Besides my campaign for DFD, a couple of other things have continued to stick in my craw lately. The first is the universal use of the phrase “you guys” when addressing a party of any gender. It’s not appropriate in any situation (IMHO), but especially not in a restaurant. Never, never, never, even if it is all males. Admittedly it rolls off the tongue easily and is so common you have to really concentrate not to use it. If you HAVE to put something behind “you” I would rather it be “y’all” than “guys”.
The second speaks to modern American culture. I have railed against this before, but it stems from the apparent American desire to have a “number one”. Better than all the rest, undeniably tops in whatever field you want to mention. Sports? It’s why we have playoffs – who is NUMBER ONE. Music? Look at the damn plethora of so called “talent” shows for dance, vocals, an endless stream of contests to produce that one big winner. And that is embodied in one of my favorite words: “Best”. Looking up the definition of the word brings up phrases such as: the greatest degree of good or excellence; surpassing all others in excellence, achievement, or quality; most excellent; of the most excellent, effective, or desirable type or quality. Pretty absolute, eh? And alas, the food industry is not immune to the lure of the word. A random sample of magazine covers in the mail box lately:
Notice the common word there? And Southern Living even adds “ever”! EVER! That's a really long time...And the Washingtonian folks want there to be no doubt
Food, as we have discussed before is a pretty subjective quantity. The "best" batter has the highest batting average. it's measurable and quantifiable. But for meat, you might like your steak one way, and I might like another. Never mind, just look at page 34 and don’t think.
So it was with this bias in my head that I opened up the most recent issue of my (far and away) favorite foodie publication, the current issue of Garden and Gun… and there was the dreaded four letter word:
Alas, they are not immune. And the relevant article:
Turns out to be a listing of somebody’s idea of southern food dishes from various restaurants, some well known, others not so much. The 50 Best southern foods include meats, seafood, sides, and sweets.
A sample from Seafood: Galatoire's is a venerable restaurant, and this is one of their signature dishes. I have no doubt that they are good, but are they the “best”? somebody thinks so. But, aside from that depressing tarnish, the rest of the issue is top notch. Where else are you going to find an article on frog’s legs; a review of a book on moonshine; or a wonderful tribute to the Grand Dame of Southern Cooking Leah Chase and her legendary New Orleans restaurant, Dooky Chase’s (incidentally, the Feeder has eaten there). Or a culinary tour of Charlotte by John T. Edge. Recipes for sides for your thanksgiving dinner some traditional, some not; "Smothered Country Green Beans" and "Curry - Roasted Cauliflower with Almonds and Grapes".. All with beautiful photographs throughout.. So despite a little chink, it is still worth picking up.
So enough. Use these "best" things as a guide, then apply your own tastes and preferences. Don’t let some nameless editor decide for you. You’re smart. So smart you don't even consider watching America's Got Talent, but instead watch Ken Burn's latest effort: Prohibition. Hey. I'm thirsty now!
But, you can let me tell you to
DFD
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