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Assorted links
1. New blog: How Books Got Their Titles; the guy's other blog is even better.
2. Via Chug, bailout art.
3. Interview with Perry Mehrling and Arnold Kling comments.
4. In defense of The Cheesecake Factory (p.s. I don't believe it).
5. The future of cultural signaling.
6. Michael Martin on CYOE and Hayek's Sensory Order.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on July 14, 2009 at 11:44 AM in Web/Tech | Permalink
Comments
Tyler,
On the Cheesecake Factory article, you said you "don't believe it." There are a number of claims in the article. You don't believe what? You didn't say.
David
Posted by: David R. Henderson at Jul 14, 2009 12:03:01 PM
Wow, that CF post is the first thing Ezra Klein's written that I thought was actually good and sensible. Cf Ruhlman's commentariat, who seem to embody the worst stereotypes of foodies.
Posted by: Tom at Jul 14, 2009 12:38:25 PM
Probably the first time Ezra Klein has written something sensible, and now you don't believe him???
Posted by: Franklin Harris at Jul 14, 2009 12:55:54 PM
My guess is that Tyler doesn't believe the Cheesecake Factory makes good food, and foodie wisdom about chains is more or less correct. If so, he is right.
Posted by: Zac Gochenour at Jul 14, 2009 1:11:15 PM
When I listen to foodies dissing chain restaurants, I remember Tom Lehrer talking about Rock 'n' Roll "and other children's records."
Posted by: Phil at Jul 14, 2009 1:14:19 PM
So, when is a Foodies franchise coming to a town near me?
Posted by: Andrew at Jul 14, 2009 1:19:06 PM
The Cheesecake Factory is quite good (particularly their cheesecakes). Other (major) chains that I think are good include Red Robin, IHOP, Denny's, and TGI Friday's. Of course in all cases you have to know what to order. Not everything they have is good.
Posted by: Andy at Jul 14, 2009 1:20:09 PM
I'm shocked that the man who wrote 150 words explaining that the only reason he would ever go into a Dunkin Donuts doesn't like the Cheesecake Factory.
Posted by: Careless at Jul 14, 2009 1:25:54 PM
I'm shocked that the man who wrote 150 words explaining that the only reason he would ever go into a Dunkin Donuts is to ask directions [should have been in my last post] doesn't like the Cheesecake Factory.
Posted by: Careless at Jul 14, 2009 1:26:31 PM
Cheesecake Factory straight up tastes good, all other considerations aside. And I love their cocktails.
Posted by: Ray at Jul 14, 2009 1:31:28 PM
The only reason I'd go into a Dunkin Donuts is if there's no Tim Hortons within ten miles. :)
Posted by: Phil at Jul 14, 2009 1:38:53 PM
Foodies and movie critics are all the same. They think their sophisticated tastes/senses know better than the average person. Fortunately, people vote with their dollars and prove them wrong all the time.
Posted by: Wayne at Jul 14, 2009 1:47:17 PM
I've never been in a CF but every time I drive by one the parking lot is packed. They must be doing something right. I think the foodies should lighten up (no pun intended). As Mark Bittman and other food writers mention, eating a well balanced diet does not mean that you have to give up the occasional burger and fries. Eating at CF a few times a year won't kill you.
Posted by: Aaron Aardvark at Jul 14, 2009 1:58:34 PM
I have such immense pride in myself for never eating at Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang's, or any of those other restaurants I would lump in together as "aspirational dining" - was it simply a coincidence that these types of places exploded in popularity at the same time that consumer debt exploded? I think not.
Posted by: AJ at Jul 14, 2009 2:12:46 PM
add "foodie" to the list of words that make me wince
Posted by: Doug at Jul 14, 2009 2:16:52 PM
Yes, AJ, fine dining must be limited to the aristocracy. The peasants should remain pleased with their nutritious gruel, and never aspire to the experience of we elites.
Posted by: Brian at Jul 14, 2009 2:17:37 PM
"Foodies and movie critics are all the same. They think their sophisticated tastes/senses know better than the average person. Fortunately, people vote with their dollars and prove them wrong all the time."
This is a current discussion between me and my friends. I'm a big Micheal Mann fan and I claim that Public Enemies is an objectively better movie than Transformers II. My friend claims it is all opinion. I cite the RotteTomatoes critics (65 vs 19) and he cites the community (69 vs 68). It's all opinion, says he. I point out that Micheal Bay spent $300M versus $80M for Micheal Mann to achieve the same approval amongst the non-experts.
