Washington Post Date Lab participant claims to be a "foodie"

[Bob W]

Check this out. The Washington Post has a Sunday magazine feature called Date Lab, in which two people are matched up on a blind date. Last week's edition featured a lady who made certain claims on her application that she was unable/unwilling to back them up. Look what this self-proclaimed "foodie" refuses to try:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifesty...

[Jay F]

If membership in the Foodie Club depended on liking Brussels sprouts and octopus, I would not be let in.

[Bob W]

I doubt the person had ever tried brussels sprouts or octopus. No one said you have to like everything, but if you're going to claim to be a foodie (a word I despise BTW), you should at least be open to trying things.

[Breezychow]

Exactly. It's not about liking everything. Or even about having to try every single bizarre thing offered you (I draw the line at insects - lol!), but you really should be openminded about food - especially basic stuff. And cooked Brussels Sprouts & even cooked octopus really aren't all that scary. I could even understand declining the octopus, but not being willing to even try the Brussels Sprouts? C'mon.

And I certainly would have been more than willing to try something new if out on a date. Especially out on a date with someone who so obviously loved to cook. This particular Date Lab was a definite mismatch.

[monavano]

I think you don't have to try anything. Agreed, the woman on this date lab was definitely NOT a foodie (or maybe she defines it differently). However, I'm a foodie/CH'er who knows what I do and do not like. Does that make me close minded? Should I turn in my foodie card?
I don't think so, and here's why; i've lived long enough to know what I like and don't like. I'm open to trying new things (rabbit and goat come to mind) but hey, if I don't enjoy certain foods, well, life's too short. If it grosses me out (brains, thymus) then why would anyone want to cause me discomfort? I don't get it.
I respect people's food choices and wouldn't think for a moment to pressure or judge them for not eating brussel sprouts. Although, I think that's just CRAZY!!
Give me my burger. You can have the sushi ;-)

[Jay F]

Thank you, monavano. What you wrote is exactly what I meant.

[hill food]

my litmus (thymus?) test is: you don't have to like it, but did you at least try it (or even just smell it?) hate it then and I won't offer a word of criticism. there's a great word on a CH 'story' thread that I intend to use in a copious manner "foochebag". In fact I may have to claim it for my profile description.

[Bob W]

+1 to whoever coined "foochebag"!

[monavano]

Well, you've proved my point in saying "have" to try it. No, I don't, and I don't get why it's such a big dealio to you if I don't want to. Maybe it's my background in healthcare and gross anatomy, but with organs and such, it gets to me in a way I just can't get past.
Call it my loss if that's the way you see it, but please, don't judge me for drawing lines of personal comfort which I do not want to feel pressured to cross, at the risk of my likability or credibility being lost.
I would say please don't criticize anyone for having preferences. You're not my mom, who did encourage me to try many things which I actually love now. But, like my mom, who accepted me for who I was, for the love of everything holy, don't make me eat or even try liver.
Not even she did that ;-)

[Bob W]

I think organ meats should be excepted from any food rules. 8<D We ate a lot of weird, old-school stuff in our house, but my mom never made us try liver either, even though she and my dad both loved it. Now, chopped liver, that's another thing entirely...

[monavano]

Funny, me too. I like pate and liverwurst sandwiches were one of my favorites growing up. Now, they're uber-fatty indulgences!
I too remember Mom and Dad loving their liver dinner, while my brother and I were "treated" with Ellio's pizza, or Chef Boy R Dee.

[hill food]

fair enough, bullying is never a good thing and not my intent in encouraging new things to old canines, since you know first hand what these things are and not simply rejecting over the name or it being unknown gives you a hall pass IME.f'rinstance I can understand someone not being able to get their head around sashimi, but I've known people to reject all of Japanese food based on one little thing, so you get bonus points for while not liking liver, still able to give a shot at and appreciate pate etc. (and I gotta be honest there a few things in my "empty bucket" list that I'm not going to search out anytime soon)

[monavano]

Great reply, thanks!!

[JudiAU]

Ha ha. I love the thymus test.

[Angel Food]

I met a woman in DC once who said she was a foodie, I asked her what kind of foods she liked & she said "I like meals that are small and very expensive."

[alkapal]

that right there made it worth reading the date lab report, angel food! indeed a LOL!

[Breezychow]

I always read "Date Lab" because 9 times out of 10 I find it utterly incredulous - mostly the after-date comments which are so often hurtful &/or downright rude.

This one definitely took the cake though. "Foodie"?????? I think not. Either she's ignorant of the term, delusional, pretentious, or all three. It's not like he was asking her to try monkey brains or something - lol!

[monavano]

That date lab was AWKWARD. The food was the biggest faux pas. She into the food scene and he's into cooking, although the whole "we speak French during brunch" was a tad, wee bit twee to me.

[NO SLICE]

I can understand him getting excited about someone else who claims to speak French if he's into keeping up his French conversational skills. Claiming to speak a language you don't speak is a recipe for embarrassment.

[sedimental]

I don't understand why you would be a bit of a "poser" on a dating site...like they won't notice? LOL
My friend dated this way and got sooooo tired of the truth being s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d, he said when they claimed to be "height- weight proportionate" he said he felt like asking....."proportionate to what"?