They talk about heirloom tomatoes the way tech nerds discuss the next iPhone. They revere chefs like Eric Ripert and David Chang as teenage girls worship Lady Gaga.
Foodies. Love 'em or hate 'em, they belong to a subculture all of their own.
Lately, however, foodies have been receiving a bit of flack. Earlier this month, The Atlantic published a piece titled "The moral crusade against foodies," taking aim at the smugness of foodie culture.
"For one thing, these people really do live to eat," B.R. Myers writes. "… And when foodies talk of flying to Paris to buy cheese, to Vietnam to sample pho? They're not joking about that either."
Mr. Myers adds that food writing used to have a "guilty smirkiness" that is now replaced by pomposity and sermonizing.
A new Web series is also poking fun at the silliest side of foodie culture. Titled (what else?) Foodies, it's set to premiere March 9.
The trailer offers a taste of what's to come, mainly the dining-related dramas of a group of young culinary enthusiasts who deliver, with a straight face, one-liners such as: "Tom is a genius with his geoduck. I have never had anything so delightfully revolting." "How am I supposed to compete with this? I'm not like you. I like McNuggets with barbecue sauce." And: "She's still into me. Cheese puffs prove it."
Has foodie culture become too serious for its own good?
Wency Leung