Overused restaurant reviewer words & metaphors

[LGF]

I'm late to this, but did anyone notice ubiquitous popping up, in a...ubiquitous way. Whenever I opened my local paper and saw the review was on an Italian restaurant, I'd wince, because, never fail, when I got to the desserts--there it was--time and time again: ubiquitous tiramisu. And this reviewer ONLY used ubiquitous with tiramisu--EVERY time she reviewed an Italian restaurant that served the dessert. You'd think that she'd sometimes describe creme brulee in a French restaurant the same way, but no, never. --LGF

[Wilfrid]

Wilfrid, I think it would have been better the way you wrote it, especially the word "attack," which I should have used.

Yes, but "fascinating forkfuls" is exquisitely alliterative.  Still, I was pretty close.  

[jhlurie]

As bad as "ubiquitous" or "sublime" is "synergy" or "synergistic".

[Ruby]

The word 'drizzled' has been overused to describe anything from salad dressing to a sauce 'drizzled with a hint of'  ....fill-in.

Other overused words: organic (even when it's not) molten, velvety, creamy, succulent, luscious, and the word 'wild' which makes everything sound better: wild strawberries, wild salmon....

[mamster]

...Wild Turkey.

[tommy]

Girls Gone Wild!!

[robert brown]

How about "very unique". I guess "sinfully rich" has run its course. Verbs without objects;i.e. "It stimulates";"It gratifies".

[Fat Guy]

Okay, since nobody has gotten to my next most disliked turn of phrase yet, here it is:

"Heart attack on a plate."

"I could feel my arteries hardening."

"I made an appointment for angioplasty at the same time I made my reservation."

[Jinmyo]

I dislike all descriptions of food as being "tempting" or "sinful" or suchl. It's an absurdly paranoid frame of reference to bring to the act and art of eating.

[jhlurie]

How about we start suggesting some GOOD words and phrases?  Of course, then they will eventually become overused as well and a "Son of overused restaurant reviewer words & metaphors" thread will have to be made.

words I like to see in a review:

"enjoy" -- it's an honest no B.S word

"chef" -- ya' gotta have one

"clean" -- for now this is still a good word, but I could see it being overused.

"I'll Be A Monkey's Uncle" -- I just love that one...

[Fat Guy]

I think you're entitled to overuse any metaphor or word that you invent or help invent. For example, I once wrote that my dog was "snoring like grandpa's poker buddies." I'm allowed to use that anytime I want. In addition, I have on these boards helped invent the verb usage "to appetize" and I therefore should be allowed to use it as often as I like.

[jhlurie]

I dare you to use "to appetize" in a real print publication somewhere!!!

[Fat Guy]

You don't need to dare me. I've been planning it since one nanosecond after I realized the potential of the word. It's going to take a few attempts before I can slip it by an editor, but it will happen.

[Jinmyo]

I've been appetizing over this hot stove all day. And what thanks do I get? Just one from a Fat Guy for using his word. The rest of you are like strangers to me. So, sit. Eat, eat. Isn't it appetized enough for you? As if your blood pressure could use more salt. Appetize it any way you want. Sure, put some mayonnaise on it. I just don't know you anymore.

[yvonne johnson]

Overused Phrase:  "Dining Companion"

Worst Substitution:  "Table Mate"

Table mate! That's hilarious.

Andy mentioned "bosky" earlier. I quite like the woody sound of the word and I can imagine mushrooms being bosky. But, I see that, colloquially (not that I've used it), bosky means "slightly tipsy". So are these London reviewers telling us something in code?

One than bugs me a little: "perfect foil for.."

I was going to say, Tommy, that's not the cooking foil with a shiny side and a dull side. One shouldn't really because, in fact, Tommy is very bright.

[Wilfrid]

He is very bright on one side.  It's when you turn him over...

[macrosan]

...I have on these boards helped invent the verb usage "to appetize" and I therefore should be allowed to use it as often as I like

Hey, did I forget to Copyright that ? C March 2002

[mamster]

Is it too late to throw in another?  "Post-prandial."

[Jinmyo]

Well, I use that for when cats nap by the heater after snarfing back their stuff. Or for a bit of a jaunt after lunch. Or even heaving oneself up to do the dishes. Is this bad? Didn't know. Oh well.

[Lord Michael Lewis]

"Pushing back gastronomic boundaries."

[Scarpetta]

How about "layers upon layers of taste" -- NOT applied to lasagna.

[Jinmyo]

Redolant. Did we say that already?

Oh. And here's a link to an online review of Madelaine's in majestic Buffalo: clickety.

[mamster]

From today's NYT magazine (Julia Reed):

"Most American literature is seriously devoid of culinary references. Which is why it is such a pleasure to read Tolstoy. Proust may have written a million words based on memories prompted by a simple tea cake, but the madeleine really was not the point."

Is that self-conscious enough to pass muster?

[Fat Guy]

No, it isn't. Here's what would be: "That's why I'm glad I read the first six pages of War & Peace and the first nine of Anna Karenina and some literary criticism about Proust . . ."

My father, a literature professor, thought you shouldn't say much of anything about Proust unless you had read and at least somewhat comprehended all seven volumes of the Modern Library edition of his collected works. I still have the bookmark sitting in volume 5, which is where he was up to at the end of his life.

[Jinmyo]

Foodways. Clicke moi.