Lucky Peach, Gender Issue Part 1

Okay, so here is the deal.  Lucky Peach has always meant a lot to me, and not in the least because I was turned on to it by my sweet little sister.  And now, my sweet little sister, playing to stereotype as the easily offended gay woman, has gotten her little tail-feathers in a ruffle and I must defend the Lucky Peach.  It is too emblematic of our friendship to be dismissed so easily...

So what I'm doing is reading each article, and letting you know what you just can't miss.  A lot of it is silly, kinda shoe-horned in to fit the theme, but some of it is cool and so far, none of it has been offensive in the slightest.

Do I think the concept on the whole was kind of dumb?  Yes, of course.  But I think they just got the idea for the cover and went for it.  And as far as you not wanting to see naked men or whatever, please remember that 90% of the population is totally at peace with encountering both sets of equipment throughout our lives.  So lets not be homocentric, my darlin' dear...  :-)

I started with the male side (because I am a chauvinist, of course)

1) The Ten Manliest Meals In America- Tony Bourdain writes an essay about the futility of discovering the 'Manliest' food in the country.  Cute, but skippable.  Interestingly, it sort of makes the point that gender-fueled food journalism is silly by definition.  An intriguing way to start a collection of gender fueled journalism...

2)Dad #1- A long, boring piece on how an Australian chef is able to balance home life and work.  Dullsville.  Don't read this one, not because its offensive, but because you could be reading something engaging instead.

3)America, Your Food is So Gay- A fun little essay about how American cuisine was shaped by 3 gay food writers, Craig Clairborne, James Beard, and Richard Olney.  Read this, and then consider reading some of those guys' works.  Clairborne's stuff is kind of dated, a lot of New York Times cookbooks, not a lot of soul.  However, Richard Olney's stuff is great in that it shows real attitude about the French country gastronomic way of life, kind of like Elizabeth David, who you should also check out.  And James Beard's American Cuisine is THE definitive work on the subject, from the era of the founding fathers up until the gastronomic revolution of the 1970's.

4) In Bloom- A piece about cooking with flowers (which is on the male side because flowers are plant penises...I think).  Interesting.  Nothing earth-shattering about flowers, but they do touch on some cool techniques in practice.  Worth reading, if only to drive home the point that flowers don't taste like much, and require flavorful dishes behind them to highlight them.

5) Wow, this Guy Can Really Cook-  A kind of pointless essay on how John Ritter's character on Three's Company helped push the image of the male chef in America.  I'm too young to remember Three's Company, so I can't imagine you'd get much out of it, plus you and I have grown up in an era where male chefs are the norm.  A historical footnote, nothing more.

6)Horseradish: A Gentleman's Condiment- Fluff piece about a guy that makes handmade horseradish at a market stall.  Inspirational in a do-it-your-self kinda way, but hardly fits the theme.  Good pictures.

7)Deliverance- A collection of interviews with Chinese food deliverers.  Nothing unexpected here.  Just tales of bad tippers, low wages, and long hours.  I was expecting something crazier.  Kinda boring.

8)Hieronymous Beef a la Orange, Christmas Pudding, and the Supernatural Food of Bachelor Mountain Ascents- A trippy piece about mountain climbing.  I don't know why this went on the male side.  Im sure there are female climbers, too, and their camp cooking is just as rough.  The recipes were kind of fun.  Recipes for orange beef and christmas pudding using only trail supplies...  If that grabs you, check it out.

AAAAAAAAAaaaaand, thats as far as I've gotten.  Let me know if you read any of these, and I will post again in a couple of days.