Naturally, we here at Short Order are consummate foodies; lovers of both the most nuanced of dishes and the homiest of comfort foods. Yet, for some reason, that foodie categorization can be tricky. For some, being a foodie is a contest -- a pissing match where your stream is lengthened by the price tag on the ultra-chic meals you eat nightly and widened by the breadth of your internal gustatory lexicon.
I think it's a natural progression that folks get sort of competitive about all things they sink so much time into, but among the casualties of this line of thought is the love for those homier dishes. More pointedly, as you delve further into the world of the foodie, the dishes that you once coveted as a child become dishes that you grow to be ashamed of. For example, how much foodie cred would you lose if you revealed to all that your favorite pick-me-up when you're feeling low is a Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich? Or what if your food snob friends saw you wrist deep in a pot of freshly made Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (with extra American cheese and a bit of cayenne added, of course)? What would people think of your taste then?
The palate is a strange animal, connected in various ways to memories and emotions that, in other ways, remain neatly hidden. For whatever reason, the way a particular item tastes can remain attractive to you indefinitely, no matter how "refined" your tastes become. I suspect we all have these guilty pleasures -- foods which we would be horribly embarrassed to let on that we secretly crave. Let us know what your guilty pleasures are with a comment. Or are you scared? :-P
-- John Linn