The dreaded truffle up-sell and other annoyances

[LPShanet]

Reflecting on a few recent meals, I was struck by a couple of seemingly ubiquitous practices that, despite the rapid evolution of restaurant culture, seem completely ridiculous to me. Some of these conventions are so deeply entrenched that, despite their gaucheness, annoyance or sheer stupidity, no one seems to even consider how lame they are. As a result, I wanted to see if I was being nitpicky, or if others also think they should be dispensed with as soon as possible. This thread is being started to discuss those annoyances, and submit your own for discussion. I'd like to ask that we not include speech or language-based items, such as waiters who ask "are you still working on that?" and the like. This is for actual food service practices. Here are two that recently got my blood boiling.

1. The Truffle Up-Sell: I always find myself feeling either guilty, annoyed or just uncomfortable every time I encounter the practice of truffle-shilling that seems to go on at every Italian restaurant in town (and some non-Italian joints, too) that considers itself to be upscale, from shmancy places like Del Posto on down to neighborhood trattorias that aspire to shmanciness. It's not that I don't like truffles. I love them. It's the way the whole thing is structured. The outrageous by-the-ounce pricing, the showy tableside shaving ritual, the shameless hard sell that the wait staff goes through to pad your tab. I shouldn't feel guilty or cheap just because I decline to purchase a $70 sprinkling of truffles on my $20 pasta, as if I'm a second class customer or pauper. Nor should I feel like I'm missing the real essence of the dishes I'm eating. And the sheer tackiness of doing this sort of thing in a fine dining restaurant seems out of place to me.

But none of that is the core reason this practice pisses me off so much. The reason I hate the truffle up-sell is much simpler and more based in my philosophy as a restaurant patron. When I go to a high-level restaurant, I go to taste a talented chef's food, and experience his point of view. Everything on the menu at NY's top restaurants is carefully considered, and bears the chef's imprint. As the designer of the dishes, the chef has decided how they should taste, what they should include, and how they should be presented. So if the dish needs truffles to be exactly as he intended it, then the damn dish should already have truffles in it! If it doesn't need them, then shame on them for selling me these unnecessary, ridiculous and superfluous add-ons that cost more than the rest of my meal combined. There's a reason they don't put a rack of ketchup, hot sauce and other condiments on the table at a nice restaurant. Hell, most don't even put salt shakers on the table because the chef would be insulted that we wanted to tweak the seasoning. So why am I suddenly in charge of deciding on whether one of the principle flavor ingredients on the plate should be there or not? If the point is really to feature the deliciousness of truffles when they're in season, then design a dish (or several) that's specifically made to showcase truffles, and charge whatever it needs to cost for it. You don't see them offering to sprinkle foie gras, caviar, fine cognac or Swarovski crystals over every item on the menu, and they shouldn't do any differently with truffles.

2. Half-Dressed Shrimp: Why is it that so few restaurants remove the tail and last joint of shell from the end of shrimp? It seems like a vestige of what was considered fine dining in an era when "classy" meant pupu platters at Trader Vic's or Chicken a la King at some "Continental" restaurant. "Sure honey, all the classy joints in Europe serve them that way...nothing but the best for you." It's like I'm trapped in a Mad Men episode. Either that or it's a ridiculous way of reassuring the diner that these were, in fact, real shrimp and not some synthetic facsimile, with the tail there as shining proof. If shrimp are served in a seafood house with brown paper on the tables, or steamed in their shells like crawfish, then I absolutely expect to peel the entire shell off the shrimp with my hands, just as I would for a lobster at a dockside picnic. It's part of the fun, and entirely appropriate. But if I'm eating a dish that requires a knife and fork, it makes a way less sense. And if the cooks have already taken the trouble to cut off the entire rest of the shell, why didn't they take the stupid tail off?!!?!? It's actually probably harder to shell a shrimp and leave the tail on than it is to just strip the whole thing. But the really infuriating cases are when the shrimp is prepared in a messy sauce or curry, and still have the damn tails on. There is no earthly reason for this, and no way to use my chopsticks to remove it easily. Nor can it be done without doing minor surgery on every piece of shrimp with a knife and fork, if you even have both. More often, I am forced to spend the entire meal digging through the dish piece by piece, and then removing the tail by hand, all the while getting the sauce all over my hands and either licking it off, soiling half a dozen napkins, excusing myself to the restroom a few times, or simply sacrificing the pants I'm wearing. Stop the madness, please. Am I missing something here? Is there some mysterious benefit to that last half inch of tail shell?

Feel free to provide vigorous agreement...dissent is less welcome:) And add to the nascent list of stuff that's gotta go before 2011 is done.

