OT: Artisanal Toast

[Netdewt]

How far will this movement go? I'm all for handmade, USA made, high-quality food and goods, but for me, Artisanal Toast is too far.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2014/05/the-trend-is-toast.html

[54ny77]

that was a funny read.

i laughed at the term "small batch."

tomorrow, i'm going to class up my lunch with "small batch" leftovers from tonight's dinner....

;)

[hida yanra]

from the annals of "strange but true", I got paid for some work by being comped dinner at an quite nice place recently, and they had just this stuff (one of the spots mentioned in the article).

Now, I can usually estimate the Michelin star-rating by counting how many reasonably nice tubulars I can buy for the cost of a full meal... when results came back, "more than one" I realized that I should probably mind my manners at least a bit.

My host actually ordered the toast for me and yes, I ate it (seemed like a depreciating investment, though I did consider my options)

I was expecting to not like it, to find it over-the-top snobby, just a symbol of the decadence of our times- right up there with Lightweight-discbrake-carbon-clinchers all the youngsters want these days, you know?

Turns out- the toast is DARN good.
... and I liked it. sigh, oh well.

Given what I've paid for martinis in Stockhom/London in previous parts of my life- and those are just "alcohol swished in a glass, then other alcohol poured into the same glass"... you know, I really enjoyed those martinis, so I don't think I can reasonably throw stones at folk that like $8 toast as compared to the $0.80 toast I might reasonably order on my own dime.


Comparisons between cheap toast and super-high-end toast obviously have NO correlation to comparisons between the $15 usd 700c tyres I sell and the $150 700c tyres I sell.

[cfox]

It has nothing to do with whether or not the toast tasted good, labeling it "artisanal" is the problem. Some things are just so cute you want to punch them.

[Netdewt]

I'm sure it is good! I love good bread and toppings, but the presentation and the name "artisanal" is so preposterous - and the price. It's a quickie breakfast food! Even the word "toast" is making me laugh after reading about this.

This one has explitives and may be NSFW:
http://kitchenette.jezebel.com/artisanal-toast-is-apparently-a-····ing-thing-now-1584472659

[redir]

Rare is the food trend that doesn’t garner backlash and the designation “overrated”; cf. cupcakes, cronuts, and kale, all

Cupcakes? Overrated? Nonsense!!!

[hida yanra]

I'm sure it is good! I love good bread and toppings, but the presentation and the name "artisanal" is so preposterous - and the price. It's a quickie breakfast food! Even the word "toast" is making me laugh after reading about this.

This one has explitives and may be NSFW:
http://kitchenette.jezebel.com/artisanal-toast-is-apparently-a-····ing-thing-now-1584472659

no comparisons to handmade bicycles, FMB tyres, or anything else of the sort is possible. Obviously.


I just sold *three* bicycles, some flat kits, and other accessories for a *total* of 1100 (post GST)- they will get ridden by people who will use them on pavement, gravel, and for both pleasure and commuting.

Explain to me again why you aren't over in any of the countless threads posted by people who are planning on buying craftsman sourced, handbuilt bikes with wheels made by artisans (artisan conjugates well into various forms)... and are going to pay +7K for the bikes - which they will then ride on "...pavement, gravel, and for both pleasure and commuting"

$8 toast is to 0.80 toast in the same ratio that a $700 bicycle is to a $7000 bicycle.
Both are objects which act both in utility and enjoyment.

Other than your particular point of view as a bicycle enthusiast vs a toast enthusiast, the difference is _________....?

[FlashUNC]

I won't be one to throw stones out of my glass house into someone else's over what might be the most harmless thing in the universe -- loving really good toast. Especially when I've got a soft spot for really excellent charcuterie.

I'm reminded of the scene in Pulp Fiction where Mia (Uma Thurman) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) argue over the value of a $5 milkshake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8X2SM0ioJ4

[hida yanra]

I won't be one to throw stones out of my glass house into someone else's over what might be the most harmless thing in the universe -- loving really good toast. Especially when I've got a soft spot for really excellent charcuterie.

