Old Apartment
Social Media, it only seemed yesterday when Generation Y’ers (circa 1977-1990; aka the kids who grew up on free 500 hour AOL disc recharge, Thundercats underpants and ABC’s TGIF evening line up of shows) were first exposed to the initial forms of social interaction on the internet.
My personal gateway into the internet was from an old website known as Community Connect (aka Asian Avenue.com) which I began my first drafts in blogging. Then came Xanga, LiveJournal for others, later MySpace, a bit of Blogger.com and finally Yelp.com.
Perhaps, it was destiny that night in January of 2007 when i was bored out of my mind in South Orange County, that I couldn’t escape this outlet of expression. One phone call to my cousin turned into a five-year commitment of food, drinks, loads of camaraderie, occasional acts of mischief and networking by the hundreds. It wasn’t the “in thing” so much until the last three years I’ve been involved in this “Foodie scene.” The words of chef, restaurant, review writing, critiquing and customer service never meant so much until all those elements collided on Yelp and other restaurant/hospitality related sites.
Now in 2011, you see the latest food trucks blazing off the assembly line (thanks to Kogi). Tweeting to you and your closest friends, “Dinner on wheels? Check out Din-din-a-go-go meals.” Food (or drink) porn (highly focused macro shots featuring the color, shape and size of said provocateur) uploaded faster than the latest amateur film in your favorite adult streaming service. Everywhere, everyone is all of a sudden fully submerged into life’s pleasures of food and drink, the next would be Michelin reviewer.
Whether it’s a steaming hot bowl of Vietnamese Pho or Sprinkles signature Red Velvet Cupcake, you can’t help but think, “Fuck, this is pretty delicious…I want some more, give it all to me!”
Who am I to complain? Without foodie driven avenues like Yelp, Chowhound and the numerous bloggers/editors/photo journalists who post content day in and out throughout this hedonistic crazed phenomenon, I would probably fade into the background and write something a bit more meaningful to society (Hume vs. Krishnamurti, round 1)… on second thought, maybe not.
During one of the biggest economic recessions of the United States, on one hand it is sad to see so much struggle, inflation and introversion that people reinforce in their daily lives; on the otherhand, innovation in entrepreneurship begins to bloom (Starry Kitchen), overnight social media celebrities turned successful (Epic Meal Time) and of course our beloved Celebrity Chefs (Top Chef and Iron Chef America).
You’re probably wondering by now what will I do about it? What’s the purpose of making a blog independent from Yelp to voice my minor opinion? It’s simple, the freedom to express (and write) beyond a 5000 character limit if I choose to, retain personal ownership on my body of work and share with you all what I believe is good food and drink. I don’t expect you all to agree with me but do take in consideration the perspective of my imperfect palate.
Like most people, I am not a formally trained Chef or had the privileged to try the most exquisite (and expensive) cuisines the world has to offer. However, I have tried much of the diverse melting pot in culinary cuisines California has to offer. Slowly but surely, I’m getting there; One bite, one glance and one post at a time. At the end of the day everyone has their own palate and experiences to reflect from, one being entirely different from the rest.
Welcome to my world, as the Foodoofus (pronounced Food Doofus). Considering we were all stupid about food once or remain in that state of mind.
Foodoofus 
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