When I read the UVa article about the summer class named “The Sociology of Food and Eating,” I was sure that I missed one of the coolest college classes. I never got the chance to study food like these college kids. Tara’s approach to food was exciting not only because it was a college class, but also because, as she explained, “taste and preferences are socially shaped. They are not as individual as people think.”
In case you’ve been living under a rock, that’s what cVillain food reviews are about: individual opinion, but critiqued by the masses. We recognize that our writers’ tastes are far from perfect, but Tara sheds some light on another level of food. She studies how preferences and traditions shape our interaction with food. If you see Tara out, make sure you buy her a drink and then ask her to analyze your drinking (kidding!).
It’s a pretty interesting interview where we get into some gender issues, her favorite meals, and of course, address the “culture of food.”
Tara, can you tell us how you got into studying the culture of food? And, what exactly is the culture of food?
The sociology of food and eating focuses on the social, as opposed to the individual, aspects of eating. The field emphasizes the idea that what we like to eat, with whom we eat, how we eat, where we eat, and how often we eat are all socially and culturally influenced. The foods that we like and dislike are not the result of individual tastes and preferences. Rather, our tastes and preferences are socially produced. So, many sociologists would disagree with the expression, “There’s no accounting for taste.” For example, sociologists would focus on how an individual’s race, class, and gender greatly influences their taste, not just in food, but also in music, art, movies, etc.
I initially became interested in studying food when I was taking a sociology of the family course with professor Steven Nock, who passed away this year. A demographer at heart, he mentioned the family meal, and said that if we knew how often people ate together; we might know a lot of other things about them. That statement sort of sparked my interest and I wrote on the topic for my Master’s Thesis in May 2007. It is no longer my main focus of study, but it is still something in which I am interested.
How can you objectively study the culture of food? Aren’t you someone who creates and reinforces that culture?
I think that total objectivity is impossible, and it is not necessary. All researchers have some sort of an agenda – the important thing is to be up front about it. As a feminist studying the family meal, I am simultaneously aware of the benefits of families eating together (i.e., quality time together, increased happiness, etc.) and the burden that women bear as caregivers (i.e., planning, preparing, and cleaning up after meals). This burden comes with many negative effects for women, affecting their careers as well as their emotional and mental health. It is impossible to remain outside of social influences, so social scientists do the best they can and present their data honestly and openly so that readers can come to their own decisions about their findings.
What is Charlottesville’s food culture? How does that culture compare with the food meccas (NYC, Paris, etc)?
For such a small city, Charlottesville has a great restaurant scene. It is possible to eat great French, Ethiopian, Chinese, Mediterranean, and Mexican cuisine (to name but a few), illustrating that we live in a globalizing world. My mother and grandmother moved to Buffalo, NY from Dublin, Ireland in 1978 and were thrilled to go to Foods of All Nations because they were able to buy food items from their childhood that they usually cannot find in where they live.
What’s the most absurd socially influenced food culture you’ve seen?
This is a difficult question to answer. What I would consider absurd is normal to someone else. I do, however, think that some food practices in America are fairly absurd. Take for example, fast food and food on the go. All of the sudden we need to be constantly moving while we are eating and we do not have time to sit and eat. Compared to much of the world that is pretty unusual!
Why are women in the kitchen more than men?
The answer to this question involves a look at historical and social factors and is difficult to answer in a few short sentences. With industrialization, men left the home to work, and women stayed home to cook and look after children. There was nothing natural about this decision; rather it was a reflection of society’s perception of women at the time – not as good as men, unable to handle to workforce, and as caregivers. When women began entering the workforce, however, they were still expected to continue to do the work they had done before they went to work. This has led to what one sociologist calls “the second shift”. In other words, women get home from work and then perform a second shift of housework, often done in the kitchen. This trend is changing, as men continue to increase the amounts of housework they do, and women continue to decrease the amount they do. Actually cooking is one task that men and women are beginning to share almost equally.
What’s your favorite meal(s) in Charlottesville?
My favorite meal in Charlottesville is anything at Baja Bean on the corner. That restaurant is fun, inexpensive, and delicious. In my opinion, Baja Bean is the best restaurant on the corner.
Related posts:
- Casella’s Italian Replaced by Tara Thai?!