Edited January 17, 2011 by LPShanet (log)

[baroness]

Still on the shrimp topic, shrimp that haven't been divested of their digestive tract. Ewwww.

[gfweb]

Two good points.

A Top Chef competitor who offered truffles would be excoriated by the judges for not determining exactly how the dish should taste. I recall a past season where two types of cheese were offered and the offender was sent to pack his knives.

[David A. Goldfarb]

At Carnevino in Las Vegas a little over a year ago, our waiter, who was otherwise a decent waiter, was not only aggressively pushing the truffle up-sell, but there was also "you can have that Rossini, if you want" like he was asking me if I wanted to supersize it. We didn't go for the Rossini, but we did split a half order of capellini with shaved truffle for $50. Not sure how much the Rossini up-sell would have cost.

[gfweb]

Here's another thing for the list...waiters topping off my wine glass... esp without asking. I'll pour my own when I'm good and ready.

[Crouton]

Because some of us eat the tail? If the tail was removed I would most definitely assume the shrimp was at least frozen or at worse from a can... Tailless shrimp is tantamount to jello salad and parm from a green can.

[Crouton]

Here's another thing for the list...waiters topping off my wine glass... esp without asking. I'll pour my own when I'm good and ready.

This pisses my wife off so much because she's a slow drinker... Most waiters top me off endlessly until the bottles empty regardless of how much she's had

[ScottyBoy]

Topping off two people that drink at a different pace, that's something I've never even thought of, good point!

[Chris Hennes]

Because some of us eat the tail? If the tail was removed I would most definitely assume the shrimp was at least frozen or at worse from a can... Tailless shrimp is tantamount to jello salad and parm from a green can.

I'd think that one bite would be sufficient to dispel (or confirm) any such concern. I agree with the OP on the shrimp: if the restaurant feels the need to leave the tail on as "proof" that the shrimp is fresh, it's probably not.

[Crouton]

Because some of us eat the tail? If the tail was removed I would most definitely assume the shrimp was at least frozen or at worse from a can... Tailless shrimp is tantamount to jello salad and parm from a green can.

I'd think that one bite would be sufficient to dispel (or confirm) any such concern. I agree with the OP on the shrimp: if the restaurant feels the need to leave the tail on as "proof" that the shrimp is fresh, it's probably not.

For me it just makes for a better presentation... And looks, well, more substantial. Plus I like to squeeze the little bit of meat out that gets left in the tail end.

[judiu]

If shrimp is cooked perfectly, the meat and even the tiny "tail fins" will come out of the shell all together...

[Foodietopo]

At least in Japan, in most cases you eat the shrimp tail. I was shocked the first time somebody suggested I should stop fighting with the tail and simply eat it.

I left a tail on my plate at a X-Mas dinner and a 5 years old kid reminded me that I should eat it.

[technophile50]

Waiter - "sir, would you like shaved truffles on that?"

You - "I thought the chef(or if you're really feeling snarky, 'cook') left something out of this dish too, but I don't think it's truffles - could you bring me a bottle of ketchup, and some yellow mustard?"

I worked a couple of summers in high school in a seafood restaurant as the shrimp guy, and would peel and devein ~3000 shrimp each night. The last shell segment is much harder to peel - no legs to start the separation - and we always left it on. http://www.shrimp-scampi-recipes.com/images/Shrimp-picture.jpg

A lot of people assume that tailless shrimp are preprocessed/packaged, and that the tail shell indicates "fresh". The Reefer truck would bring in fresh shrimp on ice twice a week from Wilbur, where the shrimp boats landed, about 20 miles south of the restaurant on the beach.and we would freeze the extra in big plastic tubs. Our shrimp was never more than 3 days old, but was unfrozen only on Wednesday & Friday. I had a pretty impressive callous on my right thumb.

[ScottyBoy]

I actually got it tonight! Ordering fried chicken and mac and cheese dish from the menu of an upscale southern restaurant in San Francisco. Table side I was "offered" truffle honey butter to drizzle on to the chicken.

Well if I don't get that then I have 2 pieces of fried chicken sitting there with no hot sauce or anything. Of course I asked for it. It was an extra $8 on top of a $23 plate of chicken and pasta with cheese in it. It was truffle oil-honey too, so I was rather upset with this place. Though after reading this topic earlier it all made for a good conversation with the lady.

I would never make a dish with an option of "extra flavor". The farthest I would feel comfortable with is "would you like fresh pepper on you salad?"

[roosterchef21]

The giant pepper grinder. Actually the pepper grinder in general. If the food isn't seasoned well in the kitchen...

