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What Do You Like to Read When Eating Solo?
I never understood people who don't like to eat alone. It is one of my favourite things to do. If I am eating alone, you can bet your life that I will have a book of some description- there's usually at least 2 in my bag. What I am reading depends on my mood and it depends on whether or not I have work to catch up with. If it's fiction, then it will be historical fiction or science-fiction/fantasy. If it's non-fiction, then it will usually be food-related. I went to a bar a few weeks ago with a rugby book. Got some strange looks that night, let me tell you.
Photo of the Day: Butyraceous
@Brickyardkid. I don't know what's up with the pineapple. On the disc for the 2nd season they have a gag reel with all the pineapple shots. I find it humorous, mainly because it's so out of place. If you figure it out, let me know would you?
Cook the Book: 'On the Line'
That's a difficult question, because I would say it depends on the fish and depends on the mood. Really fresh, flavorful fish would be beautiful as sashimi or perhaps ceviche. Salmon, tuna, and swordfish are excellent girlled, both in terms of flavour and texture. I do like roasted salmon, though. Often I will roast it with just some butter, salt, and pepper, but I also like to roast whole salmon stuffed with fennel and orange. More delicate fish, like sea bass or trout, are better steamed or pan-fried in butter and served with a splash of lemon juice.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
Thanks for bringing this up! There has always been a certain snobbish tendency to assume that something home-made or artisanal is better- even back before the recent food revolution. While I can appreciate the importance of bacon-man or jam-guy plying their trades (because it is important), just because they CAN sell bacon or jam doesn't mean they should. Maybe that's a harsh thing to say, but it's true. I CAN sew a little, but when I'm done cross-stitching I'm not going to attempt to sell my aborted attempts, because I know that it's not something that people should be buying. Does this mean we should stick to eating nothing but processed food? Not at all. It just means that we need to be wiser about what we buy- take the time to find the best bread-baker and the dedicated cheese-maker and support their businesses. Don't just buy the first loaf of bread that has an "artisan" sticker on the wrapper.
What Do You Like to Read When Eating Solo?
I never understood people who don't like to eat alone. It is one of my favourite things to do. If I am eating alone, you can bet your life that I will have a book of some description- there's usually at least 2 in my bag. What I am reading depends on my mood and it depends on whether or not I have work to catch up with. If it's fiction, then it will be historical fiction or science-fiction/fantasy. If it's non-fiction, then it will usually be food-related. I went to a bar a few weeks ago with a rugby book. Got some strange looks that night, let me tell you.
Photo of the Day: Butyraceous
@Brickyardkid. I don't know what's up with the pineapple. On the disc for the 2nd season they have a gag reel with all the pineapple shots. I find it humorous, mainly because it's so out of place. If you figure it out, let me know would you?
Cook the Book: 'On the Line'
That's a difficult question, because I would say it depends on the fish and depends on the mood. Really fresh, flavorful fish would be beautiful as sashimi or perhaps ceviche. Salmon, tuna, and swordfish are excellent girlled, both in terms of flavour and texture. I do like roasted salmon, though. Often I will roast it with just some butter, salt, and pepper, but I also like to roast whole salmon stuffed with fennel and orange. More delicate fish, like sea bass or trout, are better steamed or pan-fried in butter and served with a splash of lemon juice.
Photo of the Day: Butyraceous
They used this word in an episode of Psych. First season, the national spelling bee episode! I am such a geek.
In Videos: Food-Related Changes in New 'Simpsons' Intro
I think I am in love. A food-related Simpsons post? Be still my beating heart! Very cool.
Cook the Book: 'Almost Meatless'
Tabbouleh with lots of lemon and lots of garlic. It is phenomenal with lamb, but you don't need to eat anything with it to enjoy it.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
To answer the question...of course not! Never say never and never say always. I must not be eating enough local food (anybody who knows me would laugh hysterically at this point) as I haven't gotten burned badly enough to feel like this...or my standards are awfully low!
