Very Popular Restaurant Dishes That Tick You Off

[divalasvegas]

Creme brulee.

Please make it stop.

Not that I have anything against it when it's done right; it's just a) utterly, utterly ubiquitous, and b) now there's the chocolate chip toffee banana creme brulee and the caramel apple cobbler creme brulee and the mocha ganache-topped brownie-crusted creme brulee and oh please make it stop.

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jim chen I think you've really brought this topic full circle. When I started it, I just wanted a safe place to vent about why delicious dishes were rapidly disappearing from a lot of menus and being replaced by pale imitations of the original. Notice I said replaced. As in you have to go on some kind Indiana Jones expedition to find the original, and to find it well executed. I have definitely been enlightened in this thread as to why this happens and the many good reasons restaurants have for not having the "classics" represented on their menus. It's not that you or I want to ban (or maybe we do) the toffee banana moonpie strawberry short cake fudge ripple fluffernutter creme brulee--wait a minute; sounds like a concoction that NulloModo may actually like --from a restauranteur's menu. It's the disappearance of the classics in favor of their "kitchen sink" cousins. Actually, I do have my own favorite kitchen sink creations, so no slight to those who favor those types of dishes.

As for ribs, I made my own spareribs on 4th of July weekend and they were pretty damn good if I may modestly say so myself--using a lot of tips/info. from eGullet members. Report on that experience will be posted in the appropriate thread.

[NulloModo]

It's not that you or I want to ban (or maybe we do) the toffee banana moonpie strawberry short cake fudge ripple fluffernutter creme brulee--wait a minute; sounds like a concoction that NulloModo may actually like --from a restauranteur's menu. 

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Actually... if I liked desserts more I probably would go for something like that ;).

However, I do appreciate the originals as well, creme brulee does have something special in its purity...

[bleachboy]

*wipes tear from eye*

God, I love eGullet. This thread cinches it.

[malarkey]

I was waiting for someone to bring up raspberry vinaigrette. I've never had a good one, although someone on this thread said at the height of the season it can be great.

chocolate "decadence" type desserts.

seared ahi, I'll agree that one is over-used.

And, quite frankly, steak restaurants in general. I can sear a damn good steak at home. Yes, I know its 'prime,' but I still don't care to spend hard earned $$$ on a steak dinner.

Edited July 7, 2005 by malarkey (log)

[MaxH]

... now there's the chocolate chip toffee banana creme brulee and the caramel apple cobbler creme brulee and the mocha ganache-topped brownie-crusted creme brulee

Heathens!

Next they'll be putting sweet fruit into bagels.

O tempora! O mores!

[bookluvingbabe]

Creme brulee.

Please make it stop.

Not that I have anything against it when it's done right; it's just a) utterly, utterly ubiquitous, and b) now there's the chocolate chip toffee banana creme brulee and the caramel apple cobbler creme brulee and the mocha ganache-topped brownie-crusted creme brulee and oh please make it stop.

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There was rhubarb in my husband's creme brulee in Canada last week. (Not listed on the menu and not in mine...)

Talk about scary!

[NulloModo]

... now there's the chocolate chip toffee banana creme brulee and the caramel apple cobbler creme brulee and the mocha ganache-topped brownie-crusted creme brulee

Heathens!

Next they'll be putting sweet fruit into bagels.

O tempora! O mores!

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Well, next to everything bagels and salt bagels, raison ones are my favorites...

[SuperLuckyCat]

Restaurants thinking that the only thing to make a steak fancier/tastier is to add a lobster tail on top. It's surprising how many non-steak restaurants have this on the menu. Maybe I am a freak, but I never eat a piece of fine piece of beef and think, you know this is good, but what if there was a lobster tail on top?? Or vice versa.

Isn't the concept of surf n turf a 70s era "this is a super fancy meal" menu?

