on taste

We're 12 days into 2012, and I can't believe this is my first posting! If only I could say that it was all part of a new year's resolution to eat healthier and cook more, but that actually sounds horrible to me. Well, the eating healthy part sounds horrible; the problem with cooking more frequently is that cooking in heels feels a little scandalous or, at best, Stepford wife-ish. I'm also a pretty messy cook and any outfit that matches my heels usually isn't one that I want to wear while cooking (I own a ridiculous amount of adorable aprons, and still I manage to ruin clothes). So if I wrote about my adventures in the kitchen, I'd have to re-name this blog "homely foodie," and who wants to read that? Anyway, I promise a new restaurant posting this weekend. Until then, I thought I'd share a few thoughts on taste.

I've been reading Adam Gopnik's latest book, The Table Comes First, and I'll admit that his writing is a bit esoteric and dry at times. However, if you can withstand the dense prose, you will also find his writing to be clever and entertaining, and for a food-lover, he'll push you to think philosophically about what you love and appreciate about good food, good eating, and good company. For example, Gopnik has this great chapter on taste -- what taste is, how it's shaped, and how it shapes us -- and defines it using two distinct yet related categories, "mouth taste" and "moral taste." Mouth taste refers to the actual taste and feel of food in our mouths (obviously), whereas moral taste is about our general beliefs and convictions about food that are heavily influenced by our personal experiences and societal norms. Watch this clip of Portlandia for an extreme, satirized exhibition of moral taste:

I mention Gopnik's writing on taste because taste is what drives this blog. In particular, my taste. And if you agree with Gopnik, taste is as much about flavor preferences as it is about an individual's moral convictions about food. For those of you who frequently read my postings, you probably already have a sense of my taste when it comes to food (and shoes). But for newcomers or for those simply wondering if our tastes align, I'll briefly describe my preferences below.

On moral taste...
I like my food fresh and local. I guess you could call me your typical Seattle locavore -- but without the hipster clothes and shoes! I container garden in the summer, enjoy strolling through the farmers' market, and pay extra money for food at Metropolitan Market, Whole Foods, and PCC. I think in-season fruits are far superior to greenhouse grown fruits. I buy eggs laid by free-ranging chickens and meat from grass-fed cows. But at the same time, I love fancy salts that are imported from thousands of miles away, and I'll always choose Honey Nut Cheerios over Kashi GOLEAN Crunch.

Garden blueberries.

On mouth taste...
Foods I love: cheese, crackers (esp. Lesley Stowe raincoast crisps and La Panzanella croccantini), crusty baguettes, salt, steak, fried chicken, salmon, halibut, sushi, eggs benedict, sungold tomatoes straight from the vine, garden-fresh herbs, peas, grilled zucchini, arugula, lemon-flavored desserts, french pastries, Fran's gray salt caramels, and pretty much all things pig.

Foods I avoid: octopus/squid, raw onions, licorice, tapioca, meringue, liquor-soaked desserts (think: tiramisú), and "organic" wine (it's just not good).

On shoe taste...
I am addicted to shoes. Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Gucci, and Prada (especially Prada boots) are my favorites. My preferred heel height is 90 millimeters (~3.5 inches), and I avoid platforms because they make me walk funny. If Christian Louboutin offered fewer platform shoes and made any attempt at comfort, I'd probably be a bigger fan. Shoes, even heels, should be comfortable and easy to walk in -- there is nothing worse than a lady stumbling like a drunkard in her fancy shoes.

D'orsay heels signed by Tamara Mellon, OBE,
co-founder and chief creative officer of Jimmy Choo.

Autographed shoes: I met Tamara Mellon, OBE, co-founder and chief creative officer of Jimmy Choo at a Nordstrom event last year. She signed this pair of d'orsay heels that ironically are one of my least comfortable pairs of shoes. I'm also not typically a 36.5, so the off-sizing should have been a hint. Oh well, they're still pretty and remind me of a fun day!