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Dining requirements: men and women


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Observer UK article

When it comes to dining requirements, men and women are like fish and fowl. While men love meat, women prefer a bit of greenery, and go for food that's flat, or cuddly...  Restaurateurs should also note that Making Menus for Girls involves a certain amount of sophistry...  Bear in mind, too, that we calibrate our order quite finely with what the other women have chosen... a rack of ribs comes with the almost neanderthal demand that you get stuck right in. No woman wants to leave the table with barbecue sauce under her French manicure....women tend towards small, pretty and expensive things. It's why we have a great fondness for canapés. No mess, no fuss, just huge quantities of food delivered in small, elegant, inconspicuous little packages...
Quite an interesting article! If you have other thoughts on this, please do offer them here ... :wink:

Aren't there women who enjoy a hearty slab of ribs? I do!

Don't men enjoy a salad (of course, not a quiche on the side! :laugh: )?

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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Well, I think it was "cute" writing, but I'd be surprised if it's true. I'd certainly doubt that it holds true of male and female Gulletteers.

Overheard at the Zabar’s prepared food counter in the 1970’s:

Woman (noticing a large bowl of cut fruit): “How much is the fruit salad?”

Counterman: “Three-ninety-eight a pound.”

Woman (incredulous, and loud): “THREE-NINETY EIGHT A POUND ????”

Counterman: “Who’s going to sit and cut fruit all day, lady… YOU?”

Newly updated: my online food photo extravaganza; cook-in/eat-out and photos from the 70's

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Several problems with this article for me

(1) I'm not into political correctness but I do wish the author would realize that there is a difference between "girls" and "women"

(2) I cannot escape the feeling that the author was overly impressed by "Men are from Mars, Women are From Venus" and seems to think that all of the stereotypes that make women more"delicate", "sensitive" and "soft" are appropriate

(3) I also cannot escape the feeling that the author was so culture-bound that she tied almost exlcusively into her own group of friends and acquaintances for her "facts".

I'm rather glad I'm not acuainted with that group of "girls qua women"

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i like my food cuddly ... especially if it's bambi or thumper.

what broadly painted, sexually biased b*%%s@*&. sounds like this author needs to get out and meet some real women.

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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As my screen name suggests, I love shellfish. I have no problem going into a restarant and ordering peel and eat shrimp, crab legs, raw oysters or lobster. All of these foods require me to use my hands and yes, my hands (and often my eye glasses) get very messy. Do I mind? Heck no.

Following our annual crawfish boil, my fingernails are tinged red for days. Who needs a manicure when they can have mudbugs.

This author doesn't seem to have sought out a wide range of sources. I know many women who would be insulted if they thought the menu had been tailored to their delicate and dainty needs.

Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you and be silent. Epicetus

Amanda Newton

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I do wish she'd stop saying "we." Frankly I would hate to have lunch with her social set. If they expect me to play diet mind games when I'm eating, to hell with that. Also, the so-called man food all sounded delicious.

What really entertains me is being married for 8 years to a vegetarian, and having rather infrequently been given the correct dish first time when we order characteristically. They always try to fob me off with the salad and give him the gigantic hunka meat.

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From reading the article, it seems like women might only have different dining styles because of dieting issues. While I do enjoy fruits and vegetables, I can still enjoy many things guys do. Maybe my blue-collar upbrining made me have no shame in saying so either. Also, I don't believe that all women want small portions either. I am a very small woman and can still out-eat most guys when I'm hungry.

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My sense is that perhaps parts of the article are "right", perhaps some not. Just as with most things in life, including articles in the daily newspaper.

There is the fact to be considered, in reading this, that it is in a British publication, writing for that specific audience. There can often be anywhere from a small to a large difference in the "style" and tone of the writing. These differences are sometimes quite apparent in restaurant reviews in British publications as opposed to those in American publications. The humor is often different, in particular.

I think this article was meant to be humorous, and that the archness used in the style of writing was meant to hint at that. It would be interesting to hear a native Brit's opinion on it, though. :smile::wink:

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Here's something more on gender's role in food cravings.

What a Girl Wants... isn't What a Guy Wants!

In addition, this study shows chromosomes play a part in the foods you reach for: Men, for example, find comfort in foods associated with meals prepared by their mothers (e.g. mashed potatoes) rather than from snacks and sweets (except ice cream).

:biggrin:

Women, however, want foods that don't involve preparation, such as pre-packaged sweets. For example, the researchers pointed to one study that showed 92 percent of self-reported "chocolate addicts" are women.

:smile:

(Here's a link to an abstract of a thesis which discusses this in scholarly terms: Comfort Food Preferences Across Age and Gender)

Of course here "comfort food" is what is being discussed, without the additional social impetus of dining out in public with others. Would be nice to find more on that - I'll look a bit. :wink:

Edited by Carrot Top (log)
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This is just another example of a lazy press in search of something newsworthy.

Once again a bit of "conventional wisdom" is passed along with little regard for its veracity and little support save for some stereotyping.