We were at a higher-end Italian restaurant in Houston last Saturday (Sorrento) and the 3 people at the table next to us all had filets (don't get me started on having that unimaginative cut of beef at an Italian restaurant) that were sitting on a bed of gorgonzola gnocci and had lobster tails on top. Doesn't that seem to be a bit much? Doesn't gorgonzola and lobster not really seem to go? Or am I not thinking creatively?

Also add to that list caprese salad, and my husband is reason #1 why restaurants sell them all year round. There could be 15 incredible sounding appetizers on the menu and he will order the caprese salad which always pisses me off since it's understood we own 1/2 of each other's selections and I don't want that!!

[divalasvegas]

We were at a higher-end Italian restaurant in Houston last Saturday (Sorrento) and the 3 people at the table next to us all had filets (don't get me started on having that unimaginative cut of beef at an Italian restaurant) that were sitting on a bed of gorgonzola gnocci and had lobster tails on top.  Doesn't that seem to be a bit much?  Doesn't gorgonzola and lobster not really seem to go?  Or am I not thinking creatively?

Gorgonzola AND Lobster in the same dish SuperLuckyCat? Euwwww!

[NulloModo]

We were at a higher-end Italian restaurant in Houston last Saturday (Sorrento) and the 3 people at the table next to us all had filets (don't get me started on having that unimaginative cut of beef at an Italian restaurant) that were sitting on a bed of gorgonzola gnocci and had lobster tails on top.  Doesn't that seem to be a bit much?  Doesn't gorgonzola and lobster not really seem to go?  Or am I not thinking creatively?

Gorgonzola AND Lobster in the same dish SuperLuckyCat? Euwwww!

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Well, maybe if it was a really skanky lobster that had been around the block a few times, it could stand up to the flavor of gorgonzola...

[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?

[NulloModo]

Wings would be my top choice. There's just nothing to like. 

Wow, OK, I swore to myself I was going to stop posting in this thread to challenge others dislikes (after all, I have my own), but don't like wings? This is utmost heresey to me ;) I mean, what isn't there to like? Deep fried chicken? Hot sauce? Blue cheese dressing? Celery stick? Those might as well be the four major food groups to me. Hehe, OK, OK, I will admit, lots of places do wings badly (nothing worse than soggy wings, or the hottest wings on the menu beind medium-mild at best), but still... hate wings? wow... just can't wrap my mind around that one ;).

I do agree with you about imitation crab meat however, blech. Especially with the prices sushi-joints charge. I mean, if the all you can eat chinese buffet can offer snow crab legs, the hibachi can put some real crab meat in those there rolls...

[LindaK]

Tasting flights of ANYTHING...

How about tasting MENUS?

I wish I knew why the concept bugs me so much. I understand the reasoning, so perhaps it's only rarely well done. It usually appears to me an ill-conceived conceit on the part of the chef. And when I hear people speak in hushed terms of their having had "the tasting menu" they often seem so overwhelmed by the number of courses as not to be able to tell you anything much about the meal. I enjoy trying new things but I'd much rather the staff steer me to a new and innovative dish, and have more than two bites so I can really savor it and appreciate the chef's skill and ingredients.

[Pan]

[...]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.[...]

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I think you haven't had a really good samosa yet. If you ever have occasion to be in Ipoh, Malaysia, go to Little India. Such moist, delicious samosas, so full of onions, with less potatoes, in a masala bursting with flavor!

[anzu]

Do the Japanese eat crab sticks?

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Actually, yes.

They were actually invented by the Japanese. See here for a brief discussion of surimi and kamaboko

They're not going to be eaten as sashimi or sushi though.

Re samosas. I'm not sure they would be microwaving them. Or is what you're getting not just lackluster, but flabby as well?

My personal peeve is with 'samosas' that aren't. A layer of filo wound around some type of filling is NOT a samosa.

Edited to add: I have to take back what I said about not using surimi in sushi. I can well imagine surimi being added to hand-rolled sushi made at home in Japan. After all, anything goes in the privacy of your own home, so why not? It certainly is not going to be as widespread as the use of surimi in the US though.

