ascott/they/tamildaa.htm

[c_quilty]

ANY of us?

[plumerai]

ANY of you, especially those who don sombreros.

[plumerai]

I'd prefer for you to wear a very tiny fedora, but okay.

[xrew]

Hmm, intriguing. :)