National Post wants to ban Foodies! [General]
2009 Jan 7
What does he suggest calling them then? The writer's tone is very nose-in-the-air for someone who doesn't want to be called an epicure/gourmet.
On "gourmet" and "epicure":
"Epicure and gourmet were gobbled up by the term foodie, for the way they conjure "stodgy, snobbish people who are only willing to consider a restaurant that has truffled pate on the menu". Indeed, let's banish foodie for the same reason."
Huh?
Is it just me, or was there not a forum post a few months back where Zymurgist was talking about the wonders of perogies at Giant Tiger? I don't think "foodie" is necessarily the most fun sounding word in the English language, but it certainly represents me well.
I hearby nominate "ottawapeoplewholiketoeatandcookgoodfoodbutarentnoseintheairaboutit.com" as the new domain name, should "foodie" be banished from our lexicon :) Any takers?
On "gourmet" and "epicure":
"Epicure and gourmet were gobbled up by the term foodie, for the way they conjure "stodgy, snobbish people who are only willing to consider a restaurant that has truffled pate on the menu". Indeed, let's banish foodie for the same reason."
Huh?
Is it just me, or was there not a forum post a few months back where Zymurgist was talking about the wonders of perogies at Giant Tiger? I don't think "foodie" is necessarily the most fun sounding word in the English language, but it certainly represents me well.
I hearby nominate "ottawapeoplewholiketoeatandcookgoodfoodbutarentnoseintheairaboutit.com" as the new domain name, should "foodie" be banished from our lexicon :) Any takers?
2009 Jan 7
hahaha... I don't believe the term "foodie" is at much risk from the National Post. :-)
Incidentally, I think "foodie" has come to mean: a person who could see "eating" or "food" listed as a hobby and not think it strange. In other words, a food-enthusiast. So I guess we would need ottawafoodenthusiasts.com ;-)
P.S. I tried the Giant Tiger perogies and found them to be worse than no-name perogies. This is a personal taste thing though, as one of my coworkers also raves about them. The price is sure A-OK!
P.P.S. The two comments on the National Post article are worth checking out. One comment states that since "foodie" and "glutton" are synonyms anyone who bans the first shouldn't mind being called the latter. The other comment also requests banning the word "fabulous," which is really just an unintended tongue-in-cheek demonstration of how arbitrary the slippery slope of word banning can be.
Fun!
Incidentally, I think "foodie" has come to mean: a person who could see "eating" or "food" listed as a hobby and not think it strange. In other words, a food-enthusiast. So I guess we would need ottawafoodenthusiasts.com ;-)
P.S. I tried the Giant Tiger perogies and found them to be worse than no-name perogies. This is a personal taste thing though, as one of my coworkers also raves about them. The price is sure A-OK!
P.P.S. The two comments on the National Post article are worth checking out. One comment states that since "foodie" and "glutton" are synonyms anyone who bans the first shouldn't mind being called the latter. The other comment also requests banning the word "fabulous," which is really just an unintended tongue-in-cheek demonstration of how arbitrary the slippery slope of word banning can be.
Fun!
2009 Jan 8
I have often overheard my friends refer to me as a "foodie" to others and I smart-assedly correct them by saying i am an "serious amateur enthusiast". I know, much more pretentious...
Nothing against the name of this site, but I just don't personally identify with or encourage usage of the term in reference to myself.
Nothing against the name of this site, but I just don't personally identify with or encourage usage of the term in reference to myself.
2009 Jan 8
Hmmm...
I personally like the word foodie because it is so "unpretentious". Epicurean and Gourmet / Gourmand conjure up "snobby" ideals of food for me. Foodie just means one likes food as a hobby, be it cooking, reading recipes, researching new products and trends or eating out. I say leave the word alone.
Perhaps the Gourmets of the world are staging this BAN, they see all this interest in food by the "regular folk" an infringement on their domain? (pun intended)
Fresh Foodie - Please don't consider changing a thing about this site... OttawaGourmet or OttawaFoodSnobs just won't cut it for me... and I couldn't imagine your user name changing to something similar.
;-)
Foodie says it all.
Now if we want to discuss the benefits of BANNING the National Post (and those who believe they are at the Centre of the Universe in old TO, I'd be willing to start that petition).
I personally like the word foodie because it is so "unpretentious". Epicurean and Gourmet / Gourmand conjure up "snobby" ideals of food for me. Foodie just means one likes food as a hobby, be it cooking, reading recipes, researching new products and trends or eating out. I say leave the word alone.
Perhaps the Gourmets of the world are staging this BAN, they see all this interest in food by the "regular folk" an infringement on their domain? (pun intended)
Fresh Foodie - Please don't consider changing a thing about this site... OttawaGourmet or OttawaFoodSnobs just won't cut it for me... and I couldn't imagine your user name changing to something similar.
;-)
Foodie says it all.
Now if we want to discuss the benefits of BANNING the National Post (and those who believe they are at the Centre of the Universe in old TO, I'd be willing to start that petition).
2009 Jan 8
"Now if we want to discuss the benefits of BANNING the National Post (and those who believe they are at the Centre of the Universe in old TO, I'd be willing to start that petition)."
Oh, I wouldn't be able to agree more, except that there are already so few media outlets in this fair country!
Oh, I wouldn't be able to agree more, except that there are already so few media outlets in this fair country!
2009 Jan 28
I'm just reading the book, "Waiter Rant," by the author of the identically named blog, and had to share his rant about foodies. I hope we aren't this bad!
