Deal Breakers

[Fresser]

I tried to train him on the kimchi, but it just won't work.  This is kinda gross......don't read any further if you are easily grossed out.

one time he was feeling really ill and needed to throw up very badly (to make himself feel a little better).  He was having a hard time doing so, so I decided to help him out by making him smell a bucket of 6 month-old sour kimchi.  holy crap did that do the trick.  Not only did it work, but he got so pissed off at me.  I dont know how it made him ill, because whenever I smell extra sour or old kimchi it makes my mouth water.

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I can see House M.D. now:

So the little miscreant ingested some poison and we can't find a stomach pump? Bury your noggin in this Kimchee Can, kid, and BREATHE!!!

[sazji]

Okay, my use of the word "primate" was not well-considered.  But there are lots of things that others in the primate family do that I don't think humans should do. 

I think bananas should be eaten flambeed or buried under ice cream, fudge sauce and whipped cream. 

I think I would dump anyone who had a problem with me eating fruit fresh!

Really, I don't think I'd dump someone really great solely on eating habits. At this stage in my life, anyone whose eating habits would get them dumped would probably get dumped before it got to that! (I can think of one or two who should have...but I was young and inexperienced then!)

Awful table manners are a turnoff; I have "domesticated" a couple friends but never a partner. I don't mind if someone is inexperienced, but unwillingness to try new things, or a complete disinterest in food, would definitely take away points. And I think vegetarians might be out (unless it was a really special vegetarian) because especially in Turkey, you can hardly go anywhere with them!

[sazji]

Re: Eating fruit with knife and fork, Iranians, etc.

Here too (Turkey) fruit at meals is usually sliced, peeled and put on a plate so it can be eaten with a fork. Of course something like grapes or plums would just be grabbed off the plate. But some people here do take the knife and fork thing to extremes. For example eating a piece of cake with a knife and fork, instead of just the fork. I did see a woman eat an orange once (which started out whole) with a knife and fork. That was absurd. Usually people would cut off the stem end, then make four "scores" lengthwise and peel it easily that way. It's about (perceived) status.

Come to think of it, I might dump someone who insisted on eating a piece of cake with a knife and fork. More likely I would just hide the knife when he wasn't looking...

[jeniac42]

I have, in the past, dated people who couldn't stand mushrooms, green beans, "anything in the cream cheese family" (which includes yogurt and sour cream), wouldn't eat soba because they "don't like buckwheat" (I would like to know when said person had eaten buckwheat - I guarantee you it was never), hated sushi, etc. OK, this was all one person. He liked to cook, but was always very hesitant about it - chopping slowly, measuring things in measuring cups (for real!). I don't necessarily have anything against following recipes to the letter, but I don't, and watching it drives me nuts for some reason.

My fiance is not the world's MOST adventurous eater. He only likes cabbage in small amounts (I could eat it raw, by the head, so this is weird to me), and is not huge on spicy-hot foods. There are a few other little finicky things, but he's willing to try anything several times to see if he will like it and openly and vocally appreciates my cooking. Most importantly, he is willing to go to a restaurant with me even if it's a cuisine he doesn't particularly care for, eat a little bit, and get something else later if he is still hungry. I do the same for him with pizza (which I loathe).

On our first date, we talked almost exclusively about food. He ordered his burger medium-rare, and I told him that was a good thing because if I'd heard "well done" come out of his mouth, it would've been over.

[SheenaGreena]

I tried to train him on the kimchi, but it just won't work.  This is kinda gross......don't read any further if you are easily grossed out.

one time he was feeling really ill and needed to throw up very badly (to make himself feel a little better).  He was having a hard time doing so, so I decided to help him out by making him smell a bucket of 6 month-old sour kimchi.  holy crap did that do the trick.  Not only did it work, but he got so pissed off at me.  I dont know how it made him ill, because whenever I smell extra sour or old kimchi it makes my mouth water.

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I can see House M.D. now:

So the little miscreant ingested some poison and we can't find a stomach pump? Bury your noggin in this Kimchee Can, kid, and BREATHE!!!

