‘Controversial’ Food Opinions Prompt on Twitter Ruins Everyone’s Weekend

November 25, 2019 Admin 0 Comments

Plus, Dry January is CANCELED (in France), and more news to start your day

Everyone was wrong about food on the internet

On November 19, Jon Becker tweeted a prompt seemingly designed by a malevolent trickster god to fuck up everyone’s hard-earned weekend: what is your most controversial food opinion? Twitter feeds were inundated with opinions, jokes about opinions, fights about opinions, and pleas for the opinions to stop. Nobody was safe.

The takes tended to fall into one of three categories. The first was the I-just-wanted-to-say-something opinion from people who forgot the “controversial” element of Becker’s request. Stuff like “boxed stuffing is good” and “I don’t like ketchup.” Good for them, moving on. The second was stuff designed to rile people up, like diving into the old “should there be beans in chili?” question, or claiming that In-N-Out is overrated.

But then there were the racists. One man claimed Indian food is terrible, and that “we” pretend it isn’t. Another said all Chinese food is bad. There are, of course, many things to take issue with in these statements. India and China are huge countries with multiple region-specific cuisines (many of which existed before modern borders were drawn), making it highly unlikely someone could search the entire country and not find something they enjoyed eating. There’s the presumption of “we,” as if everyone shares the same palate, and that Chinese food is “gloppy” and salty, as if Panda Express is the arbiter of an entire country’s cuisine.

Chef Pim Techamuanvivit suggested English-speakers adopt a Thai idiom that, instead of “I don’t like this food,” translates to “I don’t know how to eat this.” That way, it’s the eater’s problem, rather than a dismissal of an entire cuisine (or cuisines).

Anyway, if white people think Asian food is so bad, maybe they should return the spices they’ve been taking since about 1500 A.D.

And in other news...

• Harry Morton, the founder of the Pink Taco, has died at the age of 38. He is the scion of the founders of the Hard Rock Cafe and Morton’s Steakhouse. [CNN]
• How the recipe on a can of Libby’s canned pumpkin became the recipe for pumpkin pie. [Bon Appetit]
• The French government has canceled its plans to run a “Dry January” campaign. [Food & Wine]
• Tony Hawk has a card that allows him a free burrito at Chipotle every day for life, safety scares be damned. [CNBC]
• Last week, WeWork laid off 2,400 workers, and got rid of some of its honesty-based snack bars. The next day, WeWork execs got the tasting menu at Babbo. [BI]
• A man was convicted of murder after a KFC receipt linked him to the crime location. [NY Post]
• A look at the world’s biggest Starbucks, which just opened in Chicago. [Sprudge]
• Kim Kardashian West is shilling for Uber Eats Australia? Ok, sure.

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]