Connoisseur or Food Snob?

Not that far back, a good friend of Bryan's told him he was a food snob. Huh?! Not possible! We have great taste, but now the seed of doubt has been planted and it makes me wonder...are we food snobs?
In the beginning, Bryan introduced me to all types of food. I was an extremely picky eater. Although I'll eat at most restaurants, I usually detail my order to have items removed and/or added, and then once it's delivered I pick off anything to my disliking. At first, I hated Mexican food and would usually opt to eat somewhere else. Then Bryan took me to Lorena's in Woods Cross, Utah. I ordered a ground beef flour enchilada. I know, why don't I just get the cheese enchilada, as I pull out all the ground beef? Well, the flavor just isn't the same without it. The enchilada sauce at Lorena's is AMAZING! I love it and have tried to replicate it since. Only recently did I receive a recipe from a friend that comes close to the real deal. Most enchilada recipes have salsa in them, and enchilada sauce does not, I repeat, does not taste like salsa.
Next I was introduced to Ho Ho's Chinese in North Salt Lake, Utah. Bryan had eaten here with coworkers from Willey Ford, and had been shown to order the chicken chow mein pan fried noodle style. I absolutely love this. We have become such regulars for this particular meal that when we do order, the elderly gentleman who owns the restaurant takes the time to come out and see us and say hi.
From there, I was given Iggy's with shoestring beer battered fries. Sadly, Iggy's sold out to a couple of brothers who turned it into a franchise and no longer has the fries. But I've grown to love the Chicken Philly With, but minus onions and cheddar and add mushrooms. And it must come with the rice pilaf. Bryan also opened the world of sandwiches to me, like Caruso's deli, Grove's market and Bob's deli.
Once we moved to Logan, the world of restaurants became small. There is not much for dining in Logan, but over the years we have found our favorites. The Italian Place makes a great hot sandwich, but you do have to overlook the lack of hygiene in the place. For a germaphobe, this is difficult. We love Hamilton's, and will go there for prime rib whenever we can. Cafe Sabor works for decent Mexican, but any chance I get, I still go to Lorena's.
In the traveling we've done, we love going to new restaurants, and finding mom & pop dives. In San Francisco, there is a Greek restaurant that we found by accident on our first trip, and have spent countless hours finding it again each time just to have the rice pudding and homemade lemon rice. In North Carolina, we found Carrabba's and Sticky Fingers. Both are large chains, but are very worthy of our good food stamp of approval. But England takes the cake for food. I know, how do the Brits do it with their pie of every kind, gravies and yorkshire puddings? But that's home style cooking at its best. We ate in the local pub of every town we stayed in. The Welsh pub hands down was the best. I had a chicken & leek pie (which I've successfully recreated about a month ago), and Bryan had a steak & ale pie that we have recreated several times with great results. I actually posted the recipe to that one a while back.
Since being in Vancouver, finding good food has been a little difficult. It's hard to navigate this town, as it is sprawling and there's not really a defining neighborhood for food. On Sunday, I did a search for Greek food, and even though we never found the restaurant (I think it's no longer there), we did find Bruchi's cheesesteak & subs. It wasn't bad at all. Then on Monday at lunch, I noticed a Greek restaurant inside the mall as we were finishing up our pizza. So yesterday we went back, and had yummy homemade lemon rice. The first week I was here, we went restaurant hunting, and found Gustav's, a German restaurant. I've never had German cuisine so we decided to try it out. We got the sampler plates and found it to be pretty good. Definitely a cuisine I wouldn't want to eat every day, but it's not something I'd boycott. Then Monday night, we went out to the east end of town and found Roots. It had a menu that was a little over the top, with some higher prices. The decor didn't really fit the place either. They had paid a lot of attention to detail, but then used cafeteria style chairs and cheap faux wood top tables. It just wasn't jiving.
In the end, I find I now go to restaurants and critique everything. From the decor and cleanliness, to the service and smiles, to the food and presentation. I find myself noting areas that could use improvement and wishing I could speak to the general manager and head chef about the food and service. I will without hesitation leave a note on a receipt letting a restaurant know if the dining out experience was great, or what needs improvement. I love when a restaurant has a card asking for constructive criticism, as I give it my heart.
When Bryan was first called a food snob it was because he had called into question a Marie Callendar's pie. I was appalled that this label had been given to us; I just like good food and will not pander to those who don't make it. But now that I've allowed my mind to wander on the subject, maybe I am a food snob. But I think I prefer to call it food connoisseur.