Jason Sheehan Bags on Foodies' "Weak Little Culinary Boners"

I really hate the word "foodie". Many people who might fit the dictionary definition abhor the term, because it connotes a mindless allegiance to fads, or freaking out about a $700 tasting menu while ignoring the glory of, say, a $2 taco at Rancho Bravo.

But alas, it's one of those terms that fills a bit of a hole in our cultural lexicon. It's difficult to come up with an acceptable shorthand for "people who consider eating and dining a hobby."

CNN's Eatocracy blog takes on this topic in a recent piece entitled "Chefs and the (other) "F" word". Anyone who has watched at least three minutes of any Top Chef episode knows kitchen folk are mighty fond of the primary "F" word.

Author Jennifer Wolfe interviews our city's own Jason Sheehan for the piece. And not surprisingly, he has an overly wordy answer at the ready:

Are foodies really self-important mindless drones subject to the herd mentality?

They are if you believe Jason Sheehan of Seattle Weekly who refers to foodies as “coup-counting, lock-jawed, cake-eating, nose-in-the-air dimwits who, with sticks planted firmly in their flabby asses will make their weekly cruise out to the hottest addresses in town, get weak little culinary boners over year-dead trends, focused-grouped Frog-humping menus and anyone doing New American comfort food or French-Asian fusion in million-dollar spaces.”

She also quotes an unidentified Seattle sommelier and restaurateur as saying, “Waiters hate foodies, but then waiters hate everyone.”