On April 22, 2009, a New York (NY) Post story by Carla Spartos was titled: “Gourmonsters: They’re the food police, and they think they’re better than you.” The new word is a combination of the words “gourmet” (or “gourmand”) and “monster.” The word is used to describe people who aggressively promote gourmet tastes.
 
“Gourmonster” was the name of a poster on the Manhattan Chowhound blog on January 5, 2005. Otherwise, “gourmonster” had been sparsely used before the New York Post headline.
 
   
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Main Entry: gour·met
Pronunciation: \ˈgu̇r-ˌmā, gu̇r-ˈ\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Middle French, alteration of gromet boy servant, vintner’s assistant, probably ultimately from Middle English grom groom
Date: 1820
: a connoisseur of food and drink
 
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Main Entry: gour·mand
Pronunciation: \ˈgu̇r-ˌmänd, -mənd\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English gourmaunt, from Middle French gourmant
Date: 15th century
1 : one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking
2 : one who is heartily interested in good food and drink
   
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Main Entry: 1mon·ster
Pronunciation: \ˈmän(t)-stər\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English monstre, from Anglo-French, from Latin monstrum omen, monster, from monēre to warn — more at mind
Date: 14th century
1 a: an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure b: one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character
2: a threatening force
3 a: an animal of strange or terrifying shape b: one unusually large for its kind
4: something monstrous ; especially : a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty
5: one that is highly successful
   
Manhattan - Chowhound
Pietros and Abbocatto
Any thoughts on “old-school” Pietro’s and “new-school” Abboccato? I want to try them both and want some feedback.
Gourmonster Jan 04, 2005 11:25PM
 
Jade Pussycat
Monday, April 30, 2007
‘tis the season
Flea Marketing season that is; and the past two weekends in Philly have been pretty prefect for such an afternoon activity, as well as our favorite post flea market activities: sitting on our porch and listening to music while enjoying an adult beverage and, later, grilling our dinner. So guess what the Kommandant & I did over the past two weekends? (Actually, this past Saturday night we didn’t grill cause it was still muddy out back from Friday’s rainstorms; instead he treated us to a yummy sushi dinner. But what we ate / what he grilled over these weekends is a subject best left to another blog. One that hasn’t been started yet. Called Gourmonster.)
 
New York (NY) Post
GOURMONSTERS
THEY’RE THE FOOD POLICE, AND THEY THINK THEY’RE BETTER THAN YOU
By CARLA SPARTOS
April 22, 2009
THEY glare at you at the market when you ask for a bag, think nothing of forking over $8 for two measly organic chicken breasts and favor restaurants with tiny portions, precious fare.
 
They’re the food police and their patron saints—Alice Waters and Michael Pollan, chief among them—are on a crusade to tell you not just what you should eat, but how you should eat it.
 
Like an exclusive clique of anorexic cheerleaders, they think they’re better than you.
 
It’s not enough that you should simply eat your fruit and veggies. No, in order to be virtuous they first must be preceded by fashionable adjectives such as local, organic and sustainable—recession be damned.
 
And since you’re too stupid to figure this out, the food police must save you from yourself. No longer content to silently judge you and the contents of your grocery cart, they’ve nobly taken to clanging their enameled cast-iron cookware outside their 150-mile “locavore” food radius.
   
New York Magazine: Grub Street
Stockpocalypse at Balducci’s, Closing Sunday
4/23/09 at 2:12 PM
You’re looking at the sad state of Balducci’s on 14th Street, closing this Sunday. Shoppers have been ravaging the store after a fire sale was announced. According to the Friendly Veg, who stopped in a couple of hours ago: “Tofu was still on the shelves. So were some fresh pasta sheets. And bags of sun-dried tomatoes. All half off.” Sniff. See below for a scene straight out of a postapocalyptic “gourmonster” movie.