Do food writing fads annoy you?
I can think of two that are prevalent right now: "Not your grandmother's (father's, sister's, accountant's) soup!" The implication seems to be that all that came before is fusty and unworthy of us BlackBerry-toting types. An example appears in today's NYT. The second, which I find hilariously condescending, is the ubiquitous "Think." As in "Liquid? Think: water!" Lazy writing on both counts.
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20 Comments:
The one that annoys me is when writers come to the South from other areas of the country (usually New York), discover something sophisticated, unusual or unexpected, and start their story with a variation of this one: "In the land of chicken-fried steak, biscuits and barbecue, who would expect to find XYZ." No one who knows the South well would be surprised at all. This is a diverse, fast-growing region that is far more than the sum total of its stereotypes.
Kathleen Purvis at 10:51AM on 03/28/07
I don't know if "Not your _____'s _____" can be considered a fad, since it's been used for decades.
That doesn't mean it's any less obnoxious, though.
Dan Dickinson at 11:38AM on 03/28/07
I agree that it's been around for ages, but it's everywhere all of a sudden. I'm waiting for "Not your grandfather's grandfather!"
Barbara Hanson at 11:40AM on 03/28/07
I get tired of "It seems like just yesterday the snow started falling, and now OMG it is SPRING!" kind of writing. We all know time passes... no need to lament or over-eagerly anticipate the beginning or end of any particular season or year. I find it so boring, tiresome and uninspiring if not depressing!
ThatGirl153 at 1:13PM on 03/28/07
Overuse of alliteration, like "pretty puff pastry", or "surprisingly simple stroganoff".
Bad (or any) puns, especially with the word "egg" in them.
Lou at 1:43PM on 03/28/07
Oh man. This has been marinating in the back of my brain for awhile: The phrase "cloyingly sweet."
I swear I can't pick up a freaking food/wine mag without seeing at least one occurence. Maybe it doesn't qualify as a fad necessarily, but it has a terribly overused feel to it.
corycm at 2:08PM on 03/28/07
Eggsactly!
ThatGirl153 at 3:01PM on 03/28/07
Eggcellent, ThatGirl!
Barbara Hanson at 3:03PM on 03/28/07
eggcruciatingly eggstinct eggspression
Lou at 3:22PM on 03/28/07
time to eggspire this topic.
hatlady at 3:49PM on 03/28/07
Any Brooklyn restaurant review that follows this template:
"A _______ grows in Brooklyn."
Doug at 9:10PM on 03/28/07
What burns my bacon is the over usage of the item reggiano......reggiano parmesan....king of parmesan
Sorry but I don't like it. I am a Locatelli girl and I ain't changing.
ROMANO....say it....eat it.
JerzeeTomato at 12:36AM on 03/29/07
Parmigiano Reggiano is the king of cheeses, not the king of parmesan (the icky French word for the cheese). There is no one Romano cheese; Romano simply means "in the Roman style". Now if you mean pecorino romano, made from sheep's milk, I love it too. It's sharper and saltier than parmigiano reggiano. Each has its use.
Lou at 7:09AM on 03/29/07
"THE BBQ ISSUE" of every food mag that comes out EVERY july.
hammondcheese at 2:25PM on 03/29/07
Oh, that annoys the hell out of me too. I get to barbecue, weather permitting, maybe five times per year.
Since we've moved off verbal cliches somehow, might I add that if I see one more picture in a food magazine of a supposedly adorable, invariably grinning, child smeared with ice cream/ bbq sauce/jam, I am going to storm the offices of the magazine responsible.
Barbara Hanson at 3:30PM on 03/29/07
The one I find annoying is when they say that food melts in your mouth. I know that has been around forever but unless its Ice Cream or chocolate, why would it melt in your mouth? Or like cuts like butter, but excuse me, have you ever taken a stick of butter out of the freezer and tried to cut it? it has a very short time frame when you can actually cut it without it falling apart. OK, I said my peace for now. :)
Carole at 3:44PM on 03/29/07
I don't know if this counts as food 'writing' per se, but I can't STAND menu items described as "[verb] to perfection", eg. spiced to perfection, grilled to perfection, etc. I mean .. as opposed to what? 'Mostly well grilled'? 'Spiced fairly accurately'?
LondonM at 7:03AM on 03/30/07
Or menu items that claim to be "homemade." I'm sorry -- whose home am I sitting in? House-made maybe, but unless the chef has a cot in that kitchen or his mama is dropping off the desserts, I don't think he can call the apple pie home made.
Kathleen Purvis at 8:43AM on 03/30/07
Proustian!!!
Phoebe Damrosch at 2:14PM on 03/30/07
@Lou, I am a locatelli girl. Been eating it all my life. I have seen all the romanos come and go nothing is quite as piquant and has as much bite with salty after tones as Locatelli brand pecarino romano cheese. Is that better for you pisano? I hardly ever use parmigiano or parmesan. I do like a a few other cheeses but not that one to me it is overrated. Just my opinion.
JerzeeTomato at 5:13PM on 03/30/07