I just got bitch-slapped on Craigslist...

So I've been writing this article about California cooking and decided to post on a Craigslist discussion board, asking any non-Californians for their perspective on the topic. "What fun!!" I thought. How was I to know?

This is what I wrote on the New York discussion board:

I'm a food writer in SF, writing a piece on California cooking and its impact on the American culinary landscape.

Was wondering if any of you New Yorkers could speak to the spread of "fresh and local"? Do you sense a return to backyard produce? Would you credit this to California cooking?

Thanks!!! With your permission, I'd love to quote those who respond! Just imagine your name in lights! (Or Times New Roman, as the case may be...)

So I slapped that together, posted, and waited with baited breath for someone to respond.

This is what I got:

The notion that the "Fresh Local" mantra started in California is plain wrong.

San Francisco is blessed with a special climate that allows a year 'round growing season, but that is climate, not a special enlightened consciousness at work.

It might be useful to think about the roots of California cuisine before you start to pontificate about how it has changed the American food scene. Look at the broader picture and you will see you are not all that special.

(BTW, why don't you actually go spend a couple of weeks in New York to see what teh food scene is really like, rather than ask people to pay acquiescence to your false preconceptions and misplaced sense of importance?)

Um, what???? I think my first response was a shocked gasp. My second was this:

Actually, I'm already detailing the various ways in which California's "fresh and local" emphasis is a regurgitation of ideals held by other communities, past and present.

Which is not to say that the recycling of such principles in restaurants like Chez Panisse and French Laundry has not had some interesting effects on the country's definition of gourmet, what people are demanding from grocery stores, etc.

And I've spent many a week in New York, but thought it might be interesting to pick the brain of a native. You bring up many a good point...it's too bad I seem to have offended your purpose. "Misplaced sense of importance"...my goodness!

To which he responded (and yeah, I'm getting a "he" vibe):

You say: ""Misplaced sense of importance"...my goodness!" Yes, sweetie, you have a profoundly misplaced sense of the importance of both the Chez and the Laundry.

Do you see Alice Waters ever having her kitchen in the Smithsonian? If so you are dreaming, my friend. She is a regional celebrity, not a national movement.

I could go on, but I suspect I could never shake you of your delusions that California cuisine appears much beyond the subscription radius of Sunset Magazine.

And that's where it ends. I was hoping to fashion a nasty response, but figured I might as well pour that "passion" into my article. Or whatever. But I think it's fair to say I've lost whatever innocence I had left. This guy clearly knew what he was talking about, and it's too bad he buried that underneath piles of condesenion. People are nasty and evidently don't like Californians. Or maybe just this Californian.

Watch out for that Craigslist. It harbors meanies...

(p.s. I hope you caught the symbolism of my color-coded dialogue. I worked really hard on that.)