A Matter of Pride

I got home from work today and saw that Man vs Food programme where that chap goes around the US taking on various eating challenges in diners and eateries. Though the amount of food consumed is nothing short of obcene and the food served far from healthy but one thing occurred to me; the eating joints visited by the presenter all seem to take a massive pride in the food they serve, they prepare it all fresh and in some cases have their own charcoal firepits, wood fired ovens and smokeries and cook on their grandfather's grills. It struck me that you just don't get that sort of pride and local tie to food in most everyday eateries here in the UK,most pubs now dole out procesed, homogenised food and you have to usually go to a fairly top end restaraunt and pay over the odds for the same thing or if you get really lucky you can find a country pub that does lovely home cooking but these places are a rarity rather than the norm. What was it that destroyed our pride in food in the UK? Was it rationing? The post-war economy? Just a cultural thing or a mixture of all of them? It would be easy to blame the influx of American fast food chains, but it is the US that is putting us to shame! Also, do those small, privately owned eating joints in the US really have that sort of pride in their food or is it just conveyed that way in the programme?

Any thoughts?

Hi Missy,
That many of the small, usually family owned for generation or two, specialty types of establishment have inordinate pride in their product is immutable, not just a screen posit.
I moved to the U.S., from Britain, in the mid '80's and was extremely impressed with the quality of specialty comestibles, not only that but that quality has continued to improve, that pride I now find evident in the staff of some of the 'fancier' supermarkets.

MP

We are overrun by chain estrablishments, but there are plenty of restaurants that serve excellent food, and are darn proud of it. Its been my experience that the more rural you go, the more home-style restaurants you find, especially in ratio to big chain places. The suburbs, areas that are in between the cities and the country, are especially filled with chain restaurants, serving the same types of stuff.

NYC has chain eateries, but way more of the locally owned bars (pubs) and restaurants that serve truly fine food.

here in New Jersey there are a few local areas that have homemade food that they're incredibly proud of! The only shop owner I've ever talked to about it said it was the pride of knowing that their food was one of a kind and that they could never be replicated by some fast food chain moving in on their territory. I don't know if this stands true with everyone or if it might just be their way of trying to bring back times before the retail chains.

though like scottyrocks said, the more rural you go the more home-style restaurants you find, mostly because chains don't feel the need to set up so many shops in places with fewer people per square mile

In California, alongside the typical chain restaurants, there's always been plenty of plenty of places using fresh ingredients and they are extremely proud of it, but it's taking awhile for the mid-west and the south to catch up as far as I can tell. You'd be hard pressed to find a regular mom and pop place that serves fresh fish that isn't fried here in Ohio. People here are really obsessed with fast food too, from what I can tell with lines around the block.

As far as why, I have no idea.

Here in Canada, with a very multicultural society, the little shops come in all shapes, sizes and ethnicities. Its really nice to be able to go into one of these little places and talk to the owner who may also be the cook and get a personal recommendation based on what you like to eat.
In Italy, these small places are also the norm. Even in large cities like Rome and Milan, you can go into tiny restaurants that may only be able to hold 3-4 tables, but the food is incredible. I have even been to places with no menu at all. Your only choices are the wine you want to drink with whatever specialty they make there. It is so good, you don't need more than one choice.

I suppose it depends where you are in the UK; I've never found it a problem, finding good places here. [huh] There certainly are plenty of places serving dreck, but I see that all over. I think the secret is to look out for places where they treat the food as the main draw rather than as something to keep the drinkers in.

Edward said:

I suppose it depends where you are in the UK; I've never found it a problem, finding good places here. [huh] There certainly are plenty of places serving dreck, but I see that all over. I think the secret is to look out for places where they treat the food as the main draw rather than as something to keep the drinkers in.

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I agree with this. I have been extremely impressed by the food since I came here.

But also, think about what you are watching - they have deliberately sought out those places. Watch some Rick Stein's Food Heroes on youtube and you get exactly the same sort of feeling of pride in British produce and cooking.

The Boston area is filled with Mom & Pop joints that take great pride in what they do, foods of every culture imaginable. Fans of various restaurants will sometimes argue heatedly in defense of their favorite joint, in my experience, at least. There are chain restaurants as well, but they are vastly outnumbered by the independents. Don't get me wrong: There have been times when I'd do almost anything for a Big Mac and a six-pak of Bud, but "Micky-D's" ain't got ribs.

I agree, there are many fine places to eat here in the UK that are both privately owned and unhomogenised and take pride in what they do. My point was mainly about the level of pride that these little American joints seem to have in what they do; it seems almost palpable (although British reserve is never to be underestimated and I do love the British reserve).

My parents live in the Cotswolds and it is replete with lovely tearooms and restaurants, a good number of which use organic and home made produce but (and this may seem cynical) they seem more concerned with the total of your bill rather than loving the business and the food that they produce. Admittedly there are exceptions even there (usually smaller places) and the Cotswolds is a tourist trap, so maybe I need to look further afield to find the mixture of pride, quality and value that may be lacking in some establishments.

To be honest, my largest fear is that homogenisation, commercialisation and the attitude that profit is everything will take over and these wonderful places that it is such a treat to go to will be lost for ever.

Ok, it's not my actual largest fear, that would be global war or something, but it's definitely something I'm concerned about!

Missy Hellfire said:

To be honest, my largest fear is that homogenisation, commercialisation and the attitude that profit is everything will take over and these wonderful places that it is such a treat to go to will be lost for ever.

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That is definitely something that concerns me too. I think it takes people who are concerned to actually choose the independent sandwich shop - that may take longer to make your sandwich and not have the same range - over the chain so that they can survive. Mindful shopping and eating can be a bit more time consuming (my husband says "Just get some cheap chicken thighs", I say "Hell NO") but it is worth it.

I think there's two types of "mom and pop" eateries around here -- the "foodie" places, focused mostly on tourists and Upscale Diners, and the "joints," where the locals -- people like me -- eat. A foodie restaurant can be recognized by a cutesy/ironic name, an elegant scripted logo, the phrase "food and spirits" on the window, and the Priuses parked out front. The cuisine tends to the trendy and promotable, and these places tend to come and go along with the trends. A joint, on the other hand, has a very straightforward name -- Moody's Diner, The Rockland Cafe, Jiffy Lunch, etc; alcohol is rarely served, and pickup trucks and tradesmen's vans tend to be parked out front. The food is just plain food -- steaks, chops, fish, breakfast served all day, etc. However plain it is, though, it's always very well prepared. These places tend to stay around for generations, usually handed down within a family, but if sold, the original name wlll nearly always be kept.

I can't afford to go to the foodie places, and probably wouldn't recognize half the stuff on the menu if I did, but the joints where I eat tend to take a great deal of pride in what they do -- they don't have airs about it, but even if they don't articulate it they realize there's a very important social niche in the simple lunchroom/cafe type of restaurant, and they tend to compete very aggressively with each other to attract the biggest crowd of regulars, both thru quality of food and snappiness of service.

rue said:

but it's taking awhile for the mid-west and the south to catch up as far as I can tell.
As far as why, I have no idea.

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Maybe the Midwest, but not the South; if there is one thing that Louisiana is known for it's cooking. We have a long growing season and the oldest public farm market in the nation; and we also have a rich variety of game and seafood. We also have restaurants that are older than most universities in the country.

Happy to say that we now have more restaurants in New Orleans than we did before Katrina; and where you cook and what you cook is a source of pride for the people who work in that industry.

Come to New Orleans and try our gumbo, our crayfish etouffee, an oyster po-boy, red beans and rice, bread pudding, blackened flounder --you will redefine your ideas about what food should be.