young professional | Borderstan
Young Professional Problems: So You Think You’re A Foodie
Are you truly a foodie? (Borderstan collage)
How often have you read an “about me” for a 20-something and seen “food” or “restaurants” or “being a foodie” listed? “I can’t wait to try that new Mike Isabella restaurant,” they say, “I’m a self-described foodie.”
It’s no secret that food has taken over our country. And as a young professional, you could be struggling with defining your identity, and wind up calling yourself a “foodie.”
As someone who derives great pleasure from food but is certainly no expert and not a foodie, I’m here to guide you through deciding whether you are, or more likely, are not, a foodie.
If yes, you are exactly the same as every other person in America. When given the option to cook for ourselves or have someone else cook for us, of course we are all going to choose the latter.
If no, you are most definitely, absolutely not a foodie.
Do you prefer going to restaurants that may be considered “fine dining”?
If yes, that simply makes you well-off, not a foodie. If you are a young professional, and self-described foodie, and you talk a lot about trying fancy new restaurants (and not in the context of restaurant week), then you’re kind of a dick. The rest of us are happy if we can pay rent in DC and maybe get sushi once a week.
If no, you may still be a foodie. Don’t be discouraged.
If you answered yes to the previous questions, but no to this question, you are most definitely not a foodie. You are just lazy.
If yes, you may still be a foodie. Continue on.
Do you make up your recipes?
If no, and you still like to cook, you’re just a normal person. You may own a Joy of Cooking or worse yet, anything by Rachel Ray. But you are certainly not foodie.
If yes, you very well might be a foodie. I’m impressed.
If you do not make up your own recipes but you have a food blog, you are just a food scrapbooker, not a foodie. You may make my Google searches for “easy healthy turkey burger recipe” slightly easier, but you’re no Jose Andres.
If yes, and you make up your own recipes, you are probably a foodie. Congratulations!
Have you ever thought about food theory?
Can you name different spice palettes? Is food chemistry second nature to you? Can you explain the difference between julienne and chiffonade or hollandaise vs. béarnaise? You’re a foodie.
If not, just give it up. You simply like food, just like the rest of us.
food, Foodies, Lauren Levine, young professional
Young Professional Problems: I Spend All My Money on Food
Working to eat? (Luis Gomez Photos)
You’re a young professional, and you live in the District. Your “save the world” job makes you feel good, but it only puts Shake Shack on the table and you’re looking for some Birch & Barley. Our generation loves food (for proof, check Instagram). Yet food has us counting more than just calories. Here are a few suggestions for making the most delicious and cost effective decisions.
I don’t even want to count how much I’ve spent in 2013 on Sweetgreen salads (damn you February seasonal salad for being so delicious). Buying lunch out five days a week will add up before you can even figure out how to pronounce Pret a Manger. The minimum $6 you spend for lunch will add up to nearly $1,500 over the course of a year.
Obviously, you can bring lunch. I aim for compromise by telling myself that I can only eat lunch out Monday and Friday, but must bring lunch Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. If not bringing, try finding your local cheap eats. Food trucks and mom-and-pop type shops usually have more affordable prices than your DC-wide lunch staples. Also, skip the drink and chips. Nantucket Nectars is delicious and expensive.
I used to fear those “birthday dinner” invitations – you know when your friend makes everyone go to a fancy restaurant because suddenly drinking excessively for someone’s birthday isn’t enough? Well that still sucks, but I’m more scared by brunch. Do I want to go to brunch with you? Hell yeah. I love me a bloody mary and some crab cake Eggs Benedict. But it is expensive to go to brunch in DC these days!
I have a “one brunch per week” rule. For the other days, bagels are an excellent solution to any breakfast problem. You can buy a dozen and invite friends over, probably for cheaper than brunch, and you can ask your friends to bring the mimosas. For a romantic bagel brunch, walk to Bethesda Bagel and bring your bagel to Dupont Circle. Too trendy for bagels? Wander the farmers market with friends, grab some goodies and sit down then and there to share and enjoy.
I don’t need to elaborate here – groceries in the district are prohibitively expensive, even compared to other cities.
Have you met my friend Joe? He’s a trader, and while his produce is terrible, his prices are right. Thankfully there’s another one opening up at 14th and U. It can be hard to be an extreme couponer when you don’t live in the middle of Nebraska with a shed devoted to stock piling groceries, but you gotta work the deals to save some cash. If there’s a 2-for-1 sale on couscous, eat couscous all week! Learn how to freeze extras.
Or, the next time you find yourself outside of the District, hit a grocery store there and I guarantee you’ll save money.
brunch, food, lunch, young professional