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October 7, 2006
Food Porn Goes Highbrow
Did I just see the term "Food Porn" on the cover of the New Yorker?
In case you missed it, last week's New Yorker featured a piece on the rising popularity of the Food Network and, more generally, the marketing of food and celebrity chefs. The byline was Bill Buford, who has been increasingly writing about food for the magazine (he had a great piece a couple months back about his apprenticeship in a Tuiscan butcher shop and his subsequent efforts butchering a pig in his New York apartment).
Of course, despite his long and reputable career as a journalist (and butcher), most folks I know will recognize the name Bill Buford for pioneering the football hooliganism genre in America with his 1993 book Among The Thugs. Buford taught us to gawk at the disreputable behavior(s) of British soccer fans, offering some details on a then-nascent set of stereotypes (the unemployed/ toothless/ violent European footy fan), and generally made us feel pretty superior to the Brits. I mean, America has its problems, but we're not like those people -- we can at least go to a sporting event without rioting (this week's coverage of Sunday's football game in Philadelphia notwithstanding). Among The Thugs is worth a read, but, as noted, I would check out the Verona book first.
Anyhoo.
So the Among The Thugs guy wrote about Food TV in the New Yorker. Big whup. The exciting part thereof is that not only does Buford casually use the term "food porn" to describe close up shots of food on television, but the words "food porn" actually made it to the cover of the newstand edition of the magazine. This is a spectacular development -- and one we most surely salute! Few things make us happier than seeing food porn hit the bigtime; the Flickr group is now up to 4,196 members and 50,782 photos. Thank you Bill Buford and editorial team at the New Yorker for helping to bring the passion for pornographic shots of sandwiches to the masses (or at least the pointy-headed nerds who read the New Yorker!).
And, just because I can't resist, I shall now publish a photo (below) of my half-eaten bacon appetizer from Peter Luger steakhouse in Brooklyn from last week. I took the photo with my cameraphone, so the details are a little sketchy, but I think you get the point. Note well both that (a) this is an appetizer at Peter Luger and (b) even half-eaten, the scale of this piece of bacon is surely formidable! Look at that monster! Look how it dwarves the knife and fork! (Also note the damning evidence of Peter Luger sauce on the plate -- yes, I was dipping my bacon in the "strawberry jam" that doubles as steak sauce at Luger's. This is me looking at the ground in a moment of post-gluttony shame.)
Forza Food Porn! Forza Peter Luger!
Posted by thatkid at October 7, 2006 11:11 AM under
The Papers
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