Am I down with eating bad food produced by good people? No, but I'd like to help them become better producers with feedback. We need all the good growers/food entrepreneurs we can get. I had an experience where I bought pickles made by a CSA farm I love. They looked great but were kinda mushy. I spoke to the farmer and they realized what happened and learned what to do next batch/time. I think they decided to stick to being growers and not continue with value added items as it can be harder than it looks. I used them in tuna salad, etc and they were fine but not good for plain eating. Unless something is down and out manky/nasty, I can find a way to improve and use a challenging purchase. And if it is manky, any decent food seller will want to know, feel dreadful about it, and make restitution.
Ask for samples, if no samples ask what they'll do if you don't like their food (out of luck, money back, exchange). If you have an issue, speak up...though like others have said, one person's salt lick is another's just right - food is sooooo subjective. If you don't want to speak up, don't go back.
As far as thanking my lucky stars for Smuckers & Oscar Mayers? Food is better than no food however, I'm an upper lower class blue collar person who's been buying local/organic/natural for too long to feel very celebratory about agribiz and industrial food production. Not ungrateful mind you as I was raised on it and once I'm eating out and about...who can keep track of where everything comes from? I'm watchful and do what I can but don't get mental about it.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
We have a farmer's market in our small Pa. town from May-October. While we don't have any meat products we do have some kick butt fruits and vegetables during that time. It is mostly our local Amish farmers with a few "english" stands. The Amish are far and above the english, but are very pricey. You have to decide if it is worth it and most of the time it is. You can only get squash blossoms from them in this area. The Amish baked goods are okay, but do you want to make the whoopie pies yourself??? The english have some jams and plants and occasional vegetables (hard to compete with the Amish) and when it comes down to fresh corn on the cob the Amish at our market athe price and taste is competitive. There are many more veg. stands in South Pa and South Jersey that are looking to take advantage. You just have to know your vendors. I have been taking note the past few years of where to buy artisan products on the web. Sometimes it is worth it to pay for the postage. Costco has incredible bacon and vegetables and their meats are often restaurant quality.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
1-I have a couple of farm stands I go to regularly to buy fruits and vegtables and the occasional dairy product. They also sell various baked goods, and once in a while I'll buy a baked good thinking it *has* to be good cuz its from the farm. It never ever is good. I should just stick with my local bakery -- or even myself!
2-This is kinda along the lines of why I don't buy grass-fed beef and such from my local farmers just because they sell it: I wonder "who's inspecting this stuff"? "How do I know its safe and handled properly"? I wish I would have some assurance so I could bring myself to buy it, but so far, I see none.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
Like Ed, I have spent top dollar on food that sucked and then feel that I have been "cheated" by that person. It really ticks me off! Thanks for bringing this up Ed. At least I know I'm not alone...
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
I've had some truly amazing artisanal salumi and cheese, and I have had some truly awful meat and cheese. The awful stuff inspired me to step out on my own and cure some meat. I have had really good luck with smoked bacon, pancetta, guanciale. My luck with sausage has been less impressive. I even had some success with making what amounts to venison prosciutto.
The one thing that I never do is rate my own products. I might really love the salt level in my bacon, someone else might think they are eating a salt-lick.
So before I decide that I can open my on charcuterie stand at the market, I'll make sure that my products are the best I can make if not the "best in the world".
I think finding and supporting artisanal food producers is as important as finding sustainable farmers.
Chris
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
I agree that homemade doesn't always mean better. I mean the boxed stuff would certainly beat my homemade pasta any day! I think it's just intriguing when you find out something was made from scratch - it makes you give them more credit for the effort at the very least.
Hillary
Chew on That
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
You're all pointing out something wonderful about local, artisanal foods--they are unique, they are different as night & day from one another, and although they can be good, bad or ugly, they are "self-regulating".
If you get a hairy, nipple covered, salty slab of bacon you don't like, will you buy from that producer again? Probably not. He has just lost a sale. If enough people stop buying from him, he will dry up and blow away. Or...Perhaps you should provide him feed-back. As a consumer, help him become a better producer. Take it as an opportunity to explain why you didn't like the food he was producing. If he's smart he will take it on the chin, adapt and try to do a better job at producing a quality product and providing what the market will buy.
