# Dishes that Should Just Go Away for Awhile?



## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

I'm interested in knowing which dishes that, in your view, have become redundant, overdone, offered everywhere, ubiquitous and generally so tired that they should just go away for 10 years or so.

My favorites that I just cannot face anymore:
Crudite
Baked Brie
Penne alla Vodka
Caesar Salad (done terribly most of the time)
Grilled Chicken (Caesar) Salad (just an excuse to get rid of yesterday's overcooked chicken breast)


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## ma facon (Dec 16, 2004)

Foams, Liquid nitrogen, Processed cheese, etc... Keep it real then keep it forever.:chef:


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Tilapia. Kobe boogers.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Agree on Penne alla Vodka -- last refuge of the pretentious "Continental" restaurant.

Agree on Kobe boogers -- kind of misses the point of burgers, neh?

Agree on Baked Brie

Agree on Caesar Salad with foreign objects and bad Caesar Salad 

Disagree on Caesar done right -- (have great recipe and procedure if you want it)

Disagree on crudite -- it's only celery on ice, what did it ever do to you. Besides, in late middle age, I still like sticking the olives on my fingers.

Let me add:

'tinis -- look if you want a girlie drink, get one with lots of fruit and umbrellas and stuff. And more power to you. Somethings are sacred, the martini among them. 

huge plates with lots of "negative space."

ABTs (but God help me, I love them)

Buffalo wings prepared in any other way than the right way (no breading - tossed in hot sauce), and Buffalo wings dipped directly in blue cheese dressing.

Wraps

Seared ahi with anything else -- especially salad

Portobello Mushrooms -- they're just regular ol' criminis gone wild, ferevvinz sake

Polenta -- when grits are indicated

Chicken breast instead of veal -- at least give me the thigh or learn to cook the breast without drying it out, dammit!

Weird rolls in sushi restaurants -- if you don't like Japanese food, don't go to Japanese restaurants.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Philadelphia rolls. Cream cheese?!??!? For goodness sake! There are some people who actually llke those?  Guess it's like the cream cheese filled wonton, or "crab rangoons" right? Another thing that needs to just go away.


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

Love your posts guys
I'm so glad someone agrees with me on Penne alla Vodka

As far as crudite-having been a hotel chef and caterer it just seemed like every blessed party had to have that d****d raw veggies and some bland dip -often spinach dip made with nasty frozen spinach. Now, every gathering I go to has the same thing. Really, who eats raw broccoli, cauliflower and yellow squash? Yuck.
Besides, that dip always has a way of ending up on my shirt.

I love Caesar Salad, but only when I make it with fresh garlic, lemon, a coddled egg, anchovies EV olive oil, Reggiano and CRISP, COLD, DRY AND TORN ROMAINE lettuce. Done without any and all of the above it's just not worth eating-or even looking at.
BDL-I'd love to have your recipe.


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## mattfin (Apr 16, 2007)

I agree with much of what is mentioned here. Though I will say that as an Italian chef, even though it is not a traditional Italian dish, Penne alla Vodka can be great. But it is VERY rarely done well, so I would not be weeping for its departure.

I cannot agree enough with the sentiments for foams and liquid nitrogen and so forth to go away. Along those lines, "dusts", "floaters" and "aromatherapies" also need to vanish.

But the thing that I am so sick of seeing everywhere right now is: truffles. Sure, they are nice, but i have actually seen restaurants that will add truffles to ANY dish for an extra charge. Doesn't matter if they _go _with what is on the plate, they are just willing to throw them on anywhere simply because they are _en vogue_ right now. Just like sundried tomatoes were all the rage in the early 90's, truffles seem to be annoyingly ubiquitous right now, and I can't wait for them to fade back into their proper place in the culinary world.


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

I too agree with all the above and would add "Chicken French", "artichokes French" etc. I thought that went out in the 70's but you see it on every freaking menu up here in Upstate, NY!
(Oh and Garbage plates!) Keep them in the garbage.


