Pretentious foodies or pretentious audiophiles; I don't know what's worse, but they're both rather irritating.
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The Straight Dope seems to have a growing community of foodies. They might not call themselves such, but they come out in full force whenever a discussion of chain restaurants ensues. Their favorite targets are Applebee's and Olive Garden. In one thread, a reader describes getting sick within an hour of eating a meal at Applebee's, followed by a number of responses reaffirming just how terrible the food is there, with the usual comparisons to cardboard, dog turds and the like. A search through the SDMB shows a LOT of Applebee's hate.
Chains like Applebees and Olive Garden usually are quite busy, though. The response to their popularity: the usual "Americans are all stupid and don't know any better" cliche.
Really? Is Applebee's that bad? I've eaten at Applebee's and Olive Garden a number of times, and although I wouldn't consider it gourmet dining, what I had was rather tasty. I never got sick eating food at a chain; in fact, the times I've gotten food poisoning have been from independent restaurants.
This gets me to the main point of the post: obnoxious foodies. I'll present three subcategories; feel free to chime in with your thoughts.
1) The indie fan. Just like scene kids who ditch their favorite bands when they become too popular, indie fans believe that all chain restaurants are the gastronomical equivalent of Mylie Cyrus; they all served watered-down, lowest-common-denominator food for the masses. In comparison, independent restaurants are more "authentic", and reflect local character. In the eyes of many, the worst mom-and-pop restaurant is always superior to the best chain. They're easily spotted; just say "Macaroni Grill", "P.F. Chang's" or "Cheesecake Factory", and see who will stick their finger in their mouth and make gagging noises. That, or go to Buffalo and swing around a dead cat. The extreme version of the indie fan are the folks who believe that the lower a restaurant's inspection rating, the better the food.
2) The golden tongue. They always shop at farmers' markets, Whole Foods, and other high-end grocery stores. Their tastes are so rarefied that any food prepared with less then the highest-quality, freshest artisanal organic ingredients isn't even fit for their dog. They take annual vacations in Provence and Tuscany. They're regulars at the French Laundry, even if they live on the East Coast. Any wine that isn't from old vine grapes from the correct fields in France or Napa might as well be vinegar. God help them if they've got to make a cross-country drive.
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3) The ethnic fan. They can't enjoy the pleasures of a simple hamburger, steak, or pancake breakfast. Instead, their tastes favor ethnic cuisine, the more exotic and less Anglo/European the better. Some American regional cuisine (Cajun, California fusion) is tolerable, but they'rll more frequently seek out Thai, Korean, Indian, Middle Eastern, tapas, sushi, or better yet, Peruvian, Ethiopian or Tibetan. The more extreme ethnic fan seeks out food that is taboo; while just the thought of boneless wings at T.G.I. Friday's makes them gag, they have no problems with balut, goat eyeball soup, casu maru cheese, gaegogi, live crickets, and the like.
Foodies used to define people who just liked food, and were more adventurous in their dining choices than the mainstream public. Now, it seems like foodies make the pickiest eater seem open-minded in comparison.

