View Full Version : Pretense and food, funny article
A friend sent this to me some time ago, I thought I share.
So I'm sitting on the train reading the most recent New Yorker which is all about food and come across an article titled 'shut up and eat'. It provides a thoughtful discussion and opinion on our conversation about why the topic of food has become such a crazy obsession. If you do anything in the next 4 hours this must be one of the things. Short, funny and to the point.
Imagine that you die and go to Heaven and stand in front of a jury made up of Thomas Jefferson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Your task would be to compose yourself, look them in the eye, and say, “I was all about fresh, local, and seasonal.”
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/03/shut-eat
Have a lovely evening and many thanks for the unforgettable lunch!!
mark46th
06-05-2015, 09:37
I know this will probably piss-off TS and Penn but I think "presentation" at it's current level is way over the top. The only exception I would give would be to the Chinese and Japanese chefs because their's is more artistry. A few dots of rapberry jelly with a line of mint jelly and a ruffle cut tomato pales in comparison to the work of Asian chefs.
I know this will probably piss-off TS and Penn but I think "presentation" at it's current level is way over the top. The only exception I would give would be to the Chinese and Japanese chefs because their's is more artistry. A few dots of rapberry jelly with a line of mint jelly and a ruffle cut tomato pales in comparison to the work of Asian chefs.
No soup for you!
Actually, I agree as well.
Team Sergeant
06-05-2015, 14:15
I know this will probably piss-off TS and Penn but I think "presentation" at it's current level is way over the top. The only exception I would give would be to the Chinese and Japanese chefs because their's is more artistry. A few dots of rapberry jelly with a line of mint jelly and a ruffle cut tomato pales in comparison to the work of Asian chefs.
No I agree with you, plain and simple is always good. Besides taste is where most folks draw the line, they could give a crap about how it looks.....
x SF med
06-05-2015, 14:51
good tasting is what I go for.... but I don't go for "Chow Hall" presentation either.
Peregrino
06-05-2015, 22:10
good tasting is what I go for.... but I don't go for "Chow Hall" presentation either.
Aww - come on! SOS with three eggs over easy on top splashed with Tabasco and a side of hash browns? Add a cup of coffee and that's a masterpiece.
x SF med
06-06-2015, 04:21
Aww - come on! SOS with three eggs over easy on top splashed with Tabasco and a side of hash browns? Add a cup of coffee and that's a masterpiece.
Brother, I always got one huge pile of glop that was everything you asked for, and some you didn't, with burnt toast thrown on top.:(
Wow! How did you score burnt toast?
I agree to a point, with one exception, which is important to you as well when dining out. There is an expectation with regard to a professional level of execution. You have expectation and want them meet, relative to the establishment, price point, and service.
There is nothing better then sitting in a dockside lobster shack in Maine, eating just caught and cooked lobster with your hands. It's all together another experience sitting in a steakhouse, or a fine dining restaurant. Context is important.
One more thing, I disagree with the artistry statement, as design is culture specific. http://www.bocusedor.com/en check out the pictures and displays. Tom Keller placed second.
One more thing, I disagree with the artistry statement, as design is culture specific. http://www.bocusedor.com/en check out the pictures and displays. Tom Keller placed second.Is that stuff edible?
Food is to be eaten not stared at. There's your Thanksgiving plate full of turkey, mashed potatoes, three types of vegetables, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and here comes your mother's delicious ham, but your plate is packed full, so you put it on top as presentation be damned you're going to dig into this meal.:D
I'm trying to picture a well presented modern day plate put before some Vikings.:confused:
I'm trying to picture a well presented modern day plate put before some Vikings.:confused:
That would be called Rome...
Team Sergeant
06-06-2015, 18:49
I'm trying to picture a well presented modern day plate put before some Vikings.:confused:
Easy, I have some Viking blood..... :munchin And my dogs, Loki and Balder have always enjoyed my cooking......;)
Easy, I have some Viking blood..... :munchin And my dogs, Loki and Balder have always enjoyed my cooking......;)
Please tell me you just plopped into their dishes and did not "arrange" it! :D
Best "finger food" meal for me is steak, chicken, and shrimp fajitas cooked over mesquite. No rice and beans.
Please tell me you just plopped into their dishes and did not "arrange" it! :DThis has me, cracking-the-fuck-up!:D
I love to eat but, to me food is situational. What I love to eat at all ball park or pizza shop is something I probably wouldn't even consider in a 5 Star restaurant. Likewise there are items on that high end restaurant menu I would never consider (even if available) at a ball park or pizza shop. I agree with the article author's opinion about food being over hyped and over analyzed and some how tied into "fashion" by everyone with a lap top and some free time. In Philadelphia I am fortunate to be able to sit down at a great (even celebrity) restaurant where the meal is best described as fucking amazing. You walk out happy and satisfied but in a small amount of debt from the $300.00 tab. The next day I could hit the food truck taco stand outside University of Pennsylvania, pay $7.00 for a great lunch and have the same satisfaction. I suppose the bottom line is good food, prepared properly but someone who knows what they're doing is always going to be a hit.
Team Sergeant
06-07-2015, 12:37
Please tell me you just plopped into their dishes and did not "arrange" it! :D
Oh ye of little faith........ :munchin
Oh ye of little faith........ :munchin
Oh I have more faith than I have sense or cents.
Fine china, but where is the parsley sprigs, the radish roses, the gravy sprinkled artsy stuff? Poor, poor hounds. :eek::p
Remember that well presented grub can be like a well presented woman. Both can give you heartburn and burn your ass when they leave you.
x SF med
06-08-2015, 04:20
Oh ye of little faith........ :munchin
Brother... are you off your meds again?:eek::D
This thread has officially gone to the dogs...
Team Sergeant
06-08-2015, 09:33
What? J/K messing with Joker. I got the pic off the internet. Besides, I feed my dog illegal aliens, would not make a nice picture.;)
What? J/K messing with Joker. I got the pic off the internet. Besides, I feed my dog illegal aliens, would not make a nice picture.;)
Went from well presented fine dining right to dog food. :eek: Poor Penn is pulling his hair out and beating his head with a pan. :p:D
mark46th
06-08-2015, 17:27
The correct presentation of a chicken in a Chinese banquet. Or a 21 gun salute,