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## deltadoc (Aug 15, 2004)

Spaghetti and meatballs
Spaghetti and meat sauce
Shrimp cocktail (they're always smelly)
French Onion Soup
Day old crusty bread (it breaks my crowns)
American Cheese
Processed foods of every type

doc


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

I've also got to stick up for crudités. Sometimes that's the only edible thing on the table. Not interesting, not fun, but at least they don't have a zillion calories and do have some redeeming qualities, as opposed to, say Crab Rangoon (hey, Kuan, I typed that one before I saw your whole post. Great minds, eh? :crazy.

And a GOOD shrimp cocktail -- head- and shell-on, perfectly fresh, and not overcooked -- can be a thing of beauty. In fact, many of the things people have mentioned can be. But not in their done-on-the-cheap versions. (Caesar yes; chicken Caesar  )

boar_de_laze, I LOVE YOU.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, um, what does ABT stand for?


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

ABT = Atomic Buffalo T*rd = Jalapeno, wrapped with bacon, stuffed with cheese, and "barbecued" with indirect heat. Good, but done to death among a certain identity group. 

BDL


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Huge drinks made with espresso, that are more like a sweet milk drink. I love an 8 oz. cup with a couple shots of espresso and some foamed milk.


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## cinnamon (Nov 3, 2007)

what about micro salads?or cress? everyone seems to be using them now and just getting boring, a could-be-better salad before, now with the micro leaves is kind of special,.
they r nice and full of flavour, dont get me wrong, but it has lost its point

at least thats whats happenin in london now


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## clove (Feb 14, 2005)

Creme brulee
Tiramisu


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## ma facon (Dec 16, 2004)

Any pasta with a slab of protien on top, Sliced or not. How rude.


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## chefdrizzle (Dec 23, 2007)

Chrose.. i agree with cooking anything "french" style, i too myself am from rochester NY. But i do have to strongly dissagree about the garbage plate.. they are key to upstate "un-fine" dining lol... i love em and allways will.. i allready miss them and ive only moved down to NC for about a month now. shame.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I agree with your disagreement. A Caesar done right is wonderful, and never goes out of style. Unfortunately, most Caesars today aren't even close to a real Caesar.

Would ove to see your recipe/technique.

Have you ever had JudyRodgers' Caesar @ Zuni? What do you thinkof it?

shel


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## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

Whoa there! I think you'll need to expand on that one. I frankly don't see enough of it! We get no artisanal cheeses from you guys up here. Sad; there's such great stuff coming out ofthe US right now.




Poutine.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

I wish crisphead (iceberg) lettuce would go away for a while. I don't think it's bad, but other kinds of lettuce are much better imo.


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## mannlicher (Jan 8, 2006)

I sense a lot of serious food angst here. :lol:


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## jeffaliscous (Nov 16, 2007)

Ma facon...

I totally agree with the slab of protien on top of a pasta dish. Pasta is just that. Pasta with a good sauce is all you need. Though i do enjoy my father meat sauce, soley because i really, really do not like marinara. The type of food we cook in my house is pretty much only rustic italian style. 

But for example, at work.. During prep we usually change the person who cooks lunch everyday, and my list is one of the longer ones so i almost always make some sort of pasta. its just so simple. But i always hear hooey about "dude.. wheres the protien, we gotta eat good, we got a dinne rush coming up tonight, c'mon man, i cant just load on carb" blah blah blah.. sorry, i guess its the italian in me that could live on pasta dishes for the rest of my life.(though i did give in a make a very delicous Chicken Marsala with penne. thick strips of chicken browned then finished in the reducing marsala wine, lots of butter, a touch of cream, and then just tossed the penne with everything.. came out bomb diggity)

Agree: with almost everything on here, except tiramisu, only because i love it so much, but yes, it is done A LOT. And tilapia, but again, only because i do get pretty creative with that simple fish.

Good topic i must say


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## coolcook (Nov 14, 2007)

Chipotle anything. Among my peers, add a little bit of chipotle or adobo sauce and its gold. Worst yet cooked jalapeno passed off as chipotle. I blame Bobby Flay. Love the guy's work but I can't stand his "fans".


