Everyone has their own opinion. I personally find little addiction in an MMORPG unless it's doing something piques my interest, but it being an MMORPG has little to do with it. Could just be a coop game with those same ideas and I'd be equally interested. Adding 50-100+ players is nice, but rarely effects my experience much at all.
I see an RPG as a game where you are role playing. Grind is kind of an optional thing, I think. Plenty of games are fluid enough to just play through an area without having to farm mobs and still make for great RPGs, in my opinion of course. Though, I like a bit of grind in a game. Not overly so that I'm stuck with a 1% chance of a drop that makes or breaks my being able to progress, however.
I like that analogy! A meal to cook. Not every ingredient is needed and starting with a quality base can make for a great meal without much extra needed. I love pineapple on pizza! Not juicy pineapple, though. It has to dried a little, maybe just pressed for at least half the moisture. The key is having that perfect crust on it without soaking it in juice. I've had it in a few places that did it perfectly, but more often than not I get a soggy pizza. Which, in my opinion, is what makes people hate pineapple on pizza. I'd hate it, too, if it was soggy, but done right it's the perfect sweetness and pairing to the ham and cheese!
Got a little off topic there, I must be hungry :)