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People who lack authenticity in their day to day lives are often obsessed by "authenticity" in the food they want to eat. Note that old time big city dwellers, ethnic peoples like Poles, Irish, Jews, Lithuanians, Italians and such, had good cooking at home and seldom ate in restaurants and when they did were often content with neighborhood Greek diners. But now boring whitebread, suburban raised city dwellers demand something more authentic than authentic city dwellers did.
If people like that get smart with you just give them a crack across the face; in my old neighborhood in Chicago that would'a been real "authentic". That'll give 'em something to chatter about.
There is both a financial and cultural change that has caused people to eat out much more frequently today than they once did, especially in cities. People who live in cities typically have more options, more money, and less time than those who do not, so cities develop robust and substantial cooked food markets.
Regarding the mentality described in the Original Post, I've seen the same thing in attitudes toward shopping malls. Once, I had to go into Northpark Mall, in Ridgeland, Mississippi. It's a pretty nice, medium-sized mall: http://www.ridgelandms.org/wp-conten...northpark1.jpg I think it's nicer than Beverly Center http://www.downtownmakeover.com/down...Escalators.jpg , which I used to go into only because I used their parking lot when going to offices at Cedars Mount Sinai, next door.
Anyway, I'm schlepping along, thinking how pleasant it is that Mozart is playing instead of Elton John, and hear these kids bewailing the podunkness of Northpark. "I know! Back home, this isn't even a mall!" And I'm wondering where "home" could be - considering that, aside from the gargantuan Mall of America, all malls are pretty-much like Northpark. Kid didn't have a Minnesota accent, though. Maybe Toronto has a giant mall that is a sister to the one in Bloomington?
I guess that when feeling insecure in a new place, everyone wants to feel 'special'....
Its a big city mentality thing. Yes they do have more variety in big cities but their attitude is disgusting. My friend moved to NYC and has been there a few years now. She has slowly adopted this superiority complex and I can hear it in everyday conversation. The irony is shes broke because of the high cost of living, while Im fatting up my retirement fund.
Well, aren't you just so much better than your friend. I think it's more a case of your inferiority complex showing.
Look. People make choices. Their choices don't have to be yours. That doesn't mean that theirs are right and yours are wrong, they're just different. Maybe your friend is more interested in living life today than squirreling away money for the future. That's her right.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,936 posts, read 36,995,252 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NARFALICIOUS
Everything you've said is 100 % false.
I'm not even going to read the rest of the responses after this, like I usually do because I can tell where this has headed, city vs country debate. Again.
True, and it is sad, because I've lived/worked in some small town places and they too have regional specialties. Sometimes it was the VFW fish fries in Wisconsin, sometimes the shack serving BBQ in Kentucky. It isn't rural vs city life, it is chain vs non chain.
I moved from a very small town to a much bigger city. I do like the variety of food choices that I have here. But, I also can't wait to go home to my favorite, family owned, Italian restaurants and the like.
I live in CA, food is FRESH out here, particularly produce and seafood.
Went to Chicago and we went to a diner type place for breakfast, I LOVE breakfast and love diners.
I got eggs benedict. Now in CA when I get eggs benedict, it's two beautifully poached eggs on perfectly toasted english muffins, a little bit of Hollandaise sauce, some roasted red skinned potatoes, and fruit. Sometimes I go all out and get it with crab (omg heaven).
What did I get? Two soggy english muffins (pretty sure they were soaked in butter), two eggs that were poached well, half a plate of country fries, and the WHOLE THING was slathered in Hollandaise sauce. I had to scrape off all the sauce (that I actually LIKE).
I also feel like certain places also overcook their veggies to death when you start hitting the western states. Green beans should be GREEN, not brown/gray! I'm thinking they were canned...
That being said, I have gone to places with DELICIOUS food. I had my first Chicago hot dog IN Chicago two years ago, and it was awesome! Mmmmm!
Generally speaking if I go somewhere a few times and odn't like it, that's it, I won't go anymore.
I grew up in small towns in Indiana, one with a population of about 6,000 and the other with a population of about 400. I agree with your friends when it comes to chains. The quality and preparation of the food is invariably very poor, especially for the price, and is usually really lacking in flavor and imagination. I could very easily go the rest of my life without ever eating at a chain restaurant ever again. It's not about being a snob, it's just about liking good food. Some of the best food is from small hole in the walls, street vendors in poor countries, or from non-English-speaking grandmas. It doesn't have to be expensive or fancy.
However, I would never be so rude and condescending about it, I would just say that I would prefer not to eat a chain and suggest something else. If they insisted on a certain chain, especially if I was outnumbered, I would be polite and just bite the bullet. No need to be a douche bag about it.
As far as big cities goes, outside of the very top restaurants, it's not so much that they have better food, they just have more people and higher population density and as a result, more options within a smaller area. There's nothing special about the food in NYC or LA, despite what people from there like to think, there's just a ton of restaurants and by sheer virtue of being a numbers game, some of them are very good. They often have more immigrants as well which usually means more ethnic cuisines.
