Judging People on their Taste

[daniellewiley]

My brother is 29 and has been doing the online dating thing for a while now. He has actually met a woman he really likes, and they are going on their third date this Sunday. So far, they've done coffee (date 1) and dive bar (date 2).

This date is dinner out.

So, of course, I asked where he was planning on taking her.

He has no idea. (He lives in LA, and claims to not know of any place to go - )

I suggested a French restaurant I visited earlier in the year, and he said that he thought it would be too adventurous, perhaps, for a first date.

I explained that, for me, it would be an excellent first date! I'd hate a bland restaurant for a first date!

And what does my brother say? "Well, she's not you. She loves Olive Garden."

OLIVE GARDEN!!???? And she warrants a third date with my darling little brother??

Oh, the humanity.

So, I know I'm a total snob, and that she might be a lovely woman, but I can't help but judge her now. And when/if I meet her, I won't be able to stop thinking about the fact that she loves Olive Garden!

Am I nuts?

[rich]

The one thing you can safely assume is that she's not Italian.

The Olive Garden could be a "tough" date. Its commercials suggest noise, big tables and lots of kiddies. This doesn't bode well for the suggested happenings of the all important third date.

Edited July 29, 2005 by rich (log)

[Jaymes]

Am I nuts?

Lord I'll say. You should meet the witch my brother married. She's too good for Olive Garden for sure. In fact, she's too good for the rest of us as well.

Finally, brother dumped her and got somebody a little easier to please.

There are far more important things in life than restaurant preferences.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Am I nuts?

There are far more important things in life than restaurant preferences.

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Now, now, Jaymes. Play nice. I can't imagine hanging out in eGullet if it really doesn't matter.

I don't think daniellewiley is judging anyone -- just judging that person's taste. And, yeah, I think the way people eat and what they think of as good eatin', is an accurate indicator of something.

I can remember working in an office many years ago, in downtown Cincinnati (when it was still a happening place), and taking one of the secretaries out for That Day. We went to La Normandie ... she loudly declared that she "didn't eat nothin', that she didn't know what it was," wanted pizza, but settled for a hamburger.

Another woman I know refuses all chain food (but has eaten at every Roy's in the country, and some of them, enough to be a regular). Her daughters are lovely girls who are absolutely horrible food snobs; if it's not really expensive and really fancy-looking, forget it. Barbecue joints, taco stands, Mom and Pop places ... no.

Both are very defensive about their preferences, which I kind of don't get. And both are really good people inside and are missing out on a lot. That's all.

BTW, my first date with Mr. FoodBabe was to Zip's Pub in Mt. Lookout, Ohio. We ate Zipburgers and chili and drank really bad beer. It was one of the best meals of my life ...

[daniellewiley]

Am I nuts?

There are far more important things in life than restaurant preferences.

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Now, now, Jaymes. Play nice. I can't imagine hanging out in eGullet if it really doesn't matter.

Thanks fab! I would actually be thrilled if my brother has truly found someone. I just thought our conversation was funny, b/c he obviously thinks I'm a total snob, and my reaction to his Olive Garden comment kind of proved that he's right.

BTW, my first date with Mr. FoodBabe was to Zip's Pub in Mt. Lookout, Ohio. We ate Zipburgers and chili and drank really bad beer.  It was one of the best meals of my life ... 

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And my first date with my husband was to a dive pizza joint in NYC. NOthing fancy, but totally memorable.

[fiftydollars]

A professor once told us a story about an investment advisor friend who met a client at her home and immediately told her he couldn’t work with her.

She had a Thomas Kinkade original on display in her living room.

[Metal Spice]

BTW, my first date with Mr. FoodBabe was to Zip's Pub in Mt. Lookout, Ohio. We ate Zipburgers and chili and drank really bad beer.  It was one of the best meals of my life ... 

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It could have been worse - like perhaps Frisch's. Although, if the company is excellent, the food isn't quite as important. At least Zips has that Mt. Lookout "aura" going for it as well! BTW, are their burgers still really small?

[FabulousFoodBabe]

BTW, my first date with Mr. FoodBabe was to Zip's Pub in Mt. Lookout, Ohio. We ate Zipburgers and chili and drank really bad beer.  It was one of the best meals of my life ... 

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It could have been worse - like perhaps Frisch's. Although, if the company is excellent, the food isn't quite as important. At least Zips has that Mt. Lookout "aura" going for it as well! BTW, are their burgers still really small?

