About

I was first introduced to the title “foodie” by some friends of mine from the Bay Area.  They assembled a small group of friends who were bound together by, of all things, sportscar racing.  Yes, a bunch of grease monkey types who liked to hang out with their cars on pavement for days at a time all got together for a weekend of tasting and enjoying wonderful food.  We spent a weekend together, dining all over Southern California a few years back, grabbing brunch on Melrose at Blue Jam Cafe, beers and burgers at Father’s Office in Century City, an ice-cream cookie sandwich at Diddy Riese, Churrascaria at M Gril in Koreatown, and bottomless mimosas with ecclectic art and Japanese pop culture at Royal/T in Culver City.  All over the place in just over 30 hours… yet, all right in my backyard of Southern California.

A lot of people hear the term foodie and immediately equate snobbery.  In fact, in my time moderating a foodie group, there have been quite a few who have attacked whenever a fast food meal is mentioned.  “A real foodie would never eat that crap.”

To that I say, “Bullshit.”  Everyone has guilty pleasures, and now and then you have to indulge in an otherwise awful meal to truly appreciate greatness.

You don’t have to dine at four star restaurants exclusively to be a foodie. You don’t have to ever dine out even, but of course personal chefs are not a requirement either.  You don’t have to grow your own organic kale in your backyard to be a foodie.  You don’t to grind your own coffee beans, or even make sure that they’re fair trade certified.  You don’t have to cook every meal at home to gourmet standards, sometimes we all need a helping of blue box macaroni and cheese.

Being a foodie is about taking time to appreciate what you’re eating, and probably more importantly who you’re eating it with.  Being a foodie is appreciating that someone has taken time to prepare the meal which you’re about to eat, and often times has done it not because it’s a job, but because it is a passion.  Being a foodie is about shared experiences with a meal, both good and bad.  Most importantly, being a foodie is about being inspired by what you eat; so much so that you you simply have to share it with someone else in the hopes that they are inspired too.

I started SCVFoodies to share what inspires me with you, and hope that it inspires you to try new things, rekindle old traditions, make memories with friends and family, and most importantly, taste the love that goes into every meal.  Welcome.  I hope that you’ll stay and enjoy, and share with us as you find your inspiration.

I bid you good eating, and I bid you peace,

-Todd R. Wilson

Publisher and Editor-In-Chief