The Official Launch of Foodie Har! Har!

You’ve heard of fast food and slow food, even underground food, but what about fun food? I first stumbled upon this illusive form in New York while on a business trip much like any other and I must admit that it left me hungering for more. Ultimately, it became the inspiration for this blog: Foodie Har! Har! – A Light-Hearted Look at the World of Haute Cuisine, whose goal is to seek out and experience fun food the world over.

My first encounter with fun food was at Aquavit, a Scandinavian restaurant known for its infused vodka drinks, or aquavits. At the time I was in the municipal bond business traveling with a group of public officials to rate their bonds on Wall Street. To make the meetings more palatable, so to speak, our trips always included a dinner at a top restaurant, preferably with a Zagat food rating over 25 and a month-long waiting list.

For our large party, we were required to order the tasting menu, which paired each course with a complementary aquavit or other alcoholic drink. This would have been a winner, except that the food portions were extremely small and the beverages inversely generous. Within minutes, as everyone became soused, a group of loosely-associated business colleagues turned into what sounded like a fraternity party after emptying the third keg.

The first course was the soup, which consisted of two tablespoons of puree served in a large white bowl more appropriate as a serving dish for a family of four. While we were furiously trying to scoop up every last drop, someone in the group yelled out, "Does anyone have a squeegee?" This set the tone for the evening. Soon the lamb chop was renamed the "lamb chip", and the quarter-sized dessert chased by our fifth aquavit started a chorus of recommendations for where to get a good hamburger after dinner. I’ve forgotten most of the jokes and witty banter, but I do recall the laughter. You could have taped the evening for later use as a comedy laugh track.

I just had to ask myself, could food and dining be this amusing elsewhere?’ Together with another diner that fateful evening, we became The Outcasts and officially launched Foodie Har! Har! to investigate this hypothesis and let others in on the joke. The Outcasts love good food, and we will tell you straight when the food is to our liking, but we will also find every opportunity to lighten up the experience. Our hope is that restaurant owners and patrons alike will join in the hilarity. Who knows, the idea of fun food could take dining to a whole new level.


The Outcasts