Annoying Food Trends – IMO

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Andy M.

Certified Pretend Chef
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I follow food sites on Twitter. I watch food shows on TV. I get some really tasty-looking recipes. I also see food trends. Two in particular really annoy me.

Piling all kinds of stuff on top of perfectly good food.

A cheeseburger with fries, poutine, ham, pulled pork, grilled cheese and donuts on it and all held together by a sword stabbed down through the entire mess. First of all, who decided that was a good idea? Second, how do you go about eating that?

Outback Steakhouse has the perfectly good blooming onion. Now they are coming out with a blooming onion with cheese fries and cheese sauce on top. Why? Deep fried onions are a fantastic thing. French fries are a great side. Everyone loves cheese sauce. But why do we have to pile it all up to make a mess?

Nachos! Tortilla chips, jalapeños and cheese. Simple and a perfect compliment to a cold beer. Not any more. Now everything in the kitchen goes on top of the chips and it's no longer finger food because the chips are all soggy and the combinations are bizarre.

As if that wasn't bad enough, now it has become a hot trend to make weird combinations of foods.

Cucumber beer,
Apple beer (and apple booze)
Beer-garitas
Chocolate chip cookie dough Ale
Black pepper ice cream

(It goes far beyond flavored beers but you get the idea.)

Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should.
 
The majority of people don't know that flavorings should be subtle and that a wonderful tasting meal can me made with few ingredients and several judiciously used spices. they think that more is better because they have never learned otherwise.
 
Couldn't agree more. People tend to believe that if something is good, then taking it completely over the top guarantees it will be better.

A few of my "favorites":

  • Cronuts
  • Bacon as dessert
  • Bloody Marys with everything under the sun shoved into the glass

mercury.jpg
 
I'm with you on the stacking and piling!

It reminds me of a dog's dinner, I won't attempt to eat it.

I long for the days when you could go to a lunch counter and get a normal sized, properly made, sandwich. Today everything has to be "an experience" or "the ultimate", etc...

Just give me a tuna on rye toast with a pickle spear and a few chips! :ermm::ohmy::LOL:
 
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Couldn't agree more. People tend to believe that if something is good, then taking it completely over the top guarantees it will be better.



A few of my "favorites":



  • Cronuts
  • Bacon as dessert
  • Bloody Marys with everything under the sun shoved into the glass



mercury.jpg


Oh good lord. That is disgusting.

DH and I don't eat much, we usually just split a meal. Makes for a cheap date if we go out.

I would have to call 20 of my closest friends to dig into that burger!
 
The other day I was at a fancy part, and one of the hors d'oeuvres being passed around was a cube of watermelon with a slice of feta cheese on top. Ive seen pics of watermelon salads with feta cheese in it in magazines , and on some of the food programs, so I figured I'd give it a shot ( against my better judgment as I just couldn't comprehend how the two went well together). I took a bite, and sure enough, it tasted as I expected, like crap. Sure its a matter of opinion, but what really irks me is how people feel like they have to like something, just because a celebrity, famous chef, food channel , magazine ...says that it should be good. Sometimes simple is better. Don't need to pile a bunch of stuff n top of each other, or used exotic ingredients to be good. Im not saying I don't like or used exotic or ' high society' stuff. But just because something contains it, or just because we see something on TV or in a magazine, doesn't automatically make it good.
 
Don't get me started.........gluten free..

That's not a food fad, it't a health fad. Everyone is intolerant of gluten these days. I had a "health problems de jour" before anyone knew what mine were. I am dyslexic. My mind wandered if my interest wan't aroused. They didn't know about that back then. They thought that I was stupid.

I found out in my late 20's that the problem with my hands was due to Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. I found out in a Dairy Goat publication. People who milk by hand get it. The doctors didn't have a clue.

Some of the people with the gluten thing may actually have it or they may have something the doctors can't diagnose yet so it's easy for them to say it's that. Who knows?
 