- Charlottesville’s Food and Wine Experience Postponed
- Summary of Washington Post Food Article About Charlottesville
I love Tara Tober, she was one of my T.A.’s first year for a soc class called Contemporary Social Problems and she kicks ass…prob my favorite TA of all time. Also, she hates (or seemed to hate) all snooty rich UVA kids. There was this one blatently racist, uber-republican (and a ginger) kid in our class and she put him in his place every single class, it was great. BUT, she gets definite minus points for saying Baja Bean is good food; however, this is only because she works/worked there.
She sounds smart and I have a lot of the same beliefs as she does–but BAJA? RUFKM?
“taste and preferences are socially shaped. They are not as individual as people think.”
where are we supposed to get great ethiopian cuisine now?
isn’t mesob the local Ethiopian place? is it any good?
Where’d Mesob go? I loved that stuff.
as i said 4 months ago, mesob moved out, just curry moved in. mesob was looking for another location but doesn’t seem to have found one.
Lately, because of a few certain people, I’ve been obsessed with the nachos from South Street. I hate to admit this, but Wild Wing has rather good nachos in my opinion as well
sounds like a fun class. i think everything we do is shaped by society. but who defines what society is? i would define my food society as my family, current friends, and food experiences in other countries over the years. i think its harder to distinguish where the society part ends and the personal begins.
It’s definitely about environment as well. I grew up in a single Dad household as a latchkey kid feeding myself Chef Boyardee and Kid Cuisine TV dinners. Came to C-ville and started working in nice restaurants for years until I finally knew a little something about food. I sit down alone to dinner on with no family but at least I’m eating good stuff.
@10, I agree. My family ate out at shitty places every night for dinner, so I preferred to stay at home and eat hot pockets and tv dinners. However, I think my friends are the people that greatly influenced my eating tastes. I would have never discovered great places like Mas, Milan, or sushi in general if it wasn’t for then. If I listened to my parents, I’d think Chili’s was ‘fine dining’.
Yeah, I wonder how many people have crappy diets because they simply were raised by working parents who did the best they could and weren’t gourmet chefs.It’s not the parents’ faults but it results in many Americans growing up not knowing shit about food and used to eating crap.
@12 you can’t blame that sort of thing entirely on your environment. you grow up, you read magazines, newspapers, aol, candy bar wrappers… if you’re not retarded, you should be able to figure out what’s good for you & what isn’t.
Baja Bean is the best restaurant on the corner.
Isn’t that like being valedictorian of summer school?
@14 Nice
I still like the White Spot or Little John’s more but that’s usually after a few drinks
donuts make my brown eyes blue.
how cool that such a class exists, no joke
(and who was i to suggest that UVA is an unrigorous and nonacademic Instiutution of Higher Learning offering fluff courses?).
wonderfully thoughtful interview: lurkers-eat-crow, and a lovely charming spokesperson for a Kinder Elegance of Food, again no joke.
how did i miss the ethiopian place?–wow. could we make sure there’s a restaurant review when they open back up? do we have afghanistani anywhere—they usually have a veggie yogurt-tomato-potatoes, astounding. and does anyone go to SAIGON, Viet-food, as much as i do–lemongrass chicken, yummy.
as an aside, and health-food related—as you’ve probably guessed i’m a body builder along the lines of arnold schwarzeneggar (i’d HAVE to be, in order to be as much of a provoking arse-hole as i am here) with abs like matthew mcconaheeeeee. i live on Whey Protein shakes. this kindof ties in with her fast-food claims, and goes against the joy-of-food stuff she celebrates and commends to us from the european mode. also, no doubt, against good-eating habits.
anyone recommend a high-protein alternative to this that will bring me more in line? is there a soy alternative that would at least be healthier, or a slightly more elegant way of getting 7-bazillion mgs of protein in one sitting with simple real/raw DINING rather than staring into a Waring Blender and soaking my shirt-front in the Rocky Balboa manner?
lurkers-eat-crow
just because we are not as loquacious with our keyboards, doesn’t mean we won’t take it to you. i can throw bread crumbs on my keyboard and let pigeons help me hear the sound of typing, but that brings me no comfort. what does that sound do for you?
so. said.
@17: You can eat cottage cheese. tofu, edamame, and nuts. Lotsa protein.
“And, as a follow up, what is it about you women creatures that has you all wearing skirts and, like, lipsticks and junk? Like, biological, right? Oh, also: does it look hott when I flex my muscle? Just curious.”