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Chipotle will never go out of style here  I love 'em with over-easy eggs and with mac-n-cheese. But then I love hot chiles in general.

I have had the fake "chipotles" and they're a disappointment when I expected the real thing.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Risotto. Kill it quick and kill it now.....its been so done to death.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

'Rooburgers


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Oh :lol:
You just ain't had one cooked by an Aussie yet

It's the amount of Sunshine that goes into the dish when you char it on the barbie....can't cook it in those cold northern areas :lips:


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## m.d.hughes (Apr 28, 2007)

I would agree with all the list so far even though I think most of us would agree that done well all of these dishes are great, a real French onion soup is one of my favourites, however these dishes get bastardized and simplified to death to speed up service and make them more idiot resistant and of course the all mighty dollar, if we are sick and tired of them how far behind us are our customers? what shall we ruin next?.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Let's ruin chicken next, by making chopped and formed chicken blobs deep fried. Use mostly chicken skin and pancreases, breaded and deep fried to perfection. Let's also add a lot of preservatives, but mostly grease to cover up the flavor. Grease sells.


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

Puy lentils.

I LOVED them.... until every restaurant seemed to use them as something on the menu as '..... served on a bed of puy lentils'. And the trend in certain Scots restaurants where they have decided that the PL are passe and they are serving foods 'on a bed of pearl barley'.


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## deltadoc (Aug 15, 2004)

AH...I meant this pre-sliced (usually) yellow "stuff" called American Cheese, not cheeses in general made in America.

doc


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

so funny reading through this thread......if a classic is done well it's golden, when it's bastardized it's worthless.

I made crab rangoons with blue crab claw meat last Monday, 1-1 ratio with cream cheese, some scallions, granulated garlic (Penzeys).....they were tasty.

Over cooked meat is gross. How about frozen fries? or worse yet frozen onion rings.....
Seasonal veg....cauliflower, carrots, broccoli......please please just leave it off the plate

I'm not a ratatouille fan, just don't care for it.....though caponata is a favorite

RANCH DRESSING....my gosh what did we ever do without bottled white glop?!!! how did children ever eat vegetables without it.

what chaffs me is vitamins in water or "feeling good shtuff" in % chocolates....what the heck?!!!! how stupid do I look?


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## m brown (May 29, 1999)

okay, i dine out with my kids cause i love them and they have to eat too.

please do away with the classic children's menu. 

Just when i think my little one will go for a tasty meal he sees chicken fingers and fries or burger and fries or bad mac n cheese..... i don't make that stuff at home so he wants it. 

his friends look at him cross eyed when he talks about eating real food. 

they are all hooked on the junk too.

why not just offer smaller plates of real food to the little ones?


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## dupakeith (Mar 11, 2008)

Alfredo, an American travesty

Anything made with so called demi glace out of a can

Poorly made mashed potatos


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I don't understand the idea behind sugared, flavored water promoted as sports, power, or fitness water. It detracts from the whole purpose of drinking good, clean water.

shel


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

OregonYeti, "wedge" salads are coming back, at least at steakhouses around here. They're draped in gobs of blue cheese dressing. I have to admit I like them- they're a guilty pleasure for me. 

I agree that foods like French onion soup and Caesar salad are tiresome when they aren't made correctly. This goes for Eggs Benedict that come with a cheese sauce rather than hollandaise. This dish is a favorite when I eat breakfast out, but it's really hard to find it made correctly. On occasion I've resorted to asking for a taste of the sauce before ordering, but it's not usually worth the trouble of getting on the server's wrong side.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

You can use my FIL's phrase. I may look stupid but I'm not dumb. 

Disagree with Clove on the creme brule and tiramisu. There's only one way thing that melts that way in your mouth, and that is cream. Creme brule the next best thing to eating buttercream.

And tiramisu. What's not to like about mascarpone mixed with pastry cream? Cummon now. Tiramisu and creme brule are classics.

The blooming onion. Now that, is something that needs to go away.


