On Snobbery

What is a snob?

 

The term carries negative connotations, but why is this so?

 

I humbly suggest that the term deserves a more favorable analysis. A snob is discerning. A snob will not suffer inferior quality. A snob looks with dismay as his respected colleagues describe the new, great thing they’ve consumed, knowing that they’ve become victims to rampant mediocrity.

 

A snob may, from time to time, drunkenly refuse to consume a bowl of ramen, refer to it as swill, and walk out of the restaurant. Purely hypothetically.

 

We find a snob distasteful because of the manner in which they convey their opinions, but we know implicitly that those opinions are almost certainly correct. Who seriously doubts that Patrick Bateman could sniff out quality cardstock.

 

I never ate package ramen. In college, when my best friend and roommate would cook Maruchan, I would all but gag from the foul, salty aroma. This disdain carried through until I moved to Washington D.C. between my second and third years of law school. A friend and coworker who had lived in DC previously took me to a ramen restaurant that he described as the best he’d ever eaten. Despite my misgivings, his passion and energy for the soup persuaded me to go.

 

The restaurant in question was Toki Underground and the experience changed my life. That first experience blossomed into countless more. I would fall in love there, build long-lasting friendships there, and, most importantly develop a palate for ramen that would broach no tomfoolery.

 

This snob is wary of the promises he makes, but here is what he can offer. The Ramen Snob will offer unvarnished, detailed opinions of ramen and its accoutrements with utter disregard for the opinions or preferences of others. These opinions will likely come with a fair helping of strained life analogies and dry humor.

 

Enjoy -

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TRS