Tag Archives: foodies

Vote with your stomach

Foodies have the James Beard Awards.  But what’s out there for Cheetos lovers like me?

The Munchies

The self-proclaimed ‘People’s Choice Food Awards,’ The Munchies recognize the “most amazing tastes, faces and places in the food world.”

Thirteen culinary experts have selected 100 nominees in 20 categories.  I mean, when comedian Michael Ian Black , co-host of the “Mike & Tom Eat Snacks” podcast, is on the selection committee —

You know it’s legit.  And fun.

Of course, you would expect New York City to be well-represented in any food competition.  But I was excited to see some local spots in the running, including our neighborhood coffee shop Joe in the “Coolest Coffee Shop” category.

So, cast your vote today!  The contest closes April 30th.  Remember, this one matters most because…

It’s the people’s choice.

Le junk

Emilie Baltz is a New York City foodie and designer who grew up in a home without junk food.  Her mother was French, and considered fruit wedges to be the snack of choice.

Heathen.

Like a like of kids who were denied sweets, Emilie craved them all the more (and gulped them down when her mom wasn’t looking.)  Years later, she is combining sugary snacks with a French sensibility in her cookbook, Junk Foodie.

Finally — recipes with ingredients that I can get behind!  Twinkies, Cheetos, Green Apple Jelly Bellys — and those very snacks combine to create something quite pretty called “Cheddar Feuillete with Green Apple Relish.”

Fah fah fah.

Or how about taking Banana Twins, mayonnaise, potato sticks, salt & vinegar potato chips and Ranch Doritos and creating this beauty — let’s face it, her photography is amazing — “Potato Plantain Torta.”

I am a non-foodie who grew up in a home with lots of junk food.  My mom was an amazing Southern cook who didn’t have a lot of food rules other than, “Clean your plate.”

She liked snacks as much as the next kid, God love ‘er.

I think it would be a blast to create these interesting dishes using junk foods to fool my foodie friends.

Pas vous?

Southern comforts

I’ve said it before — I’m no foodie.

Many of my friends bemoan the fact.  Here I am, living in New York City, a bazillion wonderful restaurants literally steps from my apartment, and I go out to eat rather infrequently.

I’m an embarrassment to my ‘hood, no doubt.

But send me back to the South for no more than 24 hours, and every Facebook post I make…is about food.  Not the delicacies you would find at the five-star restaurants lining the streets of Manhattan.

Oh, no.

I wax poetic about the Southern-style veggies served for lunch at Cracker Barrel. (Sweet potato casserole — I mean, come on!)

Shed a tear at how much bacon they put on a breakfast platter at the airport diner.  (Nine strips.  That’s just wrong, but oh, so right.)

Smile nostalgically when asked if I’d like “sweet or un-sweet tea.”  (I always choose un-sweet and add my own Sweet ‘n’ Low, but you know you’re in the South when you hear those words.)

I guess you can take the girl out of Fancy Farm, and tempt her with ‘fancy foods,’ but I’ll always have more simple tastes.

Or, as my friend Denny Keller would say…

“You’re so simple.”