Menu Atrocities

[Franky2Times]

There's a million examples of bad wording but "tomato confit" is not one of them. The verb "confire" in French means to preserve food from decay. It is a verb and the noun "confiture" is the equivalent of "jam". A vegetable confit is simply a vegetable preserve such as a shallot confit, a caper confit or a tomato confit. It means it has been cooked usually with a mix of vinegar or lemon juice and sugar or salt. When you see the work confit associated with meat, it means it's been cooked in its own fat and preserved this way. Un confit de tomates is essentially a tomato preserve. Une confiture de tomates would be a tomato jam. In France, either vegetable or meat, you would normally find these products jarred.

[Vadouvan]

There's a million examples of bad wording but "tomato confit" is not one of them. The verb "confire" in French means to preserve food from decay.

Franky...

Chefs make what are in essence "oven roasted tomatoes" either peeled or with the skin on, basically lay them flat on a roasting pan and roast slowly with thyme or garlic and olive oil.

The word "CONFIT" should not apply to that process.

If you subsequently pack the said tomatoes into a mason jar, fill it with olive oil and put it in a pressure canner, an argument can be made that it becomes a "confiture" since it will completely fall apart. (Tomato Jam).

BUT simple oven roasted tomatoes are *not* "tomato Confit"

Roasting them in the oven which 99% of restaurants do are not "confit"

They are perfectly delicious oven roasted tomatoes.

To add:

The word "Demiglace" also should never appear on a restaurants menu under any circumstances to describe a sauce, nothing shows cluelessness from the kitchen better than that.

Edited April 12, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[rmcrob]

We were at a restaurant the other night that had "anti pasta" on the menu. We wondered what the chef's beef was with pasta.

[Tonyy13]

The word "Demiglace" also should never appear on a restaurants menu under any circumstances to describe a sauce, nothing shows cluelessness from the kitchen better than that.

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I'm sorry, can you explain your issues with this a little more? Demi-glace is a mother sauce, and as you add ingredients to it, it becomes a chive demi-glace, or mushroom demi-glace, so forth and so on. Also, if you take the literal meaning in France (demi- meaning half, and glace- meaning reduction to a syrup or by 90%), demiglace could be any liquid reduced by 50%, no? If I see Demi, I assume it is the mother sauce base, and I HATE demi, but I don't have a problem with people telling me the predominant flavoring addition in it!

My favorite at the Asian Market: Boneless Pork Loin Beef. WTF?

[Vadouvan]

I'm sorry, can you explain your issues with this a little more? Demi-glace is a mother sauce, and as you add ingredients to it, it becomes a chive demi-glace, or mushroom demi-glace, so forth and so on. Also, if you take the literal meaning in France (demi- meaning half, and glace- meaning reduction to a syrup or by 90%), demiglace could be any liquid reduced by 50%, no? If I see Demi, I assume it is the mother sauce base, and I HATE demi, but I don't have a problem with people telling me the predominant flavoring addition in it!

My favorite at the Asian Market: Boneless Pork Loin Beef.   WTF?

Tony.

Demiglace is mother sauce.

What it isnt is a sauce, more succinctly it is a sauce base from which actual sauces are made.

Simply adding chives or mushrooms to demiglace is pointless.

Demiglace isnt any liquid reduced by 50%

Water reduced by 50% is water

Chicken stock reduced by 50% is concentrated stock.

and so forth.......

Though I dont use demiglace almost ever, it does have its place in classic sauce making ......however most restaurants simply label "reduced veal stock" as "demiglace"

Here Tony is where the confusion begins.

What escoffier calls demiglace is very different from "veal stock reduction".

The process of making demi is quite long and everyone says it results in heavier sauces.

It also isnt cost effective but in effect 99% or restaurants that say "Demiglace" on the menu just used reduced infused stocks and that is *IF* they actually made any stock.

I have personally never used D'artagnans or Demiglace gold wich people seem to swear by ....but I cannot imagine shelf stable demiglace being a good thing.

How about menus that mix the french and english......Demiglaze.

Incidentally in the early Trotter books, there is frequent use of "veal stock reduction"

Edited April 12, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[mrbigjas]

Though I dont use demiglace almost ever, it does have its place in classic sauce making however most restaurants simply label "reduced veal stock" as "demiglace"

maybe we can blame jacques pepin for that one. in complete techniques that's exactly what he does.

i've always wondered about that.

[Vadouvan]

maybe we can blame jacques pepin for that one. in complete techniques that's exactly what he does.

i've always wondered about that.

Sir Big

I am no expert in sauce making but i vaguely remember from my amateur chef classes at LCB that whole process of Veal Stock + Espagnole reduce by half = Demiglace.

Was that Escoffier's original process or was it Careme ?

Any CIA grads wanna share ?

I made it once 10 years ago and it was a pain in the ace but dude..that heavy bordelaise was outstanding.

