Top 5 (Review)
Where would the thought of pop culture be without a consideration of food and its influence on how we live? Atlas Media and Food Network consider the subject in a breezy, entirely satisfying new series, Top 5. Upbeat and savvy, the show looks at popular foods and meditates (in a fast-paced way) on their importance in our collective lives.
The premiere episode looks at the top five food fads of the 1960’s — a delicious idea in itself. First up in the parade of fave foods of the 1960’s is flambe, where anything and everything could be set on fire in the right pan. Presentation is the key here: flambe simply looks dramatic, and that was the objective. Also in hand is a look back at the ’60s craze of Beef Wellington. We get its history as well as its significance to the times.
More fun even is a look back at soul food (its importance to the decade speaks for itself) and then at the drink we all remember: Tang. It defined the times: easy, quick and manufactured. The top place in this food-culture countdown, however, goes to fondue, a fun get-together sort of food (and/or process) that brought people together to have a good time.
The mix of old footage with interviews and a delicious text makes for a winning view of food as cultural indicator in the first episode of this sparkling series.