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

Garlic mashed potatoes. 

Dishes made with tons of garlic or salt to cover the poor quality of the vegetable.

Yes, I could live without those.


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

Seems like we have the exact same tastes and stances on the above! What's worse is when you can tell the hollandaise was made from a powder packet.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Hey that wedge salad is awesome man.  Save some and dump the dressing on your steak.

Bleu cheese and tomatoes. Why is that so good?


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

I'm adding a whole genre of dishes. Steakhouse chains? I can live without them.

Fine-dining icon Mary Elaine's to become steakhouse
By Howard Seftel
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 11, 2008 09:18 AM

The Phoenician is announcing today that fine-dining icon Mary Elaine’s will be turning into J&G Steakhouse next October.

... ... 
For two decades, Mary Elaine’s has been a temple of ultra-luxury dining, where tuxedoed staff brought Madame a little stool to rest her purse, so it wouldn’t touch the floor. Two of the restaurant’s chefs, Alessandro Stratta and Bradford Thompson, won James Beard Awards.

... ...
Marriott Camelback Inn has shuttered the Chaparral room, replacing it with BLT Steakhouse. The Marquesa at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess has turned into Bourbon Steak


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

:roll::roll::roll::roll::roll:

I agree with ditching the slabs of meat on top of pasta, if your going to put meat with pasta mix it through make it tasty

nachos as bar food
garlic mash........ been done to death
heavily salted hot chips (french fries) never have been a good thing bleeccckk

chocolate fudge cake seems to be on so many menus 


Asian flavours are very popular here at the moment and very refreshing


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

I confess that I'm a chocoholic . . . .


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

I had prime rib with horseradish sauce (could have used more horse), baked potato and an iceberg blue cheese salad last night. Was wonderful.....
interesting place, just a neighborhood corner joint, heavily smokey bar..nothing fruffy, nor ecologically green, nor locally sourced (other than the old school menu)......weekly Tuesday night special for $17.25 was 12 of prime rib, salad, side. gave it a whorl.....was good....really good. Did not go for the garlic cheese bread but thought about it briefly.

I'll go back to my statement of, if a classic is done well it's golden.....poor attempts just give it a bad name. Remember Paul Prudhomme's blackened red fish....oh my gosh, a couple years later when every tiny town blackened protein just to be Cajun Cool.....now that was something to disparage.


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

all things atkins!..don't these people know he died of an enlarged heart? gimme a break! how can eating a pound of bacon at a sitting be good for you? and a steak at every meal? pleeze!! had a customer who wanted a grilled burger on top of his caesar salad the other night..boy i fought it, but he won out..who says the customer is always right?! all that blood and juice running into a beautifuly made ceasar salad..and yes, i do disagree about getting rid of the ceasar..done well, they are perfect..but, i could lose frisee and not ever even miss it..sort of like chewing on a beard to me...and can you believe that there are still people making jello mold salads? you know the kind with cottage cheese and fruit in it..and they are proud to share their recipe if you like! i don't want to eat anything that wiggles and jiggles,,sure there's a ton more, but gotta go to work..later
joey


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## henry (Jun 12, 2001)

Refried beans and spanish rice that fill your plates at the texmex restaurants. There's gotta be something else.


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

I love all these posts!
It's clear that many originally terrific dishes are just being done to death!

One other thing, while not technically a food item, that just needs to be put on the shelf for a while is....

Anthony Bourdain!

Jeesh! this guy is everywhere! He's bordering on Rachel Ray's ubiquitousness! His face will be showing up on cracker boxes before too long, I assure you.

In addition, how many disgusting things does he have to put in his mouth before we all agree that he will eat any blessed thing in the world.
Here, Tony, I've got some NC Red Clay Ice Cream for you. Have a bowl full!

The way he just dismisses everything he doesn't agree with out of hand sets my nerves on edge. 
In other words, " Tony who died and made your tongue the ultimate arbiter of good cooking? Especially since you are perfectly fine with eating a bull's penis?'"

Bleacch!