[scottie]

There's a million examples of bad wording but "tomato confit" is not one of them.  The verb "confire" in French means to preserve food from decay.  It is a verb and the noun "confiture" is the equivalent of "jam".  A vegetable confit is simply a vegetable preserve such as a shallot confit, a caper confit or a tomato confit.  It means it has been cooked usually with a mix of vinegar or lemon juice and sugar or salt.  When you see the work confit associated with meat, it means it's been cooked in its own fat and preserved this way.  Un confit de tomates is essentially a tomato preserve.  Une confiture de tomates would be a tomato jam.  In France, either vegetable or meat, you would normally find these products jarred.

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Fair enough. I still don't think it belongs on top of bruschetta, though.

[dave s.]

Amen to all the above, with the addition of some current jibber-jabber:

"Housemade-" like homemade(or homade!) but more prententious-

"Coulis-"any sort of sauce at all, pretty much......

"Infused-" is it really?

"Aioli-" Mayo plus whatever equals....yes, AIOLI. That's it!

"ragout-" what-evah!

These spring to mind readily but no doubt there are many, many more!

[Marky Marc]

One of my personal faves is a place that offered "vegetarian chile con carne."

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BAHAHAHAA!

[Marky Marc]

\"Aioli-" Mayo plus whatever equals....yes, AIOLI. That's it!

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Oh man, the place I work at is a huge offender of this one.

We actually have a "mustard aioli".

Edited April 13, 2007 by Marky Marc (log)

[JanMcBaker]

Amen to all the above, with the addition of some current jibber-jabber:

"Housemade-" like homemade(or homade!) but more prententious-

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I don't know-- this doesn't seem to me to be pretentious, just getting really particular about stating that something wasn't actually made in someone's home.

[Vadouvan]

I don't know-- this doesn't seem to me to be pretentious, just getting really particular about stating that something wasn't actually made in someone's home.

Jan.

When a restaurant say's "housemade" it sorta seems silly to qualify that they actually cooked.....

Edited April 13, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[JasonTrue]

I find "housemade" to be occasionally useful as a descriptor, as it distinguishes items that are readily available from foodservice vendors (mayonnaise, bread, pickles, etc).

I don't care whether they say "housemade" or "homemade"... a restaurant is a house of cuisine rather than a home, so I'm happy with the former and not pedantic if they use the latter.

[jsmith]

One of my personal faves is a place that offered "vegetarian chile con carne."

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I once told a woman at a cafeteria offering vegetarian chile con carne that con carne meant "with meat" (I told her in a friendly way). She looked like a light bulb went off in her head and proudly exclaimed "ahh, so it should say vegetarian chili con carne without meat!"

[alanamoana]

a local restaurant (which is part of a nationwide small chain) offers a prime rib sandwich:

"servi avec au jus"

just that phrase in french...the rest of the description in english.

i know we've covered the "with au jus" but in french? it just got worse...

[Busboy]

In response to Lancaster Mike on another topic....

Now, there is this Chinese place we go to that says on the menu that one of their dishes has a 'suspicion' of garlic......

Actually, there's likely a good reason for that. In French and in certain conversational circles (I was using it before I became pretentious, I don't think the users are too effete), when there is just a tiny hint of an ingredient (or emotion, in other contexts) one says there's a "soupçon" of garlic or whatever in the dish -- literally, a "suspicion" of garlic.

[JimmyWu]

My favorite failed attempt to bloviate was a menu in an Italian restaurant several years ago. I'm sure you're all familiar with Pasta Puttanesca ("whore's pasta"). This place apparently came up with what they thought was a seafood version and called it Puttanesca de la Mer -- yup, Hookers of the Sea.

As any mermaid you happen to see . . .

Chad

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Yeppers.... Gets my vote !!!

Edited January 13, 2008 by JimmyWu (log)

[Avumede]

The biggest, and most frequent menu atrocity - calling the Main Courses "Entrées"....

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Actually, calling the main course an "entrée" is correct. See Cecil Adam's take on the matter.

[onetoughcookie]

No one has mentioned my personal favorites:

gazpacho soup

Chicken coq au vin

[pax]

There is a mom and pop Mexican joint in a town not too far away from me that sells "cheese queso" sauce in which to dip tortilla chips.

[Megan Blocker]

Chicken coq au vin

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My mother's boss used to call it "chicken coq au vin with wine." I'm guessing this is because he'd the mistake you mention on one too many menus and had decided to make his point to everyone but the restaurant...

[rconnelly]

At a pub this weekend, I encountered dozens of these gems, including the description for one entree, "meat with a crushing bouquet". 

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Maybe not menu related but when my friend I were at a "young, hip place" we asked the server how the mushroom soup was prepared and he said - in all seriousness - "Boiled".

We laughed and laughed.

[san]

i just came from a new lebanese restaurant whose "filet of salmon" and "grilled swordfish" are noted as vegetarian entrees.

[quattroporte]

Had lunch in Richmond, just outside of Vancouver, BC where we just couldn't decide if we wanted to try the sea blubber, stinky tofu, or my favorite, vegetarian goose.

I kid you not.