Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Nobody puts baby artichokes in a corner

Is this, or is this not, a parody of yuppie food writing? We have:

-Allusions to ample time spent at Italy's food markets.
-Where the author may have been willing to "pay a little extra."
-A reference to the culinary inferiority of 'merica.
-"The Italian way with artichokes is worth emulating." Replace "artichokes" with any other noun.
-An assumption that the reader has "locavore leanings" that will need to be addressed.
-The references to how a dish can be made "quite effortlessly at home." One step even "takes no time" whatsoever. How convenient! Why, then, since an artichoke dish can be prepared in zero minutes, would anyone get fast food?
-Paging Ramona: the dish is to be prepared "perhaps with a cool glass of pinot grigio for encouragement."
-Readers are urged to pair this already pricey ingredient with "an antipasto with slices of prosciutto and fresh mozzarella," or fresh fish. Or - in a nod to the high-cultural-capital-but-broke contingent, with spaghetti.

So I vote "parody." I am nevertheless lusting after the artichokes pictured.

1 comment:

CW said...

I love the title to this post.