# Food preferences that people think make them superior **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 12, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404 "2005-01-12T16:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/181 "2005-01-13T22:53:27Z")
I don’t like ketchup on hot dogs, but every once in a while I’ll cut a tomato spear and put that on. That’s not bad. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/182 "2005-01-13T22:56:18Z")
> [@LindyHopper](#): > > I have to say I agree, but if you’ve managed to find people who can cook a steak well-done without turning it into shoeleather, I _guess_ that’s OK. 😉 It is possible, especially if the meat’s been marinated. My brother makes tender well-done steaks all the time, because that’s the why my mother eats them. Personally, for me, well-done steaks and most marinates are for people who like their steak not to taste like beef. I really don’t get it. A perfect steak should have a carmelized exterior with a bloody red interior. I mean…oh…the taste of beef. It’s completely burnt out by the process of doing your steaks well. Plus the texture is ruined, too. Even tenderized marinated cuts of meat well-done have this weird faux soft texture that doesn’t feel like the way a steak should feel against your teeth. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/183 "2005-01-13T23:07:40Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Hmm, here I am with this glut of white chocolate that I can never finish, and I smell like a herd if diseased yaks. What to do, what to do? You give **HazelNutCoffee** and I a call, and we’ll be right over! As an aside, I **am** one of those people who orders a Diet Coke with a Big Mac meal or similar. And I **am** doing it to save calories. I already know I’m busting my calorie budget by eating a big burger (something I do, say a handful of times A YEAR) so I’m drinking diet so as not to needlessly take any MORE calories in. I’m saving where I can so that I can indulge in others. It makes complete sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/184 "2005-01-13T23:08:39Z")
> [@](#): > > **Left Hand of Dorkness** said: > With qualifications. Which specific occasion, you mouthbreathing virago, bothers you? Qualifications that invalidate the meaning of the word. So you’ve already proven that you’re willing to say something that is blatantly false in order to advance your point, whatever that may be. Why the hell should anything you say be given any merit now? > [@](#): > > **The Devil’s Grandmother** said: > And Lefty, you may as well stop answering catsix. You can read the incredible meltdown over Hauss’ girlfriend’s unwanted pregnancy as proof of this. Yes, of course my opinion on _that_ topic makes the fact that **Dorkness** is an admitted liar moot. Sure. > [@](#): > > **Dorkness** said: > I think of this as Lucying the football, when I know that someone is a cretin I may well be a cretin in your opinion, but you are a liar as a matter of _fact_. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/185 "2005-01-13T23:18:34Z")
Jesus catsix, what bug crawled up your ass? **Left Hand** used the word ‘vegetarian’ with qualifications so far as I can see. I don’t see _any_ place where he claims to be a dyed-in-the-wool veggie. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/186 "2005-01-13T23:22:57Z")
He postures himself as something that he’s not, and then goes all out to say that someone who’s being a ‘food snob’ because they believe their style of eating is based on some kind of higher, kinder morals isn’t being self-righteous. It’s also got something to do with the fact that when called upon lying about himself, he calls those who point out his lies a ‘cretin’ in order to deflect the fact that he did lie. I see him as a fraud with no backbone, and those are not people I like. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/187 "2005-01-13T23:25:02Z")
On the subject of Chicago dogs: I confess. I sneak my own ketchup into such Chicago institutions as Gene & Jude’s, where they won’t even give you any for your fries! On the other hand, the concept of a hot dog without celery salt leaves me completely baffled. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/188 "2005-01-13T23:30:35Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > On the subject of Chicago dogs: I confess. I sneak my own ketchup into such Chicago institutions as Gene & Jude’s, where they won’t even give you any for your fries! > > On the other hand, the concept of a hot dog without celery salt leaves me completely baffled. At least you have the moral tenacity to admit your wrongdoing. Your penance shall be to say a hundred Our Ditkas and 20 hours of service to your local Democratic precinct captain. Good call on the celery salt…it’s harder and harder to find these days and really is the last magical detail that makes a Chicago hot dog so good. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/189 "2005-01-13T23:54:36Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > Yes, of course my opinion on _that_ topic makes the fact that **Dorkness** is an admitted liar moot. Sure. No, not your opinion, but your ability to drag out a thread to eight pages with nobody being convinced to change their minds on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/190 "2005-01-13T23:57:30Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > As long as people don’t put ketchup on their hot dogs, it’s all “live and let live.” 😛 That does it! You and me gonna throw down right now! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/191 "2005-01-14T00:16:32Z")
> [@](#): > > **The Devil’s Grandmother** said: > No, not your opinion, but your ability to drag out a thread to eight pages with nobody being convinced to change their minds on the subject. I left the **Hauss** thread well before 8 pages, so you can hardly pin that on me. Of course, it’s not at all possible for me to drag a thread _anywhere_ by myself, and I’m far from the only person on this board who sticks to my opinion with vigor. I suppose I’m just the only one who doesn’t share your viewpoint. Anyway, I’ll let this get back to the super enthralling ketchup vs. mustard debate again and give you a rest from complaining about me. ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/192 "2005-01-14T01:09:26Z")
