As Any True Foodie Will Tell You

[talon]

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/05/06/young-foodies-going-lowbrow/

As any true foodie will tell you, it's the food that matters, not the location.

"Does it taste good?" is the driving force. "What do I know about it?" is a close second followed by "Where can I get it?"

Restaurant reviews aren't limited to 4 star restaurants. Any restaurant can be reviewed at pretty much any time. And - it's not just restaurants. Company picnics, family dinners, church potlucks, tasting fairs, festival foods, and even back yard barbecues can be reviewed.

Even the definition of restaurant is changing. It's no longer a chef-supervised kitchen and dining room with waiters and host(esse)s and managers, it can be as elusive and ephemeral as the "underground" restaurants or street cook-offs or food trucks.

I think it's marvelous that "food" has escaped from the haughty and the privileged and now the "hoi polloi" can discuss it and be excited by it and even the poorest among us can sample foods and techniques they would never otherwise know existed.

I love that I can mention "sous vide" and know that most people will at least have a clue what I'm talking about, and that we can discuss the merits of organic milk compared to free range or unpasteurized milk or store milk, that we can discuss the difference between a cream cheese cheesecake and a mascarpone cheesecake and a feta cheese cheesecake. I love that we can talk mangoes and avocados and discuss the lineage of apples. I want more people to taste really fresh durian.

I am contemptuous of the people like Joe Pompeo who call other "foodiots" because I think they feel threatened by this explosion of food awareness. Their palate isn't as precious and their reviews aren't capable of making or breaking a restaurant (like that food critic in the animated "Ratatouille") - that control has been swept away in the tide of food love. I think food and eating should be a dominant part of our culture. After all, food is essential to our survival, so why shouldn't we enjoy it?

Along with the snooty Joe Pompeos are the condescending Linda Shapiros (author of Julia Child: A Life) who calls enthusiastic eaters "dimwits who go to 16 restaurants a week" and dismisses their sharing of their experiences.

The Pompeos and Shapiros just don't get it, do they? They are getting left behind in a rapidly evolving world of food, cuisine, and community. It's not just about perfection, it's about the community of food, about the source of the food, about the impact food has on our lives and well-being.

I view this foodie-ness as being quintessentially American - fusing techniques and ingredients in many ways, taking it back for the home kitchen while still supporting independent restaurants, local farmers, and the global economy, too. It's full of paradoxes - the foodie who can tell you the names of all the waiters at his favorite restaurant and recite where all the ingredients originate, but is clueless about making his own pot roast or the foodie who uses her kitchen as a laboratory for concocting some of the most bizarre and sometimes surprisingly tasty things, applying techniques that would make an engineer weep.

You can find nearly anything food related online. It's a vibrant community spilling over mostly with enthusiasm and joy and incredulity (they ate what???!!?), and those grumpy name-calling food fossils are such a small part that most people don't hear them - even when they get spot-lighted in the NY Times or NY Observer or WaPo, or even Fox.

It's an evil genius of food, and I revel in it!