Fast food, convenience food and food snobbery

Mountain Cat said:
On another paw, if one won't eat offal, is that also "food snobbery"? Just asking for a friend.. er, myself, who loves a lot of offal. But I am curious if there is a definition out there for this?
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I will only eat chicken liver and heart, if you count that as offal. No other animal liver or heart unless it's heavily disguised like in boudin. I eat intestines since we use them as casings when we make sausage. Apparently oxtail is considered offal by some and I love that. No sweetbreads, tripe or the like for this woman though. :stop:
 
Mountain Cat said:
On another paw, if one won't eat offal, is that also "food snobbery"? Just asking for a friend.. er, myself, who loves a lot of offal. But I am curious if there is a definition out there for this?
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I wouldn't. I've eaten enough offal in the past, but I don't eat it now. It's just generally something I don't like, but if we were sharing a table at McD's, and you wanted to try their new McSpleen sandwich, I wouldn't give you the stink-eye.

For me, food snobbery is less about liking or disliking something, and more about feeling you're too good, or your taste is too refined, to stoop so low.
 
There is no Popeye's near me. Haven't done Taco Bell for at least 30 years. KFC has been around 15 years. The morning after my last meal there I had some sort of an angina attack and ended up in the hospital. Haven't gone back since, even though angina or a heart problem was never definitively decided.
 
Mountain Cat said:
There is no Popeye's near me. Haven't done Taco Bell for at least 30 years. KFC has been around 15 years. The morning after my last meal there I had some sort of an angina attack and ended up in the hospital. Haven't gone back since, even though angina or a heart problem was never definitively decided.
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The last meal my dad had before going into emergency surgery for his appendix was sweet potatoes. To this day, he can't even smell sweet potatoes without feeling nauseous.
 
Taco Bell has the reputation of being about the cheapest place to eat. There's one near the office, and when I'd eat there, I could get a burrito and a tray of nachos for...$1.97.
 
Mountain Cat said:
On another paw, if one won't eat offal, is that also "food snobbery"? Just asking for a friend.. er, myself, who loves a lot of offal. But I am curious if there is a definition out there for this?
Click to expand...

Eventually it's all just preference unless you can't afford to choose.

I love liver and occasionally onglet ( lung steak) or haggis or black pudding, but that's it for offal for me.
 
I will eat Taco Bell. I won't eat any of the others except once in a great while I will eat that amazing Popeye's chicken sandwich. We even get our pizza (when we get take out) from a little local pizzaria. I'd rather open a can of refried beans and put it on a tortilla than eat any of that crap.
A little story about the effects of fast food. I used to do a lot of work out of town, and one day I was about 2 hours away from home in an unfamiliar city. I also have issues with low blood sugar. So I had googled to find the nearest Subway, because it is at least, real food. I couldn't find it and my GPS couldn't find it either. Finally in desperation, I pulled into a McDonalds and got a cheeseburger and fries. I wolfed them down because I could feel my blood sugar dropping. Now, at this point I hadn't had any fast food for about 2 years. Nothing except an occasional Subway when out of town. I immediately felt the endorphin rush and knew it was from the fast food. I went on about my way and went home. Well for about 2 months, after that, every time I would pass McDonalds I would get a craving for it. It was a chemical reaction that I didn't have any control over. So I do consider it evil because they have engineered addiction for millions of people who don't even know it.
I am not a food snob though, I eat humble beans and tortillas all the time.
 
I do agree it can be addicting. I went a year with zero fast food, and my first treat after that was a Big Mac and Fries.

It was like God speaking directly to my soul. :laugh:

The thing is, I don't know if it's the taste or the smell. BK absolutely vents that "char-broiled" smoke smell out as an enticement, but McD's smells like nothing else on the planet. It doesn't smell like food, it doesn't smell like cooking, it's not sweet or savory, it's just a totally unique smell that sets the ol' brain on fire.
 
I have a friend who lives over on the west side, which is upscale. They put in an Aldi's there and she was super excited, loves to shop there, great food at great prices. She was talking about how much money she saved by shopping there to one of the other moms in her neighborhood. The other woman patted her on the hand condescendingly and said, "Oh good for you that you can shop there. I only shop at the Mustard Seed" (totally overpriced grocery and natural food store in their area). Now THAT is food snobbery.
 
JASOH1 said:
I have a friend who lives over on the west side, which is upscale. They put in an Aldi's there and she was super excited, loves to shop there, great food at great prices. She was talking about how much money she saved by shopping there to one of the other moms in her neighborhood. The other woman patted her on the hand condescendingly and said, "Oh good for you that you can shop there. I only shop at the Mustard Seed" (totally overpriced grocery and natural food store in their area). Now THAT is food snobbery.
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Aldi has always had the reputation around here of a grocery store meant for the less advantaged. Common nicknames for Aldi when I was a teen (when they first showed up around here, 1980's) was "ghetto Kroger," and "welfare Kroger." You did not want to show up with their shop brand items in your lunch sack!

Now, they're considered kind of shabby-trendy, as in, "Oh, Marta, you'll never believe where I got the coffee - Aldi's! That's right, Aldi's!" - especially since they started selling those booze advent calendars at Christmas. :laugh:
 
They have a really nice organic section now. Years ago my stepkids always preferred Aldi cereal over the name brand from the mainstream grocery stores.
 
Mountain Cat said:
On another paw, if one won't eat offal, is that also "food snobbery"? Just asking for a friend.. er, myself, who loves a lot of offal. But I am curious if there is a definition out there for this?
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No definition as far as I know. It seems to be a relative concept. Offal is a gourmet ingredient in many a Michelin starred restaurant dishes. Personally I love offal. In the UK, those that won't eat offal would probably be regarded as the opposite of food snobs.
 
I will on rare occasions eat a Wendy's burger. My mother was a specialist at serving fast food for dinner. This was after my oma was no longer living with us because my mother remarried my POS father. When my buddies and I went fishing, we would each get a dozen or so of sliders from the Royal Castle which was next door to the bait shop. Better than "Hot and Now" glazed doughnuts at Krispy Kreme.
 
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