--------
"As the night progresses I get seated the most difficult kind of customers a waiter has to deal with—foodies. Foodies are usually middle-aged people who fancy themselves experts on food, wine, and the finer points of table service. There’s nothing wrong with being a gourmand, but foodies are not gourmands. They’re gourmand wannabes. Like anything else, culinary knowledge takes time to learn. Foodies think they can watch one TV show and become the food critic for the New York Times. They’re the culinary version of the guy who’s had one karate lesson. They clutch their Zagat guides like it’s Mao’s Red Book and quote Frank Bruni like brainwashed members of the Weather Underground. Gourmet magazine’s their spank mag and the Food Network’s their Spice Channel. Right off the bat, I know these four guys are going to be trouble.
“Excuse me, waiter,” one of the men says. “Where’s the bread from?”
I tell him it’s from a commercial bakery.
“Oh,” the man says, putting the bread back in the basket. “I thought it was artisanal bread.”
“Sorry, sir.”
“Do you have any other bread?” his companion asks.
“We don’t, sir.”
“Well, bring me some balsamic vinegar to dip this bread in.”
“It’s in the bottle next to you, sir,” I say.
The bread lover picks up one of the bottles of balsamic vinegar we have on the tables and holds it up to the light.
“What kind of balsamic is in here?”
I tell him. It’s a good commercial brand you can find in the supermarket.
“You don’t have super-fancy balsamic vinegar, do you?” the man asks.
“I beg your pardon?”
“It’s balsamic vinegar that costs two hundred dollars a bottle,” the man says. “I have it at home. You can put it on ice cream.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” I say. “But then again, I learn something new every day.”
“You should know about it,” the man sniffs. “You’re a waiter in a Tuscan restaurant.”
“I don’t think the management would be offended if you brought your own balsamic vinegar in, sir.”
The man looks at me like I slapped him. “Just tell us the specials,” he says dryly.
--------
"As the night progresses I get seated the most difficult kind of customers a waiter has to deal with—foodies. Foodies are usually middle-aged people who fancy themselves experts on food, wine, and the finer points of table service. There’s nothing wrong with being a gourmand, but foodies are not gourmands. They’re gourmand wannabes. Like anything else, culinary knowledge takes time to learn. Foodies think they can watch one TV show and become the food critic for the New York Times. They’re the culinary version of the guy who’s had one karate lesson. They clutch their Zagat guides like it’s Mao’s Red Book and quote Frank Bruni like brainwashed members of the Weather Underground. Gourmet magazine’s their spank mag and the Food Network’s their Spice Channel. Right off the bat, I know these four guys are going to be trouble.
“Excuse me, waiter,” one of the men says. “Where’s the bread from?”
I tell him it’s from a commercial bakery.
“Oh,” the man says, putting the bread back in the basket. “I thought it was artisanal bread.”
“Sorry, sir.”
“Do you have any other bread?” his companion asks.
“We don’t, sir.”
“Well, bring me some balsamic vinegar to dip this bread in.”
“It’s in the bottle next to you, sir,” I say.
The bread lover picks up one of the bottles of balsamic vinegar we have on the tables and holds it up to the light.
“What kind of balsamic is in here?”
I tell him. It’s a good commercial brand you can find in the supermarket.
“You don’t have super-fancy balsamic vinegar, do you?” the man asks.
“I beg your pardon?”
“It’s balsamic vinegar that costs two hundred dollars a bottle,” the man says. “I have it at home. You can put it on ice cream.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” I say. “But then again, I learn something new every day.”
“You should know about it,” the man sniffs. “You’re a waiter in a Tuscan restaurant.”
“I don’t think the management would be offended if you brought your own balsamic vinegar in, sir.”
The man looks at me like I slapped him. “Just tell us the specials,” he says dryly.
2009 Jan 29
Fresh Foodie - I don't think I've seen that sort of "foodie snob" on this community website, I think overall we all are a good bunch based on the posts I've read (*she says opptimistically*) ;-)
BUT, I have certainly seen these sorts at other tables in restaurants I have been to. I always feel sorry for the waiter having to deal with them... they try so desperately to put on airs and make the waiter feel like sh!t, like the poor guy who is just trying to make a buck by standing on his feet all day is way beneath "their level". How dare he wait on them if he isn't an expert on the food, customs and region that is associated with the food he is serving. In the case of this exerpt "Tuscany"... and infact how much can he possibly know if he doesn't "summer there" annually. It a game of stupid one-upmanship if I ever saw one.
Honestly, it makes we want to get out of my seat, cross the restaurant and go over and B!tch Slap the snob... of course in my mind's eye, it would be like a scene out of a movie... and no one in the Restaurant would blink an eye, or take pause, or even notice (except the waiter). LOL
--- --- ---
PS... Don't ya just love "Waiter Rant". It is so well written. And so true!
BUT, I have certainly seen these sorts at other tables in restaurants I have been to. I always feel sorry for the waiter having to deal with them... they try so desperately to put on airs and make the waiter feel like sh!t, like the poor guy who is just trying to make a buck by standing on his feet all day is way beneath "their level". How dare he wait on them if he isn't an expert on the food, customs and region that is associated with the food he is serving. In the case of this exerpt "Tuscany"... and infact how much can he possibly know if he doesn't "summer there" annually. It a game of stupid one-upmanship if I ever saw one.
Honestly, it makes we want to get out of my seat, cross the restaurant and go over and B!tch Slap the snob... of course in my mind's eye, it would be like a scene out of a movie... and no one in the Restaurant would blink an eye, or take pause, or even notice (except the waiter). LOL
--- --- ---
PS... Don't ya just love "Waiter Rant". It is so well written. And so true!
Pete-In-Ottawa
network.nationalpost.com