/Thor for the win(ner in the stupid question competition)
@18
hunh? whatcha mean?
i was saying that in response to a helluva lot of criticism about lame and insubstantial posts, this interview above is excellent and with a really neat and informative subject, and should give the site a little more substance and thus satisfy the lurkers.
sheesh.
@20 – but d00d, that question was obviously tongue in cheek and open ended for someone who wrote her thesis on it.
/spends more time in kitchen than most women he knows.
//BIOLOGICAL THIS
relax otterdung, you are the regular around here, i am just an interloper. besides, you have shennanigans on your side, and her approval would seem to be some sort of cvillain currency to the outside observer. you are a rich man, so to speak.
i have been reading way longer than posting. best show on television at times. at other times, well…
spends more time
in kitchenhorking space bags than most women he knowsThorby: it’s cool. I fixed your broken words to make them true again.
@23: You should send me a package
@23
oops! sooooorrryyy!!!!! yesterday was really touchy, with a lot of people slamming the site and the posts.
i talk too much and am very much in ill-favour with most of the regulars, as you’ll see. and am myself a newcomer. so it’s all fair-game as far as i can tell.
@25
she’s asking, as i’ve heard hip-hop lyrics say, for something eight-point-five.
or very neatly trimmed.
either will do.
really.
am very much in ill-favour with most of the regulars
Is this more satire? It’s not true by any definition of “true” that I’m aware of. otterdung helps fill the silly gap when b-yo takes breaks.
/where is b-yo anyway?
You should send me a package
and why, pray tell, would i do that?
as you’ll see, i… am very much in ill-favour with most of the regulars
i have seen a lot and i have not seen that, but it seems you prefer a subordinate, persecuted and apologetic stance for whatever reason. like pubic hair, to each his own.
@28
you was on me yesterday like white on rice, beyotch.
kept waiting for a nice ‘thanks, but no thanks’ note from thor or Darren Hoyt.
i’ve been wondering myself what happened to B Yo—anyone know if he’s alright?
@29
i am not persecuted but am certainly subordinate.
I know I have been away a while but since when is Shen’s approval currency and we have more than one circle?
Do we now look like crop circles? (Insert amazing B yo photoshop pic here)
I don’t get it – inner circle?
Ekkk I was away too long!
@29: That was a joke
@31: Lurker delusions. Just nod and smile.
Got it.
That was a joke
my mistake for not understanding the context. still dont, but hey…
Lurker delusions. Just nod and smile.
Got it.
ah. so welcoming. i appreciate your openness.
so tell me, exactly how long does one have to post in order to be spared being eviscerated by the rapier wits of the in-crowd? i just want to mark my calendar is all.
Hmm I don’t see anyone being eviscerated, just a new commenter continuously referring to cliques and approval.
@ 35 fair enough, i’ll drop the topic. i know its all been said before anyway.
@36: So what do you think about food culture?
You should send me a package
I tried once, but you kneed me in said package…
So what do you think about food culture
some meals are harder than others to fit in the petri dishes.
It seems like MFK Fisher did a lot for the re-discovery of real food in America today, as did Fanny Farmer and Julia Childs (former CIA-operative, parachuted into occupied France) back in the day (even though we seem to mock them now). As Mark Kurlansky mentioned before, his books Salt/Cod/etc., food and culture, history of interplay of them. I guess novelle cuisine was the watershed, from French Laundry and so on, to Naked Chef and all the cool Food Network shows. i WISH Iron Chef would have more of an impact.
it’s amazing to see McDonald’s offering ‘apple slices’ on the menu, much as it was amazing when every fast-food place started having salads, and now redesigning their interiors to sortof look/feel ‘atmospheric’.
line from my fave film:
“the only reason the french take an hour for lunch is that the service in their restaurants is so lousy…”
No, the most awkward moment in food history was when BK offered “Apple Fries”. Fresh apples. Cut to look like French Fries. So your kids would eat apples. Because they look like French Fries. WTFFFFFFFFFFF!
What about when you turn the opposite way of how your parents raised you? My house was bereft of all things artificial or sugary… I remember asking for candy at a young age, and my mom told me to read the ingredients. If they included Red #40, I was SOL. Of course this led to me stuffing my face with the semi-sweet chocolate chips hiding in the back of the cabinet. Ugh.
Now, my siblings gorge themselves on steak-ums and the beginning of most conversations starts with them asking something like, “Have you tried the new Baconator??? Totally killer…”
Have you tried the new Baconator??? Totally killer…
well? have you?
