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That just wouldn't work for me. My mother was a gourmet cook and I've lived all over this country and in three others. I love to cook and do so in several languages. A picky eater unwilling to try new things and I simply wouldn't get along.
Is she open and adventurous in other ways? If not, she's gonna be annoying and boring. I'm so sad when people immediately write off sushi. It's soo good and there are soo many different varieties! I mean some just have like carrot and cucumber or avacado in them, that's not wierd..well I guess they all have seaweed. But don't tell me she doesn't like avacado, I'm just going to get pissed off
I'm sort of a picky eater. I don't like tomatoes (but I do like ketchup and tomato sauce) I don't like mushrooms, I don't like..premixed chocolate milk but I'll try anything so I guess that's a big differnce. And my favorite sushi is unagi (eel)
Lucky for me, my DH and I have the same picky habits lol neither of us eats mayo/salad dressing/miracle whip so we use sour cream for anything that calls for it.
I have a friend who can only eat 'exotic' food when we do a girls nite out. Her DH is a real meat and taters man, won't eat anything that mom didn't make. So even though most of us hate liver and onions, we all agree that she has the right to eat it when we go out.
I have lived in two other countries and tried a large variety of food. I love going out for Thia food, Korean bar bq, Curry, Japanese, Italian, French and so many others. We have a Filipino market here that makes great pondasol, ponsit(sorry if i misspelled), and lumpia.
I hate camping, but took my DH on a camping trip to the Poconos for his 30th birthday. I didn't complain about the lack of privacy or having to make do with a sponge bath, because it was his time. He had a great time, and I actually enjoyed most of the trip!
I would say if you are thinking LTR you should look at her other choices too. Will she try new things in other areas? Is she unbending in other areas like movies? Is it always her way on all issues?
You do not want to end up a door mat to her whims. If she truly knows how important food is to you and won't even try a bite of new things, I say its time to move on.
And "foodies" aren't picky eaters as well? Think about it. I agree being narrow minded about trying new things isn't great, but being overly pretentious and snobby is just as bad.
And "foodies" aren't picky eaters as well? Think about it. I agree being narrow minded about trying new things isn't great, but being overly pretentious and snobby is just as bad.
The OP was neither overly pretentious nor snobby. Frankly, I think that anybody who is middle-class and higher in socioeconomic standing can afford to be a foodie, and without being pretentious or snobby at all.
Foodies differ from the OP's girlfriend, furthermore, in that they will be critical of food that is poorly cooked, overly seasoned, mushy when it should be firm, firm when it should be tender, etc. But foodies are foodies because they are willing to eat a variety of foods - a predisposition the OP's girlfriend clearly lacks.
In fact, one can argue that the OP's girlfriend, and people who share her attitude, are the snobby ones because they are implicitly stating that her needs and tastes are of greater importance than others. Her attitude - and the behavior of the provincial girlfriend of one of Redisca's friends (tears due to Chinese food? What would she do if her boyfriend died? ) speak for themselves.
I have a coworker who won't eat anything in a restaurant that isn't a chicken sandwich because if she doesn't like it than that would be a waste of money. I tell her that that is the saddest thing I've ever heard.
As I said in another thread, I think the biggest problem with picky eaters -- at least in my experience -- is that pickiness about food never exists in a vacuum. Rather, it's an aspect of a certain kind of personality, one that I, frankly, find very unappealing. Picky eaters invariably have this habit (probably lingering from childhood) of controlling others and keeping them off balance through food. So watch very carefully how she acts in general.
A case in point: a bunch of co-workers and me went out to lunch one day and one of them brought his girlfriend. Now this girl, despite having lived all her life within a mere 2-hour bus ride from NYC, is almost comically provincial about food. She informed us that she was amenable to eating one of two things: "Mexican" (which, it turned out a minute later, meant Taco Bell) or Subway. Obviously, the five of us, normal people, wouldn't have either. In a situation like that, the way out of the impasse is obvious: you take a vote. But no, not this time. Despite a mind-boggling array of dining choices (this is New York City, after all), she was stuck on either Taco Bell or Subway, and wouldn't budge. And the worst thing about it wasn't that she was a picky eater -- but the fact that she expected FIVE PEOPLE to bend to her will. And when we wouldn't -- because really, there is no reason why one person should bend five others to her will -- she spent the rest of the day sulking and wearing that ridiculous raped look on her face. We ended up going to a fabulous Chinese restaurant, and one of us continually tried to placate her, but to no avail. She wouldn't eat the rice because it's "weird". She wouldn't eat the noodles because they are "slimy". She wouldn't eat the beef because "the texture is all wrong". She wouldn't eat the pork because "it's too red". She wouldn't eat the chicken because "it might be dog meat". She wouldn't eat the shrimp because "I only eat it breaded". Also, "Isn't shrimp supposed to be, like, really tiny? Why are these so big?" She wouldn't eat the soup for a bunch of reasons ranging from being disgusted by egg to being really suspicious of lemon grass. And she wouldn't eat the dessert because "it's too green". And all through that, she was sulking, tearing up from time to time, and looking at us as if we were defiling her.
Again, it's not so much about not eating this or that -- it's about transforming a group event into something that centers on pleasing her, and where the food preferences of five people are ignored in favor of one. I find this behavior typical of fussy eaters. I think it's an attention-seeking ploy, and I personally find it absolutely revolting.
Apart from that, you will generally find it very difficult, as a foodie, to be with someone like that long-term. As someone said above, foodies and non-foodies don't mix. This may sound shallow, but food has a major social role in our every-day lives, including our intimate lives. Fundamental differences in how you perceive food are just as serious as fundamental differences about sex -- it's not something that you can put up with on a permanent basis.
Just my two cents.
I just read this again, Redisca, and I understand it was a co-worker's girlfriend. Had it been someone who ranged from "acquaintance" to "friend," I would have been far less diplomatic than you and the others were. I have absolutely no patience for this kind of provincialism and immaturity.
Brooklyn? I once lived near Coney Islands. LOTS of Russians there as well as plenty of ethnic eateries there. I never knew that part of town had so many Russian immigrants until I got there and saw caviar being sold in every corner grocery.
And "foodies" aren't picky eaters as well? Think about it. I agree being narrow minded about trying new things isn't great, but being overly pretentious and snobby is just as bad.
Awh, that's really twisting it. Yes, foodies do care what they put in their mouths. But being a foodie is, first and foremost, being open to new culinary experiences and not being squeamish about things that dare to go beyond french fries and chicken nuggets. As Sprawling said, it's the picky eaters who are the snobby ones.
Nor does being a "foodie" equal being "pretentious". Of course, trying different things means you'll try gourmet food too. I confess I particularly love fois gras when it's frozen and then shaved over truffled aspic (yum!). But I also eat at places where a fussy person would never set foot because it's not "respectable" enough. Some of the places I love in the Tristate Area are smoky, cheap Portuguese barbecue joints with stained tablecloths and plastic cutlery, where only day laborers eat. Plus some die-hard foodies, like me. The best Mexican restaurant in NYC, in my opinion, is a very modest place, that evolved from a Harlem lunch truck. On the other hand, there are fancy and famous restaurants in NYC that I loathe because their cooking sucks.
Refusing to eat anywhere outside of a chain diner isn't a sign of simplicity -- it's a sign of cowardice and a narrow mind that's not open to adventure. A foodie, on the other hand, is easy to please: he'll go to a new place, try new foods and, unless it's really bad, enjoy the experience and your company.
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) speak for themselves.