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LOL -- this was (gulp) in 1981. I can't remember much about the burgers -- just that we ate them (we'd spent a few hours at the batting cages at Lunken Playfield, before). By those standards, they were normal sized. Anyway, we married in 1983, and moved to a street right by Zip's, and went there for our date anniversary every month. And I still love Frisch's! Oh, those fish sandwiches, the tartar sauce, those crinkle-cut fries ...

Does this mean I'm actually (gasp) a lowbrow Westside girl at heart? You betcha! And my husband loved Po'Folks (gag). He would wait until I went out of town on business, and then would go there for dinner, because I refused to set foot in the place. If I'd have let restaurant and food preferences guide me where he was concerned, well, the past 22 years, two kids, seven relocations, and on and on ... would never have happened.

He's gotten better about food, though he'll never care about it like I do. Viva la difference! (said with a bad French accent and no doubt, horrible grammar).

Edited July 29, 2005 by FabulousFoodBabe (log)

[Metal Spice]

OMG Po'Folks!! I had forgotten all about them. I remember when the one opened on Beechmont Ave - I was a teenager & I remember going past that place & thinking WTF is Po'Folks? My parents had friends who raved about it & so they went to try it. Yeah, those friiends were never trusted as food critics after that!

Every great once in a while I crave a Frischs' Big Boy Burger - but it's been a while since I've had one. I crave Skyline far more often than Frisch's! Now there's some gourmet food! LOL!! God I love it though! When we lived in NJ, I made the mistake of ordering a coney & thinking it was going to be like Skyline. Not even close.

Edit: Sorry, didn't mean to thread jack!

Edited July 29, 2005 by Metal Spice (log)

[jhlurie]

We've had various threads on this theme over the years--each one usually starting out with a story similar to Danielle's. Predictably, a lot of very divisive and sometimes contentious extremes in opinion pop up fairly quickly--the whole debate over "standards vs. snobbery".

We've also had many threads about chain restaurants--how they fit into our culture and IF they should fit into our culture. Those can get pretty hot too.

I'm not going to drag up or merge in any of those countless older discussions, but I WILL ask at this early point that we try and not make this discussion as contentious as some of it's predecessors. Hopefully I'm just being paranoid and we'll all be able to argue the standards vs. snobbery debate with cool logic and even tempers.

Thanks in advance.

[SuzySushi]

In my dating days, I went out once with a man who, among other things, was lactose intolerant. I don't remember how the conversation came up on a first date, but he mentioned that he had cereal with water for breakfast.

I must've stared at him bug-eyed, and finally asked, "How does it taste?"

"Terrible," he replied.

Right then, I knew there would be no second date.

(Note: This is not meant as a put-down of anyone with food allergies. My sister is allergic to milk -- not just lactose, but milk protein, too. She's a damn fine cook and would never settle for something that tasted "terrible" to avoid setting off her allergy.)

[Metal Spice]

In my dating days, I went out once with a man who, among other things, was lactose intolerant. I don't remember how the conversation came up on a first date, but he mentioned that he had cereal with water for breakfast.

I must've stared at him bug-eyed, and finally asked, "How does it taste?"

"Terrible," he replied.

Right then, I knew there would be no second date.

(Note: This is not meant as a put-down of anyone with food allergies. My sister is allergic to milk -- not just lactose, but milk protein, too. She's a damn fine cook and would never settle for something that tasted "terrible" to avoid setting off her allergy.)

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I once worked with a guy who had some issue with milk (I can't remember what is was) so he ate cereal with a fork. He could handle the milk enough to wet the cereal & make it taste good, but he just couldn't handle all of the milk.

[lesfen]

OLIVE GARDEN!!???? And she warrants a third date with my darling little brother??

Oh, the humanity.

So, I know I'm a total snob, and that she might be a lovely woman, but I can't help but judge her now. And when/if I meet her, I won't be able to stop thinking about the fact that she loves Olive Garden!

Am I nuts?

←

Sounds like a project to me!! You can CHANGE her!!

[Tess]

OLIVE GARDEN!!???? And she warrants a third date with my darling little brother??

Oh, the humanity.

So, I know I'm a total snob, and that she might be a lovely woman, but I can't help but judge her now. And when/if I meet her, I won't be able to stop thinking about the fact that she loves Olive Garden!

Am I nuts?

←

Sounds like a project to me!! You can CHANGE her!!

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Seriously, I agree.

[Apicio]

“You are always surprised by your friends’ choice in love or books.” Andre Maurois

Can you predict somebody’s potential in a relationship by their food preference? I doubt it. I have friends whose recomendation for restaurants I will never again solicit but whose dinner at home invitation I always look forward to.

