The Case for Food Snobbery

Last dinner in Bethesda with the family

It's no secret that I am a bit of a foodie and eat (and drink) pretty well. Besides travel it's probably the number one thing I splurge on. I blame my family, since growing up with a dad, sister, and aunt who all cook really damn well meant I had high standards from a young age. The travel hasn't helped either, because once you have sushi in Japan or wine in Mendoza or gelato in Rome or seafood in Brittany or chocolate in Switzerland it's hard to go back to the mediocre stuff. I also don't know why being a "food snob" has to have such a derogatory connotation. Smokers have their preferred cigarette brands, no one rolls their eyes when people say Starbucks makes bad coffee, so why is it so bad if I say I'd rather not eat at Olive Garden or Chili's? I'm not going to sneer at anyone who does, I'm just not going to be sitting at the table next to them slurping up overcooked fettuccine drowning in a bath of bland cream sauce.

Galettes with Giovanni (extra egg on top for good measure)

Discovery of a new Weinbar with Kelly in Kreuzberg

I also think food snobbery gets conflated with people just trying to be high-class. I'm not talking about fancy food here, just good quality food. When I lived in smaller towns I ate plenty of "peasant" food like spaetzle and pretzels in Ludwigsburg and Tuebingen and galettes in Lannion, and I loved it. But the problem with living in small European towns like those was that although local cuisine was tasty and of high quality, there was absolutely no diversity. Tuebingen had one mediocre Chinese buffet and Lannion had... a Subway. Thankfully, Berlin is a large capital city with most cuisines on offer, and on top of that it is cheap. Not everyone seems to know that about Berlin. But yes, Berlin is very cheap and you can eat (and drink) pretty well at a reasonable price. So this foodie does! 

My ongoing search for Berlin's best cappuccino at an Italian cafe

Sunday brunch with Max and Kelly in Prenzlauer Berg

Pizza, salad, and wine night

Chicken curry at "Gruene Woche"