I'm reminded of the scene in Pulp Fiction where Mia (Uma Thurman) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) argue over the value of a $5 milkshake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8X2SM0ioJ4

Hi, I like you :hello:

[FastforaSlowGuy]

My toaster accepts 2 slices at a time, and I use my hands to insert the bread. I guess that makes my toast "handmade" and "small batch"?

All joking aside, I really, really LOVE toast. I've gone through 3 toasters to find one I like. It's a silly thing to be passionate about, but there you go. I just think that sometimes, in trying to elevate a thing, we end up demeaning it. Toast is good in part because of the lack of craft involved.

[Louis]

Back when my sister lived on an island south of Brunswick, Maine there was a little shop not too far away that had the most incredible bagels; awesome toasted or not toasted. They were made locally and without a doubt "artisanal." Expensive as heck, but worth every penny.

[FlashUNC]

Hi, I like you :hello:

We'll have to agree to disagree on gravel grinders... :banana:

[wildboar]

It has nothing to do with whether or not the toast tasted good, labeling it "artisanal" is the problem. Some things are just so cute you want to punch them.

Always loved this Portlandia scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9EyGxejt6E

[hida yanra]

We'll have to agree to disagree on gravel grinders... :banana:

eh, plenty of people disagree with me on lots of topics.
http://i.imgur.com/OrgFkCk.jpg

[Netdewt]

Always loved this Portlandia scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9EyGxejt6E

And The Knot Store:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm7jp5A9Vks

[Netdewt]

$8 toast is to 0.80 toast in the same ratio that a $700 bicycle is to a $7000 bicycle.
Both are objects which act both in utility and enjoyment.

I see your point, but the toast doesn't work for me. I find it hilarious.

Toast is good in part because of the lack of craft involved.

Yes!

[shovelhd]

Recently we stayed in a hotel in Koreatown in NYC. Across the street was an "artisanal wine bar". What makes wine artisanal? I don't drink it so I wouldn't know.

[Louis]

Time for someone to trot out the ol' "we of all people (Paceline forumites, that is) should be the last ones to complain about artisanal anything."

[hida yanra]

Time for someone to trot out the ol' "we of all people (Paceline forumites, that is) should be the last ones to complain about artisanal anything."

were you to read my posts, you might find some undertones of that opinion...

[Louis]

Agreed. But someone had to trot out that old chestnut directly. ;)

[hida yanra]

ah- I see.
thanks for the head's-up, I'll be less discrete in the future... wanting to get the point across and such.

http://www.vegmomos.com/php/uploads/2014/02/23904_294544043990395_452428500_n.jpg

[cfox]

Recently we stayed in a hotel in Koreatown in NYC. Across the street was an "artisanal wine bar". What makes wine artisanal? I don't drink it so I wouldn't know.

Wine is something that actually can be artisanal. By that, I mean its quality can be greatly enhanced by small production and careful hand production (careful grape growing, grape selection, yeast strain, barrel choice....it goes on). Toast, which is a food that can be made by a 3 yr old, doesn't really qualify.

[brockd15]

And then there's artisanal pencil sharpening, http://www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com/

$40 for a pro sharpening job...oh boy.

[Louis]

these extra-sharp pencils make wonderful gifts

You know, I tried them, but the super-sharp points kept breaking after only a word or two, and I had to keep sending them back to be resharpened. Must have spent $50 just on postage.

More seriously, back in college a mechanical pencil was the only way to do homework. I used to use Pentels:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jS8-GQOKSE8/Tdcgn4IPDiI/AAAAAAAAGQE/esLHYUXSzQY/s640/schneider+id+and+pentel+mechanical+pencils.JPG

[jh_on_the_cape]

That is hilarious. In some cases people have more money than sense.

[Birddog]

My first thought was this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6···NE4z6a8

[djg]

Is it locally sourced?

[jh_on_the_cape]

Is it locally sourced?

Farm to table. Farmers Market. Ancient grains. Fair trade organic Kamut.

I am food snob, but have my limits.

[djg]

Farm to table. Farmers Market. Ancient grains. Fair trade organic Kamut.

I am food snob, but have my limits.

Me too. It's the point immediately beyond my own craziness that's truly crazy.