There are going to be some bumps and ruts on the road to local, sustainable, quality foods. Too long we have been lulled into a palate deadening wasteland. We are going to have to re-learn to cook foods which our grandparents knew how to prepare instinctively. Producers are going to have to experiment and learn what works, what doesn't and to rediscover how to make excellent artisanal foods--which once upon a time were standard fare.
And producers--give your customers a feedback form. Offer free samples & tasters. Open yourselves up to criticism. Ask you customers to help you be better. Learn from other producers. Have tasting competitions amongst one another. Earn the right to sell you Mother's Jam recipe or "the Best bacon in the world" Do this, or you will find your products marginalized, your sales figures weak and you farm broken. A free market, a self-regulating local system means the best get better and they get the business while the rest loose money or earn nothing at all. Don't give up. Strive to be better! And if someone does have a complaint, if your product falls short of your sales pitch, your standards or reputation, offer to replace it, exchange for something else or give them their money back.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
I agree that artisanal food may not always be better and you bring up a valid point there, Ed. It sucks that you were duped into buying jam that wasn't made by your friend's mom and that the "world's best bacon" was anything but; You just have to take this one for the team and count it as a loss. Your one-time experience does not an industry make. I don't appreciate bad food. I do appeciate the time an consideration put into food. But make no mistake, I won't be eating there again, if it's bad. Or at least, I won't put my $$ down on it.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
Thank you for bursting this bubble! Like many of the commenters here, I greatly prefer handmade to mass produced, but I'm not a "joiner" by nature, so I keep a healthy skepticism WRT trends and bandwagons. In other words, I don't automatically assume something will be good just because it is hand made and bears the stamp of approval from the "artisinal" camp.
However, I do find that most of the time artisinal and hand made stuff really IS better than the mass produced stuff. What springs to mind is my friend Michel's pancetta, which he started making after reading Ruhlman's "Charcuterie" book. So easy to make, and miles ahead of any mass produced stuff. I basically cannot eat production line pancetta anymore!
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
If the question is: should you eat bad food simply because it is artisan or home-produced, of course the answer is no.
I think Ed's point is a larger one, however--industrial food is quality-controlled. One reason for its popularity is that too many children (and many adults) value consistency over what most people would call good taste. For example, have you ever taken a tiny tot to a really great restaurant that makes fab hamburgers, and have them complain they'd rather be at McDonald's?
If you eat artisanal food you have to accept sometimes the food will be poor, even made by a good producer.
Guess what? If you eat APPLES, you will find an apple with a worm/bruise. If you eat McDonald's apple pie, it will always be molten hot, symmetrical and taste the same.
Eating 'real' food means being surprised by goodness and badness sometimes. If it is bad, throw it out, but the thing is eating well is about EFFORT (finding who does make things well or making it yourself) and RISK. Risking eating something bad for something that is oh-so-good.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
did you ever wonder who produced food before the big industrialized agri-businesses??????
regular people. in their homes, backyards, barns, cities, in caves.
thru trial and error the human race has managed to feed itself and not poison the species by smoking meats, making jams, baking breads long before the "culinary frankensteins" invented all of the hormones, preservatives, and other unnecessary "CRAP" .... that passes for food today.
hey, if you feel safer eating food that's been dis-assembled and re-assembled because it was done in a big secure science-fiction food manufacturing plant, knock yourself out.... but don't knock the knowledge of the common man.
the time line:
industrial food vs. food made by the common man
a mere drop in the bucket, folks. duh.
are we better off now than we were 100 years ago?
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
Good cooking (id est, processing raw food in any way) is partially skill, partially art. Anyone can pick up a paintbrush, smother a canvas with gunk, and try to pass it off as art - but serious art enthusiasts would instantly be able to distinguish between genius and garbage. And the serious art enthusiast, if asked to do something with that same paintbrush and canvas, would probably approach the task mindful of the way it might be received by other enthusiasts.