Also, a link to various fish stick type products in the Japan forum here. This is the place for discussion of other fish products too , like chikuwa. and (as ever) Kristin has provided some fascinating links.

Edited July 8, 2005 by anzu (log)

[sockii]

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.

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Oh yeah, ugh. I mean, I don't mind crabsticks necessarily--I know it's used--but I hate Japanese places that skimp on the sushi/sashimi plates with lots of cheap stuff. Load you up with fake crab, egg, cucumber roll, etc. I think that's why I only order a la carte sushi these days because the sushi "dinners" or "plates" tend to be all the cheap stuff, with only maybe 1 or 2 better pieces.

[divalasvegas]

But wait there's more:

Advertising a dish on a menu as "just like Mom used to make"--from what I've read on various threads in eGullet, this may be perceived by some as a veiled threat--or "down home" or "old fashioned" or whatever moniker they can come up with to sucker you into buying that dish. Only, when you order it, tuck your fork into that first morsel, open your mouth and, with nostalgic anticipation, taste this creation........well............ WTF!!! This shit in no way remotely resembles my Mom's/Dad's/Whatever relative's [fill in the blank here] recipe.

This happened to me on a business trip to Miami. As a group we had a great time at this establishment because we enjoy each other's company and always have a great time whether the food sucks or not. We went to some trendy joint in Miami owned by a nationally well known chef whom I actually admire. I will not name it or the name of the chef here, but I would appreciate anyone from the Miami area who knows which restaurant I'm talking about to PM me the names of the place/chef. Well, it's name implies that it's serving up cafeteria-style or down home cooking type food. I ordered as I recalled, a dish which was called something like "Mom's Meatloaf"................ and it was ..................... dreadful and accompanied by mashed potatoes that were somewhat cold which is heresy within itself. I mean the chef/owner is lucky my Mom didn't rise from the grave and kick his ass for even intimating that this monstrosity should be called Mom's anything. As I recall, it was a big, stiff slab of a underseasoned, lukewarm beef/meat thingy with some strange herbal component to it--not traditional at all--that gave it a weird aftertaste to which I had to sprinkle on salt to make it palatable............ one never had to sprinkle salt on my Mom's meatloaf, especially since she placed slices of raw bacon on top before putting it into the oven which basted it with lovely, bacon drippings and when done gave one crispy bacon goodness on the outside of said tasty meatloaf (drool). And while the place wasn't outrageous price wise, it wasn't cheap either. In all fairness, however, I did taste some of the other dishes ordered by my co-workers and found them quite good. But [yet another rant] while the mac and cheese was good, IMHO, it is still just mac and cheese and I found it way overpriced for the amount that was served.

Have to stop now. Getting really pissed off just recalling this bleeping meatloaf.

Edited July 9, 2005 by divalasvegas (log)

[loiosh]

I agree with most of your post, but want to nitpick ever so briefly:

I've noticed this for 30 years, and it was even more conspicuous around Central Square in Cambridge, Mass., where a steady volume of MIT students visited the lively local Chinese restaurants and you could almost call out in advance the standard five or six dishes they consistently ordered.

Guilty as charged, but I'd argue that at least one of the top favorites with MIT students (and computer geeks) are Cambridge/Szechuan dishes, rather than being generic stuff like sweet-and-sour. There are certain dishes Mary Chung's serves that I have only seen at its Central Sq. competitors and not at other Szechuan joints, particularly dun dun noodles with peanut sauce. My attempt at sloppy culinary ethnology leads me to believe that Mary's originated some stuff which was then copied by others. I've also never had or seen suan la chow show anywhere but in Cambridge. I've discovered some tasty Szechuan dishes here, but suan, ravs, and noodles were a big comfort food back then and I miss them a lot.

By the way, our Caesar salads in Australia come standard with bacon bits. It's pretty easy to get used to -- mm, sacrelicious.