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

If anybody gets their (formerly said as "his or her") picture on a cereal box, you know they're either lost or taking steroids or a cartoon character.


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

but when i go out to dinner i tend to go for something different
it just seems like on 90% of restaurant menus there is chocolate fudge cake ,and its not often that you find its actually made on site, I do a bit of cake deco stuff and lots of baking so i see chocolate cake regularlly maybe thats why i find if i see it in restaurants i pass it by as well as the other reasons stated above
give me a great creme caramel any day ...... in fact if i see creme caramel on the menu, i dont actually see any other desserts:smiles: its not seen that often here these days, back in the 80s it was on every menu


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

In Corvallis, my favorite restaurant has "chocolate espresso cheesecake".

It's a chocolate cookie crust, with a chocolate and coffee cream cheese filling, a thick layer of caramel on it, a roasted coffee bean on top for looks and crunchies, then a dollop of whipped cream. My absolute favorite dessert. The only thing I can think of that would make it better is some form of raspberries.


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## stir it up (Oct 15, 2007)

oh I love you all!

add me to the committee to abolish foam, tilapia, penne alla vodka - I'll throw penne in general too, ... boar de laze mentioned portobellos, big pet peeve is also seeing everyone call them Portabella, etc.... nails on the chalkboard. Oh yeah on the baked brie, cringe.

Tilapia is so ubiquitous 'cause it's cheap farmed garbage-eater fish -- NASA has chosen tilapia to use in their research program that is trying to develop longer sustaining space living: tilapia are such garbage eater fish that they can feed the sh-t of the astronauts to the tilapia then feed their sh-t back to them in the fish flesh. Seriously. Hopefully that'll talk a few into taking it off the menu...

I feel fortunate that I haven't encountered some of these abominations, like Philadelphia roll sushi, or pasta with a slab, but I did encounter a place that served risotto with a tomato sauce pasta right beside it -- risotto served improperly and in a cheesy fashion is a pet peeve. Good risotto at home with the fungi selvatici is another story... But seafood risotto with parmigian all over it, risotto as side dish to competing interests, all that... nails on the chalkboard. Risotto is being abused daily in the restaurants of America! 

Crudites... depends totally on the crudites, everyone should experience crudites as on the terrace of the Colombe d'Or -- anyone been there?

Deltadoc, I have no issues with spaghetti and meatballs, and good spaghetti and meatballs should never go away, ditto French Onion Soup (especially if there's Gruyere involved). I have no issues with good honest food, I think the pretentious is more likely to irk me. 


OK, I'm adding PANNA COTTA! (ducks and hides from KYH) 

Adding Molten chocolate cakes. VILE!

I'm also so "over" the whole molecular thing, and it hasn't even run its course.

And food as a "shooter" is just lame and overdone and I would be glad to see those go away too. 

Gosh she is a crotchety old food curmudgeon.:smoking:

Embellished/enhanced food products taking over more of the grocery shelves and making people think they're eating healthfully, like Omega-3 yogurt... also a pet peeve. 

OK, the biggest one for me is... INDUSTRIALLY PRODUCED PARBAKED BREADS BEING CALLED ARTISAN BREADS. Foul tasting, godawful, fraudulent bread.

Also gotta say before I climb off my soapbox, that lately I've seen way too much foie gras. Foie gras everything, everywhere, enough! Yes Anneke, I've seen Foie Gras Poutine!! 

Ah, that was like therapy, vent vent vent!!!

boar d laze, I'm also a fan of the right caesar, so I'd also be happy if you want to share that. 

I promise to not put shrimp on it.


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## deltadoc (Aug 15, 2004)

I think the operative word here is "good". Haven't had "good" spaghetti and meatballs since last I made them myself.

doc


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

blast now i have to go wipe off the keyboard as i just drooled all over it:lol::lol:


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## vera bradley (Mar 21, 2004)

Every dish that instantly popped into my mind when I saw the title of this thread has been mentioned now except this one: _Blue cheese-crusted filet mignon. _Blue cheese-crusted steak, period.