Which is why it's probably safer to buy fresh produce from serious growers but artisanal food from fellow serious eaters. Or to ask for a taste before purchase, if at all possible, unless it really is art you're buying.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
One aspect of the local food movement that is emphasized around here (RI) is that you can know your farmer. I think you now know your pig farmer and preserve seller and needn't patronize them again.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
@meat guy
"I believe you are confusing quality with personal taste"
Perhaps, but no more than you are confusing it with utility in my previous example. There are sundry connotations associated with the phrase "quality" and perhaps I have crossed the line into personal preference. For the vast majority of people outside of production based industry the definition of quality differs vastly from "conformance to standards" (though most recognize that definition in the phrase quality control) and is more generally assumed to mean "excellence" - its like the difference between precision and accuracy.
"Under cooked food and unpasteurized milk are risky"
They are indeed, which is why I used them as example to refute your assertion that a public company would never provide a "hazardous" product to the public - which has absolutely no bearing on my personal preference to consume said products (with the exception of course of my contributing in a micro-economic sense). Of course there are outbreaks of problems from time to time, in a long enough time line all things that are possible become reality, but there is no doubt that public (and large private) companies contribute on the retail level to the consumption of these. There is no need to name names, the fact that sushi and raw milk products are available inside the US and elsewhere is testament enough that "companies" are willing to provide "hazardous" products, if they can turn a buck on it. Not even to mention the ol' Fight Club saying which may, in fact, be colloquial but brings home a message which has been independently corroborated by several named and unnamed sources since : "A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now: should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times
B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."
That is just how business is done, very few companies/people feel a genuine ethical responsibility to anyone else, and until more people understand that, they are going to continue to look the other way while they are spoon fed potentially hazardous products by somebody trying to turn a buck. The food industry is certainly no more immune to this than any other. Why do you think the cost of litigation and insurance has skyrocketed in the past 20 years?
"Trust your life to a chef with an associates degree in restaurant and hospitality, rather than a product that is cooked safely accoding to the USDA and FDA.."
For the most part I do not. I buy a lot of my food directly from the producer, especially my beef, lamb and pork. I have the ability to physically inspect the premises if I so desire and trust that the living conditions for the animals are such that my chances of becoming ill are extremely low. I can name the restaurants I'd eat a medium piece of pork or a beef from on one hand. Oh and, the USDA "cook to" temperatures are absolutely ridiculous and considerably higher than their associated agencies in other countries. You have your $60 piece of beef tenderloin cooked to 145F to feel safe and completely ruin the dish, not to mention waste your money. I will continue to eat my (mostly) naturally produced meat at under the recommended temperature and if I get trich. or salmonella and what not, then so be it, I'd rather something easily treatable than to a) eat food that taste like crap for the rest of my life or b)worry about all the unnatural additives slowly building up in my body until they reach a level that causes some horrific problem that modern medicine is not yet capable of solving.
Look, we can agree to disagree- but I will continually chose to buy products of superior quality (read: handled by the fewest people) and cook it to its maximum potential. You can continually chose to cook your pork to 165F and beef to 145F, ruining both. Enjoy
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
I believe you are confusing quality with personal taste. Taste is relative to your experience. Quality is conformance to standards set for the product. Taste is a determination of quality, but depending on the product, your standards are not what is applied to the product.
To the vast majority of Americans, what passes as good taste does not meet the expectations of what "foodies" think it should be. To hold one's personal taste as the end all and be all of quality, is only a recognition of your tastes, and anyone else may think what you prefer is swill. God knows why, but that guy thought his bacon was the best. MAybe it was the Best way to make money. If that was the standard, it was high quality.
Under cooked food and unpasteurized milk are risky. Last year there was a TB outbreak in California linked to unpasteurized Mexican style soft cheeses. Any chef who doesn't cook free range pork to over 140 degrees is a fool as the vectors for trichinosis are available to free range pork and has been reported in pork from free range. Ignorance is bliss, but if you are ignorant, you shouldn't be serving food in risky manners, but you can eat all you want. Trust your life to a chef with an associates degree in restaurant and hospitality, rather than a product that is cooked safely accoding to the USDA and FDA..