No, the most awkward moment in food history was the Hardee’s Country Breakfast Burrito.
@42: My dad was a deer hunter. There were always deer parts laying around. He fed us Deerburger helper. There were leg bones sticking out of our azealas from the dogs walking around chewing on bones.
I am now a vegetarian.
@44:At least it looks like a burrito. They could have made it look like an apple.
@43, I’m scared of all that meat.
@45 We were kosher. If you ate a pig you’d die. Or at least burn in hell for eternity. Or maybe just be forgotten by God and life a lethargic, uninspired existence. God didn’t mind giraffes, tho. Those were on the “cool to eat” list.
@46: The fact that a product exists like Steak-umms has made me glad to be veg. People eat way too much low-quality meat.
Steak-um? Damn near killed ‘em.
@28, 30 he quit again.
Oh Hi, Lu Sid!
nice interview and interesting subject matter…I would enjoy talking to Tara about fish…I digested big macs when I was under 24…thoughts
haha you sound like a serial killer.
oh.
the devil will find work for idle hands to do.
hey do you guys wanna come over and hang out? i have pliers, jumper cables, knives, a basement… i mean i’m just sayin, its there. let me know!
sorry, that was off topic. sorry.
ooh, i love how this is going. I was raised in a decidedly non-gourmet household. My grandmother would not cook anything that lived in water, except oysters, which my grandfather loved – and then, only when breaded and fried. I worked in the food business for years, and was therefore exposed to lots of different things. I love just about anything except collards and anything that’s too sweet, and can only tolerate small amounts of meat, but LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to eat almost anything.
did your grandmother live on the water?
that’s another thing – region reflecting what you eat.
had one SO’s grandmother, who lived at the coast, catch wind that I LOVED shrimp… of course being raised kosher I’d only ever had the stuff from Red Lobster here in town. hey, it’s what I knew. so we drove an hour and a half to her favorite seafood place, complete with the boat right outside. when the shrimp arrived it was the teeny, tiny little baby kind, steamed and in a massive pile that closely resembled maggots.
yeah, that’s the last time I talked to anyone about food I knew nothing about.
no, she did not. she was born and raised on an inland farm.
Thor your mocking will not encourage my attendance
You have been hiding in a cave recently.
Yes, but the cave was full of wonders – it was hard to leave.
WHAT’S C-VILLE’S FOOD CULTURE?
@62 – Sorry.
cville’s food culture embodies a wealthy population that loves to go eat out, but the uniqueness of the food and the high end are lacking. you can find plenty of lower end and tasty places, but as soon as you venture into the $20+ entrees, you lose, because Charlottesville can’t compete with higher end places. We also have an infatuation with fake aioli ( see http://cvillain.com/2008/07/17/the-charlottesville-rant-of-anger-and-dispair/ )
Mas ironically embodies the pinnacle of cville dining, sadly, which shows how hungry we are for unique tastes (even when service is worse than the screaming at the end of the Heart of Darkness )
We also have no problem spending as much for our cocktails as major cities. Restaurants do poor jobs of reinventing menus and for me there is the “cafeteria fatigue” of eating out, but oh well.. who am i?
Nice summary Thor. Welcome back. You forgot to mention it’s trendy to eat local.
@63 mas is delicious, the service is fine. it’s just a different set-up than your average $20+/person restaurant so don’t expect them to dote on you. the staff is made up of very nice, intelligent people.
Yeah, I agree. The whole “Mas’ service sucks” is so 3 years ago.
Time to run a poll.
in general, when people whine about service, it’s because:
1) they aren’t any fun
2) they aren’t drinking enough
3) 1 + 2
exactly orchid. if you and your company can’t find anything else to focus on but bad service, then you should find new company. this is especially true for a tapas place.
This wouldn’t be the first time you complaint about the service at Mas. If you despise it so much, why do you keep going?
love the food not a good reason?
You love the food, so does half of Charlottesville; it’s not an easy job to serve tapas to all those people.
A challenge for ya: Next time you find yourself thinking you are getting bad service at Mas, turn to your server. If your server is sitting on his/her ass, then call it bad service. On the contrary, if you find your server sweating his/her ass off, running around then understand that your he/she is working as hard as possible to please you and everyone else. Also, a little nice on the part of the customer goes a long way with servers in busy places like that; on the flipside, a little douche goes a long way on the opposite direction
Wait, so if the restaurant is understaffed and servers give me lip, don’t talk to me when waiting, walk away from the table in the middle of service to go drink and slam food on the table, I should feel sorry for them?
