Food Terms We Loathe/Misuse

[Susan G]

No more ordering Black Forest Cake unless I'm *sure* the bakery has some idea what they're doing...........the last two slices I had, one had a layer of *strawberry* jam, and another had a light chocolate cream filing, no cherries. Grrrrr.

[NulloModo]

What's wrong with the word entree to describe a main dish?

[cakewalk]

I do hate the use of the word "decadent" as a description for anything sweet and delicious. The implication that enjoyment is bad disturbs me a lot. Desserts are not "sinful," and one is not "bad" if one eats a luscious and sweet dessert. They are meant to be enjoyed, not something to feel guilty about.

[Moopheus]

if i order a vegetarian meal on the plane, do not tell me i'm not allowed to have a snickers bar afterwards b/c "it's not very vegetarian" of me (disapproving BA flight attendant)

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You have to be careful for places that serve those meat Snickers bars.

"healthy" to describe food is legit. A secondary meaning of the word is "conducive to good health."

[kellytree]

I go with the " Hi my name is Susie and Ill be your waitress tonight"

[winegeek]

I'm a server in a fine dining restaurant and I cringe when I dine out and I'm asked "Are you still working on that?". No one ever taught me how to "work on" my food so I don't quite understand. I was taught years ago that the best way to find out if the timing is appropriate to clear is to ask, "Would you like me to clear your plates?" You can not rely on a gueat setting down their cutlery properly to signal that their meal is finished. Too many people do it too many ways.

[winegeek]

And One more..... Restuarants or chefs that are reviewed and said to "use nothing but the freshest fish and ingrediants". I see this with almost every single restaurant. I'd like to think that there are no places sourcing out day old food.

[madziast]

My pet peeve is a bit more sweeping than the ones I've seen listed so far. 

It's the urge of servers, managers, restaurant workers, and those familiar with the restaurant business to force the lingo on people who, unless they have worked in food service, have a hard time understanding what the hell the conversation is about.  'Two-top'?  No one who is paying a hundred bucks a person (and owns half of the buildings downtown) wants to have that explained to them.  The most important person in the dialog is the one paying to eat and drink, even if it is me.  Just like being touched on the arm in a fancy restaurant (shudder), it ruins the fantasy of the whole thing.  The diner is important, happy, rich, pretty, whatever.  I think everyone, at least in the beginning of the diner/restaurant relationship, wants to feel special, like they are being served. 

If it's ten dollars an ounce on my plate, it ain't 'foie'.  Seriously, I'll make it $11 if I can get a 'gras'.

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agree about the foie.

whatever happened to "deuce"?

[madziast]

Without getting specific there's a certain waiter at a restaurant here in Seattle who, after bringing the dish that you ordered to the table, proceeds to point at each component that makes up the dish.

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does he point to each component with his pinkie hovering dangerously closely to the food?

hate! hate! hate!

[Jinmyo]

AAAAARGGGHHH!

Someone said "sammiches" on this thread!

"Veggies" and "shrooms" are also The Devil's Language.

Guac?

I have fortunately never heard that but even reading it is a vile experience.

[naguere]

I hate the word veggies.

I also absolutely hate the term foodie, but I can live with it as it seems I am the only one who finds this term about as grating as sharp nails on a blackboard.

I do love an amuse bouche, though. It isn't the term I like, but rather getting an unexpected little morsel of something right about the time they take away the menu.

Edited to express additional hatred for the term foodie.

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What he said ,en plus:

Shrooms, Shrooms, and while i am at it, EVOO, it took me weeks before i realised what that stood for

[joey madison]

I resolve to viciously ridicule anyone who:

uses the term EVOO

uses canned (or cartoned) chicken stock

makes orgasmic noises when eating so-so food

... I suppose that's why I avoid the food network, nowadays.

[ghostrider]

I resolve to viciously ridicule anyone who:

uses the term EVOO

uses canned (or cartoned) chicken stock

makes orgasmic noises when eating so-so food

... I suppose that's why I avoid the food network, nowadays. 

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I resolve to castigate thoroughly anyone who persists in splitting infinitives.

Even when they get everything else right.

[Mooshmouse]

Never mind the restaurant staff. It's like fingernails down a blackboard for me whenever I hear someone say, "Can I get the [insert menu item here]?"

No. Absolutely no. You may not get it. You may not march back to the kitchen and plate it yourself. That's the waitstaff's job.