PCA was a privately owned company, with an owner insisting everything be turned to cash. Many companies have tightened up inspections and testing even more to ensure they are never involved in a fiasco like that again. It has cost millions of dollars and embarrassed companies who trusted a sleazy individual. Several years ago, Sara Lee had a listerosis outbreak in a Bil Mar plant, they fired everyone involved and closed the plant permanently. Reputable companies behave ethically with the public. They are interested in profits, and the sick and dead don't spend money, and their relatives sue, making people sick isn't good business. The companies that make the news are usually provately held, public interests make the company more responsible, they have stockholders and investors to answer to as well as the public at large.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
First, I'd say there needs to a distinction between Handmade Foods and Artisan Handmade Foods. Artisan implies knowledge and specialization in the specific thing you craft. (i.e. Time, Experience, etc.)
Secondly, use your eyes and taste buds to tell you what's good. Sure, I bought a dozen free range eggs from the bearded hipster at my local open-air market last week, yeah. But they looked great and when I got home, I cracked them - most fantastic yolks I've ever seen and they tasted great. So next time, I bought two dozen.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
@Meat guy
"No publicly owned company would ever knowingly make a product that is hazardous" I'm pretty sure the peanut producers knew their product was tainted prior to the recall. Milk that is chemically adulterated to appear as though it has an increase butterfat content (to cover up the fact it is watered down) is rampant by companies throughout the world (especially in developing countries). Not to mention closer to home, explain the prevalence and popularity of: raw eggs/beef/fish/shell fish and under cooked pork, especially among the "top" restaurants in this country and elsewhere around the world. What about raw milk and cheese in Canada/France? Are these products not inherently "hazardous?" Sure, they aren't razor blade studded apples, but there is certainly a risk and yet people are willing to turn a blind eye to products all the time in the pursuit of excellent tasting food - and so are the very companies who are profiting from it - they only care to eschew the practice enough to limit their own liability and not one bit more.
"As for the quality issue, an 89 cent loaf of white bread that is uniform from day to day and affordable and stays fresh for a week, is far better than a 4 dollar loaf of artisinal bread that stales overnight to a family of four on a fixed food budget. THe standard of quality is not high to you, but the standard it met every time, which by the definition is high quality."
You are really confusing "quality" with "utility" here, nonetheless this is an excellent point. As is:
"All Processed foods are not the garbage you are stating, yes, if it is all you eat, you are getting too much sodium, too much fat, and an unbalanced diet. Food education is more important than subsidizing hucksters and crooks making bad products."
Don't be confused, I am not anti-food industry even in the slightest. I am aware that the advances and benefits of industrialized food processing are many and varied, including the fact (that most other people don't realize) if you take the mechanics out of our food industry only the very wealthy would be able to afford things like daily milk, bread, eggs, and especially protein. I purchase items out of a pursuit for "quality" alone. And I am not referring to the consistently affordable, safe product that is widely available and distributed as "quality." I am referring to: "high grade; superiority; excellence" as it relates to taste and nutritional value regardless of the dangers associated with the product, though for the sake of full disclosure I am not young/old, immune compromised nor do I have any food allergies (other than wheat which I completely ignore because I'd rather have an upset tummy than forgo the beautiful Italian loaf that just popped out of my oven).
Thank you all for the excellent discussion today, it has made my afternoon.
Is Artisanal, Handmade Food Always Better?
You can get good food on any level, it just takes time to weed out those that are sub-par. My mom's SO is one of those "if its organic/local/artisanal it MUST be better"...he has come home with some pretty awful food, but swears that its better! A few things have been inedible! I always wonder what he would think if I took a mass produced product and disguised it as local/organic/artisanal....
What Do You Like to Read When Eating Solo?
I'd agree with you about bringing in the fiction, putting away the news. Scrolling through a PDA for latest NY Times articles always made me tenser and "seriousfaced." Ironically, one of Portland's magazine's did a news article earlier this year on the merits of eating alone:
What Do You Like to Read When Eating Solo?
