Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. Hate me because I'm a lazy/ busy, good-for-nothing-except-writing-college-papers jerk!

Holy crap! Has it really been this long?! I haven't posted here since June?! Bad blogger! Bad blogger!!!!!

I am a bad person and I want to apologize. I have allowed life to get into the way of you and me for too long. While I do admit that writing this blog is more for me than anything else, I do have an audience and I need to be more cognizant of that fact. For my lack of content for the last three and a half months and being a lazy jerkface...I'm sorry.


Let's get on with it, shall we?

If you recall or reread my last post, I was talking about the idea of "American cuisine" and all of its implications: its meaning, its effects on modern culture, etc. I was going to split it up into two parts and after a full post dealing with just the cultural aspects, discuss how American cuisine is represented here in the United States and ask, "What is good American cuisine?".

Now, I want you to think of something else...anything else, really. After much thought and gnashing of teeth, I've decided to tackle this subject at a future date. It is far too broad a topic for me to broach without the proper research. If I'm going to ask such a question of you, gentle reader, I feel I should be able to give my own answer to be judged by the court of public opinion. In order to do that, I need to read up a bit more and report back to you my findings for your reading pleasure.

So, for my next post, I think my next topic will involve...tacos.

Until then...

This next bit of pabulum comes to you, free from commercial interuption, in three parts: Part 1, An Introduction to the Ideas That Will Make Up Parts Two and Three.

Yeah...I know.

It's been nearly a month since I last wrote something here. I have been, let's just say, less than inspired to write lately. I've spent the last month catching up on bills and things, typical of today's economic realities. As a result, my eating has been boring and cheap, even going the route of spiced up ramen noodles. But the light at the end of that tunnel is ever closer and I will find inspiration to write regularly again. I need a swift kick in the ass once in awhile, (even if the ass-kicker didn't intend it to be one) and I have reason to write again. It's all because of this.

The link I just provided, tweeted by a food blog I started reading not too long ago, Eating Madison A to Z, is one of those silly top 10 lists that are often not very representative of reality, or they try to create a list that is so subjective that normal, even-tempered people will foam at the mouth and wish death upon all those who even attempt to justify the rankings on said list. As it happens, the top 10 list here involves the "10 best American restaurants" in Madison, Wisconsin. #1...The Weary Traveler. Yes, that's what I said...The Weary Traveler, according to this website, has the best American fare in town.

OK...do me a favor...breathe. Sit down, take a few deep breaths, and relax.

There, feel better? Let's continue.

Obviously, this site isn't local, nor does it seem to have any real local connections. I'm not entirely sure how this list came to be and how the restaurants on that list got there. I say this because, for me personally, none of the restaurants mentioned would make my top 10 list here in Madison. I like most of the restaurants on the list, but none of them REALLY stand out for me. Reading this, plus reading Eating Madison A to Z, (which I recommend, by the way,) got me to thinking along two lines of thought: 1.) What, exactly, does "American" cuisine mean? and 2.) what IS the best restaurant serving American cuisine?

I have two more posts coming your way soon, gentle and not-so-gentle readers. Beware!

Thinking out loud: the dream dissertation.

So, for anybody reading this who doesn't know me, (there's probably not many of you at this juncture) I am what I like to call a "born-again college student". I went back to college as an undergrad at 36 after a twelve year break from the books. I'm currently a senior at the University of Wisconsin as an anthropology major. More specifically, I'm interested in the anthropology of food. Food, foodways, and celebrations involving food are of the utmost interest to me. One area that I'm REALLY interested in is street food. I am endlessly fascinated by the variety of cuisine one can find on the street, the stories surrounding foodcart culture, and the stories behind the foodcart purveyors themselves. Often, these are tales of new immigrants to the U.S. overcoming hardship by introducing Americans to a new cuisine, dishes that are nearest and dearest to the immigrant's heart, or a recipe that mama taught them that they think will be a surefire hit. In larger cities, this often takes on a different dynamic. In places like New York or Chicago, street food is often representative of the most recent immigrants catering to other recent immigrants tastes and desires to eat like they did in the old country. Street food culture, much like America itself, ebbs and flows with each new immigrant population.