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glad to see that you enjoyed my kimchi induced vomit story. I think house would've dumped the kimchi on the kid's head and left him there to die, but thats just me

[Mr. Delicious]

Is this all based of the Seinfeld episode, where Jerry's girlfriend refuses to eat cake? My cousin explained to my family that the reason she broke up with her boyfriend is that he didnt like desserts, but his personality was great. I also have a soon to be brother in law that quite disturbed me at a our last upscale meal, but I guess us kids were all drinking all day on the beach, but hes loud anyway, after a couple down beers he gets REAL loud. I also dated a girl that ate only hard boiled eggs and microwaved potatoes and ice cream. I couldnt stand that. My girlfriend now loves trying something different, amazing coming from her german meat and potatoes family. Thank god.

[Rebecca263]

... My girlfriend now loves trying something different, amazing coming from her german meat and potatoes family.  Thank god.

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Now, see, to me German meat and potatoes sounds really exotic, so why is her love of trying new things amazing?

[Mr. Delicious]

... My girlfriend now loves trying something different, amazing coming from her german meat and potatoes family.  Thank god.

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Now, see, to me German meat and potatoes sounds really exotic, so why is her love of trying new things amazing?

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In the upper midwest many people stick to their "meat and potatoes' meaning burger and fries or steak and baked potato, but she is usually the one that wants sushi or some curry, where the word sushi (especially in North Dakota, with oceans being thousands of miles away) would make her grandma and most others cringe. People are so steeped in tradition here its kind of disturbing.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

I think I would dump anyone who had a problem with me eating fruit fresh!

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All this time I've been wondering why Match.com isn't setting me up with any eGers.

Seriously: Please read my thread-starter! I wasn't saying anything about people who eat or won't eat fresh fruit, I was saying that eating a banana in that way was, to me, at that time, skeevy beyond belief. I also ditched someone for affecting a continental way of eating when the guy was from Indiana, for Chrissakes, and spent his junior semester in Spain or something like that.

Yeah, I'm crazy. I'm also not perfect! No, really. And my husband hates cabbage but I married him anyway.

Edited March 1, 2007 by FabulousFoodBabe (log)

[SuzySushi]

I wasn't saying anything about people who eat or won't eat fresh fruit, I was saying that eating a banana in that way was, to me, at that time, skeevy beyond belief.

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I'm still not getting the picture... how would you have eaten a banana?

[I_call_the_duck]

Yeah, I'm crazy.  I'm also not perfect!  No, really.  And my husband hates cabbage but I married him anyway.

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My hubby hates tripe and fermented shrimp paste, but I decided to overlook that.

Last month.

Mr. Duck: "Is it OK to go out to M's birthday party next week?"

Me: "You mean I can have stinky shrimp for dinner!? Woohoo!"

[eipi10]

Table manners are a huge deal with me. I can't handle smacking, finger sucking, fork biting, plate banging, and Asian slurping sounds. Certainly these habits would be deal breakers. Not liking ethnic foods would be a deal breaker. Liking crappy foods would be a deal breaker.

[Restorer]

Living with Asian roommates has sensitized me to eating noises. My roommates take me too seriously, it seems, and I'm too polite, to mention it to them, but some of their habits really irk me. Eating soupy dishes or noodles with tremendous slurping noises. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, shoveling food into your mouth from a bowl with a spoon. Even the almost-food-related habit of walking around the house while brushing your teeth, which I assume developed from living in a small house with a large family.

[Fresser]

I wasn't saying anything about people who eat or won't eat fresh fruit, I was saying that eating a banana in that way was, to me, at that time, skeevy beyond belief.

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I'm still not getting the picture... how would you have eaten a banana?

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Animus meminisse horret.

[eipi10]

Living with Asian roommates has sensitized me to eating noises. My roommates take me too seriously, it seems, and I'm too polite, to mention it to them, but some of their habits really irk me. Eating soupy dishes or noodles with tremendous slurping noises. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, shoveling food into your mouth from a bowl with a spoon. Even the almost-food-related habit of walking around the house while brushing your teeth, which I assume developed from living in a small house with a large family.

