"Whether it's good value or not" has always been my favorite Sietsema differentiator. The concept of value can also be applied to the time and energy required to get the reservation or endure the line. It does feel like a eating has become gamified so that a person can say, "I ate there!" As if the capturing of this pokemon...err experience were the whole point. I also agree about the "foodie" term becoming rather trite. To refer to oneself as a "foodie" today feels to me like the equivalent of writing in a dating profile that you "love life" or "love to laugh." A recent dating show contestant referred to herself as "a huge foodie" and then when questioned about her favorite food she responded "burritos." Don't get me wrong, I love burritos, but I don't think that's what the foodie forefathers had in mind.
Real talk. Thanks for this. I miss the days of combing sidestreets in Flushing for standout hole-in-the-wall joints, usually with your columns as cheat sheets. Hard to miss certain parallels with music culture and music journalism, sad to say.
As a restaurant owner, I am at the frontline of this change. A lot of what you are saying is accurate. But it also feels like an homage to “good old days “. Yes, the concept of a foodie is changing with times. It would be more interesting and valuable to explore the upside of this change as well. Just a thought
As a retired Yacht Chef from the 90’s/early aughts who absolutely Lived for my monthly Food & Wine, Bon Appetite & Cooks Illustrated & waited like an addict for my monthly editions to catch up with me, down island, via snail mail or along w/my drop shipped provisions I couldn’t agree more there’s Nothing that even comes close to Holding these glossy tactile food “museums” in your hands & later admiring them on your Galley bookshelf ♥️😢
"Whether it's good value or not" has always been my favorite Sietsema differentiator. The concept of value can also be applied to the time and energy required to get the reservation or endure the line. It does feel like a eating has become gamified so that a person can say, "I ate there!" As if the capturing of this pokemon...err experience were the whole point. I also agree about the "foodie" term becoming rather trite. To refer to oneself as a "foodie" today feels to me like the equivalent of writing in a dating profile that you "love life" or "love to laugh." A recent dating show contestant referred to herself as "a huge foodie" and then when questioned about her favorite food she responded "burritos." Don't get me wrong, I love burritos, but I don't think that's what the foodie forefathers had in mind.
Real talk. Thanks for this. I miss the days of combing sidestreets in Flushing for standout hole-in-the-wall joints, usually with your columns as cheat sheets. Hard to miss certain parallels with music culture and music journalism, sad to say.
I am reminded of the first restaurant guide I ever purchased when I arrived to the city in 1994. Your Good and Cheap Ethnic Eats For Under $10.
As a restaurant owner, I am at the frontline of this change. A lot of what you are saying is accurate. But it also feels like an homage to “good old days “. Yes, the concept of a foodie is changing with times. It would be more interesting and valuable to explore the upside of this change as well. Just a thought
Agree. The constant search for frivolous novelty is both exhausting and boring. Let it die.
As a retired Yacht Chef from the 90’s/early aughts who absolutely Lived for my monthly Food & Wine, Bon Appetite & Cooks Illustrated & waited like an addict for my monthly editions to catch up with me, down island, via snail mail or along w/my drop shipped provisions I couldn’t agree more there’s Nothing that even comes close to Holding these glossy tactile food “museums” in your hands & later admiring them on your Galley bookshelf ♥️😢
There’s still places around the country where a “night out” still means what it used to, they tend to not be trending, and don’t want to be
Hahahah that disguise is too good!
brother what the hell is stopping you? everyone's lining up to eat over-hyped over-advertised mediocrity and you can't just go eat what you want?