I've eaten at hundreds of great restaurants, but the best restaurant I've eaten at was a small one in semi-rural Indiana. The place has no sign, no posted hours, no menu. You drive by and if the light outside is on then it's open. Inside there are old crappy chairs and maps posted all over the walls. You go in and the one employee (owner/cook/server/busser/dishwasher) asks you what you like (fish, chicken, lamb, shrimp, etc.) and gives you a price (usually $25-35). You tell him, and then he goes in the back and makes you all of the above anyway. He starts bringing out dish after dish after dish...garlic pork, polenta, lentil stews, crepes stuffed with vegetables or shredded beef, tortas, roasted chicken, homemade gnocchi, black bean soup, orange roughy, zucchini spears, all different kinds of cheeses, gazpacho, homemade bread, baba ganoush, ceviche, bruschetta, raspberry custard, etc. Everything made from scratch and cooked perfectly. It's obscene. Then when you can't possibly eat any more he brings out a bunch of boxes and forces you to take it all home (which is often as many as 10 boxes of food). Of course, I don't know why you wouldn't want to anyway. He has 17 Yelp reviews and every single one is 5 stars, many from NYC and other major metro areas raving about how it's one of the best restaurants they've ever been to.
So when people talk condescendingly about the Midwest, the suburbs, or other areas of the country I find it really grating, annoying, and ignorant. I have a co-worker from California who assumed I didn't know anything about Mexican food because I'm from the Midwest. He thinks he's an expert on Mexican food because he's from California, meanwhile he pronounces chipotle as "chipoltay." There are a lot of obnoxious people from big cities, particularly those on either coast, who think being from a big city magically imbues them with a sophisticated palate and culinary knowledge that someone from "flyover country" could never possibly posses. I don't know why, they like to live vicariously through their city I guess.
Last edited by EugeneOnegin; 02-13-2014 at 08:13 PM..
What is more irritating are the foodies on message boards who continually diss all chain restaurants. When you talk to them IN PERSON, they clearly state that they have NEVER dined in those restaurants that they are attacking. What credibility is there in that?
Another irritant is when the foodies start making comparisons between a $2 hamburger and a $20 hamburger. Of course, the more expensive ones may be more satisfying BUT who can afford a $20 burger very often.
As for Olive Garden, it is not very good or bad. However, I have had dozens of meals at independent Italian restaurants at twice the price that are equally unsatisfying.
I grew up in small towns in Indiana, one with a population of about 6,000 and the other with a population of about 400. I agree with your friends when it comes to chains. The quality and preparation of the food is invariably very poor, especially for the price, and is usually really lacking in flavor and imagination. I could very easily go the rest of my life without ever eating at a chain restaurant ever again. It's not about being a snob, it's just about liking good food. Some of the best food is from small hole in the walls, street vendors in poor countries, or from non-English-speaking grandmas. It doesn't have to be expensive or fancy.
However, I would never be so rude and condescending about it, I would just say that I would prefer not to eat a chain and suggest something else. If they insisted on a certain chain, especially if I was outnumbered, I would be polite and just bite the bullet. No need to be a douche bag about it.
As far as big cities goes, outside of the very top restaurants, it's not so much that they have better food, they just have more people and higher population density and as a result, more options within a smaller area. There's nothing special about the food in NYC or LA, despite what people from there like to think, there's just a ton of restaurants and by sheer virtue of being a numbers game, some of them are very good. They often have more immigrants as well which usually means more ethnic cuisines.
I've eaten at hundreds of great restaurants, but the best restaurant I've eaten at was a small one in semi-rural Indiana. The place has no sign, no posted hours, no menu. You drive by and if the light outside is on then it's open. Inside there are old crappy chairs and maps posted all over the walls. You go in and the one employee (owner/cook/server/busser/dishwasher) asks you what you like (fish, chicken, lamb, shrimp, etc.) and gives you a price (usually $25-35). You tell him, and then he goes in the back and makes you all of the above anyway. He starts bringing out dish after dish after dish...garlic pork, polenta, lentil stews, crepes stuffed with vegetables or shredded beef, tortas, roasted chicken, homemade gnocchi, black bean soup, orange roughy, zucchini spears, all different kinds of cheeses, gazpacho, homemade bread, baba ganoush, ceviche, bruschetta, raspberry custard, etc. Everything made from scratch and cooked perfectly. It's obscene. Then when you can't possibly eat any more he brings out a bunch of boxes and forces you to take it all home (which is often as many as 10 boxes of food). Of course, I don't know why you wouldn't want to anyway. He has 17 Yelp reviews and every single one is 5 stars, many from NYC and other major metro areas raving about how it's one of the best restaurants they've ever been to.
So when people talk condescendingly about the Midwest, the suburbs, or other areas of the country I find it really grating, annoying, and ignorant. I have a co-worker from California who assumed I didn't know anything about Mexican food because I'm from the Midwest. He thinks he's an expert on Mexican food because he's from California, meanwhile he pronounces chipotle as "chipoltay." There are a lot of obnoxious people from big cities, particularly those on either coast, who think being from a big city magically imbues them with a sophisticated palate and culinary knowledge that someone from "flyover country" could never possibly posses. I don't know why, they like to live vicariously through their city I guess.
Sir, I don't know you, but this is the greatest reply I have ever seen on this website
Sir, I don't know you, but this is the greatest reply I have ever seen on this website
I don't know about that, but thank you.
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I'm thinking they were canned...
I don't know why, they like to live vicariously through their city I guess.
