'Letdown' Foods?

[Half Baked]

I don't drink coffee but I love to wake up to the aroma...

Yes Aunt Dot...laying in bed and smelling that bacon wafting up the stairs is wonderful.

 

[QSis]

I think my biggest letdown food is coffee.

While it is brewing nothing smells as appetizing (OK, OK, maybe cooking bacon), but for some reason what's in the cup never seems to live up to the smell.

Yes, this is what I was thinking, too. Coffee beans, whole then ground, and then brewing, all smell better than the taste of the coffee (I drink it black, no sugar).

Even so, I do savor every sip of my good, hot coffee (iced coffee, although delicious, is not even close to satisfying my coffee fix).

Bacon, on the other hand, ALWAYS lives up to it's olfactory billing!

Lee

 

[buckytom]

I think the fact that I'm taking Hoodia now is a testament that I've never been let down by food. It's been a love affair since that first bowl of macaroni.

again, my sentiments exactly, except the hoodia stuff.

 

[Dove]

Kimchi. Way back when I first got a taste of Korean food, I heard all these great things about this staple called kimchi; it's supposed to be spicy and delicious. Kimchi, it turns out, is the single most revolting thing I've ever eaten, with the possible exception of part of a Heath bar.

I agree 100 percent !! when we lived in Korea for 2 years I tried it several times and again whe DH was sent back to the States and never again...

 

[ironchef]

Wow, I can't believe coffee is actually a let down for some. To me, the smell is just a prelude of what's to come. I love the richness and the complexity of the flavors, from the different roasts and different beans. What kind of coffee do you guys buy? I usually French and Italian dark roast.

I think the biggest letdown to me is pasta. I hardly every order it in a restaurant anymore unless I know the place makes good pasta. Even at some Italian restaurants, there is A LOT of bad pasta dishes out there.

 

[DaCook]

I think the biggest letdown to me is pasta. I hardly every order it in a restaurant anymore unless I know the place makes good pasta. Even at some Italian restaurants, there is A LOT of bad pasta dishes out there.

Mine too, so I never order pasta at a restaurant anymore. My most recent disappointment was about a year and a half ago, when my boyfriend and I had just enough time to get something to eat before we caught a live concert and decided to go to the local Boston Pizza. I had never been there and thought it would be a great idea (They only opened up about 6 months prior to that up here). I didn't have the pasta, but he did. Great bloody big plate of some gluey substance, not like any pasta that I have ever cooked. We run pasta dishes in our restaurant once in a while and I will have it there, because I really do love it.

 

[arlienb]

don't go to a british restaurant and order pasta...especially pubs...they just don't get it. i don't know what happened and continents like america and asia know how to make good pasta whereas a country like the UK which virtually sits beside the original pasta country seem to have missed the idea!!! i tried it once and it was just plain rubbish, so i just go for the usual british fayre in british restaurants to get my money's worth.

 

[Banana Brain]

To be honest, most foods with garlic never live up to their smell to me.

 

[buckytom]

i don't know what happened and continents like america and asia know how to make good pasta whereas a country like the UK which virtually sits beside the original pasta country...

i'm curious arlienb, what do you consider the originator of pasta?

latest theories, afaik, are that the first noodle dishes were made by arab peoples in or around turkey, and possibly even earlier, going way back to ancient greece.

 

[arlienb]

well, buckytom, when i think pasta, i think italian (i guess most laymen would too)...but even if it were like what you said (coming from turkey and/or greece--thanks for this input btw, i didn't know this! lol)...these countries would still be in the same continent as the UK...so it still boggles the mind...

 

[buckytom]

lol, i was hoping you were gonna say that the vikings invented pasta. (btw, i'm 1/2 norskie). we did invent or inspire just about everything else...

and i've heard that about english pasta, and had some pretty bad stuff in northern ireland a few years back. and don't get me started on their tomato sauces.

where's ishbel? she should be chiming in on this one, defending her peoples and cuisine once more.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

For me, it's pepperoni and cheeses. I have had some amazing cheeses, but they are rare and hard to find. The locally available supermarket stuff is all I can usually get and it doesn't even come close to the quality and complexity of a truly great artisan cheese. The same is true of pepperoni. As a child, all pepperoni seemed hot and spicy, with a taste I craved. Most of the stuff in the supermarket is fairly bland these days, with just a hint of the bold flavor that was so common when I was younger.

And yes I know that 50 year-old taste buds aren't as sensitive as are 10-year old taste buds. But that isn't the whole answer because occasionally, I'll find a pepperoni that is really good. But it's always been an off-brand, not usually carried by the stores, and is soon discontinued. I have often stated that I live in a cullinarily retarded part of the country. When people think that throwing in a can of pork & beans into a pot of chili enhances its flavor, you know you're in trouble.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[thumpershere2]

When working away from home we use to go out and TRY and get a good bowl of chili with no luck at all. Also hardly ever get a good steak eating out.