[*Deborah*]

Divalasvegas: you cannot have expected a level of truth in advertising that would lead each restaurant to seek out each patron's mother's meatloaf recipe and duplicate it for them on demand?

Rather, pity the chef, whose mother's meatloaf clearly did not compare to that made by yours.

In my house, it's my dad's meatloaf that rules. But don't tell my mother that.

[divalasvegas]

Divalasvegas: you cannot have expected a level of truth in advertising that would lead each restaurant to seek out each patron's mother's meatloaf recipe and duplicate it for them on demand?

Rather, pity the chef, whose mother's meatloaf clearly did not compare to that made by yours.

In my house, it's my dad's meatloaf that rules. But don't tell my mother that.

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Oh *Deborah* you are so right, I should have known better, but I actually like this TV chef and thought I'd take a chance. I'm damn sure both your Dad's and my Mom's meatloaves would easily put the smack down on the doggy chow loaf I was served. Actually, I've read the recipe for the meatloaf I was served, at the least the one the TV chef demonstrated on air when he was a "chef du jour" on Foodtv back in the good old days, so I had at least modest hopes that the kitchen staff would get that right. But hey girlfriend: COLD MASHED POTATOES? Is that yet another new take on a classic dish--hot real mashed potatoes with butter, cream or half and half, seasoned with salt? Oh the misery.

[*Deborah*]

Oh, I'm with you on the mashed potatoes, for sure. I like lots of "hot" foods cold, but mashed potatoes isn't one of them.

[Chris Amirault]

Report from the Seize-Errr Salad front: at a recent meal, along with too many bad croutons, overcooked chicken, dry parm, and bad dressing, I discovered... pickled hot peppers?

[Mnehrling]

Big Pet Peeve- Chinese Buffets

Where I live we have about a dozen chinese buffets and not a single chinese restaurant that offers menu to order quality food. We had one (menu- no buffet) a couple of years ago that had amazing quality, but they closed when a new buffet opened across the street.

I guess people would rather pig out than have a quality meal. So many people I know have never tried real Chinese food.

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BUT

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The real sad part is the newest Buffet that opened, Chinese and Mexican (TexMex) food.

Edited July 15, 2005 by Mnehrling (log)

[divalasvegas]

Okay, this one happened recently. I ordered a pizza from a nearby and usually reliable establishment--it's a bar/restaurant and they serve your standard bar food type fare: Buffalo wings, burgers, and daily specials. But the food, IMHO, is very good bar food. Anyway, it was a pepperoni pizza, nothing else on it. I've had their pizza before and it's very good. Well, this one wasn't. While it was still piping hot I bit down into a slice anticipating a good crust with just enough cheese and hot pepperoni slices, slighty crispy at their edges. But what I got was SUGAR! And a lot of it. WTF? I thought. Why does this pizza taste like it had been basted with white Karo syrup? Actually, Karo syrup is not as sweet as this pizza was. Finally, I gave up and only picked off a few pieces of pepperoni. The cheese was completely inedible. The sugary component was definitely the sauce. Vile.

I called the restaurant and got the very nice, no nonsense bartender/waitress/everything woman who I always place my orders with and told her of this monstrosity. She said she would definitely make sure I get credited and that she would check it out herself. Turns out one of the new "managers" tasted the sauce and decided it wasn't "sweet" enough and had someone in the kitchen add enough sugar until it was to his liking. Moron. No adult that I can think of--except for this dope--wants sink their teeth into hot pepperoni, melted cheese and KARO SYRUP! Please stop adding massive quantities of sugar where it clearly does not belong. If you want sickly sweet sauce, pop open a can of Chef Boyardee. Actually that wouldn't work since this sauce was about 100 times sweeter than anything the Chef's ever produced.

[mpav]

Cobb Salad.

I like Cobb as I expect it to be made, but have had it made so many odd ways that I seldom order it unless the waiter can tick off what I can expect to find in it. I once had a Waldorf masquerading as a Cobb.