The utter ridiculousness of hip food trends

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:01:00 +0000

So here are some tweets from this week, from longtime restaurant critic Gael Greene and NBC's thefeast.com food editor Matt Duckor:

Gael Greene We had razor clams three nights in a row last week. John Dory, Bar Basque, Dressler. Good but not a match for Esca's.

mattduckor @GaelGreene Casa Mono's razor clams predate the trend and are excellent.

And this is what I tweeted in response:

MrEddieHuang @mattduckor cantonese razor clams predate the trend by at least a couple dynasties... #ohamericans...

Gael and Matt know their bidness. Not trying to call them out on anything. It's their job to report trends and identify them; they do it well. They didn't determine the way Americans -- and to a certain extent postmodern foodies around the world -- dine. This is just how they found it. And you may think, "Eddie, why would you care if razor clams are a trend or not? Let 'em eat razor clams!" But, see, as a chef and a person who cares about food and cares about culture, it's not that simple.

In defense of Chinese dads

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:20:00 +0000

When my restaurant got a zero-star review from the New York Times, my mom roasted me in an e-mail according to Chinese Mom Tradition. Everyone loved it. So recently someone sent me Amy Chua's "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" and they wanted my feedback: Do I think Chinese moms are, indeed, superior?

Well, I like my mom and her shape-ups, but if it weren't for my dad, I would have been destined to a life of violins and Izod shirts. Chinese moms love buying Izod because it's cheaper than polo and people laugh at you, but for the record, looking like an ass clown and not having friends definitely doesn't help your SAT scores.

Salon.com > Eddie Huang

The utter ridiculousness of hip food trends

In defense of Chinese dads