When I eat alone, I make sure I have a small novel and my journal. I think it presents a real opportunity to engage with the food and the meal - it's also a chance to speak to the staff and learn a little more about the place you are eating. While servers and runners typically have no time to chat, I usually ask for the sommelier if I have some decent wine. Anyway, I read my book in between courses and take notes on the meal when I'm eating.
What Do You Like to Read When Eating Solo?
When I go out to lunch I almost always take a book with me. It could be anything from James Patterson to Tim Dorsey to books on the history of motorcycle clubs to Jesse Venturas political books. I have no preference, I'll read just about anything that interests me.
What Do You Like to Read When Eating Solo?
Eating alone is one of the things that makes life worth living, and I always bring something to read as my dining companion if I don't have someone to spend time with, which is often. Some selections lately include Monocle magazine, New York Streetscapes, Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood Feeding Creatures, and The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality. I tend to read non-fiction more than fiction, but when I read fiction, I often find my food gets neglected a bit more....
Still, reading and eating are best friends, in my opinion.
There are some places I feel more comfortable with eating alone than in others. Cafes and teahouses are ideal. I actually touched on this topic in a blog post of mine: A Food Lover's Book of Days/Dining Alone. Life is Meals: A Food Lover's Book of Days by James and Kay Salter has a wonderful chapter entitled "Solitary Dinners" I really resonated with, and I think those of us who enjoy eating alone may enjoy it, too.
I have a quote from a book I was reading one Saturday, while eating, other solo readers and eaters might find interesting: “In roadside diners and late-night cafeterias, hotel lobbies and station cafes, we may dilute our feeling of isolation in a lonely public place and hence rediscover a distinctive sense of community.” - Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel.
What Do You Like to Read When Eating Solo?
One of the best memories I have with reading and food was in the student union building in college. They had a Chick Fillet there. Once a week, I would get nuggets, fries, and chocolate milk for lunch. I remember reading Memoirs of a Geisha while enjoying my food, and since then I always recall the taste of greasy, salty, chocolatey goodness whenever thinking of that story.
What Do You Like to Read When Eating Solo?
When I lived in Victoria, BC, I loved eating alone. There were pubs - plenty of them, and some really good ones - and I could wander downtown, stop at a good newsagent, pick up the most recent magazines (Atlantic, Harpers, Scientific American, sometimes Rolling Stone, sometimes Guitar Player, and whatever looked kinda intellectually interesting, like New Yorker, Civilization, etc.) and I'd buy three or four of those and settle into a pub with a stir-fry or a pot pie and some pints of excellent beer and enjoy a wonderful afternoon.
Alas, now I live in LA (the San Fernando Valley, really), and there are no pubs and almost no newsagents, and you have to drive to get anywhere, so an enjoyable four-pint experience is out of the question. I want to move back to Victoria!
What Do You Like to Read When Eating Solo?
the local independent weekly newspaper....
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About Angry Brit
Website: http://www.angrybrit.com
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About: I am not known as the most pleasant of people, but cooking helps to bring a small measure of equilibrium to the equation. Well, that and the fact that I like playing with sharp and pointy objects. :)
Favorite foods: French onion soup, duck confit, lemon tart, shepherd's pie (so long as it isn't bastardized with the additional of things like sweetcorn *shudders*), smoked salmon, steak frites with bearnaise sauce, good bread and good cheese.
Last bite on earth: Oooooh... Scottish smoked salmon. Champagne. Twist of black pepper. Squeeze of lemon.
Thanks for bringing this up! There has always been a certain snobbish tendency to assume that something home-made or artisanal is better- even back before the recent food revolution. While I can appreciate the importance of bacon-man or jam-guy plying their trades (because it is important), just because they CAN sell bacon or jam doesn't mean they should. Maybe that's a harsh thing to say, but it's true. I CAN sew a little, but when I'm done cross-stitching I'm not going to attempt to sell my aborted attempts, because I know that it's not something that people should be buying. Does this mean we should stick to eating nothing but processed food? Not at all. It just means that we need to be wiser about what we buy- take the time to find the best bread-baker and the dedicated cheese-maker and support their businesses. Don't just buy the first loaf of bread that has an "artisan" sticker on the wrapper.