Comments on: Ask Todd, Answer Gansie: Who Is a Foodie?

By: Robin Tierney

Robin Tierney — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:34:39 +0000

People, including food writers, often proclaim they’re foodies. Yet I, a vegan, has had to explain to some of them what “ceviche” is (“no, it is not a species of fish, but marinated in…”), has had “adventurous eaters” express I must have had no taste to have consumed bugs (I did, before going vegan, and they were tasty…apparently some foodies think other cultures lack taste and define “adventurous” as eating non-TX or non-NC BBQ or fried butter sticks), and hear some foodies praise tough or stringy meat to the skies when all they’re really experiencing is the sugary sauce used to make the said meat palatable. I come from a family of butchers, raised to define good meat (flesh) as that which comes from places we could visit and to which you need add only a pinch of salt (instead of what’s common now, having to soak, sauce, smoke, sugar, overseason, oversalt and overproduce the flesh to suit modern diners’ tastes). I’ve seen them reach for salt shakers as a prerequisite for eating. So it’s odd that anyone would think a vegan or vegetarian must lack a refined palates, or is not adventurous, just because he or she chooses not to eat flesh and products from the reproductive systems of animals. There is a whole world of great foods beyond flesh and milk, folks. Am enjoying a feast of luscious avocado (not the big bland ones so popular in DC), peppers stuffed with wild rice, garden toms and yellow lentils with fresh rosemary and basil, and spinach drizzled with hemp oil and dusted with ground flax right now. Def not craving that hamburger made from the ground flesh from dozens (you do realize it’s not from one, right?) cattle, turkey, and/or whatever else

By: westcoast

westcoast — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:35:44 +0000

I believe finding really amazing vegetarian or vegan food at any restaurant is an adventure. There are restaurants in DC that are touted as being the best vegetarian spots, but honestly, just serving vegetarian or vegan food doesn’t win you that honor. [I hope you are listening Vegetate.] Santa Monica, for instance, has a thriving and competitive vegan food scene. There’s really inventive and amazing food and pastry there. Some of the best meals of my life have been vegetarian or vegan dinners (CityZen’s veggie tasting in DC and Millennium for vegan food in San Francisco).

By: Relishments » Highlights: Vegan/Vegetarian

Relishments » Highlights: Vegan/Vegetarian — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:06:32 +0000

[...] Simmer examines the question “Can a vegetarian/vegan be a “foodie”” (The answer? A resounding “yes”. [...]

By: erica

erica — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:32:12 +0000

also, i’d say that most meat eaters i know are way less adventurous about food than those who don’t eat meat. for example, i say i had tofu last night, and someone says “oh we don’t eat tofu at my house, we’re meat eaters”. um… way to be adventurous!

By: erica

erica — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:28:32 +0000

amen, girl.

strangely enough, i never looked at a food blog in my life until i cut dairy out of my diet. then the food obsession happens because you have to figure out what the hell to eat, and you discover there are things out there besides cheese sandwiches and pizza… and… the rest is history.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:30:24 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by EndlessSimmer: @gansie takes on @toddkliman – vegetarians can be foodies http://bit.ly/9KDV8q...

By: tara

tara — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:11:21 +0000

R’amen!

By: Nicky

Nicky — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:56:07 +0000

I think it’s funny that this question even comes up in this day and age. Are you telling me that people like Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks are not foodies? I think people would be surprised to find out many of the foodies they know and love are vegetarian. Watch your backs meat eating foodies we are right on your tails.

By: Summer

Summer — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:28:24 +0000

Isn’t a foodie ultimately just someone for whom food is a hobby, not just a need or a chore? Someone who enjoys thinking about food, as well as eating it?

A lot of us have restricted diets for varying reasons. Maybe it’s religion, maybe it’s morals, maybe it’s medical reasons, maybe it’s to lose weight, maybe it’s just plain weirdness. But once you restrict your diet, you have to spend a lot more time thinking about food. You can’t just mindlessly put anything into your mouth, or pop into any random restaurant and order blindly off the menu. But you have a choice about how you think about food and your restricted diet: are you concerned only about finding something you can eat, or do you enjoy the challenge of finding things that you can eat that you WANT to eat?

I also find it ridiculous that he hasn’t “meat” vegetarians he’d describe as food-adventurers. Just about every vegetarian I’ve ever met is someone who is more likely than the average American to try new ethnic cuisines (since there are usually more vegetarian options on the menu!) and exotic ingredients.

By: HUSH Supper Club

HUSH Supper Club — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:43:43 +0000

So annoying, it’s difficult to know where to begin.

1. He clarifies that ‘food adventurer’ is only one definition, but then speculates that most vegetarians aren’t ‘adventurers’, ergo not foodies, even though they could fall into the other definitions. The second definition describes me and many vegetarians that I know.

2. By the other definitions, foodie has nothing inherently to do with cooking. Fine, we are a culture of critics and consumers – that was already known and nothing to be proud of.

3. I’m not a foodie, and pleased to declare it. I’m a cook, and I love learning from my sublimely talented mother about Indian, specifically vegetarian Gujarati and Jain, food. My mother is NOT a foodie. She’s a chef and magician.

Who would you rather be?