[ScottyBoy]

Haha exactly, I've never actually done it, it's just such an old school standard.

[DubaiDiner]

I have to agree with the tail-eaters, i have always loved the extra prawniness the tail gives to the mouthful : )

[LPShanet]

Because some of us eat the tail? If the tail was removed I would most definitely assume the shrimp was at least frozen or at worse from a can... Tailless shrimp is tantamount to jello salad and parm from a green can.

I'd think that one bite would be sufficient to dispel (or confirm) any such concern. I agree with the OP on the shrimp: if the restaurant feels the need to leave the tail on as "proof" that the shrimp is fresh, it's probably not.

For me it just makes for a better presentation... And looks, well, more substantial. Plus I like to squeeze the little bit of meat out that gets left in the tail end.

My suggestion isn't to chop off the little bit of tail meat and toss it out. When you shell the shrimp entirely, that little piece stays on the shrimp intact, just as it was when the critter was alive. So fear not...you'll still get the whole shrimp, unless the prep is totally incompetent. I'm a tail eater sometimes, too, but not all types of shrimp and preparations are appropriate for shell-eating. And I'd say tail eaters are in the minority out there. There's no way that most of the places doing this are doing so because of tail-eaters, any more than they don't leave the feet on chicken preparations just because some (including me) like to eat them.

How do you suggest dealing with said shrimp in an ostensibly upscale Asian restaurant in a messy sauce? Sadly, the frozen ones can be had just as easily with tails on...and in any decent restaurant, that shouldn't even be a concern. It's like sending the asparagus out with the rubber band that they were bundled with still on. As Chris H pointed out, I thin if you have to question it, you may be in the wrong place. And I think the association with freshness may be a relic of a time long past, that a few people just won't let go of...much like organic corks in wine.

Edited January 17, 2011 by LPShanet (log)

[LPShanet]

I actually got it tonight! Ordering fried chicken and mac and cheese dish from the menu of an upscale southern restaurant in San Francisco. Table side I was "offered" truffle honey butter to drizzle on to the chicken.

Well if I don't get that then I have 2 pieces of fried chicken sitting there with no hot sauce or anything. Of course I asked for it. It was an extra $8 on top of a $23 plate of chicken and pasta with cheese in it. It was truffle oil-honey too, so I was rather upset with this place. Though after reading this topic earlier it all made for a good conversation with the lady.

I would never make a dish with an option of "extra flavor". The farthest I would feel comfortable with is "would you like fresh pepper on you salad?"

That's an especially pathetic example. Shame on them. And to add insult to injury, the truffle oil used in most such things doesn't cost significantly more than many standard quality kitchen ingredients. Someone there deserved a slap:)

[Katie Meadow]

So if I get this right, the OP is objecting to an attitude among certain restaurants that implies, "Truffle up or shut up."

I'm with you on that one. When I dine out, which is rarely these days, I just wanna have fun, with good food. Attitude I don't need.

[ScottyBoy]

And honestly, if i get my hands on something like fresh Alba truffles I'm going to spread them as far as I can with the appropriate food cost addition. I'm in the business of feeding people and letting them experience new flavors. First thing on my mind would be "how do I get this product to as many costumers as I can before I run out?"

[ScoopKW]

The giant pepper grinder. Actually the pepper grinder in general. If the food isn't seasoned well in the kitchen...

George Carlin addressed this in "Brain Droppings" -- When the pepper-guy comes, tell him to keep grinding. And grinding. And grinding. For 10 to 15 minutes. Then send the dish back, saying, "This has too much pepper on it."

[haresfur]

How do you suggest dealing with said shrimp in an ostensibly upscale Asian restaurant in a messy sauce?

The trick is not to worry about being a boor and just enjoy your meal. My technique if using chopsticks is to pick up the shrimp with the sticks. Suck the sauce off the tail. Grab the now clean tail in my fingers and crunch the last bit of meat out of the tail. Throw the tail shell over my shoulder... ok, put it down discretely.

Hey, if they don't like it they should make the food easy to eat, although I suppose eating the tail would solve the problem, too. Never thought of that.

[roosterchef21]

The giant pepper grinder. Actually the pepper grinder in general. If the food isn't seasoned well in the kitchen...

George Carlin addressed this in "Brain Droppings" -- When the pepper-guy comes, tell him to keep grinding. And grinding. And grinding. For 10 to 15 minutes. Then send the dish back, saying, "This has too much pepper on it."

LOL!

[angevin]

Undersized wine glasses at wine bars as an attempt to capture the French bistro experience. At $16 with tax and tip for 3 oz pour in a crappy glass...I see this as a failed attempt.