I brought half my meal home from lunch today...I ate the tostada, chips and salsa, brought home the beans, rice, more chips and enchilada...I keep forgetting I am not hungry at noon-2 PM and ordered too much. Even lunch specials are too big.
 
The other day I was at a fancy part, and one of the hors d'oeuvres being passed around was a cube of watermelon with a slice of feta cheese on top. Ive seen pics of watermelon salads with feta cheese in it in magazines , and on some of the food programs, so I figured I'd give it a shot ( against my better judgment as I just couldn't comprehend how the two went well together). I took a bite, and sure enough, it tasted as I expected, like crap. Sure its a matter of opinion, but what really irks me is how people feel like they have to like something, just because a celebrity, famous chef, food channel , magazine ...says that it should be good.

Ha, funny! :LOL: I gave a talk tonight about culinary herbs and served watermelon with feta and fresh mint. They loved it and some had never heard of that combination before. I love sweet and salty flavors together :yum:
 
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I feel so overwhelmed if my plate is piled with too much food. It can take my appetite away immediately. I have been known to send it back to the kitchen and ask to have some of it removed. I had one chef/cook come out and insult me because I didn't recognize his talent with food. I wasn't looking for talent, I just want a simple plate of food. Preferably a child size. But most places won't let me order that. Not unless it is for a child. I even offer to pay full adult price. And I always tell them to hold the fries. That doesn't mean pile my plate with fried onions in its place. :angel:
 
Sorry GG, but I'm +1 on the feta with melon with Larry. Same thing with ricotta salata, BTDT, never again.

I'm with the others on piling stuff on sandwiches. I don't really even like foods that are supposed to be separate touching on the plate, not OCD about it cause if 2 foods touch, I'll still eat them, but I'll separate them as soon as I see it. Okay, maybe a little OCD :rolleyes: .

We have a Primanti's here and I'd really like to try them but I'm afraid they'll make me have all the stuff piled on my sandwich like that woman does when the feature Primanti's on the food shows. So guess my feet will never darken their doorway.
 
I feel so overwhelmed if my plate is piled with too much food. It can take my appetite away immediately. I have been known to send it back to the kitchen and ask to have some of it removed. I had one chef/cook come out and insult me because I didn't recognize his talent with food. I wasn't looking for talent, I just want a simple plate of food. Preferably a child size. But most places won't let me order that. Not unless it is for a child. I even offer to pay full adult price. And I always tell them to hold the fries. That doesn't mean pile my plate with fried onions in its place. :angel:

Just ask the server to have half your food placed into a to-go box upon it being plated, or ask for a box to be delivered with your meal and do it yourself next time.
 
No, it is a food fad. Some people who say they eat gluten-free don't even know what gluten is.
I see this multiple times a day at the deli. We have so many people that inquire about gluten free options and then end up eating regular bread, coated fries, etc....You have to hand it to the marketing people. They have done an excellent job convincing people some that gluten free diets are are healthier...
 
The other day I was at a fancy part, and one of the hors d'oeuvres being passed around was a cube of watermelon with a slice of feta cheese on top. Ive seen pics of watermelon salads with feta cheese in it in magazines , and on some of the food programs, so I figured I'd give it a shot ( against my better judgment as I just couldn't comprehend how the two went well together). I took a bite, and sure enough, it tasted as I expected, like crap. Sure its a matter of opinion, but what really irks me is how people feel like they have to like something, just because a celebrity, famous chef, food channel , magazine ...says that it should be good. Sometimes simple is better. Don't need to pile a bunch of stuff n top of each other, or used exotic ingredients to be good. Im not saying I don't like or used exotic or ' high society' stuff. But just because something contains it, or just because we see something on TV or in a magazine, doesn't automatically make it good.


Watermelon and feta isn't a food fad. It's a very traditional summer pairing that you don't like.

It's fine not to like it. But it's absolutely not exotic or tv food driven.
 
To me, it seems that the piling on, oversized and "hot as you got" are basically bar food trends.
 
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