# Foods you like that others may think are inferior **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 3, 2025, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511 "2025-11-03T00:24:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/61 "2025-11-03T13:54:22Z")
We used to serve it every year at passover. My father really liked it, and told us you could go to a French restaurant and pay a fortune to get quenelles of pike, which was the same thing. My mother ate it because “tradition”, and my BIL are some in solidarity with my father. When my father died, i continued serving it. I’d buy a bottle, my mom and bil would each eat about half a piece, and if throw away the rest. When my mom died, i stopped buying it. It smells okay. It probably tastes fine. The texture turns me off. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/62 "2025-11-03T13:54:57Z")
Agree with the mass produced beer. After a long day hike we stopped at a camping resort to have a snack and a beer. It was a hot day and they were out of all the craft/”good” stuff and offered us a couple bottles of Coors. WTF?! This is cold, wet, and GOOD! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/63 "2025-11-03T14:02:13Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > This is Wisconsin after all. There is nothing as satisfying as a Friday fish fry. Amen, brother! ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/64 "2025-11-03T15:04:09Z")
I have a sneaking taste for Fray Bentos canned steak-and-kidney pudding. Must be _pudding_, though, not pie. Almost certainly bulging with saturated fats and other bad stuff. Everyone I know says ‘eeewww’ at the thought! It’s a UK thing, probably not sold elsewhere? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/65 "2025-11-03T15:32:54Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Ramen noodles. The dried noodles with that little salt-bomb sachet. A staple for college students everywhere. I can do much better now but I still like and eat it. Seconded (or I guess now thirded or fouthed!). Sapporo Ichiban “Original” boiled preferably with some form of roast or grilled pork, or if not, something like spicy chicken – and with sliced cremini mushrooms. I use much less water than suggested (and also only about half to three-quarters of the seasoning packet) so that by the time the noodles are tender the water is almost all gone, then into a wide shallow pasta bowl and garnished with chopped green onion and a few drizzles of soy sauce. A very rich and complex set of flavours and textures for something so cheap, and quick and easy to prepare! One has to be careful though – despite using only a portion of the seasoning packet, the sodium level is very high! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/66 "2025-11-03T15:56:32Z")
One of my favorite restaurants used to serve Crab Rangoon. Then they changed it to “Seafood Rangoon”. I could not tell the difference. I live a thousand miles from the nearest coast. The seafood you get at Red Lobster is no worse than the seafood you get at any other restaurant in the county. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/67 "2025-11-03T16:00:49Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I like margarine more than butter (which I find kind of bland, on top of being harder to spread when kept in the fridge). I do like margarine for boxed mac & cheese. Which reminds me: I’m totally converted to **mayonnaise for toasted sandwiches**. I’ve actually used it beyond bread for general browning stuff like pierogi & pan fried potatoes slices. It’s pretty much just salty grease and doesn’t look so yucky after cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/68 "2025-11-03T16:16:46Z")
Corned beef hash is absolutely one of my guilty pleasures that I know I should stay away from. Another is those cans of Frito-Lay bean dip that are usually found in the chips aisle. I know there are probably 100 reasons why I shouldn’t eat this stuff, but once or twice a year, I pick up a can and a bag of nacho cheese Doritos and travel straight back to childhood. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/69 "2025-11-03T16:23:48Z")
If we’re talking candies now, I looooove me some circus peanuts. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/70 "2025-11-03T16:44:43Z")
> [@Disinfectus](#): > > Frito-Lay bean dip Absolutely a guilty pleasure that I haven’t had in too long a time now… Might be running by the store on the way home this evening. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/71 "2025-11-03T16:48:43Z")
> [@Disinfectus](#): > > Another is those cans of Frito-Lay bean dip that are usually found in the chips aisle. I know there are probably 100 reasons why I shouldn’t eat this stuff, but once or twice a year, I pick up a can and a bag of nacho cheese Doritos and travel straight back to childhood. I like Fritos Scoops with French onion dip, either made from a packet of French onion soup and sour cream, or ready-made in the refrigerated aisle. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/72 "2025-11-03T16:57:34Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Nobody has said it yet, so I will: mass-produced commercial beer of the Bud/Miller/Coors variety. On a hot day, on the golf course or after yardwork, or just watching the game on TV with the gang, nothing beats it. There’s nothing wrong with craft brews or with IPAs, stouts, and porters, and I rather like those. But everything has its time and its place, and the place for the mass-produced commercial stuff is on a hot day on the golf course or after doing yardwork. I agree with you there. I like my craft beers and I like to explore but cheap beers on a hot summer day or at a rock concert are great. > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Little Caesars pizza. It’s better than the authentic / homemade / independent pizzeria stuff. So are thin crust with half cheese Domino’s and Pizza Hut. The bougie independent pizzerias all seem to be of the same “let’s load up our pizza with cheese that is the greasiest, oiliest, stringiest, texture as close to snot as we can make it” school of thought. The cheap stuff is a lot better. I’m like this with Pizza Hut. I haven’t had it in a while but that used to be a Friday night staple when we had kids in the house. They have a decent variety and prices that are lower than some of the really good pizza places around here. Costco pizza is great too. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/73 "2025-11-03T17:03:29Z")
