I mean this in the nicest way, really, I do.
I am a total sushi snob. It doesn't have to be amazing, but at least average. I did after all live in Tokyo, and I could get amazing sashimi salmon in Scotland. Cheese, ice cream, and tea too, I know what I like, and I'll accept something average by my standards, but all too many places disappoint.
I'm discovering locals are snobs about other, unexpected foods.
On a summer's day in June a friend from Iowa (America's biggest corn grower) came over for a BBQ and I asked him to bring over some corn. He almost refused, saying it's a terrible idea, it's far too early in the year for that, and he tried to talk me out of it.
The following morning he sent me this message:
"I'm with [two friends], both from Iowa. I told them you asked me to bring corn on the cob last night. They both scoffed and said "wtf it's way too early for that. Do they even sell it? You actually bought some? Was it horrible?""
So I put the call out to my friends for comments. One in Whistler, rural Washington said "Was there corn available? It isn't at my local grocer." Seattle had it. A Nebraskan, Minnesotan, a New Yorker and another Iowan friend all agreed it's best when bought off the road from the back of someone's truck. The Minnesotan, whom I knew from my time in Japan, grew his own corn on his Tokyo balcony just to have some!
I also received multiple offers to have some corn sent by post from corn-growing regions, but only once they're properly in-season. Apparently the saying "knee-high by the 4th of July" is important for this.
I probably shouldn't have my mind blown by the fact that certain foods are seasonal. There are plenty of foods I know to consume at their peak. Carrots produce sugar in the winter, watermelons in summer harvested after a hot and dry day are better, and virgin blood is best drank under a full moon.
I need to be careful though. I might become a convert to the cult of the children-of-the-corn-(snobs).
What snob I didn't even know existed will I disappoint next?
Apple aficionado? Juice junkie? Fish fanatic?
I am a total sushi snob. It doesn't have to be amazing, but at least average. I did after all live in Tokyo, and I could get amazing sashimi salmon in Scotland. Cheese, ice cream, and tea too, I know what I like, and I'll accept something average by my standards, but all too many places disappoint.
I'm discovering locals are snobs about other, unexpected foods.
On a summer's day in June a friend from Iowa (America's biggest corn grower) came over for a BBQ and I asked him to bring over some corn. He almost refused, saying it's a terrible idea, it's far too early in the year for that, and he tried to talk me out of it.
The following morning he sent me this message:
"I'm with [two friends], both from Iowa. I told them you asked me to bring corn on the cob last night. They both scoffed and said "wtf it's way too early for that. Do they even sell it? You actually bought some? Was it horrible?""
So I put the call out to my friends for comments. One in Whistler, rural Washington said "Was there corn available? It isn't at my local grocer." Seattle had it. A Nebraskan, Minnesotan, a New Yorker and another Iowan friend all agreed it's best when bought off the road from the back of someone's truck. The Minnesotan, whom I knew from my time in Japan, grew his own corn on his Tokyo balcony just to have some!
I also received multiple offers to have some corn sent by post from corn-growing regions, but only once they're properly in-season. Apparently the saying "knee-high by the 4th of July" is important for this.
I probably shouldn't have my mind blown by the fact that certain foods are seasonal. There are plenty of foods I know to consume at their peak. Carrots produce sugar in the winter, watermelons in summer harvested after a hot and dry day are better, and virgin blood is best drank under a full moon.
I need to be careful though. I might become a convert to the cult of the children-of-the-corn-(snobs).
What snob I didn't even know existed will I disappoint next?
Apple aficionado? Juice junkie? Fish fanatic?
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