It’s not everyday that you get bad service at Mas, but it does have that reputation. No one said it’s easy, but I’ll bet you and the other servers make a LOT more working there than most restauratns considering my average ticket is $35+ a person everytime i go there.
Other restaurants get busy too
/just saying
Not saying that other restaurants don’t get busy; just saying that he tapas concept makes it so that each table has more food to enter, more food to make, more food to run and clear than the avearge restaurant; making it more challenging for the server to engage in small talk with every table. Eating tapas is not meant to be a half hour engament, it’s supossed to be a social and paced experience for the patron and a fast paced job for the server; take it for what it is. I’m sorry that you have had bad experiences in the past, but perpetuating a stigma by quoting “the reputation” just because people have always equated Mas with bad service is unfair. As someone who was a regular for many years before working there, I can say that the staff has come a long way and that no one working there these days is naturally rude or snappy. I’m hoping that you can come in, give us a chance and start rebuilding your perception of us rather than hitting on the same old negative note
The worst thing that’s happened to me at Mas is somebody didn’t greet me when I came in the door and I had to stand there for a minute or so. Big deal. I got over it once I got some broccolini in my craw.
Yeah, I’ve had to wait awhile for tables, but what do you expect if you go to a busy resto during prime time. I usually go with people who are entertaining and we are talking too much to notice how long things are taking. The server always knows a good wine and is non-intrusive.
Thor, it sounds like you had a crappy experience, what with food slammed down on your table and that’s not cool. But did it happen more than once? Every server has an off night. Being in the weeds can really stress one out.
PS. A lot of times, servers are carrying HOT/HEAVY cast iron skillets and pots fresh out of the oven. Sorry that your server chose not to have her hand burned in order to make a soft landing
when i went there a couple of weeks ago, whipped cream guy kept complaining about the service. but you know what, he was the one who was sucking, demanding a wait time, asking for something that’s not on the menu, being obnoxious & stupid… if customers would just let servers do their jobs without being aholes, they could do better jobs.
i’ve never had a problem with the service at mas, not once.
agree about the great wine recs.
No shit! I used to hate when I was serving and I’d have hot plates burning my hands and I’d go to the table hoping to be able to put them down quickly but gently and the custy has their arms on the table or something else in the way and they’re all talking and ignoring me and I’m standing there burning my skin off hoping they’ll stfu and move so that I can put their plate down. And flamers, yes we carry napkins sometimes to put against the plate because it’s so hot but sometimes the chef is yelling and you just gotta grab a plate and go and it doesn’t feel hot at first but about halfway to the table you realize your skin is melting.
Sometimes being a helpful customer ensures better service!
i had a red wine at mas that was so good it stuck in my mind to this day. problem is, i cannot for the life of me remember its name. i keep going back and trying different wines hoping to find it, but i never do. im not even a big wine fan, but man i could be no that i know such wines exist.
One more anecdote in the “huzzah, Mas” column: I have had absolutely stellar service and food there every time—except one. We had a large party at brunch, and, long story short, things got pretty screwed up.
However, on that occasion, management was apprised of the situation by the server herself, and a significant portion of our food and drink was comped.
As I’ve suggested before, how an establishment handles a problem is far more insightful than the mere existence of the problem itself. And to bandy about a “reputation” as evidence of bad service is to locate yourself on I HAVE A WEAK ARGUMENT STREET. Tsk, tsk, Thor #346.
@78 to this day i have no feeling in my fingertips. thanks & ps elbows on the table is rude too.
one night i scalded my hand & forearm on an overflowing coffee machine (all because someone else wasn’t doing their sidework), so i was crippled, & i had a full arm already & they kept trying to hand me their (heavy!) plates (also rude) to my bob dole hand, & i had to keep yelling at them to put the plate DOWN.
/obviously got huge tips.
I have only good to say about food and service at Mas.
@82 Hey lady. Good to see you! We all know you love Mas b/c of 434, baby…
dear shen, you missed the exclamation point at the end of 434,baby!
434, baby is just not as fun as 434,baby! Thank you
Love,
434, baby!!
@84 434, baby!, you owe me some french toast. does zocalo even have brunch anymore?
@85: Yes I do. Zocalo stopped doing Saturday brunch but it’s still serving it on Sundays. Pick a Sunday!