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In last month's edition of The New Republic an article by Steve Pinker quoted Leon Kass, chairman of the President's Council of Bioethics (which recently published a 555-page conservative tome called Human Dignity and Bioethics), as saying of street food:
"Worst of all from this point of view are those more uncivilized forms of eating, like licking an ice cream cone--a catlike activity that has been made acceptable in informal America but that still offends those who know eating in public is offensive. ... Eating on the street ... displays [a] lack of self-control: It beckons enslavement to the belly. ... Lacking utensils for cutting and lifting to mouth, he will often be seen using his teeth for tearing off chewable portions, just like any animal. ... This doglike feeding, if one must engage in it, ought to be kept from public view, where, even if we feel no shame, others are compelled to witness our shameful behavior."
Food writer John T. Edge, while returning home from last Month's Southern Foodways Alliance road trip to Chicago, also read that and it really grabbed him by the short hairs, refusing to let go. So Edge wrote in defense of street food in his most recent blog at Gourmet.com. The example Edge cites in defense of street food? The Italian beef sandwich, citing Al's, Chickie's (2839 S. Pulaski) and Johnnie's (7500 W. North, Elmwood Park) as great places to grab a beef and have it dipped. We can't complain with those.
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Does the Bush Administration contain anyone who isn't a complete ass?
Eating street food is a way of life in so many parts of the world.
My ex used to regale me with stories of the fond memories of street food (he's not from this country) while growing up and often lamented the fact that he could never find food that delicious anywhere here.
And I'd like to see anyone tell me, to my face, that eating an ice cream cone in public lacks class. Screw that!! To be honest, I don't think I've ever even had an ice cream cone at home...it wouldn't taste as good as it does out on the street for crying out loud!!!!!
I'd like to party with that guy!
I'd love to take Leon Kass for a tour of the Maxwell Street Market, if it doesn't insult his frail sensibilities.
Chickie's, for the record, is not what it used to be. have been there a few times this year and each time the experience has been lackluster. the beef is not sliced as thin as it used to be and seasoning is not as good. a chickie's beef used to clear my sinuses (w/o peppers mind you)and ow it's nothing special.
I for one think it lacks class to eat anything anywhere.
After I saw Kurt Russell in that horrible "movie" Death Proof eat that plate of nachos, whenever I have to eat I just huddle in a corner like a dog and scarf it down as fast as possible. Pure class.
I wonder what Leon K Ass thinks of ANY type of public "eating" -- Taste of Chicago (the shame), any sporting event (you CAN'T go to a ball game and not have a dog, beers, and peanuts with the empty shells piled up around your feet), picnics, etc.
I'm sure he'd wolf down an eyeball taco chuck.
frp, he would take his hot dog to the bathroom to eat, because that's the classy, dignified way.
PS, I tried SO hard to refrain from jokes about gobbling wieners in a stadium bathroom, but one just slipped out.
Personally, I believe a dirty dog or two does wonders for the immune system. The people in my office who constantly hand sanitize are the ones who are always worried they're getting sick. Damn hypochondriacs.
Has this man ever been to Asia? Street food is a way of life in Thailand, Vietnam, India, etc. Some of the best food I've had in my life has been bought on the street, and everyone, from all walks of life, buys from the street vendors. it's like a huge party.
If Karl Rove isn't a huge fan of street food then I'm a dye-in-the-wool right wing conservative. Just look at that guy, you know he could put away a feast fit for a king at a baseball game, some Havhalash and crab juice (Homer Simpson style) and still have room for 25 of the 31 flavors at Baskin Robbins
In the unlikely event that I should ever meet Leon Kass, I shall buy him an ice cream cone.
@lulu -- I think K Ass' piece is an indictment on just those very countries, implying that they are undignified heathen at best. It's too bad, because when I travel, I'm prone to eating street food from vendors in the markets, or along the street of the hotel at which I staying. Nothing beats meat(?) grilled on a stick atop a jerry-rigged habachi made of chicken wire and coffee cans. Delish.
The whole going to war in Iraq thing offended me greatly but this, this has spun me into an entire dimension of pissed of I have never experienced before!
Oh to imagine the offensive catlike licking that is about to occur. Have you no shame sir?
This administration has been solely a "do as I say, not as I do" administration.
Dopplerd...awesome pic find
Leon Kass is a pretty interesting bio-ethicist. I read some of his stuff when I was in college. This whole cone thing of his is...ridiculous.
Is that Pinker's picture? Because Leon Kass is significantly older than that dude.
Photo is of John Edge, the food writer (and least important person in the story).
it doesn't get more street than the Italian Beef
http://chibbqking.blogspot.com/
Official Italian beef blog of Chicago