Ethnic. Spicy. Oriental, esp. Chinese and most esp. Szechuan, Hunan,
and Mandarin (hackers consider Cantonese vaguely
déclassé). Hackers prefer the
exotic; for example, the Japanese-food fans among them will eat with gusto
such delicacies as fugu (poisonous pufferfish) and whale. Thai food has
experienced flurries of popularity. Where available, high-quality Jewish
delicatessen food is much esteemed. A visible minority of Southwestern and
Pacific Coast hackers prefers Mexican.
For those all-night hacks, pizza and microwaved burritos are big.
Interestingly, though the mainstream culture has tended to think of hackers as
incorrigible junk-food junkies, many have at least mildly health-foodist
attitudes and are fairly discriminating about what they eat. This may be
generational; anecdotal evidence suggests that the stereotype was more on the
mark before the early 1980s.
