On Food And
by Few people realize just how important food is in all aspects of life. Here is a look at what roles food plays in different parts of society.
Global Thinking
In a world that strides to separate us into demographics according to age, race, color, creed, and background, food is the one common denominator that connects all of us. It is a universal bond that was forged many ages ago, and you can see its existence in any place. Walk into a noodle house in Tokyo, Japan and you’ll see all types of people: middle class housewives, upper class businessmen, and lower class street urchins all sitting side-by-side, elbow-to-elbow, slurping down their meal. Once you take a step back and look at the big picture, it’s not hard to see that good food is good food, no matter who it was prepared by, where you’re eating it, or who you’re eating it with. A rack of barbecued spare ribs tastes just as good in North Carolina as it does when you’re Northern California. Fried calves’ brains are just as molten and sweet whether you’re sitting at a bus stop or inside a chophouse. And the opposite of that is also true; bad food is bad food, no matter where you eat it. You can be in the fanciest restaurant in Manhattan, the china and stemware all a’ twinkling, but if that hangar steak has been overcooked, it doesn’t matter where you’re eating it. It’s just plain bad.
Tradition
As much as the south is renowned for its barbecue tradition, believe it or not, there are bad BBQ pits in the south. In fact, I’m willing to bet there are almost as many establishments that are serving poor food as there are serving good food. But when you walk into one of those places, there’s another thing you’ll notice: people. Good or bad, those places will almost always be chock-full of customers from the time they open until the time they close. Now you might sit and wonder, “Well why on earth do these people keep coming here, day in and day out, if the food isn’t all that great? In fact, there’s a place that just opened about two miles down the road, and they serve amazing pulled pork!” Well it all comes down to one thing: tradition. You see we live in an age of constant change and constant motion, and there’s not much to hold on to in terms of a consistent foundation. And that is what that BBQ pit means to those people. It’s probably been open for over 40 years, and that recipe they use for their ribs hasn’t changed in that entire time. When people find that their entire lives change, a strong food tradition is something that they can rely on.
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