More musings on food & drink

Rather than moderating and publishing 20 or more comments about chai and espresso, let me ramble on about it here.

I gather from looking it up that chai is nothing new in the world - just here (meaning this country, not Newburyport). It's like when sushi, another "yuppie" favorite, became popular.

It's also sort of like how, when I was in England a few years ago, Italian food was thought of as something only young urban professionals actually chose to eat.

"Lasagna? That's muck! Give me a roast and potatoes." - comment I imagine my uncle making when presented with Italian fare. Come to think about it, I believe it's a comment he did make when presented with Italian fare, by my mother.

Although technically not a "yuppie," being neither young nor urban (and only barely professional), I like my latte and I like my sushi.

I can live without chai, but only because most blends of tea upset my tummy. (Bil Silliker at Licorice & Sloe, though, advised me on this and led me to some teas I can drink with impunity.)

I would guess (making it sound like I came up with this theory) all these "novelties" enjoyed by us usurpers are the result of more people traveling more widely and liking the stuff they ate and drank in other countries.

By the way, I would be interested to know how many people here enjoyed the meal "fish and chips" say, oh, 40 years ago?*

And don't even get me started on shepherd's pie and mac and cheese being gourmet items. I grew up on a steady weekly diet of the former, my mother being English, and ewwww. It was something she made because we were NOT wealthy, as she herself had grown up on it because it was a dish made with scraps of leftover meat and potatoes.

And, my mother being still pretty Catholic when I was young, mac and cheese was a regular Friday dinner staple on our table.

I'm still waiting for bangers and mash to become popular in the U.S., by the way.

*According to Wikipedia, British "fish and chips" was introduced to America in 1970.