Fussy Manifesto: On Good Food

Good food isn’t food that simply tastes good. Industry has manipulated taste and texture for years. Millions of people wouldn’t eat at McDonald’s if they thought it tasted bad. It’s amazing what one can do with just salt, fat and sugar. Even chefs swear the things that elevate restaurant food over food cooked at home is simply butter and salt.

So what are some of the things that make food special, then?

When it is of a place. And almost every place has something:
– South Carolina pulled pork
– Pittsburgh sandwiches
– Trenton tomato pies

When it honors its history and tradition:
– Sunday sauce with braciole, meatballs and sausage
–  A multitude of cheeses and charcuterie
– Hot pastrami sandwiches on rye

When it delivers on its promise:
– Local claims are backed up by ingredients from local farms
– Freshly baked means from scratch without any mixes
– Farm-to-table does not include Boar’s Head meats

Never ever forget that good food need not be expensive. And don’t fall in the trap of thinking that just because food is expensive that it has to be good. More often than not expensive food is simply overpriced.

Learn to know the difference, and let’s try to stop paying for food that doesn’t make the cut.