[SobaAddict70]

Just remember that everything goes well with a little Mrs. Dash.

(I'm kidding...well, mostly. )

Soba

[deibu]

A professor once told us a story about an investment advisor friend who met a client at her home and immediately told her he couldn’t work with her.

She had a Thomas Kinkade original on display in her living room.

←

We have a client in a small town that has Thomas Kinkades all over the office. And of course several of the women have little angels on their desk. I just suck it up...

[Jean Blanchard]

This reminds me that the first restaurant my now husband took me to MANY years ago was a place where you had to cook your own steak. Now why would anyone want to go out and pay to cook their own steak??

The good news is, he would never think to do that now and his tastes have greatly improved. Maybe she just needs to be shown a world she has never seen before. Having said that, you might just have to accept that she's just (horrors!) not interested.

jb

[FabulousFoodBabe]

A professor once told us a story about an investment advisor friend who met a client at her home and immediately told her he couldn’t work with her.

She had a Thomas Kinkade original on display in her living room.

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Like a Bentley-driving accountant, I guess, or a chain-smoking doctor. I'd say skinny chef, but one of the most genius chefs I know is skinny, skinny, skinny. Hoo boy.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Thanks fab! I would actually be thrilled if my brother has truly found someone. I just thought our conversation was funny, b/c he obviously thinks I'm a total snob, and my reaction to his Olive Garden comment kind of proved that he's right.   

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I think there's probably a big difference between "liking" Olive Garden, and thinking it's real Eye-talian food. Plus, no one is good enough for your baby brother (I just know it! )

Now, I wonder if the girl in question (in dw's original post) is just pretending to be un-fancy. You know, the "oh, just a salad for me" type of date, for the first few. You'll have to let us know -- for some bizarre reason, I'm really interested in this!

[dinwiddie]

I'm something of a food snob when it comes to restaurants, in that I like ethnic food to be real, and fancy restaurants to be fancy, but--

My in-laws love Olive Garden, and IHOP, and other chain places because they get lots of food and it is cheap. If you are only into being able to get palatable food and lots of it, and are not a stickler for authenticity, there is nothing wrong with Olive Garden. Give the lady a break. If you brother likes her, the fact that she will go to a dive bar with him, and doesn't expect him to spend as much on dinner as on a car payment, so much the better.

Edited July 29, 2005 by dinwiddie (log)

[Busboy]

This reminds me that the first restaurant my now husband took me to MANY years ago was a place where you had to cook your own steak.  Now why would anyone want to go out and pay to cook their own steak?? 

The good news is, he would never think to do that now and his tastes have greatly improved.  Maybe she just needs to be shown a world she has never seen before.  Having said that, you might just have to accept that she's just (horrors!) not interested. 

jb

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Are you from Des Moines (Home of the do-it-yourself Iowa Beef Steak House)?

[suzilightning]

And what does my brother say? "Well, she's not you. She loves Olive Garden."

OLIVE GARDEN!!???? And she warrants a third date with my darling little brother??

danielle, my question would be - how does your brother feel about Olive Garden?

if he's ok with it - sounds like a match to me.

my mother-in-laws idea of a good place to eat out(birthday or special holiday) is Steak & Stein or Red Lobster. actually all my Olive Garden coupons go up to her but send me your brother's snail mail address and i pop one in the mail for him

needless to say johnnybird has had his ideas of "good" food elevated.

[Jean Blanchard]

This reminds me that the first restaurant my now husband took me to MANY years ago was a place where you had to cook your own steak.  Now why would anyone want to go out and pay to cook their own steak?? 

The good news is, he would never think to do that now and his tastes have greatly improved.  Maybe she just needs to be shown a world she has never seen before.  Having said that, you might just have to accept that she's just (horrors!) not interested. 

jb

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Are you from Des Moines (Home of the do-it-yourself Iowa Beef Steak House)?

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No, this was a place in a country club in a suburb of Chicago. I think maybe Nordic Hills.

jb

[jesteinf]

This reminds me that the first restaurant my now husband took me to MANY years ago was a place where you had to cook your own steak.  Now why would anyone want to go out and pay to cook their own steak?? 

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I would sometimes frequent a place where you could bring your own steak and they would cook it, give you a salad and some french fries for $3.

But back to the topic at hand. What may be more important than a potential mate's taste in restaurants is how they behave IN a restaurant.

Once I asked a girl out to sushi. She said she loved sushi and couldn't wait. When she ordered at the restaurant I believe she got 3 cucumber rolls. That was it. That was the last time we saw each other.