Shocking to imagine that doing a small amount of things very well is better than doing a million different things poorly. Yet another case of unlimited choice leading to worse outcomes than limited choices. Americans are obsessed with quantity over quality in so many ways
The tweet is so obviously true to me. To assess the quality of something at a national level you need to compare the typical, not the exceptional, versions of it in both cases. It's why we use mathematical averages for example, not single outlying data points. What is doubly interesting is that this idea that the exception is what assessment rests on Vs the idea that the most common/average version should be the basis for assessment is, I believe, the fundamental difference between Anglo-Saxon and European cultures, on every level, not just food. America (and to a lesser extent the UK) values high ceilings and doesn't care about low floors. European countries prefer higher floors and don't worry so much about elevated ceilings.
I think a huge part of this discussion should be fresh versus processed food and the fact that most Americans do not have access to the former and so grow up primarily on the latter, while in Europe that is barely considered food. Also, I live in Brussels, have lived in Amsterdam, and grew up in Sofia and can say that the "we have more kinds of food" argument is BS. You can get almost any kind of food in any of the cities listed, from Chinese to Mexican to Lebanese to any other you can think of. The same is probably also true in Paris based on when I have gone there. We have diversity AND good ingredients!
As an American, I loved this piece, and this is the statement that most made me think:
"Food in the US isn’t central to our identities, not yet at least. It is still largely a utilitarian and transactional thing— something necessary to get enough calories, hopefully tasty ones, to stop being hungry and keep working."
While it may look utilitarian on the outside, because of how quickly we consume it and how little we care for the source, the fact that over 70% of Americans are overweight illustrates that we've got something going on here that is more than a passing transactional relationship with food; we almost always eat past the point of stopping hunger and many immediately start longing for their next meal. A not-insignificant percentage of people are now taking a pharmaceutical in an attempt to make that relationship simple and transactional, because prior to the drug the way they felt about food was obsessive, consuming, out of control.
What seems to be the main difference between American's relationship with food and that of basically any other country here, is not a lack of desire for it (we definitely enjoy food), but our lack of *reverence* for it. It's difficult to talk about Americans *loving* food because love doesn't just mean wanting something. To love means care and thoughtfulness and knowing and time given and sacrifice; not simply using. It is painful to realize that we as a country have never developed a reverence for our food. We have never learned to love it, only to use it to our detriment.
Loved your take and especially about the barbeque! I was halfway through reading and started thinking "What about Southern cuisine? That's one part of America that has a real food culture, where people care about cooking and eating", and then you brought up barbeque. Of course! The great irony is that barbeque, and southern food more generally, is actually kind of looked down on in America. Barbeque is the food of rednecks and black people, who are the lowest on the social status totem pole. Most coastal liberal elites wouldn't be caught dead in a BBQ joint, which is why noone in that argument mentions it. But properly cooked barbeque, and by this I mean traditional Southern barbeque, typically pulled pork or brisket smoked for hours with a dry rub only, is sublime. Another regional cuisine that it excellent is Louisiana with it's seafood culture. Great local food scene (they invented blackening!) But again there, it gets overlooked by coastal elites.
I quite enjoy the food culture in Tucson, AZ. It’s the city we chose to settle in and I know I can always find a delicious plate of Mexican food. The Sonoran influences from Indigenous cultures, Spanish, Mexican all alive and well. Lots of the fast food options like anywhere else but if you’re fortunate enough to afford a meal in a restaurant you’ll find plenty of soul. Nothing more satisfying than eating a meal cooked by a chef who has rooted their passion for the food in the history of the region. Lots of food trucks bringing local fusion too. You never know what you’re going to find at the street fairs either.
“Now does barbecue really rise to that level? Would someone really put, ‘Made A Mean Brisket’ on their tombstone?”
Absolutely someone would. But also, my grandfather-in-law has “Founder of X Pizza,” a very local place, on his tombstone, which has caused a lot of consternation because he was one of two founders lol.
Hunh. I completely missed the point here. This ended up talking about RESTAURANT food. I think the French guy meant our FOOD. That we honestly think this crap that gets passed off as food i.e., fresh ingredients, is real food. Americans have no idea how bad all our food is.
Best take I’ve seen about this and something Europeans fail to convey. The social culture around food here is definitely what’s wrong, not the taste of the food itself. It’s the fact that we don’t have 5 months of vacation and have to put all our savings into the interest on our 50k truck and into a war on the strait of Hormuz
I’ve had quite a few discussions with people regarding this idea, about “New England” cuisine and “English cuisine”. In New England, for example, there was quite a rich and culturally deep (at least to an extent where it could compare to the globe, maybe not France) cuisine, of course we know of Clam Chowder, but other dishes such as different iterations of casseroles, hot ale (such as a hot ale flip), various fish dishes, pies, etc. You can still find these dishes produced locally today, but the “food culture” has been dying out rapidly since WW2 due to commercialisation (as well as a few other factors), and even before that industrialisation and the relatively rapid change of culture didn’t help a more solid culture of food grow proper roots.
I’m pretty widely traveled, but I have to say: for my money, LA is the best food city in the world (or at least a top five).
Brilliantly summarized, Hard to disagree.
