Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

"You can get a better egg sandwich at any corner deli."

If you live somewhere that HAS corner delis. Our only breakfast options are a bad McD, Chick Fil A (gag), or Hardees. So we are VERRRRRY happy to have Starbucks' breakfast sandwiches!!!!!!!!!!

How ironic that Hannah HOWARD...didn't get that it's HOWARD Shultz...jest sayin' ;)

Though the sandwiches were "discontinued" several months ago, they weren't going to take them off the shelves until September (which I think had something to do with their fiscal year?).

As for changing the smell of the new sandwiches they say they will use "non-smelly" cheese and less butter on the eggs. The quote that got me was "The company may try to change the products enough to market them as distinct from the original sandwiches." so who knows what sandwich may show up! (FWIW-I'm a fan of the turkey bacon on whole wheat one).

I think Passy is the one that needs to GET A GRIP. No one wants to "change your position" on this issue. I think diversity is what makes the world go around. I see a lot of things that I would consider gross, things that I would never want to eat. But to call someone a moron for reporting about these things, seems excessive. To presume that there are food things that the readers of this blog do not want to know about is wrong. I read this blog and I found the information interesting. Oh ....and Adam I think the bimbo being refered to is not Elyse but the person who made the cat fritters comment

wow, dog scent out of her pores... that's interesting.

question is, adam would you or the serious eats team try dog if it was available here in the city?

I can't judge anyone for eating dog when I enjoy burgers, pork chops, lamb shanks, and chicken breasts on a regular basis.

Nonetheless, I could never eat dog or cat myself. It's a cultural prejudice, I understand that, but I just don't think I could bring myself to do it.

And you called me juvenile? Go back to your anonymity; you'll never change my position on this issue. Hiding behind your "culture" is a sorry excuse. Enough said.

Passy,

Of course I'm not the one to set the standards for this blog, but are you?

YOU are the one who called those who want to eat dog or read about foods you might find disgusting "total morons." Again, if you'd expressed your personal disgust, I wouldn't have come out of my relative anonymity to challenge you.

You didn't. You called the rest of us morons, exposing yourself as an intolerant, ethnocentric, food-bigot.

I'm more than willing to tone down the rhetoric -- I don't have any bone to pick with you personally. I am a world traveler and avid foodie, and my family is multi-ethnic, multi-cultural. It's bad enough when other kids tell my kids that their ethnic cuisine is disgusting or immoral -- it's incomprehensible when someone makes those claims on a blog intended for adults who are interested in experiencing and learning about food.

Please think about the implications of your rant. Such sentiments expressed in such a way make this place a hostile environment for people who may not share your nationality, your culture or your "dog"ma.

In short, it's one thing to say you think someone's food is unappetizing to you; it's another thing to call people idiots for their cultural preferences.

johnmccollum, sorry, but not too many people domesticate cows or pigs. I am a vegetarian, not usually a proselytizing one, but this is too much. I didn't realize that you were the one to set the standards for this blog, sorry!

Different strokes for different folks.

While I may not want to eat dog I don't think I am in a position to judge other people's eating habits. In this country we have domesticated different types of animals for different jobs, some food, some labor. It seems a lot of people don't have a problem killing and eating unattractive animals but when it comes to cute animals like dolphins or dogs, killing and eating them is a no no. They are all lives being snuffed out and we meat eaters need to be ok with that somehow no matter what the being looks like that we are going to kill, have killed, or will have someone else kill, in order to eat them. Other people might think killing cows to take them apart and eat and use their flesh, bones, skin, organs and brains is barbaric, it sure sounds barbaric.
I could sure use a burger.

Thanks for the clarification, strozzapreti. I figured this one was going to get some "ewww" comments and angry ones. Some people eat dog. Some people eat guinea pig. Some eat chickens, pigs, and cows. I thought this was an interesting link.

Mongoose, you are absolutely correct, in that the authenticity of ingredients is only one aspect to the greater authenticity of a cuisine. And you are also correct in pointing out the fetishism associated with ingredients. Spanish ham that costs upwards of $150/lb. Truffles costing upwards of $800/lb. Finger limes. Ramps. Yes, these are delicious, yes they are essential to certain cuisines. But they are only part of the picture. You need both authentic ingredients and authentic preparation by a trained cook, and in some case, even the way the food is served and eaten has bearing on the overall authenticity of the experience.

Such as when eating Ethiopian food. For the authentic experience, diners sit around the mesob, a woven basket like table, upon which is placed a large pancake-like sourdough flatbread called injera. All the dishes are put directly onto the injera. Each diner is given smaller cut pieces of injera bread, and the food is consumed by grabbing it with your own little pieces of bread. No utensils are used. Eating Ethiopian food with silverware at a dinner table, even if the food is perfectly prepared and delicious, falls short of the fully authentic experience.

So, yes, authenticity is a very complex issue. But unlike deliciousness, which remains highly subjective, authenticity can be vetted, using definitions and criteria that everyone can agree on. It takes education, passion and dedication. Something which is seriously lacking in most eaters, who want the familiar, the easy, the gut filling, 99% of the time, and don't really want to be bothered with thinking about what it means to eat food from another culture. Selling food is a business, so there are plenty of people willing to dumb down their culture's food in order to sell it more readily to this demographic.