Literature. I would never openly disparage someone’s reading preferences, and if it brings you joy, I’m glad. But, yeah, I most enjoy literary fiction, and I’m ashamed to say I’ll mentally judge you if you identify certain genres as your favorites.
Both of those, IMO, are overrated. Yes, they both have great texture, and texture is the most important thing in an apple. But even if it’s not as important as texture, flavor does still have some importance, too, and both of those varieties have very little flavor. Give me a Fuji, any day, over a Honeycrisp: Nearly as crispy, and a lot more flavor. And as a nice bonus, about half the price.
Ever had a Cox’s Orange Pippin?
– I’m a snob about produce, though if it isn’t relevant I try to keep my mouth shut about it; I’m not going to go to somebody’s potluck and complain out loud about the tasteless unripe fruit salad somebody brought in the middle of prime local fruit season, or the equally tasteless tomatoes or carrots, or the two-week-old iceberg lettuce. But I’ll be thinking it.
Beer. Everyone else can have all the fancy micro-brews and obscure heirloom styles, I’ll take a 30-pack of High Life over that other stuff any day.
I don’t think I’m a snob about much-- I like good beer but I won’t turn down an ice-cold Bud if one is handed to me.
But I refuse to drink coffee like Folgers or Maxwell House, made with Robusta beans. That stuff just tastes like battery acid to me. I have a friend with a couple acres of wooded land we sometimes camp on, and I hate it when he wakes up before me because he makes his crappy Maxwell House coffee. I have to have coffee made from a good quality fresh-ground Arabica bean.
It’s mostly a (rather old) European phenomenon, especially a German one. Maybe you have watched the ESC, which often is very schlageresque.
Yeah, that too. Every once in a while, my wife will bring home from the library a book that is on the top10 list. I can appreciate a quick read, and I suppose it is better that folk read SOMETHING rather than NOTHING.
But so much popular fiction is just so poorly written. And there is so much GOOD writing out there. It shocks me that folk can’t tell (or don’t care to" the difference.
(This may be an aspect of my aforementioned intellectual snobbery.)
Movies. I see most movies today as same-old-same-old shootouts, car chases, superheroes, totally absent of plot and character development in favor of CGI. I find very few movies for adults and am pleasantly surprised when I do. I used to see a lot of movies, but I struggle to find anything worth my time. I might pass the time with a mindless action flick, but I don’t find them in any way memorable.
Music. Working in radio, I long ago became jaded against popular music that has no real substance to it. I simply don’t understand the appeal of music that has no melody, that isn’t a song, just a bunch of semi-literate repetitious bullshit. When I’m in the car, I most often find myself listening to the phone apps for Classical stations like WQXR New York and WETA Washington, rather than Rock or Pop stations.
Horror movies. I’m very picky. One of a franchise? Out the door! Sean Cunningham? Waste basket! Title has a sub-title? Flush!
Corn on the cob. People happily eat CotC that I consider unfit for human consumption. I won’t even bother putting it on my plate unless I am assured it’s really fresh sweet corn cooked just until hot.
When it’s right, boiling water for 2-3 minutes is all the preparation you need. Maybe a dash of salt. No slathering it with butter and spices and wrapping it up to roast for WTF knows how long, good corn tastes good if you make it hot and eat it. Lousy corn should go to the hogs.
I have strong opinions on pizza and beer, and find many popular choices are ridiculous nonsense, but I’ll still eat and drink them even if they’re obviously wrong.
What am I a snob about? Only a few things. Pizza and bagels I only eat fresh and relatively close to NYC. No frozen and I avoid Pizza Hut/Dominos, etc. Water - I don’t insist on bottled at home, but I really don’t like most other tap water and often buy bottled when I am traveling.
Outside of food, I guess I’m snobbish about clothing. My husband often reminds me that in college I aspired to never allow a synthetic fiber to touch my body. I wasn’t successful , but my family of origin is still amazed that I will not wear 100% polyester.
I suppose I’m bad at being a snob. I am a pizza and beer snob as well. But if beer is being offered to me I’ll drink it with very few exceptions. I seek out good pizza but I’ll enjoy the hell out of a dominos thin crust or a pizza hut pan. I will crush a couple of Stouffers French bread pizzas. I just consider them a completely different food than good pizzeria pizza.
I’m curious what your go to brands are. I usually settle on Twinnings but I’m always looking for others.
That one caught my attention. I’m from Chicago, where we enjoy excellent tap water as does NYC. I really cannot understand why folk on our respective cities would buy bottled water.
On my travels, I’m generally impressed at how good the water is in most places. It has to be pretty awful water for me to spend money on water - and generate plastic waste in the process. SO I guess I’m an anti-snob about water.
Coffee too. I GUESS there can be such a thing as horrible coffee. But it has to be QUITE bad before I’d designate it as such. And when people go on an on about a wonderful cup of joe, I think, “tastes like coffee!”
I think listening to Schlager genre is what drives people to drink bad beer. I’ll drink water before I drink Bud, Coors, Heineken, or any mass market beer. I drink beers from local microbreweries.
My thing? Pie, especially the crust. Everybody on my mom’s side of the family makes really good pie and it’s the crust that makes the difference.
It’s a sad thing when I see a beautiful pie and I know it won’t be anywhere near as good as what I can make.
There was a place in the next canton that used to sell American-style pies, such as pecan, pumpkin and apple. I tried them. Once.
Bagels are my other thing. I live in New Jersey for almost a decade and my last boss would bring in bagels from a kosher bakery near his home.
Anti-snob? I can recognize good pizza (I have to - I’m too close to Italy), but I’ll eat the frozen stuff. At the same time, I’ll make my own dough and sauce because I know it tastes better.
I’ll eat almost any kind of cookie. Slice and bake, McDonald’s cookies, you name it. If it’s recognizable as a cookie, I’ll eat it.
I did a water taste test with a couple of coworkers. 3 samples, and a bucket was provided in case I needed to spit out one of the samples. I didn’t, they all tasted like water. Apparently, one of them found the tap water so vile he couldn’t swallow it. That right there is snobbish.
Socks.
The ones I buy and wear.
Cheap socks are cheap socks.
That toe seam has to be right.
The top of the sock. The finish has to be even and smooth.
If I see someone, baby to old person with bad socks on, it drives me crazy.
Yeah, so socks.
Oh, yes. I won’t wear cheap socks any more. All of mine now are either Bombas or Pantherella (an English company, which I’d seen profiled on Inside the Factory).
Me too. We were raised on Grandpa’s sweet corn. Seneca Chief or Silver Queen. Get the water boiling first then pick your ears and drop them in right away. As kids we ate it for all meals even breakfast sometimes! I prefer my favorite farm, Fenick’s corn in Elyria, Ohio.
Recipe?