At a recent reunion with my old college roommates, one of them gifted us all with our standard lunch from back in the day, “cans of shit” aka spaghettios and Chef Boyardee beefaroni. They certainly were a staple for us. Returning home with them, I cracked open the beefaroni for lunch one day. Only difference in prep was microwave instead of stovetop (or cold from the can), plus using genuine parmesan reggiano to top it rather than the green Kraft parmesan. It did improve it! The rest of the cans went to the local food pantry. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/74 "2025-11-03T17:04:27Z")
If you ever get to Chicago call me and I will get you a proper pizza. Not deep dish…just a really great slice. I get what you are saying about bougie pizza but there is a world of difference from Domino’s to a proper slice. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/75 "2025-11-03T17:12:01Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I like Fritos Scoops Best chips ever! I could plow thru a bag of them and a jar of Pace salsa in one go. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/76 "2025-11-03T17:52:14Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > If you ever get to Chicago call me and I will get you a proper pizza. Not deep dish…just a really great slice. I get what you are saying about bougie pizza but there is a world of difference from Domino’s to a proper slice. Doesn’t Chicago pizza have a lot of cheese? My problem with pizza is that what most people consider a good thing is, to me, a bad thing. I recall an episode of _Chopped_ that had a pizza theme. One of the judges was Alexandra Guarnaschelli. She made a comment to one of the competitors whose pizza she particularly liked, stating that they achieved “ooey gooey goodness”. Heck, even the google AI, when asked about the topic of cheese on pizza, says that “A key appeal of pizza is the melty, gooey, and stretchy texture of the cheese”. For me, those aren’t key appeals, they are turn offs. What some people call gooey, stretchy texture is, in my perception, the texture of greasy warmed up snot. The low quality stuff used by chain pizzerias doesn’t have that problem, which apparently is considered a bad thing to most people, but IMHO is a good thing. The pizza chains will happily make me something where the amount of cheese is minimal, enough to provide flavor but not enough to ruin the texture. The independent pizza places usually won’t do that, and if they do the person taking the order looks at me like I just stepped off the spaceship from Mars. ETA: I suppose that means that I’m like that person who would go to a high end steakhouse and order a well done steak with A1 on the side. Except I’m like that with pizza rather than steak. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/77 "2025-11-03T17:53:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I tried (jarred) gefilte fish once. It was ‘Meh.’ It was better wrapped in bacon, but I won’t be buying it again. There just seems to be something fundamentally wrong with that! > [@Spoons](#): > > Nobody has said it yet, so I will: mass-produced commercial beer of the Bud/Miller/Coors variety. A good friend of mine likes to tell the story about the time he and a couple of buddies were backpacking in British Columbia. They’d been out on the trail for about 10 days, and when they came out, they really wanted a beer. They went into a nearby dive bar, and the bartender was apologetic, saying that due to a nationwide beer strike in Canada, all they had was imported. They were a little disappointed because they were hoping for Labatt’s or Molsen or Moosehead or the like, but decided that an import would suffice. Imagine their surprise when the bartender brought them bottles of Olympia. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/78 "2025-11-03T18:02:45Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Agree with the mass produced beer. After a long day hike we stopped at a camping resort to have a snack and a beer. It was a hot day and they were out of all the craft/”good” stuff and offered us a couple bottles of Coors. WTF?! This is cold, wet, and GOOD! After we reached Whitney Portal after hiking to the summit, we got beer and snacks (I got a bag of Cheetos) at the Portal store. Ambrosia. There’s almost nothing I ate as a kid that I still eat or would want to eat…except for wieners and spaghetti. It came from a recipe my mom clipped from the newspaper. Sauteed onions with allspice, cloves and salt and pepper (LOTS of allspice and cloves) then dump in one of those big cans of tomato _juice_ and cook down a bit. Boil spaghetti and pour it into the sauce. I get cravings for it all the time. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > one of them gifted us all with our standard lunch from back in the day, “cans of shit” aka spaghettios and Chef Boyardee beefaroni. We always called that stuff barfaroni, but my mom usually made it from scratch. We didn’t get the canned stuff. Too expensive. Oh, and I loved and still love pickled herring. I have no Jewish ancestry, although my mom is eastern European. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/79 "2025-11-03T18:04:41Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I like Fritos Scoops with French onion dip, either made from a packet of French onion soup and sour cream, or ready-made in the refrigerated aisle. Damn, this made me think of another low brow food that I often crave but try to avoid. Frito chili pie. No onions in my version. I like onions fine, but they don’t like me so much any more. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511/80 "2025-11-03T18:22:04Z")
I love Jack in the Box tacos. Love them. My wife gives me grief, telling me they’re not really tacos. I’ll agree to stipulate that they’re not tacos, they’re another food group unto themselves. A fried tortilla filled with anonymous meatpaste, American cheese, and limp shredded lettuce. I could easily knock back half a dozen in a sitting without batting an eye. Another food from my childhood that rings nostalgic is one of the only two things my dad knew how to ‘cook’: Spaghetti & chili. It had to be a large can of Chef Boy-ar-dee spaghetti, combined with a small can of Hormel Chili (no beans). Dump into a pot, mix, heat, and eat. The more I learn about Skyline Chili, the more I think my dad’s concoction has roots in Cincinnati. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-like-that-others-may-think-are-inferior/1024511.md?page=5)