New York Times' Bruni Quiets Bourdain, for Now

Keep New Times Free

I Support

Local
Community
Journalism

Support the independent voice of South Florida and help keep the future of New Times free.

Former New York Times food critic Frank Bruni sides with Paula Deen on the op-ed page in the aftermath of Anthony Bourdain's calling Deen "the most dangerous person to America" for "telling an already obese nation it's ok to eat food that is killing us."

"Ill-timed elitism" is what he calls it, siding with Deen's response in the New York Post. "My friends and I cook for regular families who worry about feeding their kids and paying the bills... It wasn't that long ago that I was struggling to feed my family too."

Her response exposes

tensions in society at large, says Bruni, between "paternalists" -- who can afford to shop farmers' market prices and dine in politically correct farm-to-table restaurants -- and "populists," who chalk up bar food as a balanced meal and consider fries as a serving of vegetables.

We are a nation of fatties, concedes Bruni, partly because "the dearth of healthy food that's affordable and convenient in low- and even middle-income neighborhoods, and changing that requires a magnitude of public intervention and private munificence that are unlikely in such pinched times."

Bruni takes Bourdain to task for hypocrisy. Take a dish like fried chicken. When Deen makes it, it's "heedless gluttony," where David Chang's rendition is "high art." Bourdain's response ends up polarizing people rather than leading anyone toward healthier eating habits.

The Bourdain response this morning, via Twitter:

NoReservations Anthony Bourdain

@FrankBruni Is deep fried macaroni and cheese somehow more affordable than mac'n cheese?

3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

NoReservations Anthony Bourdain

@frankbruni FYI : "$58 dollar prime rib" at Les Halles is for TWO persons. Grouper for one at Lady and Sons? $28.

3 hours ago

NoReservations Anthony Bourdain

@frankbruni but enjoyed piece. Many good points.

3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Thoughts? Talk amongst yourselves in the comments.

Follow Clean Plate Charlie on Facebook and on Twitter: @CleanPlateBPB.

Keep New Times Broward-Palm Beach Free... Since we started New Times Broward-Palm Beach, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering South Florida with no paywalls.

Food News

Food Critic

Contact:
Melissa McCart

Recommended For You

New York Times' Bruni Quiets Bourdain, for Now

Trending Food & Drink

Powered by SailThru