Everyone’s so cracked up about food, I simply don’t care what I eat as long as it gives me energy and tastes normal
Shocking to imagine that doing a small amount of things very well is better than doing a million different things poorly. Yet another case of unlimited choice leading to worse outcomes than limited choices. Americans are obsessed with quantity over quality in so many ways
Purity of ingredients matters.
The tweet is so obviously true to me. To assess the quality of something at a national level you need to compare the typical, not the exceptional, versions of it in both cases. It's why we use mathematical averages for example, not single outlying data points. What is doubly interesting is that this idea that the exception is what assessment rests on Vs the idea that the most common/average version should be the basis for assessment is, I believe, the fundamental difference between Anglo-Saxon and European cultures, on every level, not just food. America (and to a lesser extent the UK) values high ceilings and doesn't care about low floors. European countries prefer higher floors and don't worry so much about elevated ceilings.
I think a huge part of this discussion should be fresh versus processed food and the fact that most Americans do not have access to the former and so grow up primarily on the latter, while in Europe that is barely considered food. Also, I live in Brussels, have lived in Amsterdam, and grew up in Sofia and can say that the "we have more kinds of food" argument is BS. You can get almost any kind of food in any of the cities listed, from Chinese to Mexican to Lebanese to any other you can think of. The same is probably also true in Paris based on when I have gone there. We have diversity AND good ingredients!
As an American, I loved this piece, and this is the statement that most made me think:
"Food in the US isn’t central to our identities, not yet at least. It is still largely a utilitarian and transactional thing— something necessary to get enough calories, hopefully tasty ones, to stop being hungry and keep working."
While it may look utilitarian on the outside, because of how quickly we consume it and how little we care for the source, the fact that over 70% of Americans are overweight illustrates that we've got something going on here that is more than a passing transactional relationship with food; we almost always eat past the point of stopping hunger and many immediately start longing for their next meal. A not-insignificant percentage of people are now taking a pharmaceutical in an attempt to make that relationship simple and transactional, because prior to the drug the way they felt about food was obsessive, consuming, out of control.
What seems to be the main difference between American's relationship with food and that of basically any other country here, is not a lack of desire for it (we definitely enjoy food), but our lack of *reverence* for it. It's difficult to talk about Americans *loving* food because love doesn't just mean wanting something. To love means care and thoughtfulness and knowing and time given and sacrifice; not simply using. It is painful to realize that we as a country have never developed a reverence for our food. We have never learned to love it, only to use it to our detriment.
Loved your take and especially about the barbeque! I was halfway through reading and started thinking "What about Southern cuisine? That's one part of America that has a real food culture, where people care about cooking and eating", and then you brought up barbeque. Of course! The great irony is that barbeque, and southern food more generally, is actually kind of looked down on in America. Barbeque is the food of rednecks and black people, who are the lowest on the social status totem pole. Most coastal liberal elites wouldn't be caught dead in a BBQ joint, which is why noone in that argument mentions it. But properly cooked barbeque, and by this I mean traditional Southern barbeque, typically pulled pork or brisket smoked for hours with a dry rub only, is sublime. Another regional cuisine that it excellent is Louisiana with it's seafood culture. Great local food scene (they invented blackening!) But again there, it gets overlooked by coastal elites.
I quite enjoy the food culture in Tucson, AZ. It’s the city we chose to settle in and I know I can always find a delicious plate of Mexican food. The Sonoran influences from Indigenous cultures, Spanish, Mexican all alive and well. Lots of the fast food options like anywhere else but if you’re fortunate enough to afford a meal in a restaurant you’ll find plenty of soul. Nothing more satisfying than eating a meal cooked by a chef who has rooted their passion for the food in the history of the region. Lots of food trucks bringing local fusion too. You never know what you’re going to find at the street fairs either.
“Now does barbecue really rise to that level? Would someone really put, ‘Made A Mean Brisket’ on their tombstone?”
Absolutely someone would. But also, my grandfather-in-law has “Founder of X Pizza,” a very local place, on his tombstone, which has caused a lot of consternation because he was one of two founders lol.
Hunh. I completely missed the point here. This ended up talking about RESTAURANT food. I think the French guy meant our FOOD. That we honestly think this crap that gets passed off as food i.e., fresh ingredients, is real food. Americans have no idea how bad all our food is.
Best take I’ve seen about this and something Europeans fail to convey. The social culture around food here is definitely what’s wrong, not the taste of the food itself. It’s the fact that we don’t have 5 months of vacation and have to put all our savings into the interest on our 50k truck and into a war on the strait of Hormuz
I’ve had quite a few discussions with people regarding this idea, about “New England” cuisine and “English cuisine”. In New England, for example, there was quite a rich and culturally deep (at least to an extent where it could compare to the globe, maybe not France) cuisine, of course we know of Clam Chowder, but other dishes such as different iterations of casseroles, hot ale (such as a hot ale flip), various fish dishes, pies, etc. You can still find these dishes produced locally today, but the “food culture” has been dying out rapidly since WW2 due to commercialisation (as well as a few other factors), and even before that industrialisation and the relatively rapid change of culture didn’t help a more solid culture of food grow proper roots.
The French are just mad that we came up with the idea of putting cheese in a spray can before they did.
I wonder if there is causality between food quality in a country and the number of people on fad diets.