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## de_bellota (Oct 7, 2008)

ceasar salad.


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

i love a nice steak topped with a good blue mmmmmmm yummm


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## heidih (Sep 29, 2008)

Great post.

My additions:

Orange cheese - ugh

Tofu shaped into forms in an attempt to hide the fact that it's tofu (very popular here in CO)

Breakfast burritios - almost the only breakfast food available at coffee shops in ski towns.

Raw food - I respect any lifestyle change or diet decision, although I'm not buying into the "raw" hype.


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## cakesbysarah (Apr 7, 2008)

Coffee shops that individually wrap and sell Costco muffins instead of making their own or buying from a real bakery. $3 for a preservative-laden muffin that I can go to Costco and buy a dozen of for $6??? Come on! 


Appetizers (or any other foods) that were obviously pre-made and frozen until the moment that some teenager playing dress-up as a chef threw them in a deep fryer. Jalapeno poppers, for one. Mozzarella sticks, for another. If I want deep-fried, previously frozen, chemically "enhanced" sh**, I'll go to Jack in the Box. If you're going to make crunchy, deep-fried stuff, at least make it yourself so it tastes like food!


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

I hear you.
I ordered poppers from a family owned Mexican restaurant, on the recommendation of my former Chef.
They were incredible.
Roasted, stuffed, battered and fried, all on premises.
Just incredible.
Have had them many times since, and it's always a roll of the dice as to how hot they will be.
Based on that first experience, I went to another, different, family owned Mexican restaurant, and ordered the poppers.
So disappointing to see the standard cream cheese popper bar food.
Those things are so overdone.
I agree, except in a bar/brewery setting, they need to go.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

All the mini hamburger things that are popping up on menus.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

And yet, for me, that's one of the most disgusting food combinations there is - ruins the cheese and the meat. Cheese on meat or fish - I just don't get it. It always amazes me how different people can be :smiles:


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Bull penis with _"bleu"_ cheese and Tabasco sauce ... arrgh!


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

_McIlhenny's Tabasco sauce_ ... with all the wonderful and interesting chile and hot sauces in the world, one must give kudos to the chefs and restaurateurs who choose McIlhenny's over all the others. Way to go, boys and girls!


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

A few years back there was a place here in Salt Lake that made their own poppers. Obviously hand crafted, and they were VERY, VERY good.

On the other hand, there's a 7-11 down the street from the shop and I sometimes have reasons to go in there. They have this display of pizza slices, poppers, chicken wings and such that, like a bad accident , turns my stomach but I find it hard to not stare. People actually EAT that stuff!

mjb.


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

and people differ from culture to culture as well with food, so many things we eat here , othere people would gag on and vice a versa. for instance 
Marmite and Vegemite 
im a marmite girl just love love love love the stuff , grew up on the stuff and used to eat it off a spoon where as you all would gag on it


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## greyeaglem (Apr 17, 2006)

Cajun blackened everything.(I'm in the midwest where the trend is still strong.) I have people ordering blackened _shimp_. I won't do it. Ends up like rubber. Can't stand the smell of the seasoning, have a chronic cough from inhaling it. Also, over-use of hot seasoning inflicted on the unsuspecting. I worked in a place that had aioli so laden with cayenne that people complained. Would they change it? No. The kitchen manager liked it, so there it was. I was lectured about my "attitude" when I said they should warn people about it on the menu or call it something else. They said "Well, it's our way of making it." I countered that they should pack their regular mayo with cayenne and don't warn anybody. Same difference. I so hate cayenne that I won't allow it in my kitchen because people can't be trusted with it. Just because they burned their taste buds off doesn't mean I don't want to keep mine. I swear you could dip a cow pie in hot sauce, roll it in rock salt and people would think it was the greatest thing ever, as long as they had ranch dressing to dip it in. Black angus beef is another over marketed product. See my emperor's new clothes thread on the pro forum for more on that subject. Kuan, them are fightin' words.  you come on down hwy. 35 and we'll discuss crab rangoons! I happen to love those, so there! I also like French onion soup a lot if it's made right. Don't know why people think the crouton goes on top. Can't get through it to get to the soup.


