Hi. I’m Joey. I’ve been at Travel Manitoba for a little over six months now, and after getting a few blog posts under my belt, I’ve decided it’s time to finally be real with you all.
I understand this confession’s going to upset some of you. Any “cool” stock that I had is probably going to plummet (both because of my confession, but also because I called it “cool stock”), and any respect or admiration I earned from gushing about my super cute dog for 1,500 words may just go right out the window. But it’s time. I have to put it out there and be the real me. Allow me to re-introduce myself: My name’s Joey, and I’m a picky eater.
Picky eaters get a lot of flack - and probably rightfully so. It’s inconvenient, unadventurous, and quite frankly, it’s lame. I get a lot of people asking “have you at least tried ____?" And the answer is yes, I probably have, and yes, I probably think it’s gross, and yes, I hate that I think it’s gross.
There are two types of picky eaters: those who think you’re weird for eating the food they hate, and those who realize they’re weird for hating the food most people love. I like to think of myself as the latter. And if that’s you, or a loved one you go out to eat with often, keep reading, because I’m here to help.
If you’re like me, going out to eat can be stressful, especially if your friends want to go somewhere cool and interesting. There’s not a lot of things that make me more anxious than leaving an embarrassing amount of food on my plate, ordering something with a secret sauce I didn’t know about, or having to request anything more than one substitution…”So, you just want the meat, cheese, and the bun…?”
I feel your pain and embarrassment, and my goal today is to help my fellow picky eaters experience the hip and electric culinary scene in Winnipeg, without going through the uncomfortable routine of chasing your food down with ice water that is more ice than water.
As the title suggests, I’m going to give you some interesting, popular, innovative and delicious places to go eat, where picky eaters can order something that fits their palate.
Let me be clear: these restaurants in no way cater to picky eaters. In most of these cases, there’s not actually a lot that I’d order, but I write this fully acknowledging that as a picky eater, I’m the one in the wrong, and the menus are actually awesome, and the reason I’m suggesting these restaurants is because they have compelling, creative, and unique food options that satisfy the most refined of palates, while at the same time, contain at least one menu item that might disguise the fact that I’d order chicken fingers and fries at every restaurant every day if I could…because I’m 8.
So, for everyone who has masked their food insecurities by saying things like “a good burger doesn’t need condiments” or “a salad isn’t even healthy if you add dressing” - this is for you…and for those who typically accompany us to go eat, I’m sorry. Hopefully this can help you too.