I’m a kind of snob, I admit it. For instance, I am a “concert snob” meaning, if I can’t sit in the “good seats” I don’t want to go. I do not enjoy watching a concert from the Jumbo Tron screen, out in the grass with all the pot-smokers and drunks. Call me crazy.
Another item that compels me to snobbery is cotton swabs. I will only use Q-Tips. I have tried various other brands, including generics, Q-Tips are the best and don’t bother trying to convince me otherwise.
I have some food snobbery I can admit to as well.
In my humble opinion (ok, not so humble or tactful) Best Foods (aka: Hellmann’s if you are on the East Coast) is THE ONLY prepared mayonnaise worth eating. I have tried to have an open mind, even tried convince myself that there is no difference between Best Foods and other name brands of mayonnaise, but it’s no use. I can’t stand to eat any other mayonnaise. And people…
…THIS IS NOT MAYONNAISE! It even says right on the label “dressing.” They don’t dare to call it mayonnaise, you shouldn’t either. Please stop it, it makes me violent.
I’m not quite as passionate about Dijon mustard as I am about mayonnaise however, I do have a special taste for Maille Dijon Originale. Compared to that other brand, it just tastes… richer to me, aged almost. I use it for my vinaigrette, sandwiches, you name it. It is divine on ham. And most grocery stores carry it so it’s convenient as well.
As if I’m not pretentious enough already, I am equally picky about my “other” kinds of mustard. When I eat a hot dog I MUST have Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard. Not some generic, knock-off ball park mustard, it’s gotta be Gulden’s baby! It has the perfect balance of salty brine & pucker with the barest touch of sweet. If you serve my hot dog with plain old yellow mustard, I will smile and thank you graciously. But inside I will be lamenting that I can’t have my Gulden’s.
If I can’t have Gulden’s then a close 2nd would be Jack Daniel’s mustard. I wouldn’t cry if you served me that.
I know you can buy more expensive, boutique licorice that is in fact delicious but Red Vines are the greatest grocery store licorice, red or black. I especially like them at a baseball game and have eaten at least my own weight in them over the thousand of baseball games I have sat through. For an even bigger treat, get the Red Vines Jumbo Red Twists. They are softer, chewier and just… perfect.
Those are just a few of my name-brand-must-haves, I know there are more.
I’m not high maintenance, really.
