Food is personal. It’s nostalgia, comfort, culture, and sometimes just pure convenience all wrapped up on a plate. We all have our preferences, whether informed by our childhood, our geography, or the unfortunate late-night craving that only one thing will satisfy. And there’s nothing inherently bad about liking what you like. But of course, all favorites aren’t created equal. Some betray a spirit of curiosity, risk-taking, and culinary adventure. Others just sort of quietly whisper, “I order the same thing every time.” If your go-to favorite food falls into the latter camp, you might, just might, be a little basic.
This isn’t an attack! I’ll grant you that there’s a reason the foods on this list are so popular; they’re easy, familiar, and oh-so comforting. But that popularity can be the death of originality. To prove it, we’re taking a look at three of the most common go-to “favorite foods” of all time and how they got their reputation as the culinary equivalent of a security blanket.
P is for Pizza
Pizza is the Michael Bay of answers. You can ask someone their favorite food nine times out of ten, and pizza is sure to show up. It’s the Guy Fieri of food: instantly recognizable, hard to hate, and too broad to offend. Cheese? Sauce? Bread? How can you not please the masses with such simplistic checks.
Pizza needs no backstory. It requires no bravery. You can love pizza and feel no need to explain yourself or advocate for it or overthink it. It’s there for birthdays and breakups and late-night cram sessions and office celebrations and those nights when the fridge looks barren and making an actual meal is the most impossible task on Earth. Even those “edgy” pizzas with buffalo chicken and barbecue sauce and the great pineapple debate are still living comfortably in their carb-and-cheese utopia.
Basic Ole Burgers
Burgers rank a hair above pizza in terms of originality, but only because they can be interesting if you let them be. Fundamentally, however, they are still a known quantity: meat, bun, cheese, repeat. Claiming burgers as your favorite food is akin to stating that you like movies. Fine. But what ones? And why?
The good news is that burgers allow for personality. Toppings are important. A cheeseburger with ketchup only is as generic as it gets, but pile on caramelized onions, fried eggs, sriracha mayo, pickled jalapeños, some wild cheese or other, and all of a sudden you’re making a statement about yourself. You are making a decision.
The bad news is that most people do not take it that far. They live in a safe zone, and will laud burgers for being simple rather than exciting. If burgers come at the top of your list, then you are in pedestrian territory, but at least you are on the edge, looking out.
The Most Boring Potato
Deep-fried potatoes are undeniably tasty. They’re crunchy, salty, and designed to be addictive. They’re also ubiquitous. Fast food joints, diners, gastropubs, freezer aisles at home, fries take no effort, no forethought, no imagination. Opting for them as your favorite potato dish is the culinary equivalent of taking the elevator one floor.
It’s when fries are your favorite food, period, that things get really basic. At the very least, jazz up the dip. Ketchup alone is never going to help you. Garlic aioli, curry sauce, malt vinegar, chili crisp, or something that at least implies a modicum of thought went into it are all better choices.
Ultimately, liking basic foods isn’t a crime. But if your go-to favorites never challenge you, surprise you, or make you stop and think twice, maybe it’s time to get a little more adventurous. After all, comfort is great, but curiosity tastes better.
