eipi10

Wings would be my top choice. There's just nothing to like. Iceberg lettuce based salads. I won't go so far as to say that every iceberg lettuce salad is not worth eating. Actually, yes I will. Pommes Frites. You can use the world's finest potatoes deep fried by the world's finest chef and french fries still suck. They have very little inherent flavor, necessitating loads of salt to complement the greasy mouthfeel. They're carcinogenic, they're lacking in nutrients, and they're fattening whether you're an Atkins or low-fat adherent. I'll take roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, sauteed potatoes, boiled potatoes...even potato chips (at least they have texture) every time. Samosas. They have made their way outside of Indian restaurants I've noticed. But even at the most authentic Indian cafes, samosas are lackluster. At less authentic restaurants, they're flavoreless. The recipe seems to be stuff some potatoes and frozen peas into some dough and deep fry; serve with cloying tamarind sauce. I'm also suspicious that many restaurant samosas were purchased frozen and microwaved. Sushi/sashimi with imitation crabmeat. This really pisses me off. When I order a sashimi platter, I don't want 4 pieces of "crab sticks". 75% of the time I'll get them though. Do the Japanese eat crab sticks?

I'm a year late to this thread, but it's interesting. I used to drink only espresso, because I felt that the espresso in Berkeley was very high quality, and better than the drip coffee. Lately I've been drinking almost exclusively drip coffee because I feel it's better quality than the espresso I can get these days. But putting aside the ironic problem that many, if not most, coffee shops make terrible espresso and lackluster drip coffee, I'm curious why it is that coffee and espresso taste so different. Phaelon's point about brandy and wine is interesting, and raises an analogous question. My hypothesis is that espresso and brandy are "oversaturated"--in other words, they are so strong that although they contain the same basic chemicals as the lower-strength variations, our senses cannot fully process the complexities. Maybe "oversaturated" is too normative...maybe they are just different--i.e., higher intensity changes our appreciation of different aromas and flavors. Anyway, I am convinced that drip coffee is not merely weak espresso, regardless of beans and roast. What do you guys think? Also, is anybody frustrated that Starbucks seems to be gradually decreasing the quality of its coffee. Sadly, the best coffee shop near my house is Starbucks. Yesterday I reluctantly ordered the a grande "bold" Yukon Blend. Am I wrong in thinking that this now ubiquitous Starbucks coffee lacks any character whatsoever? I could taste no fruit, no chocolate, no anything. I can't imagine how the "light note" coffee could get any lighter. When I left Boston they were serving Yukon Blend every day, and now here in DC every Starbucks has Yukon Blend. It's so frustrating--the Anniversary and Christmas blends are actually decent I think.