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## rambo (Sep 8, 2008)

"Spaghetti and meatballs
Spaghetti and meat sauce
Shrimp cocktail (they're always smelly)
French Onion Soup
Day old crusty bread (it breaks my crowns)
American Cheese
Processed foods of every type

doc[/quote]

I take exception to everything listed here. While Spag/MB and Spag/Mt sauce should not occupy the top of any menu, even Italian/American - I can assure you that I have made award-winning meatballs that get old, old italian men choked up because it reminds them so much of their mother's meatballs. Key ingredient: Day old crusty bread. French Onion Soup, when done correctly, is possibly the ultimate comfort food - and the favorite son of a nation of people who invented and then reinvent food ad infinitum. Key ingredient: Day old crusty bread. Shrimp cocktail: Get some 4-6 shrimp, marvel for a while at their immense stature. Double check the bag to make sure it's not lobster tails, then sear them real good on each side, a little garlic, deglaze with white wine and cover to finish cooking the middle. If you're serving as an appetizer, one will be enough per person, but they will eat two or three and be almost full. If you have any day old crusty bread, use more white wine, shrimp stock made with the shells like a fumet, peas and tomatoes to make a great scampi- serve the shrimp over the bread and let it soak up that sauce. Heaven.


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## rambo (Sep 8, 2008)

I love steak, I love blue cheese. Nothing better than a steak and a salad with blue cheese dressing in a bowl next to it. I used to get requests for blue on filet all the time at my old place, made me gag. Recently I got a day off, a glorious day, to go to a friends wedding. Menu options: filet with blue cheese or tilapia. God loves me, he just has a little fun at my expense, often.


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

tapioca, and not just for a little while..it should go away forever!...tower foods..they are so hard to eat and still look ladylike..i like horizontal foods, but it seems lots of places serve everything vertical..like hot dogs...go figure! think its just so they can charge more...one more thing..i love caesar salad done right, but the presentation with the whole leaves standing with a huge toasted baguette slice just gets me...how the heck you suppose to eat that ricky?...and last but not least, anything with aspic..do chefs still make tomato aspic thingys? do people still eat them?..i don't like my food to jiggle, thank you very much...also,the chopped garlic in water they sell in stores..too gross...that's all folks!
joey


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

I've heard several times that jello and other "foods that jiggle" made with gelatin kinda gross people out if they didn't grow up with it. I don't really care for "jello" desserts, and I cannot bring myself to like tomato aspic at all. I grew up without those.

Spaghetti and meatballs, I really like if made my way. Good quality noodles, cooked right (I like linguini in place of spaghetti), sauce made from scratch, and meatballs that have a lot of garlic and not much bread in them. No chopped onion in my meatballs, or in my "hamburger steak" for that matter, thank you.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Why not? You don't like onion at all?

I find that if I grate lots and lots of onion into my meatballs and add a dash of baking soda my meatballs become fluffier. I'm not big on the bread thing either, but I do soak some bread in a little milk, then ring out the milk and add the bread to the mix. Again, makes it more fluffy.


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

I'm amazed that places that sell various sandwiches and things like cheeseburgers or philly cheese steak or ham and cheese or patty melts or buffalo wings with blue cheese dip or smoked turkey and provolone or proscuitto and fresh mozarella paninis or spaghetti and meatballs with parmesan or chicken cordon bleu or ... hey, wait a minute - needs more thought.

mjb.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Minus the sarcasm I totally agree. Meat and cheese are the staple of my diet in all above mentioned ways, plus pizza with mozz and pepperoni, sausage peppers and cheese, any deli meat paired with any cheese. I even like a juice delmonico steak topped with cheese sauce (the kind you'd expect on the baked potato).

I find cheese and seafood to be more difficult to pull off but come on... cream cheese and lox, crab stuffed mushrooms topped with parmesan. It can be done if done well.


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Sarcasm? Who, me?? I would never!

