Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I just moved to Washington (how did I miss Ben's) I make a trip once a year all over the states just to eat at places like Ben's. I am used to the destroyed stomach feeling! I love it. Leaving for Ben's half smoked yeah
Traveler777
DC

I find a lot of the anti-Slow Food rhetoric cranky and overwrought. We risk wasting a lot of energy by being too sloppy and arbitrary in identifying who our opponents are supposed to be. Slow Food is not against any of the things the commenters here (and Ed) are proponents of; on the contrary, it's vociferously in favor of them. Even without being a member, I can tell you that the long-term aim of the outfit is not just to swell its own membership rolls--the world isn't going to become a better place simply because a lot of people join a particular organization. What it's about is ideas, values, standards, all of which are stridently, pervasively democratic. "Elitist," "effete," and such labels--which get so facilely applied to Slow Food--are generally not terms that come to mind when one is talking about such folks as Wendell Berry, Vandana Shiva, Michael Pollan, and Winona LaDuke. And yet those very people are Slow Food's heroes, all present at the San Francisco event! My plea is, please don't conjure up enemies and animosities where they simply don't exist and have no reason to. There's way too much work to do!

I am once again knocked out by the level of discourse on this thread. Andy in Charlotte, it sounds like your Slow Food chapter is doing great work, as I'm sure most if not all of the local chapters are doing. One of the points I was trying to make is that Slow Food needs to really dig into food communities all over the country and try to perpetuate local food traditions, even if they involve bakeries or pizzerias not using organic flour or barbecue joints not using heritage pigs. Many a pitmaster I know is scared of scaring off his or her regular customer base by raising the price of a barbecue sandwich a dollar (or even less) to pay for the more expensive designer pork. Do we penalize them for that or should we just acknowledge that they're trying to do the right thing and cook food the "slow" way.

Ed, I hope SFN does inspire more folks to seek out and support slow food businesses, whether local or national or international at their core. I would add two other challenges to the list. From the folks I've spoken to - whether farmers/ranchers or the folks who run shops like Marone's - one of the biggest problems is the distribution system (or lack thereof) to support smaller, call it niche, operations. Many refer to it as "Sysco Disease." The other is awareness or maybe in more classic real estate terms, poor location.

Thanks for writing this Ed, many of us have been saying & thinking the same thing for awhile now.

Kim @ apizza scholls

Don Luis, your comment, IMO, is misguided, in that my experience has been that, by and large, it's the small food artisans that rely most heavily on "good, clean, and fair" food. The fact is that many people still don't have time to cook, to plant gardens, to make "slow food" an integral part of their life, but there is a small but growing bunch, even those who are not among the elite, who will support independent restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, etc. who they know source their food from farms and purveyors who do represent what slow food is all about. The two - the artisan baker and the movement to get people to learn more about where their food comes from and how it is produced -- are often inextricably linked.

ciordia9 makes some excellent points, but to me, it seems like Slow Food seems to rely very heavily on high-end events to bring in resources. I realize that this is just the beginning of a movement, but once you get that elitist tag, it's hard to shake.

As a Slow Food member in the Charlotte, NC region for the past three years we've been tackling a lot of challenges with 100% volunteerism. We do what we can but it's hard work especially with a still very young organization.

Slow Food first and foremost has been an educator. Be glad that some small portion of the population is paying attention to the food crisis and is using the plate as a window into the problems and searching for solutions. Those with means may have helped bring the movement into the States years ago but we have a predominance of educators in our membership.

If you follow Alice Waters at all you know of the edible schoolyard initiatives. All over our state we have helped foster those. In our local convivia we've started a pilot project in lower income educated areas to bring the garden into the school and hopefully we can build a replicate-able program from it. Again, 100% volunteer efforts. I wish we were the Sierra Club or some other large body of lobby intent that could pay for more regional directors to help with coordination and sustain all the free passion that is utilized.

We've been working against the elitist mentality since inception. All you can do is work on bringing in new members, meet, cull projects people are passionate about, and deploy. Make new connections with other like minded groups, and flex your message. Are there expensive food gatherings, you bet. It's how we fund everything. You have another good idea? Let's say we recycle those with means to those without, but don't think it's a lot of rich snobs just lolly-gagging. Everything has a means to an ends and ours brings about a lot of branding, understanding, and vision to those who may have never had it before.

We are at the beginning of a long road and we all need to do our part to help. Which in our area, I don't care if you are a member or not, just come play a role, help help help. Drop your dogma and roll those sleeves up!

-andy | http://slowfoodcharlotte.org

@Ed

Your understanding of "slow food" is certainly different than mine.

Slow food stands for "good, clean and fair food."

not "supporting sustainable, artisanal food."

From the Slow Food web site, the organization was created "to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world."

A bakery closing in New York will have little, if any, effect on the slow food movement; you can follow the slow food philosophy without ever setting foot in a restaurant or bakery.

Your post starts out talking about slow food, but the main theme is American artisanal food makers. You can certainly have slow food without the latter.

brian- well put. the veggie chili cheese fries destroyed my stomach (in a good way), one very late night a few summers ago when i came through DC on tour. i ate my buddy's leftovers the next morning, hungover, and they still managed to be delicious, even in their sad, congealed state.

(late)Easter went great. No overwhelmingly scary mother in law stories. The asparagus came out delicious (even though I forgot the garlic)
thanks again!

Okay everybody waiting for my response!

I forgot to mention- I'm doing "Easter" at her house next week because that's when my BF gets his son (the little guy was with his mom for easter). So I promise to come back next week & report on your questions regarding cooking in her kitchen.
I did a test run this Sunday with some asparagus. I used the recipe tossing it in Olive oil and roasting at 400 approx 8 min. From my BF's suggestion (who knew he was a treasure trove of asparagus knowledge as well?) adding a sprinkle of Mc Cormicks Monterey seasoning, I also used the suggestion of roasting some quartered baby portabella mushrooms with same treatment/ time. Everything turned out great! I'm am going to use this recipe next week as it's too easy to fail! Believe it or not somehow I was able to eat about 7 spears without gagging. (usually my response to asparagus) Even though I couldn't shake the unmistakable "green" flavor, it was balanced enough by the seasoning and the roasted mushrooms- I liked it! I would consider eating this again- thanks everybody for helping "expand my palate!"

Bumping this thread because I really want to know how bisbee's dinner with FMIL went ... What asparagus dish did you make? What was it like cooking in her kitchen on a holiday?

We love asparagus -- thanks for all the great recipes! My favorite appetizer is an asparagus roll-up:

1/2 lb. thinly sliced prosciutto
24 fresh asparagus spears (young, thin spears work best)
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Mix together cream cheese, pepper, garlic powder; spread on slices of ham. Lay two asparagus spears on cheese and wrap ham around. Place in a shallow baking dish. Cover and microwave on high for two minutes. Serve warm or cold.

My favorite preparation is Jean George's asparagus with morels. I don't know if there is a recipe around but it is the only way to eat it. If not, I agree with getting multiple varieties of types of asparagus. Even with a simple preparation the different types of asparagus will create a different flavor profile.