Thursday, April 29, 2010

What is a "Foodie"?

Since starting this blog, I'm more obsessed with food than ever! I feel the overwhelming need to tell you about everything new, exciting and delicious that I eat! I note the recommendations of others and love a good restaurant review in the paper. So while leafing through the Life section of the Globe and Mail today, I came across an interesting interview - Foodies: Culinary democrats or cultural snobs? - with U of T sociology professors who authored the book Foodies: Democracy and Distinction in the Gourmet Foodscape

The comments on the article revealed the real question.....what is a foodie? Everyone seems to have a different opinion. Here's mine as posted to the Comments section of the interview:

"I agree completely with FPV for saying that there are 2 varieties of foodie: the appreciative and the snob. I also agree with everyone who disagrees that foodie culture is "white".

I'm neither a snob, nor am I white. I started my own food blog to chronicle our "adventures in eating" in the GTA. I'm not a food expert. I'm not adventurous enough to eat testicles or brains. But I have an opinion about food. Whether that makes me a "foodie" or not, I don't really care. I love finding that diamond in the rough restaurant. I love tasting something new, authentic and having an immediate reaction of like or dislike. And where I go and what ends up on my blog usually comes from the recommendation of others who have strong opinions about the places they go and the food they enjoy.

In this day and age, where everyone is a critic, whether you are part of a culinary elite or someone like me who actually misses the bread sticks at the Olive Garden, I think anyone with an opinion to share can be considered a "foodie".

But I didn't dare call myself one on my blog. I actually said we're not. I said, "we're just a bunch of girls who like food". And maybe that's all it takes to be a foodie."


Ok, I may not be on the side of popular opinion with the Olive Garden bread sticks - they are actually described as follows on stuntgranny.com: "Nothing says authentic like some bread sticks that a real Italian wouldn't be caught with dead." But c'mon, they were so hot and garlicy, I would've loved them no matter where they were served!

But I digress....


When in doubt, check with Wiki! I agree with Wikipedia's definition of foodie. In fact, by Wiki's definition, I guess I am a foodie simply because I love food! But I still won't call myself one. Going from "Junk Food Junkie" to "Foodie" still seems like too much of a stretch, at least by perception.  

Do you think there's a difference between "foodie" and "foodie posers"?  

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Try It! Shrimp-Calamari Puttanesca, Alice Fazooli's

Shrimp-Calamari Puttanesca

Pan-seared, tossed with fresh tomatoes, olives, capers, fresh basil and feta cheese, served with spicy piri-piri sauce and pizza crostini
10.95

And $4.50 Heineken pints on Saturdays! 
 
Alice Fazooli's Mississauga
209 Rathburn Rd. W.
Mississauga, ON L5B 4C1
905-281-1721


Tuesday, April 13, 2010

April 2010: Suko Thai Restaurant & Patio


At the table: Bibi, Nad B, Nad R, CJ, Shara (blog author)

Bibi brought us together at Suko Thai this month. (Winston Churchill & Laird in Mississauga, just south of Hwy 403). 

On a Sunday evening, the restaurant wasn't busy. The decor delivered an authentic feel with rich reds, golds, statuettes, art, curio cabinets with cultural trinkets. The highlight was the beautiful fountain toward the back of the restaurant and a large gold mural by the bar area.

The service was friendly, but our server lacked a bit of menu knowledge and we had to ask for a lot of "standard" stuff (napkins, water, utensils...). Nad R challenged her with her carefully crafted virgin caesar order. Always hit or miss. In this case, a complete miss. The magic formula: half ice, no spice, extra worcestershire. What she got was a glass of Clamato juice with tabasco, lots of ice and no worcesteshire. Sigh.

I had a bottle of Singha Lager, a Thai beer. 5.0% alcohol, very light, appetizing. I was pleased, but I've had this beer before at the Toronto Festival of Beer (a beer lovers utopia!). I was impressed with the Singha branded stein to pour into (it's the small things that count!).

To start, we shared a bunch of appetizers: chicken dumplings (fried not steamed), papaya salad, mango salad (both made with unripened fruit, tart not sweet with a great crunch!), fried calamari (thick cut and perfect!) and shrimp rangoon - fried dumplings stuffed with whole shrimp, cream cheese and green onion - very yum! The food was great  - a good balance of fresh and fried - and we were full before we could order an entree! So we went straight to dessert (except for the veggie red curry than Nad B ordered in lieu of dessert).

Dessert #1 - deep fried coconut ice cream (like Mexican fried ice cream). I was expecting, or rather hoping, that the dish would be served hot on the outside, cold on the inside. I've had it this way only once before, years ago, at  Mexicali Rosas in London, ON and it was sooo good! At Suko Thai, the dish was probably pre-made and served right out of the freezer. So I didn't get the fried ice cream experience I was hoping for this time, but the ice cream itself, with real coconut, was delish!

Dessert #2 - deep fried bananas! These came lightly battered, hot and coated in a sweet syrup and were oh so rich and oh so good, especially if you ate it with the coconut ice cream and chased it with a sip of coffee. Yum!

I like that the menu had the chef's recommendations if you were "new" to Thai food. Wish I was hungry enough to have tried an entree (Nad B - tell us how the red curry was!). My choice before we binged on appies was a toss up between Oyster Sauce Beef & Broccoli or Pineapple Rice.

Overall, a good experience. I'll have to go back and try an entree. The only other Thai cuisine I've had is at Springrolls -  one of our faves and 2 locations in Mississauga!

Have you had great Thai food somewhere? Tell us about it!