Restaurant/Bar Annoyances

[Gifted Gourmet]

I am assuming that this is more about gastronomic etymology than other food/menu pet peeves, no?

[M.X.Hassett]

I am assuming that this is more about gastronomic etymology than other food/menu pet peeves, no?

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Yes you could could say that.

Edit:Although soy making a dish Asian is not really related to entymology but I like where this is going . Edit 2 well actually it is I guess.

Edit: yeh, yeh I know it is ETYMOLOGY not entymology, but I will leave it for posterity

Edited October 11, 2005 by M.X.Hassett (log)

[Steven Blaski]

Shrimp Scampi.

[kitchenmage]

I am assuming that this is more about gastronomic etymology than other food/menu pet peeves, no?

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...with heavy representation from the Department of Redundancy Department.

[M.X.Hassett]

...with heavy representation from the Department of Redundancy Department. 

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[jamiemaw]

I try to remain cool, calm and collective whenever I see "Beef dip with au jus".

[M.X.Hassett]

I try to remain cool, calm and collective whenever I see "Beef dip with au jus".

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Was it hear or somewhere else where there was a whole thread or article on "au jus" and its misuses.

[BarbaraY]

I try to remain cool, calm and collective whenever I see "Beef dip with au jus".

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Around here "with au jus" is common terminology. Aaaaargh!!!!

[Milagai]

"Chai tea" (=tea tea) and I think there has already been an extensive

discussion of this.

If you want "masala chai" or "masala tea" or "spiced tea" then

say so...

But Chai tea? You mean extra strength?

Or " XXX dish with chai spices..."

do you mean you've spiced it by throwing a

handful of tea leaves in there?

Or do you want do say you've used the spices

you would use to make spiced tea?

Milagai

Edited October 11, 2005 by Milagai (log)

[Tess]

Edit:Although soy making a dish Asian is not really related to entymology

...unless the dish has bugs in it?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Edit:Although soy making a dish Asian is not really related to entymology

...unless the dish has bugs in it?

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see what a difference the addition of a "n" makes here? Bugs in Soy, a favorite dish of mine ... oh, and an extra "o" helps as well .. thanks, Tess, for the day's laugh!

[Alchemist]

Can we add bars and cocktails as well? Vodka martini comes to mind along with all BLANK-TINI drinks.

[Della]

Can we add bars and cocktails as well?  Vodka martini comes to mind along with all BLANK-TINI drinks.

I might be wrong here but isn't a martini traditionally gin? So saying you want a vodka martini is correct - but asking for a martini should result in a gin "martini"?

[Grovite]

There is no such thing as chicken, shrimp or veggie fajitas! There never will be. Fajita is skirt steak, that is all it ever will be.

[jglazer75]

I try to remain cool, calm and collective whenever I see "Beef dip with au jus".

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Around here "with au jus" is common terminology. Aaaaargh!!!!

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I recently saw a tv ad (or a radio ad) for some fast food place that is going to offer a beef sandwich "With Your Choice of Flavored Au Jus's" - I'm trying to figure out how the "jus" of a beef would be anything BUT beef-flavored.

[browniebaker]

Any food called "Asian." Asia is an entire continent. Often understood to include islands in the surrounding seas and oceans. Comprising diverse countries, cultures, ethnicities, and cuisines.

Calling a food "Asian" is as meaningful as calling a food "European."

Edited October 11, 2005 by browniebaker (log)

[M.X.Hassett]

Edit:Although soy making a dish Asian is not really related to entymology

...unless the dish has bugs in it?

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see what a difference the addition of a "n" makes here? Bugs in Soy, a favorite dish of mine ... oh, and an extra "o" helps as well .. thanks, Tess, for the day's laugh!

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:laugh:

Can we add bars and cocktails as well?  Vodka martini comes to mind along with all BLANK-TINI drinks.

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Ah, I knew I was forgeting something, the dreaded -tini, 2:1 gin/vermouth please.

[MarketStEl]

Can we add bars and cocktails as well?  Vodka martini comes to mind along with all BLANK-TINI drinks.

"Vodka martini" is NOT redundant.

The traditional martini is made with gin. Vodka is a Johnny-come-lately. It has become more popular than gin as a martini base because it has no distinctive taste, thus making it easier to add other flavoring agents.

Edited to add: Always read everything before posting anything. Always read everything before posting anything. Always read everything...