I have a dream of writing a dissertation on street food culture here in the United States. Obviously, I need to finish my undergrad work and get into grad school. I have three more semesters to do this. Then, hopefully, I will be able to get into the grad school I want, namely, Indiana University. They have an Anthropology of Food program all the way up to the PhD level. Unlike my current department, the folks at Indiana would understand my passion for food and my desire to study domestically. I'm hoping, with a little luck, that they will be as excited about a dissertation about street food as I am.

But, first things first.

Expected graduation date: December 2012.

The comfort of food.

We hear the term "comfort foods" thrown around all the time. There's an entire industry, even a style of restaurant cooking, devoted to comfort foods. In this age of dietary hyper-awareness, some foods are considered "off limits" from the scrutiny of the overactive, self-righteous health nuts that have tried to dominate the food landscape for decades, with only moderate success.

Please understand, I am an advocate of healthy eating, though I don't always practice what I preach. I am overweight and have nasty digestion issues. (which is something I'm dealing with as I write this.) But I believe in moderation is the key to nearly all things that are good in life and eating the freshest, most nutritious food available is part of that.

With that being said, there are certain foods and dishes in this world that will make me extraordinarily happy when set before my gaping, hungry maw. Most people think of comfort foods as pure nostalgia, something that mom or grandma used to make back when you were but a wee lad or lass that you loved, and perhaps still do. For me, that's only a part of it. I think of comfort foods as belonging to one of three categories:

Nostalgic- stuff that mom and grandma made way back when. My mom was young when she had me, so she wasn't a great cook in the beginning, (she's an AMAZING cook now!) My comfort foods in this category are things like mac n cheese with tuna, buttered extra wide egg noodles with cottage cheese, and vanilla wafer banana pudding. We weren't completely poor, but we were definitely lower middle class. Money was tight and sometimes mom had to make due with what she could afford. Pasta dishes with alternative protein sources were common and I still love them to this day.

Indulgence- good Catholics, children of Jewish mothers, and dessert lovers everywhere see guilt as an old, trusted friend that has been there since the beginning. Indulgences in food are something that are often savored with the intensity normally reserved for religious experiences and sex. Two desserts fit this bill for me: a really well made New York style cheesecake and a Baker's Square French Silk pie.

And lastly, Therapeutic- there are some foods and/or dishes out there that just make you feel good eating them. Sometimes this is because what your eating is not only unbelievably delicious, but it's also good for you! Sometimes it triggers a wave of happy thoughts. Sometimes, it's just REALLY fucking good. My favorite therapy dish is the chicken shawarma plate at Mediterranean Cafe on State Street here in lovely Madison. It's quick, easy, cheap, has my favorite hummus ever on it, and it's just plain good!

What foods and dishes do you find comforting?

That which is difficult to obtain: food elitism in 2011.

I've been thinking a lot about this subject lately.

There's a battle that is currently raging, on our kitchen tables, in the hallowed halls of government, and on farms across the country. The ultimate prize in this fight is the hard-earned dollars you devote to keeping you and/or your family fed. There have been few winners and lots of losers in this battle and I'm afraid that, at the moment, one of the losers is you and I. You see, forces with a great many more resources than most of us are trying, with an increased sense of desperation, to stack the deck in their favor. They want you to buy food from them, and if they get their way, from them only. Food producers in 2011 have figured out that it is easier and cheaper to lobby and legislate the competition away than it is to make a better product that has value and that people will enjoy. (Value being the key word here)

I will try to not turn this into a diatribe on factory farming. If current farming techniques, monocultures, and concentrated animal feeding operations is something you're interested in learning about, I would suggest reading "In Defense of Food: An Eaters Manifesto" by Michael Pollan or "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. I'm going to write this assuming I'm preaching to the proverbial choir.