I also contend that a measure of quality is that I can predict future MM movie will be better than MB movies on average. Also, 10 years from now, Public Enemies will be reviewed more favorably than Transformers.
When looking at movies, any friend can likely choose between the two, and though muddled by opinion, I predict that my friends appreciate quality and will prefer it on average and I can identify and point them to it. The difference with foodies, in my view, is that they complain about alternatives that don't exist.
Posted by: Andrew at Jul 14, 2009 2:32:15 PM
Cult of authenticity, where rules of thumb apparently become unbending laws of nature. IIRC Houston's in pretty good American food chain.
Posted by: josh at Jul 14, 2009 2:34:43 PM
"I have such immense pride in myself for never eating at Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang's, or any of those other restaurants I would lump in together as "aspirational dining""
Setting the bar pretty low for yourself there, eh?
Posted by: Tom at Jul 14, 2009 3:29:18 PM
"Study after study shows we wildly underestimate caloric load of our foods, and we underestimate by more as the meal becomes larger."
Who cares? 'Estimating the caloric load of our foods' is best done by appetite mechanisms, not toting up numbers on food labels. If you want to be slimmer, you need to convince your body that you live in an environment where lean muscle mass is important and where you can't afford to be carrying around excess weight that slows you down. How do you convince your body? Regular vigorous exercise...get off your ass. If you do that and order a 2,000 calorie meal at Cheesecake Factory, you'll eat half of it, feel full, and take the leftovers home.
Posted by: Slocum at Jul 14, 2009 3:59:39 PM
Chain restaurants are declasse, so you pretty much have to hate them, pretend to hate them, or pretend to be especially ashamed about liking them if you want to find social acceptance in the upper-middle-class or above. It is socially acceptable to eat food of the lower classes if it is "ethnic food", because there is no chance of an upper class white person being mistaken for a poor immigrant from Asia or Africa... but the fear of being thought of as "white trash" or a "red state suburbanite" is too strong for any of the upper classes to be caught dead slumming it in a chain restaurant.
The whole manufactured arguments of "evil-corporations" and "its bad for the environment" serve the social function of making our sneering attitude toward the lower classes politically correct. It allows us to hate the plebes, and feel good about it!
Posted by: Vehical Driver at Jul 14, 2009 4:12:58 PM
Cheesecake Factory is way better than a lot of really crappy chain restaurants (Applebee's comes to mind as a place with surprisingly bad food - maybe not a fair comparison since they are aiming a little lower). As for the calories I have to think it's at least partly due to portion size - I recall not being able to finish a full-size chicken caesar salad there, and I'm a pretty big eater.
As for Tyler not liking it - well duh. It's neither small and authentic enough to serve for purposes of countersignaling and/or appreciation of the authentic, nor fancy enough to serve as a signal of actual highbrow taste.
Posted by: bbartlog at Jul 14, 2009 5:35:51 PM
Tyler doesn't believe Ezra Klein.
Posted by: Andrew at Jul 14, 2009 6:00:16 PM
I haven't tried any of the CF dishes Ezra listed, but their pad thai was awful. The time I tried it, it was bland and the noodles were more like spaghetti than anything else.
"Chain restaurants are declasse, so you pretty much have to hate them, pretend to hate them, or pretend to be especially ashamed about liking them if you want to find social acceptance in the upper-middle-class or above."
This just ain't true. I grew up in the upper middle class and we spent plenty of time at the Cheesecake Factory and my mom's a huge PF Chang's fan. We weren't unusual at all in going there.
"As for Tyler not liking it - well duh. It's neither small and authentic enough to serve for purposes of countersignaling and/or appreciation of the authentic, nor fancy enough to serve as a signal of actual highbrow taste."
Are you trying to imply that any preference OTHER than large chain restaurants is just signaling? That's ridiculous. I'm pretty snobbish about my food, but I do love a Wendy's burger and a Coke and most other foody types I know like plenty of chain food. If I exercised enough that it wouldn't make me obese, I'd mix in plenty of junky mass-market food with my truffled cheeses and natto. I'm sure Tyler's the same way.
But a clever, _truly_ sophisticated person like you sees right through it all! That's a powerful signal of your intellectual superiority.
Posted by: Greasy Peter at Jul 14, 2009 9:33:42 PM
No, I'm saying that Tyler wouldn't admit to liking a large chain restaurant. I like plenty of places of all types. But then I'm easy to please.
Posted by: bbartlog at Jul 14, 2009 9:41:25 PM