When did people stop saying "I'd like to have" instead of "I want" or "Can I get"?

Aaaaahhh!!!

[cakewalk]

I resolve to viciously ridicule anyone who:

makes orgasmic noises when eating so-so food

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I see. And, um, making orgasmic noises when the food is excellent is beyond your ridicule?

[misstenacity]

I do hate the use of the word "decadent" as a description for anything sweet and delicious. The implication that enjoyment is bad disturbs me a lot. Desserts are not "sinful," and one is not "bad" if one eats a luscious and sweet dessert. They are meant to be enjoyed, not something to feel guilty about.

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A local restaurant has the ubiquitous "Death by Chocolate" item.... BUT, they named it that way to contrast it with the next item on the dessert list: "Life by Lemon". Perfect.

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

[purplewiz]

my number one pet peeve though, is when servers clear plates before everyone has finished. it's so rude to the slower eater(s). stop rushing me!

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Worse, after they've cleared their plate, they look at them and say "and would you like to order dessert?". What is the server going to do, bring his dessert before I'm done with my dinner? (Probably.)

Fortunately my speedier-eating dining companion always says "I will wait until she's finished, and then we'll decide".

There's also the flip side: if everything that is brought to the table is brought on Yet Another Small Plate, please be just as diligent about taking them away. Last night we ended up with a huge stack of them - if we hadn't stacked them up, there would have been no room on our table to place our entrees.

Other things to stop:

- multiple hour waits at ok but not splendiferous chains like PF Changs.

- individual portion sizes that would serve a family of 4

- cooking magazine profiles of Ferran Adria.

Marcia.

[EdS]

I'd like to see some people resolve in 2005 to stop whining about colloquialisms. They have their time and place.

[Luckylies]

what about when you waiter lies to you cause they dont know the answer. "does the croque madame have bechamel on it? "uh...no, it uh has ham, uh, and an egg" right. also when grownups condescend to us youngsters. if I'm out paying I don't want someone of any age telling me that the wine is not corked(if it is)..."it was just opened a moment ago". etc

also touching

flirting

teasing etc (fromt he waiters) yuck.

though somehow I dont mind free drinks

[Ling]

"Sammiches" really annoys me. I can across the word for the first time on Egullet and I had no idea what it meant. Why do people say this?

I use "decadent" to describe desserts all the time, but I don't think that word necessarily translates to my thinking that the dessert is "sinful" or that it's "bad" for me. I usually say it with a damn big smile on my face after eating something buttery, creamy, and absolutely delicious.

[jodicalhoun]

The one that always cracks me up is "I'll be your cashier when you're ready" -- as though I were going to head to the front of the restaurant and look in vain for the little blue-haired lady to ring me up. (Have only seen one of those in the last 10 years at Cyndy's.)

This phenomenon seems to be unique to Seattle. I almost miss it when we travel. Ok, not really.

~A

ps: And -- as you may have guessed from my current sig line -- the pet peeve du jour is servers who correct my pronunciation. Especially when they are wrong.

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My personal peeve from a server is taking my cash on the tray and asking me if I want change! What is that?

Is there an amusing anecdote thread?

[cakewench]

You know, 'sammich' bugs the hell out of me, too. The other ones don't make me cringe AS much. I have taken to the abbreviation of 'veg' sometimes. Not often, but most people over here speak British English, anyway (and it's a popular term there, at least in print.)

I think my extra problem with 'sammich' is that it isn't making the word any shorter. It doesn't serve much purpose, except to make the speaker sound cute. Or 6 years old. whichever.

'Entree' = main course needs to stop because it's incorrect. I hate that it's been beaten into my brain as having that meaning, because it leaves me having to correct myself in social eating situations here in Europe. '...Oh yes, I said entree, but I didn't really mean it.' sigh.

Likewise, it means I have to explain to my husband and his family, when we visit the US, just why the 'entrees' are all so pricey.

carry on.

[NulloModo]

Interesting, according to dictionary.com the two food related defs of Entree are:

1. The main dish of a meal.

2. A dish served in formal dining immediately before the main course or between two principal courses.

So, at least in US English, I see nothing incorrect about referring to a main course as an entree.

[Jinmyo]

There's nothing wrong with writing EVOO. But saying it is goofy.

[loper]

There's nothing wrong with writing EVOO. But saying it is goofy.

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How about naming your restaurant after it?