> [@The Devil's Grandmother](#): > > “Blue” refers to the French term for a steak that’s still cold in the middle. mmmmmm! Well, yes, I knew that (and agree about the mmmmmm!), but why does it mean that? Why “blue” (or “bleu” for that matter)? > [@pulykamell](#): > > It is possible, especially if the meat’s been marinated. My brother makes tender well-done steaks all the time, because that’s the why my mother eats them. Personally, for me, well-done steaks and most marinates are for people who like their steak not to taste like beef. I really don’t get it. A perfect steak should have a carmelized exterior with a bloody red interior. I mean…oh…the taste of beef. It’s completely burnt out by the process of doing your steaks well. Plus the texture is ruined, too. Even tenderized marinated cuts of meat well-done have this weird faux soft texture that doesn’t feel like the way a steak should feel against your teeth. I agree. About all of it. I just…don’t…_get it_. ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/193 "2005-01-14T01:45:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But, “Chicagoans,” really…you should know better. (You’re probably the same “Chicagoans” who like both the Cubs and the Sox, saying you support the city. What kind of batshit insane bullshit is _that?_) Pffffft, _ **NO** _, I may put ketchup on my hot dogs, but what kind of heathen do you think I am? Cubbies all the way! You hurt my feelings with that one. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/194 "2005-01-14T02:18:54Z")
> [@AwSnappity](#): > > Pffffft, _ **NO** _, I may put ketchup on my hot dogs, but what kind of heathen do you think I am? Cubbies all the way! > > You hurt my feelings with that one. ☹ I’m sorry, but the truth hurts, doesn’t it? 😉 (As a South Side Cubs fan since I was 4 [1979], I’m a bit of an anamoly myself. But you still gotta pick one or the other. Fuck the Sox.) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/195 "2005-01-14T02:44:21Z")
> [@LindyHopper](#): > > Well, yes, I knew that (and agree about the mmmmmm!), but why does it mean that? Why “blue” (or “bleu” for that matter)? > > I agree. About all of it. I just…don’t…_get it_. I think it’s because a rare cooked steak looks kinda blue. Probably one of those things like my calico cat being called a blue and cream cat, when she is actually grey and peach. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/196 "2005-01-14T02:51:56Z")
**LifeOnWry** are you me? Because I can say almost exactly the same thing. > [@Trunk](#): > > More than anything, I’m a food snob towards people who won’t experiment. . .“I’m getting the lemon-pepper chicken. I know what I like. Why get anything else? I know I’ll like it.” > > They’re the bottom rung. I’ve met very few people with that attitude that I like in other regards. I’m picky. I’m a very, very, very picky eater. There are many textures that bug me, many flavors that (to me) are just nasty, many combinations of flavors that I cannot imagine actually putting in your mouth twice (once, you might not know - but how the second forkful made it in there is a mystery to me) that other people seem to love. Or at least not mind. Or maybe, they have seriously deficient or damaged senses of taste and smell or something, I don’t know. I will try a bite or two of pretty much anything (at someone’s house. I very, very rarely like it) - but when I’m at a restaurant, paying for food, I’m not going to pay good money for something that I will most likely (from looking at the ingredient list) send back with one bite taken out of it. That’s bad economics. ---
**Author:** ![TonyF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@TonyF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonyF)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/197 "2005-01-14T03:48:47Z")
Rattle on about your wines and hot dogs. How terrible and tragic, to argue about nothing. Listen! Listen; receive my wisdom. The best food comes in a plastic package with a flavor packet, and it is called **Ramen**. And you may eat the chicken or the pork or the oriental flavors without scorn, though beef is the best and is true and right; all other flavors are mockeries! Those that eat not but Maruchan shall have Heaven’s praise, for all other brands are tasteless, cardboard, undeserving of 3 minutes in two cups of boiling water. In this, I am right and just. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/198 "2005-01-14T04:55:45Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > **LifeOnWry** are you me? Because I can say almost exactly the same thing. > > I’m picky. I’m a very, very, very picky eater. There are many textures that bug me, many flavors that (to me) are just nasty, many combinations of flavors that I cannot imagine actually putting in your mouth twice (once, you might not know - but how the second forkful made it in there is a mystery to me) that other people seem to love. > Or at least not mind. > Or maybe, they have seriously deficient or damaged senses of taste and smell or something, I don’t know. > \ This speaks to how different humans beings are wired very differently. I love new tastes and smells. I will try just about any new food, and I am the opposite of a picky eater. For the record, I have a better than average sense of smell and taste. I just really, really enjoy a wide variety of flavours and smells. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/199 "2005-01-14T05:13:38Z")
I’ve tasted ketchup. I’ve tasted mustard - yes, many kinds of mustard, from crayon yellow to spicy brown. I like mustard on sandwiches, but I still put ketchup on hot dogs and would never think of using mustard on one. Ugh! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404/200 "2005-01-14T05:50:05Z")
> [@LindyHopper](#): > > Well, yes, I knew that (and agree about the mmmmmm!), but why does it mean that? Why “blue” (or “bleu” for that matter)? I’m not sure. I surfed around trying to find it, but all I found was [this page](http://french.about.com/library/pronunciation/bl-audiodico-b.htm) that give the word “Blue” and “Rare” as definitions for _bleu_. Maybe the handsome and kind matt\_mcl or some other French speking linguist will drop by for an explanation. [This site](http://interact.cbc.ca/pipermail/wordoftheweek/2004-February/000019.html) also lists _Un bleu_ as a bruise, maybe it’s related? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-preferences-that-people-think-make-them-superior/284404.md?page=11)