FOODIE: To Be Or Not to Be
a taste of discrimination, prejudice, and controversyAccording to Wikipedia, “foodies are amatuers who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news.” I, Jo Boston, consider myself a foodie. I am not a professional in any way, I eat food, I research a restaurant’s menu before I head over, I cook meals for my loved ones, and articles of restaurant openings gets my adrenaline pumping, so by golly, I would have to say I am an example of a foodie. I think I made it quite clear when I made my blog URL: www.jobostonisafoodie.blogspot.com.
Some people eat to live. I live to eat. I think I differ from my significant other, for example, solely on the fact that he eats whatever it set in front of him. When something is presented to me, I like to dissect it. Instead of dissecting poor animals, like frogs and sharks in school, we should have dissected Foster Farms chickens and cooked them on the heating plates. I like to know what goes in my food and why my tongue reacted the way it did.
Whenever I am with my significant other, family members, friends, etc., they ask me where I want to eat because “you’re the foodie.” Fair enough. I spend a lot of my time researching where I can have a splendid dinner with friends or where I can have a great bite to eat with or without anyone with me. It doesn’t really matter who I am with because the food itself is my partner. So no, the question of, “Don’t you feel embarrassed eating alone?” should not even be discussed because I am comfortable venturing out on my own just to satisfy this yearning inside.
Early Spring of 2007, I started my blog titled “Taking Over the World One Bite at a Time.” It was a way for me to record my food experiences because once I finish that plate of ribs or tear away the last layer of aluminum foil from that humungous super burrito, I probably won’t see it ever again. Shoot, if I’m going to spend all my money on dinners, I better have something to remember them by. So keeping a history of what I ate, where I ate it, and who I ate it with became a hobby of mine. It was a form of self-gratification because some of the experiences are truly once in a lifetime, and knowing I had the opportunity to experience it makes me feel very fortunate, plus a girl deserves to spoil herself once in a while with gluttony.
So once I started my blog, it was invigorating to find out where I can find the best BBQ, sushi, burrito, bahn mi, etc., in the City. I mean, why not? If it’s “the best,” why not try it out for yourself? So I started to scour food-related boards like Chowhound, and began reading articles in SFWeekly, and searched for “Best Of…” lists making them a check-off list for me to keep track of what I had already tried and see if my experience matched the ones published. This simple love of food became a full-fledged obsession and my desire of it consumed me.
Until…I took a punch in the gut. The Chowhound manifesto states: “…Chowhounds know where the good stuff is, and they never settle for less than optimal deliciousness, whether dining in splendor or grabbing a quick slice. We’re not talking about foodies. Foodies eat where they’re told. Chowhounds blaze trails. They comb through neighborhoods for culinary treasure. They despise hype. And while they appreciate ambiance and service, they can’t be fooled by flash…”
Was I living a lie? There is even a board on Chowhound dedicated to how much people hated the word “foodie.” Is there is war between “Chowhounds” and “foodies”? My heart almost hit the floor because my newfound affection of food was prejudged by a hoard of people just because of what I called myself. What I feel is true is looked down upon by some just because I have “foodie” in my screen name. Does this sound ridiculous to people other than me? What puzzles me the most is that a good amount of the people in Chowhound have “foodie” contained in their screen handle. Maybe Chowhound should have had a disclaimer stating, “If you have “foodie” in your screen name, we will disrupt your registration for going against our manifesto.”
I just “love” the line, “Foodies eat where they’re told.” These days, it is pretty hard not to read that review in the Chron or to flip on any of the City’s local television programs and see a feature of a new restaurant opening. I am not going to speak for all those who proclaim themselves as foodies when I say that intrigue and curiosity fuels my fire to go out and see what everyone is talking about. It really is up to the person if they are willing to give up some of their time and dinero to an establishment, ingredient, event, etc. Supposedly Chowhounds “despise hype,” so can 100% of those registered with Chowhound say that 100% of all the places they have eaten at and enjoyed did not stem from a recommendation of a friend, family member or colleague? And that 100% of what they have eaten is enjoyed only by them and that they have not MADE recommendations themselves? I think, to be a good leader, you have to be a good follower.
If you go on any regional or city-based board, 100% of the time you will find a post along the lines of, “I am visiting (insert city here), where to eat?” They are ASKING to be told where to eat. These are people who love food. If they surely did not care about their meals, they could go to the local McDonald’s. But these are folks who want an experience that can only be obtained from their destination. Are the folks up in the Chowhound upper ranks confusing themselves because 99% of the other posts in the same board are of people giving reports about where they ate or what they found at the local farmer’s market and how much they loved it, hated it, whatever. Doesn’t that sound like HYPE to you? It sure does to me.
People talk and write about food because they are moved about their experience, positive or negative, and want to share about it. Consciously or unconsciously, this stirs up HYPE. I myself have written posts to excite other people. If my encounter was good, then I would surely encourage you to experience it as well. So this line of, “Foodies eat where they’re told.” rubs me the wrong way because it is the Chowhounders who do most of the telling. What is the point of telling when there is no following? I may be of those people taking that advice, but I shouldn’t be subject to persecution.
Most likely if you got to this paragraph, you are probably wondering to yourself, “This girl really is anti-Chowhound.” But no, that is not true. Chowhound is bookmarked on my mobile device. Yes, my MOBILE device. I like to keep it handy for tips and suggestions. I also keep Yelp!, EaterSF, and Tablehopper on hand on my cell as well because you just never know what can happen. I might need an address to somewhere or just bored on the BART and need some reading material. The bottom line is that I like to keep myself informed about certain things in culinary society. Is that so wrong?
However, I do have something to say to Chowhound: you better take another look at your manifesto because the word “foodie” shows up in all of your boards. If you have a site that claims what their members are NOT, you better be sure that the people supporting, viewing, using, and contributing on your message boards KNOW this. Your manifesto is basically telling people who say they are foodies, like me, that we are lowly followers, we are all about the hype (like that was a horrible thing), we settle for crap, and we do not venture to find deliciousness in this world.
If you’re a Chowhound, I give you my blessings. No seriously, I have nothing but love and respect for you, but when someone goes out and tells me what I am NOT, that crosses the line. Maybe I’m a bit sensitive because I believe I have been a food-lover ever since I was a child, maybe even straight out of the womb. How is it possible for someone to judge someone’s capabilities, tastes, and habits from a name, screen handle, nickname, etc? Like racism, I’m going to call this “foodism.” Some food-loving people are claiming they are “better” than other food-loving people JUST BECAUSE:
1. They have more money
2. They have been to more restaurants
3. They went to culinary school
4. They personally know a chef of a restaurant
5. They get hooked-up at restaurants
6. They claim to know everything there is to know about food
I just do not think that’s fair. When asked what is my favorite restaurant, I’m not going to say Michael Mina just because it’s a top restaurant in San Francisco. I’m going to say Saigon Sandwiches, Pho Hoa Hiep, Ongpin, and King of Thai Noodle because I go to them the most and I love their food. I could care less if cleanliness and location are sketchy. I am not going to say a high-end restaurant just so that I look wealthy or classy. It’s just funny how someone can claim a place is their favorite place if they have been to is only once and the place changes their menu every week. Okay, okay, I’m getting a little bitter here. I’ll stop there because I’m getting heated.
Now tell me, is anything I am saying making sense to ANY of you?
Is the whole world of food getting aggressive or am I being too sensitive?
*long sigh*
Maybe it’s just a little bit of both.
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