The ‘quite nice’

Citius, altius, fortius reads the Olympic motto: faster, higher, stronger. When it comes to food and drink, smaller, better, tastier seems to be the modern mantra. Punters are increasingly keen on the artisan-made offerings of small producers – hand-crafted, small batches.

How and what we eat and drink is evolving as our palates and dining habits change. Look at craft beer. Many of us are happy to pay more for less, with the emphasis on quality over quantity. The upside is more choice, and some wonderful culinary creations. The downside is snobbery, and an insistence on gourmet items over everyday ones. If it’s true that we are what we eat, then sometimes what we are can be quite unpleasant.

Cafe chalkboards will proclaim that life’s too short to drink bad coffee, but that’s not always true. A baristamade flat white at a cafe on Sunday morning can be truly excellent. But a mug of instant coffee at smoko can be quite nice too – even very nice. Likewise, a hoppy draft IPA at a craft brewery is great. But a cheap can of lager at the rugby is also quite nice. The same goes for lowrack wine, bog-standard chocolate, and cheap and cheerful icecream. Nigella may not approve of the last two, but they’re quite nice really.

That gourmet slow-roasted lamb and kumara pie from an artisan baker is delicious. But a warm servo-bought steak and cheese on the run can hit the spot perfectly.

Not everything is top notch, premium quality, handcrafted or artisan made. And that’s fine. Sometimes the quite nice can be quite enough.