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I live in a dorm with many foreign students. Often when I'm in the lounge I can't hear the TV because people are eating so loudly. It's louder than conversation, I swear. You wouldn't believe the amount of noise someone can make with an apple! Imagine you're a kid intentionally trying to annoy your parents by making as much noise as humanly possible: that's how one guy eats the apple. And with another guy, I can't focus on what I'm reading because I know I will be distracted by the noise from his biting down hard on his fork, which occurs forcefully on every single bite. I guess this is an area where I don't have a cultural relativist stance--it seems that such table manners are objectively problematic.

[nikkib]

i once broke up with a guy who was always rude to waiting staff in restaurants - without fail EVERY TIME. Beraing in mind i was a waitress at the time i found it completely unnacceptable behaviour and kicked him to the curb sharpish

[Fresser]

i once broke up with a guy who was always rude to waiting staff in restaurants - without fail EVERY TIME. Beraing in mind i was a waitress at the time i found it completely unnacceptable behaviour and kicked him to the curb sharpish

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Good for you, Nikki!

People who dump on waitstaff think the world is here to kiss their tuchis. Maybe it's just my grateful outlook on life, but I'm HAPPY when someone brings me a meal, whether he or she is getting paid to do so or not.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

I wasn't saying anything about people who eat or won't eat fresh fruit, I was saying that eating a banana in that way was, to me, at that time, skeevy beyond belief.

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I'm still not getting the picture... how would you have eaten a banana?

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Animus meminisse horret.

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Fresser, baby, speak English! (I had to google this, dammit. You remember I went to public school, don't you?)

***

When I saw this thread had been bumped from so long ago, I had hoped to see more "I dumped someone because he peeled grapes and not for me" types of things, NOT to be asked to describe my own banana-eating.

Anyway: here's how I eat bananas and no one has broken up with me yet over it:

Make husband peel banana.

Cut banana lengthwise into two halves with one smooth, practiced and precise motion.

Slice banana on the bias with not more than 5 or less than 6 cuts.

Transfer banana slices to mouth using the point of the knife (if no impressionable children are near), or a fork.

OR -- flambeeing, caramelizing, or sauces and creams may be introduced at this point.

Caution: Removing one's attention from said banana may cause husband to filch parts of it.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Yeah, I'm crazy.  I'm also not perfect!  No, really.  And my husband hates cabbage but I married him anyway.

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My hubby hates tripe and fermented shrimp paste, but I decided to overlook that.

Last month.

Mr. Duck: "Is it OK to go out to M's birthday party next week?"

Me: "You mean I can have stinky shrimp for dinner!? Woohoo!"

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Too funny, i_c_t_d!

As a newlywed, whenever I'd go out of town on business, Mr. FB would go to Po'Folks for dinner. He lived for those days! Yuck!

[SheenaGreena]

Living with Asian roommates has sensitized me to eating noises. My roommates take me too seriously, it seems, and I'm too polite, to mention it to them, but some of their habits really irk me. Eating soupy dishes or noodles with tremendous slurping noises. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, shoveling food into your mouth from a bowl with a spoon. Even the almost-food-related habit of walking around the house while brushing your teeth, which I assume developed from living in a small house with a large family.

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I live in a dorm with many foreign students. Often when I'm in the lounge I can't hear the TV because people are eating so loudly. It's louder than conversation, I swear. You wouldn't believe the amount of noise someone can make with an apple! Imagine you're a kid intentionally trying to annoy your parents by making as much noise as humanly possible: that's how one guy eats the apple. And with another guy, I can't focus on what I'm reading because I know I will be distracted by the noise from his biting down hard on his fork, which occurs forcefully on every single bite. I guess this is an area where I don't have a cultural relativist stance--it seems that such table manners are objectively problematic.

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Im confused, how else are you suppposed to eat noodles without slurping? The main reason I slurp, is because they're hot

eta as I type this, Im trying to slurp up some black rice noodles with clam broth without getting too much broth on the keyboards and screen

Edited March 2, 2007 by SheenaGreena (log)

[Fresser]

Anyway: here's how I eat bananas and no one has broken up with me yet over it:

Make husband peel banana.

Cut banana lengthwise into two halves with one smooth, practiced and precise motion.

Slice banana on the bias with not more than 5 or less than 6 cuts.

