eliotmorgan

“I really have no idea what you mean by the Jim Bakker analogy, which is so completely inapplicable for so many reasons” Steven A. Shaw My Bakker analogy grew from reading this thread and what I believe to be the utopia of freshly picked dew kissed vegetables and wholesome, quickly served meals presumed, by some, to be available for the workers of the world and the attendant moralizing that seems to go hand in hand with such judgment. This is why I’m not surprised you introduced the word “sin” in your latest post to this discussion or why I said this reminds me of gangster rap fans who find out their favorite rapper grew up middle-class. I believe celebrity chefs are eager to be seen with lower end food outside of their own restaurants because they’ve painted themselves into a corner and the demanding public would like to hold them to the romantic fiction they write in their large format cookbooks. I’ll quote from one of the canonical works of this religion: When you see the soil bursting with young lettuce, with tomatoes, with light green vines of peas, all the molecules between your gaze and those vegetables are charged with the energy of cooking. The air sparkles. A Return to Cooking by Eric Ripert/Michael Ruhlman, page 16 The writing becomes more saccharine by the page. Jonathan Gold and Ruth Reichl are masters of this kind of fiction. Pull a cookbook off your shelf and you’ll not have to read long to find this kind of romance writing. Professional cooks will really enjoy the 8:30 segment of the Boulud book I mentioned earlier titled “To Market.” I haven’t met an Asian chef yet who has the stomach for the village stories and “Joy Luck Club” type nonsense that the public demands from them, but it does pay the bills so I’m not knocking it. I’m just saying at some point “cut, that’s a wrap” should allow these cooks to go about their lives, make the big bucks and not be deemed heretics because they grab a cheap, convenient, and consistent product before resting up for the next busy day. If they can then make the mega bucks admitting to eating such food all the better. In answer to your query I’ve tried the offending sandwich since seeing the commercial and made a special trip to BK to do so because I’d usually eat there only on road trips while filling the tank. I believe it to be palatable, which means I’ll have it again in a pinch.

This thread vividly underscores one of the problems of writing and discussing food: everyone is a moralist and an idealist. No room for reality in this virtual gathering of Jim Bakkers’ perpetually in fear of a Jessica Hahn that’ll gum up the works. Anyone who’s ever worked in a 4 star kitchen knows democracy thy name is Krispy Kreme. I doubt Daniel Boulud would pass up the opportunity to endorse these morsels of deep fried dough—they are prominently displayed in his book “Chef Daniel Boulud.” I think this Rick Bayless issue causes so much controversy because the BK endorsement ruins the fantasy of the “authentic” romances laid out in his books and videos. All of the top chefs spin these stories, and to see any of them eat a meal or endorse a product inconsistent with these marketing ploys is considered heresy, like finding out your favorite gangster rapper grew up in a middle-class neighborhood. Mexican for me is Topolobampo, it isn’t for most Mexicans. Bayless didn’t “sell-out,” he just sold high. He was always selling something; they all are, and it’s a good thing.

If you go to the Burger King site (http://www.burgerking.com/) you can watch a Bayless-less version of the offending sandwich anc check related nutritional data.

People always want things they aren’t willing to work for—should cooking be different? Four-star food in 5-minutes or less, 20-minute meals, and relative anger at any cookbook that released that can’t be instantly used by the novice? I remember reading an article by Jonathan Gold in Gourmet Magazine a little over a year ago on Dim Sum in NYC. Gold even made the”E” train ride sound romantic. Having lived in Hong Kong I knew what he was writing was BS from beginning to end, but like a lotto ticket there was that romantic chance that outstanding Dim Sum—the kind you not even readily available in HK—was waiting for my wife and me. I wasn’t surprised when the place turned out to be very ordinary, yet I was disappointed. The food writing paradox. Has everyone forgotten the lynching Chef Ducasse went through when he opened ADNY in the Essex House? It angered me to no end, and it was in Commentary Magazine that I discovered The Fat-Guy who wrote an article called “Culinary Correctness.” Ducasse’s crime was doing it right and doing it best without faux-democratic pretenses. At only 65 seats and no turns, there were a hell of a lot of folks professing to have eaten there early on, but the more specific you were questioning these experiences the angrier the crowd that professed to have them became. Anthony Bourdain’s success comes from his assuring culinary voyeurs that the four star restaurants are full of short cuts and second rate products. I’ve met many writers that wanted to be him, but never a cook. It’s food porn because you can possess it on some level. The general public won’t take anything else without a fight, and I’m not so sure they should. A solid news food article is like picking up a porn magazine and having a quote from the women in a multi-page spread say, “I would'nt undress for you,” and after flipping through the entire layout she’s still fully dressed. Is that any fun? Food writing is all about possibilities and fantasies. No one calls repeatedly for weeks to book a table 3 months in advance at Tru, Trotter’s, Ducasse, or The French Laundry because they figure they’ll be hungry by then.

An Atkins-esque sounds good considering its game season. What self respecting gastronome would want to pass up duck, squab, pheasant or turkey in the fall? However, you can loose just as much weight if you just don’t eat within 5 hours of going to sleep and keep exercising. We’re approaching the silly season of “holiday pounds” warnings, which is always followed by “get in shape for summer” ads. Congratulations on your progress though. Please give yourselves a break around Christmas. All you have to do is keep your BMI below 25. You can calculate your BMI at the National Institute of Health site: http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm On Breakfast i recommend only the best: Bacon. Remember: A Waist is a Terrible Thing to Mind.

"Peasant" has great food. If anything has changed, I hope it’s the unbelievably pretentious practice of having a menu presented in Italian only, followed by a few minutes wait before the waiter translates the entire menu.