[MarketStEl]

Well, this isn't a case of redundancy or misplaced modifiers, but over here, I posted about advertising come-ons that are full of hot air, like "...hand-selected Wisconsin cheddar cheese..."

Another pet peeve of mine in this same vein is the use of the word "homemade" in ads promoting some sort of meal-shortcut product (the various Helpers, Crock-Pot Classics--a product whose appeal escapes me; chopping up a bunch of stuff and tossing it in a Crock-Pot seems simple enough--and those frozen veggie-and-pasta blends where all you add is the meat, and sometimes not even that). Yes, it's technically correct, as you're making this stuff at home and not at a restaurant, but it's certainly not the image I conjure up in my head when I hear the word "homemade." If this is "homemade," I'm Sandra Lee.

[MarketStEl]

Wouldn't Toro Tuna be equally redundant?

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Or "Schuylkill River"?

--Sandy, sorry, couldn't resist

[Shalmanese]

"American Parmesan"

"Californian Burgandy"

"Canadian Balsamic"

et cetera et cetera...

[slkinsey]

Can we add bars and cocktails as well?  Vodka martini comes to mind along with all BLANK-TINI drinks.

I might be wrong here but isn't a martini traditionally gin? So saying you want a vodka martini is correct - but asking for a martini should result in a gin "martini"?

Well, here's the thing: A "Martini" is a drink made with gin and dry vermouth, maybe (hopefully?) with a drop of orange bitters. If you change the basic ingredient, it is no longer something that should be called a "Martini."

Think about it this way: A Margarita is made with tequila, Cointreau and lime juice. If I mixed up a drink made of bourbon, Cointreau and lime juice, it wouldn't be a "Bourbon Margarita." To us, a drink made with vodka and dry vermouth is so different from one made with gin and dry vermouth that it doesn't make sense to call them by the same name, even if we modify "Martini" by saying "Vodka Martini." But I think it's more than that. When you start calling everything a "Something-tini" or a "Whatever Martini" it starts to take away some of the meaning and value from the word "Martini." It's also not very interesting, and we're missing out on some really interesting and more informative cocktail names. Isn't it much better to have a "Vesper" than a "Vodka and Gin Martini?"

I also think there are more interesting ways to indicate in a cocktail's name that it is inspired by another cocktail without just tacking something onto the name. As it so happens, this is something Alchemist and I have been discussing in this thread about swizzles. There is a famous swizzle called the Queens Park Swizzle that Alchemist has been riffing on. The QPS has a rum base. Alchemist came up with an interesting variation using gin instead of rum. Now, he could have called it a "Gin Queens Park Swizzle," but instead had the idea of naming it after a park in London to give a nod to the city of London Gin: the "Hyde Park Swizzle" or something like that.

[popover]

Curry! What is Curry spice? This gets to me a lot. There are spice mixtures in India and Pakistan, but its usually called Garam masla and depending on where you are from there are some differences in the the spice mix. Black pepper, cinnamon, cardanmon, clove and bayleaf are some of the common ingredients.

[MHarney]

not to mention the ubiquitous tuna fish! as differentiated from the tuna-cat, which should not be confused with the cat-fish

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Here is a supplementary bulletin from the Office of Fluctuation Control, Bureau of Edible Condiments, Soluble and Indigestible Fats, and Glutinous Derivatives, Washington, D.C.:

Correction to Directive 943456201, issued a while back concerning the fixed price of groundhog meat. In the above named directive, "groundhog meat" should read "ground hogmeat."

- from Write If You Get Work (And Hang by Your Thumbs) by Bob & Ray

[CharityCase]

Curry!    What is Curry spice?  This gets to me a lot.    There are spice mixtures in India and Pakistan, but its usually called Garam masla and depending on where you are from there are some differences in the the spice mix.    Black pepper, cinnamon, cardanmon, clove and bayleaf are some of the common ingredients.

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Yes, yes, yes and yes to this. I hate this almost as much as the upthread-mentioned "Asian-flavoured" this and "Asian spiced" that.

The active use of the word "Fusion" on a menu or marquee or elsewhere with restaurants drives me nuts. It reminds me of a terrible dish I had at a local "fusion bistro" called Shanghai Noodles. Ramen+curry powder+blanched vegetables+sauteed unseasoned chicken breast, retailing for $14.95.