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You'd need a mighty sharp knife to accomplish this, Fabby!

Might I interest you in the square-root-of-negative-one pieces of banana?

[FabulousFoodBabe]

You'd need a mighty sharp knife to accomplish this, Fabby!

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What makes you think I don't have really sharp knives?

Nuts. Now I can't go back and fix it 'else we'll mess up the thread.

[eipi10]

Living with Asian roommates has sensitized me to eating noises. My roommates take me too seriously, it seems, and I'm too polite, to mention it to them, but some of their habits really irk me. Eating soupy dishes or noodles with tremendous slurping noises. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, shoveling food into your mouth from a bowl with a spoon. Even the almost-food-related habit of walking around the house while brushing your teeth, which I assume developed from living in a small house with a large family.

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I live in a dorm with many foreign students. Often when I'm in the lounge I can't hear the TV because people are eating so loudly. It's louder than conversation, I swear. You wouldn't believe the amount of noise someone can make with an apple! Imagine you're a kid intentionally trying to annoy your parents by making as much noise as humanly possible: that's how one guy eats the apple. And with another guy, I can't focus on what I'm reading because I know I will be distracted by the noise from his biting down hard on his fork, which occurs forcefully on every single bite. I guess this is an area where I don't have a cultural relativist stance--it seems that such table manners are objectively problematic.

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Im confused, how else are you suppposed to eat noodles without slurping? The main reason I slurp, is because they're hot

eta as I type this, Im trying to slurp up some black rice noodles with clam broth without getting too much broth on the keyboards and screen

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I don't think it's an inappropriate way to eat noodle soups, one of the most difficult foods to eat using Western table manners. Actually though, I remember reading that there's a controversy in Japan because the traditional way to eat them is with loud slurps, but there is a movement to adopt Western quiet eating habits. I'm all in favor of Western imperialism here!

The Korean Americans on my floor slurp anything that has liquid--it sounds the same as if there were noodles. I understand that's acceptable or even polite in their culture, but I'm not required to like every aspect of their culture, and it would certainly be a deal breaker in a relationship.

And it's not just a East versus West thing. It annoys me when I'm reading in a coffee shop and people slurp their coffee or tea. I don't deny that I'm hypersensitive to these noises, and I'm not necessarily saying people should stop making them. I'd simply prefer it personally if people took smaller sips and made less noise. Might be a deal breaker!

Edited March 2, 2007 by eipi10 (log)

[nikkib]

Living with Asian roommates has sensitized me to eating noises. My roommates take me too seriously, it seems, and I'm too polite, to mention it to them, but some of their habits really irk me. Eating soupy dishes or noodles with tremendous slurping noises. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, shoveling food into your mouth from a bowl with a spoon. Even the almost-food-related habit of walking around the house while brushing your teeth, which I assume developed from living in a small house with a large family.

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I live in a dorm with many foreign students. Often when I'm in the lounge I can't hear the TV because people are eating so loudly. It's louder than conversation, I swear. You wouldn't believe the amount of noise someone can make with an apple! Imagine you're a kid intentionally trying to annoy your parents by making as much noise as humanly possible: that's how one guy eats the apple. And with another guy, I can't focus on what I'm reading because I know I will be distracted by the noise from his biting down hard on his fork, which occurs forcefully on every single bite. I guess this is an area where I don't have a cultural relativist stance--it seems that such table manners are objectively problematic.

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Im confused, how else are you suppposed to eat noodles without slurping? The main reason I slurp, is because they're hot

eta as I type this, Im trying to slurp up some black rice noodles with clam broth without getting too much broth on the keyboards and screen

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In many cultures the slurping is considered polite and as a way of showing your appreciation - check out the website for wagamama a uk based noodle company hitting stateside this year, theyve based their whole philosophy on it....

[Gastro888]

Table manners are a huge deal with me. I can't handle smacking, finger sucking, fork biting, plate banging, and Asian slurping sounds. Certainly these habits would be deal breakers. Not liking ethnic foods would be a deal breaker. Liking crappy foods would be a deal breaker.

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Please explain what are "Asian slurping sounds"? Last I checked slurping sounds were darn near universal and not limited to just Asians.