I have my own ideas of what I consider to be "elitist" when it comes to food: foie gras, black truffles, caviar, $80 slices of fatty tuna, real Kobe beef, what one might consider "the good stuff". I use the term elitist in such a way to connote a sense of guilt more than disapproval. I have eaten just about everything I would place on my elitist food list...and will do it again and again assuming I don't end upon the street, eating out of garbage cans and church basement soup kitchens. (being in college gives one a sense that this could become a reality at any moment) It's a guilty pleasure for me, eating these things. But there are locales in the world where eating such delicacies is commonplace. What makes these foods so desirable is commensurate with the trials and tribulations attached to obtaining them. As a result, they are also expensive and can be out of the reach of the everyday consumer.

Thinking of food elitism in this way sends a shudder down my spine. It explains a lot about our current situation. We have gotten to the point where buying fresh fruits and vegetables, grass-fed beef, and free-range pork and chicken at the local farmer's market, directly from the farmers themselves, is now seen as elitist. Choosing quality over quantity is a luxury, where other parts of the world see such choices as a birthright. The "food industrial complex" has certainly done its job, and done it well. It has bullshitted multiple generations of Americans into believing that more is better and that convenience is king. We are no longer aware of our own food system. We have forgotten what real food looks and tastes like...and we are worse off for it.

"Nevermind what's behind the curtain....the Great and Powerful Oz knows all!!!"

The more I read into it, the more I feel my future studies as a budding anthropologist will include this subject, again and again.

Would YOU pay $19 for a hamburger?

If you had asked me this question a year ago, I would have asked you, in the nicest way possible, "Are you out of your fucking mind?!"

My opinion has changed...and I'll tell you why.


When I see such a large price tag for a hamburger, I figure it falls into one of two categories: Massive Monstrosity Burger where you get it for free if you can eat it in under 45 minutes, or, Upscale Gastro-Pub Burger in a major city that infuses the meat with black truffles, uses beef raised eating only the finest imported Belgian grasses, and is topped with -insert odd flavor here-aoli.

The hamburger in question doesn't fit into either category. It's a 1/3 lb. burger and I don't live in a major city. (I live in a minor one, Madison has 230,000+ people living in it) But, I found a burger I would consider paying $19 for.

Here's the story:

Madison Magazine's Restaurant Week 2011 was during the the last full week of this past January. It involved 35 local restaurants offering a $25 prix-fixed menu that included three courses and three options for each course. I checked out one of these restaurants during this week called Graze with a couple of friends. It's owned by the folks who own L'Etoile and, yes, it's an upper-crust Gastro-Pub with black truffle oil and frites with aoli. It's not the kind of place I would hang out in on a regular basis, but a $25 prix-fixed menu for higher end food is too good to pass up. On the special menu they had a 1/4 lb. version of their normal $19 burger, so I tried it. Think of a burger with in-house ground sirloin, ribeye, and short ribs (the fat content is balanced perfectly) caramelized onions, cabernet jus, on a sesame seed brioche.

I can't believe I'm saying this...but it was the BEST burger I've ever had, period.

I've had some great greasy spoon burgers in my day, burgers made with the perfect combination of ingredients, skill, and love. But this burger was different. It was a flawless balance of ingredients and flavors and I've never had better.

So, to answer the question for myself: yes, I would pay $19 for a hamburger.

And the best part: I don't have to travel to Chicago or New York to get one...though I would anyways, just because.

Have no fear...

...I haven't forgotten about you or my blog. This is the last week of the semester for me and finals is next week. So, I have little time, in between studying and pulling what little hair I have out of my gourd, to write. I will try to post once this week, possibly tomorrow or Friday. Once finals are over and done with, we'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming. My next post involves hamburgers. Until then...