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Gee maybe this is why the 6 German strangers at our table ( at the Paulaner Hoffbrau ) laughed when my roasted half pork shank arrived.

it was good ...sticky but good

tracey

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

"It is the government's fault, they've eaten everything."

My Webpage

garden state motorcyle association

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Folks, I know *lots* of girls that are of the sort portrayed (accurately) in this column. But let's be honest, you're not going to find any of them on eGullet...
OK, someone has to admit it...

I am fairly fastidious and never order anything messy in a restaurant. I hate getting my hands (and yes, my nails) dirty. That's not to say I would order a "just a salad" - it's the mess factor. I can't do it. Is that girly, or just OCD? :laugh:

Heather Johnson

In Good Thyme

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I like my men charming, my doors held open, and my nails long. I also adore big slabs of juicy red meat, peel and eat shrimp and all sorts of other things girls aren't supposed to eat. As evident at Varmint's pig pickin, I have no hesitation in plunging my hands into food to mix it up, nails or no. I don't order a lot of messy food in restaurants though because I just know that I'll end up wearing it. Especially if I'm wearing white. And frankly, I could care less about chocolate. Damn :biggrin:

Edited by Marlene (log)

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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I am fairly fastidious and never order anything messy in a restaurant.  I hate getting my hands (and yes, my nails) dirty.  That's not to say I would order a "just a salad"  - it's the mess factor.  I can't do it.  Is that girly, or just OCD?   :laugh:

I don't think OCD is encroaching, nor the dreaded sin of being "girly".

And probably you didn't pay a consultant "up to $1200 per hour" to learn these things (as some people do need to), as this article discusses:

Mind your Manners

"Never order spaghetti at a first meeting"

:biggrin:

There are also some fun retro shorts (movies, not what one wears :wacko: ) from Emily Post featuring two women (ladies :wink: ) learning how to dine, on this site: Taste TV (Of course, just sitting through the fifteen second commercial previous to the piece teaches manners, too. . .sigh)

all sorts of other things girls aren't supposed to eat.   

That sounds interesting.

:raz:

Edited by Carrot Top (log)
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You know, none of my women friends are like the girl who wrote the article. But a couple of years waiting tables taught me that there are a more than a few women like that out there.

Live and let live.

I'm on the pavement

Thinking about the government.

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Folks, I know *lots* of girls that are of the sort portrayed (accurately) in this column. But let's be honest, you're not going to find any of them on eGullet...
OK, someone has to admit it...

I am fairly fastidious and never order anything messy in a restaurant. I hate getting my hands (and yes, my nails) dirty. That's not to say I would order a "just a salad" - it's the mess factor. I can't do it. Is that girly, or just OCD? :laugh:

eh, we all behave differently in publice, weather or not we readily admit it.

I may overorder and overtip just to prove another point...I'm sure there's sume nerosis and insecurity involved but...whatevs...not my biggest flaw..so..I'm overlooking it!

:biggrin:

nonetheless there is a HUGE population of women who undereat in public, as a matter of fact it's practically standard amongst the young crowd these days (not just my idiot friends)

Perhaps I'm just not aware of normal ordering patters and I see all these women as starved and repressed...and to them I'm a big hippo with no self control! :shock:

does this come in pork?

My name's Emma Feigenbaum.

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You know, none of my women friends are like the girl who wrote the article.

Gosh but it's fun flipping those two words around in that sentence while imagining the Life and Times of Busboy.

:smile:

(Edited to alter a phrase for I was starting to sound like a guy from Coney Island who eats only in restaurants with bullet-proof windows. :sad: )

Edited by Carrot Top (log)
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I am fairly fastidious and never order anything messy in a restaurant.  I hate getting my hands (and yes, my nails) dirty.  That's not to say I would order a "just a salad"  - it's the mess factor.  I can't do it.  Is that girly, or just OCD?  :laugh:

It's not exclusively a "girly" thing.

I'm also "fairly fastidious and never order anything messy in a restaurant" out of consideration for my luxuriant mustache.

SB (hasn't eaten an ice cream cone in 25 years :sad: )

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(Edited to alter a phrase for I was starting to sound like a guy from Coney Island who eats only in restaurants with bullet-proof windows.  :sad: )

I prefer to be seated in a restaurant with my back to a wall and a clear view of the enterance and exits.

SB (old habits die hard :wink: )

BTW: Do Coney Island restaurants advertise their bullet-proof windows, or does the guy send somebody out in advance to fire off a few shots to find out?

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I am fairly fastidious and never order anything messy in a restaurant.  I hate getting my hands (and yes, my nails) dirty.  That's not to say I would order a "just a salad"  - it's the mess factor.  I can't do it.  Is that girly, or just OCD?   :laugh:

I don't think OCD is encroaching, nor the dreaded sin of being "girly".

You should have seen the big rare steak I tucked into last night. But I had a fork & knife so everything was OK. And all bets are off when I'm cooking - Marlene has seen me at work. :laugh:

I agree with the poster above that this article was most likely a little bit cheeky.

Heather Johnson

In Good Thyme

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