The buzz around the blogosphere lately seems to be slow.  Slow food, that is—specifically, the Slow Food Nation event recently held in San Francisco.  People are blogging about it, sending me tweets about it (seriously, join Twitter!), foodservice pros are discussing it over on FohBoh, and even the mainstream media has covered some aspect of the “slow food movement.”

Slow Food Nation was actually founded by a restaurateur, the much-celebrated chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse.  The slow food topic isn’t a new one to this blog, but these days, it’s really in the national spotlight, and it sounds very appealing to a lot of Americans.  However, the price tag associated with fresh and/or organic food has lead some to call the idea “elitist.” 

But I’m wondering if there’s a way to bring fresh food to a quick serve operation without breaking the bank; ideas?  Even those who call slow food “elitist” don’t deny that fresh food is delicious and good for you.  If a quick serve were able to pull it all together—fresh food, prepared quickly, and at a fair price—even the skeptics might be convinced to give it a try.  (And while that might not strictly qualify as “slow food,” it’s a step in that direction.)  What do you think?

If you’re interested in seeing more of the San Francisco event, just go to YouTube and search Slow Food Nation.  There are plenty of relevant videos to peruse, and there will probably be more to come as attendees upload their film clips in the coming weeks.