But after rattling off that list of stuff I got to thinking that if you don't mix meat and dairy, eating at fast food places, a lot of delis and such could be pretty frustrating. Where would eggs, as in mayo, fit in?

Seafood and cheese is certainly more limited, but I do really like my seafood quiche - usually crab, shrimp, scallops, gruyere and parmesan, amongst other things. Assuming, of course, you eat shellfish. I myself eat pretty much all sorts of stuff, though chances are good my health and happiness would be improved if I imposed some restrictions on myself. Well, my health at least, not sure about the happiness part.

mjb.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

"X aioli" -- stabilized mediocre mayonnaise with something "hip" beaten in instead of garlic, like chipotles. Why not call it "chipotle mayonnaise"? Why not make yourself it from eggs?

Hollandaise that isn't. My mother-in-law is celiac, i.e. cannot tolerate wheat gluten, and once in what purported to be a fine-dining establishment she carefully checked before ordering a dish, as she always does, and was informed that it had gluten... because the Hollandaise had flour. I asked whether the chef couldn't just whip some up from egg yolks, butter, and lemon, and was told sneeringly that this isn't how you make Hollandaise.

Bacon-wrapped scallops.

Bruschetta pronounced "brush-etta." Blini pronounced "bellini."

Makizushi rolls with more than two kinds of seafood, especially the ones with spicy mayonnaise, covered with more raw seafood on the top, sometimes described as more "interesting" and "adventurous" sushi -- i.e. sushi that uses spice and too many flavors to cover up the mediocrity of the fish and rice.

Wasabi anything that's made from powdered: don't people know it's just powdered horseradish with green food coloring, not wasabi at all? I like horseradish, I'm not demanding that everyone use fresh wasabi, I just hate a dab of green food coloring being marketed as clever and hip.

Hot sauces, usually made from habaneros, whose sole function is heat: hot sauce should have flavor.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

I don't know if this fits or not, but I can't help it. I like ika-natto and maguro-natto temaki. So shoot me.

Natto yum,
BDL


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

I won't shoot you. One type of seafood, natto, rice, maybe green of some kind, and nori. What irks me is stuff like "flying dragon tiger maki" with spicy mayo, salmon, fake crab, maguro, and unagi inside, rolled up and topped horizontally with salmon, hamachi, and so on.

But you are objectively incorrect about natto, which is nasty.


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Isn't 'natto' sort of like a soy based Japanese version of slimy vegamite? I sort of remember hearing about it, don't recall ever eating any.

mjb.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

More like slimy, fermented Vegemite perfumed with of moldy brie and rotting mushrooms. If you'd tried it, you'd have remembered. Great stuff, especially with mustard. Oishi-des, you betcha.

BDL


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that natto is high on the list of dishes that really ought to just go away, except that it should go away for reasons totally other than what this thread is about. Natto should go away because it's hideous, evil stuff. If it ever becomes overused, boring, same-old same-old in American second-rate restaurants aping their betters, I personally will long since have shot myself.

You might have noticed that natto is something about which there is not the slightest disagreement, no differences of opinion, none of that. :lol:

I wrote a blog post about natto a month ago, with pictures of my desperate, last-ditch attempts to make it edible.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

But getting back to the subject at hand...

Mac and cheese made with "clever" ingredients (lobster, scallops, bleu cheese, etc.), served in very small portions, at $10+ per plate.

"House special" versions of BLT, with appropriate letter-changes. Usually served on the same pseudo-sourdough somebody already rightly denounced.

Upscale bar food that combines "Asian" flavorings like ginger and soy sauce with mediocre Tex-Mex fried-cheese-salsa-etc., usually given "cute" names like "crispadillas." This sort of thing popped up all over Boston a few years back, and I have a bad feeling these places got the idea from places in New York, like they usually do.

I adore tuna tartare, but it's so often terrible -- the tuna chopped heavily and thus partly mashed into a paste; the flavorings overdone and unbalanced; the tartare masked by unidentifiable vinaigrette on the salad served with or under it -- that I might almost consign it to this list.


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