My Defense of the "Anti-Foodie" Foodie Scene

I recently read NY Mag's feature on foodie-ism as youth culture which profiled Diane Chang who I guess is supposed to be a big NYC food blogger (never heard of her before the article), but I found the article interesting--and the comments even more--because to a large degree my life in NYC is also consumed by good eating and drinking. Really, food has been a huge part of my life as a kid growing up in a Chinese household with a dad who's a professional chef and mom and grandma who kicks ass at cooking amazing dinners night after night. Now, I just pay other people to feed me.

Before you label me as a "foodie", here are somethings I'd like to clarify:

I don't shop.

In my 2.5 years in NYC, I've never stepped in a sample sale or bought anything from Gilt. I have forgone the common 'shopping' addiction to afford the ability to enjoy a nice meal here and there. Basically, I've replaced purses with pretzels (the one at Radegast is so good!).

I do not check-in or write reviews.

My shitty smartphone never seems to know where I am, and so I do not check-in on foursquare or facebook. Even if I did have an iPhone, I probably wouldn't. I've also never written a review on Yelp.

I like drinking too.

So much emphasis is put on "food", what about drinks? I like bar-exploring as much as I like eating and get excited when a bar has 8+ beers on tap, none of which are light domestics; however, my amateur wine knowledge makes me an instant foodie fail.

Often times, I eat like a poor intern.

$5 pulled pork sliders from Fetta Sau's after hours menu, $7 chicken and rice combination plate, $3 Oasis falafel sandwich, $3 cheese corn from Union Pool, $8 chicken liver bacon sandwich from Post Office, $7 chicken chop from Saint's Alps... I'm not ashamed to order from the McDonald's dollar menu and have yet to step foot in a Jean-Georges establishment. I have an appreciation for high-brow food but for the most part consume mid-to-low. My advertising job really doesn't support a $300 Per Se tasting menu habit. 

I sometimes take pictures. 

Especially when I slave away in my kitchen. I like to remember my culinary accomplishments.

I'm lucky my friends have the same appreciation I do for good food. I'm even luckier that we're not the "foodie" snobs people seem to stereotype that all they do is restaurant name drop, take pictures of everything we eat and can only talk about food. My friends and I don't talk about food when we're at restaurants... we're too busy eating.