 

[Claire]

I live in a tourist town with many lovely restaurants. But yes, I know what you mean. Quite often the anticipation is better than the results. I'm the opposite of you with fajitas; I think the skirt steak in a fajita is the best steak flavor I know, and the peppers and onions are to die for. But many (actually all) the restaurants in town here are so erratic that I find myself embarassed when I take company out to dinner. A place that was great last week or month may be mediocre this week. I'll be practically salivating at the thought of a meal to come and it's "Aw ****" when I take a bite. I always order stuff I can't do well at home (for example, restaurants can get much higher quality beef than the home cook, and some cuisines require so many spices that it is impractical to keep them in my pantry since I only cook that particular cuisine every few months, so it is better to eat them in restaurants). Even so, sometimes I get very disappointed.

 

[bubba_sybo]

has to be breakfast..... you know you order the special , eggs, bacon, sausage , or ham, toast hash browns ect. something is usually over cooked undercooked, greasy, cold. or just not the way you wanted it. It is a task to make all those things at home and perfectly plate them at the right moment and then u have all the dishes and stuff, so I should respect the effort. But for as guilty a pleasure as it is you want it to look like the picture ......or just be right maybe I need to find a new diner

 

[Harborwitch]

True True True! Coffee smells absolutely delicious while brewing, but then tastes so-so when drinking, although I do love coffee...

-Tim

True! Once we started roasting our own it cured that - never a dull cup!

I think fruit, lately, is the biggest letdown food. It's beautiful, ripe, and tastes like sawdust. No juice dripping, no luscious flesh -- just sawdust. Either that or it's freakn' rock hard the day you buy it and the next day it's a pile of mush in the fruit bowl. Uck!

 

[expatgirl]

We were at a Mexican restaurant last weekend, and a waitress walked by with a plate of fajitas. As they sizzled away, leaving a woderful aroma of smoke behind, I made a comment that I considered fajitas to be one of the ultimate letdown foods.

I was forced to explain my theory that no matter how good the fajitas you get are, they will never live up to that wonderfull smell. Especially when you are sitting there hungry, debating what to get as an order goes sizzling by.

By the time you get your order, you've usually had a drink, some chips and salsa, possibly even an appetizer, and they just can't live up to that wonderful smell.

Anybody else ever experience anything like that? (Don't get me wrong, I'm still a big fan of fajitas)

John

Dear Ronjon55,
I can't believe the brain cells are still there but this sounds like the classic economics "law of diminishing returns"---as the input goes up (examples: chips, salsa, aromatherapy from passing enrees, drinks) the the output ratio goes down (example: appetite). Yes, and according to current research it takes the stomach 20 minutes to receive the signal from the brain that it's full----plenty of time for salsa, chips, margaritas, large iced teas to send a definite message to your full stomach.

 

[SierraCook]

My greatest letdown food is prime rib. All my coworkers just love it and I just don't see what the big deal is about. Too me it is just another boring poorly seasoned slab of meat. I never order prime rib or rarely any other cuts of beef in a restaurant, because usually I am disappointed. I would rather spend the money in the grocery store and cook them myself at home. Then at least I have nobody to blame, but myself if it is not prepared to my liking.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

My greatest letdown food is prime rib. All my coworkers just love it and I just don't see what the big deal is about. Too me it is just another boring poorly seasoned slab of meat. I never order prime rib or rarely any other cuts of beef in a restaurant, because usually I am disappointed. I would rather spend the money in the grocery store and cook them myself at home. Then at least I have nobody to blame, but myself if it is not prepared to my liking.

I have to agree with you on restaurant fare. The times I have had truly spectacular beef are too few. But I have had it. And prime rib is one of those cuts that can be truly spectacular. But you have to be lucky if you're purchasing it from a standard supermarket. It may be tender and juicy when cooked properly, and still be bland. The good stuff can be had if you know a local butcher who corn-finishes his beef and hangs it properly. Then, he also has to be able to tell prime grade from choice, or even select. But when you find it, it is soooooo good, whether barbecued over natural charcoal, or roasted to perfection in the oven.

Prime Rib has to be USDA prime or it's just another standing rib roast. The truly prime rib has enough fat marbling to combine with the corn-fed meat flavor to create an extremely moist and tender chunk of meat, with exceptional flavor. If you ever get to New York, I understand that Delmonicos offers some of the best meat in town. I've never had the opportunity to get to the Big Apple myself, but I'm sure BuckTom knows the best places in his town. If in San Diego, look for Iowa Meat Farms outlet for the best meat. I have bought meat there, both in El Cajon, and Santee. That meat was far better than any offered in the local supermarkets. If in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, you have to puchase a side, or quarter cow from Love's Meats in the nearby farming town of Rudyard.

Prime rib is good stuff, if you get the good stuff. Otherwise, you get range-fed bland meat, like that which is sold in supermarkets accross the U.S. and Canada. Hope you can one day get your lips around some truly great Prime Rib. Like a great rib steak, it's a thing of beauty.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[wasabi]

Watermelons. Just when you are aready for a huge slice of cold, sweet watermelon, you find that it isn't sweet and there is still the left overs of a whole melon in the fridge.