# Foods you wanted to try, that dissapoint **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2012, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253 "2012-03-30T09:55:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/121 "2012-04-03T22:53:10Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Fugu and abalone. 120 million Japanese people absolutely **can** be wrong. Fugu is just a stunt, the fish doesn’t have any special taste, and you’ll never get enough to enjoy it if somehow you find you do detect/like a distinct taste. > > Abalone is about as chewy as jellyfish and with no more flavor. I agree with you about fugu. I was really excited about trying it, only to be totally underwhelmed. I disagree with you about abalone (which we call paua over here) though. It’s got a great taste, although the texture is pretty unusual though. Cut into thin strips and lightly fried in garlic and butter is mjy favourite way to have it. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/122 "2012-04-04T04:40:58Z")
“Gourmet” Hamburgers (Five Guys, Red Robin, Fuddruckers, Wahlburgers, etc.): just a burger…McDonald’s black angus is better and cheaper “Bum” Wines (MD-20/20, Bali Hai, etc.): sweet and nasty…also nice going down/awful coming up Filet Mignon: about as tasty as bloody mucous Abalone: rubbery and tasteless, like eating inner tubes ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/123 "2012-04-04T06:38:34Z")
> [@Flutterby](#): > > Then what is the custard pie with fresh fruit on top? I thought that was Flan so all the talk of caramel is confusing.. Fruit flans are a completely different thing - they’re a fruit tart. Mexican flans are the equivalent of French creme caramel. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/124 "2012-04-04T07:28:44Z")
Escargot is proof that if you put enough butter on garlic on something, even slugs taste okay. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/125 "2012-04-04T07:31:20Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Risotto. I’ve had it a few places, including at very good restaurants, and I just didn’t care for it. That name irks me. Risotto is just one of the Italian words that mean “rice”, but for some unfathomable reason unlinked to any risotto I had in Italy (they were always dry) or to the way the word is used there, it has come to mean “watery rice”. Every time I hear someone talk about the riss-so-ott-ttto they had for lunch, I want to stick a 24-people pan of _risotto giallo_\* down their throats… - an Italian coworker’s description, one time he couldn’t remember the word for _paella_. **TruCelt** , yes, creme brulee (or crema catalana, if you’re in a Spanish-speaking restaurant) is the one which comes in a recipient and has “hard caramel”. Strictly speaking, the hard part is made-in-situ candy. Taffy was… strange. I imagine it’s related to Spanish toffees, but these are much more limited in possible tastes. I think taffy, as found around Philadelphia, should not be navigated by unwary Spaniards who do not have a local guide. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/126 "2012-04-04T13:14:16Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The biggest example is easily lobster. That stuff was hard to choke down. It’s one of the few foods that I’ve gotten at a sitdown restaurant that I didn’t finish, or at least take home a doggie bag. And it really made me feel bad, as it was the most expensive thing on the menu. > > It’s odd, too. What I remember not liking about it was the texture, but it wasn’t that different from shrimp, which I absolutely love. > > I was also very disappointed by sushi, but at least I’d actually heard of people who didn’t like it. I just wish someone would have told me the raw fish had the consistency of cottage cheese–another food I hate because of the slimy texture. Oh, another lobster/sushi non-fan! Do you realize we’re the minority? Except for shrimp and scallops, I’ve never taken to seafood. Even something as mildly benign as fish sticks or tilapia makes me shudder. As a kid I wouldn’t touch a tuna sandwich with a ten-foot pole. I still won’t. My BIL convinced me to try grilled swordfish last summer. I liked it, but didn’t like it enough to say, order it in a restaurant. BIL said no doubt my dislike stems from texture. Most seafood haters, in his opinion, will go for swordfish because it’s “meatier” than most fish. I don’t get sushi love at all. It just goes over my head and out the window. As for lobsters, I’d still rather see them skittering on the ocean floor than jammed in a tank ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/127 "2012-04-04T14:11:46Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > Poutine. Don’t get me wrong, it’s _good_, but it’s good in a comfort food, all familiar tastes sort of way. Nothing incredibly special (and I had it in Quebec City). I tried it once. It wasn’t bad, but nothing to build a tradition around. But I had it at the ferry terminal at Tsawwassen, so I should have it again somewhere else. > [@Pai325](#): > > Flan. I guess I thought it would be sweeter. Yep. In SoCal, everyone loves flan after Mexican food. The custard was… well, it was custard. So what? I’ve heard that it’s supposed to have a crust on the bottom. I’ve never seen it; or else, it was so soggy as to be indistinguishable from the custard. And the sauce tasted like thin honey. (Actually caramel, but that’s how it tastes to me.) Nothing wrong with honey, but I like it in tea or in a hot drink made with apple cider vinegar or maybe on biscuits. Not so much in a dessert. (This is why I rarely eat baklava.) About lobster: I love lobster. But you have to go somewhere that knows how to cook it. There was a Mexican place in Lancaster (CA) that did it well. I don’t know what they did to it, but it was delicious. A couple of other higher-end (relatively speaking) restaurants have done it well. My mom and her then-boyfriend brought some lobsters back from Punta Final, Baja California. (He had a Mooney, and they flew down.) She cooked those on the barbie. I wish I knew exactly how she did it, because they were great! The last few times I’ve had lobster in a restaurant they were overcooked and bland. I also prefer Pacific spiny lobster (like the ones from Baja) to Maine lobsters. No fussing with claws; just a nice, succulent tail. They seem ‘sweeter’ to me. You never see those live, and the ones at the fishmongers at Pike Place (and everywhere else that has them) are frozen and brought in from Australia. At $30/pound I haven’t tried them, since I don’t know how to cook them exactly right. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/128 "2012-04-04T14:41:41Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That name irks me. Risotto is just one of the Italian words that mean “rice”, but for some unfathomable reason unlinked to any risotto I had in Italy (they were always dry) or to the way the word is used there, it has come to mean “watery rice”. Every time I hear someone talk about the riss-so-ott-ttto they had for lunch, I want to stick a 24-people pan of _risotto giallo_\* down their throats… Risotto shouldn’t be watery, but it’s usually not dry, either. It’s creamy. [Here’s the Italian Wikipedia page on it.](http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risotto) None of those risottos there are what I would characterize as “dry.” Risotto is one of those things that pisses me off on the menus, too, because it is so very often massacred and used to mean “any ol’ dish with rice in it.” When something is listed as “risotto milanesa” (let’s be specific here), I expect a creamy dish with saffron and a cheese like Parmigiano-Reggiano. I do not expect to be served something that looks like dry, boiled rice with saffron. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/129 "2012-04-04T15:14:49Z")
Add me to the lobster bandwagon. Admittedly I’ve only tried it a couple of times, once steamed and once grilled, but both times it was a letdown after all the hype. I’ve had much more blissful experiences with crab. Thought I liked every kind of cheese, but the first time I put a wad of brie into my mouth I almost choked. The flavor/consistency combination was extremely unappealing in a visceral way I’d rather not describe. Before visiting Salvador, Brazil I had read about and was looking forward to eating _[acarajé](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acaraj%C3%A9)_. I don’t know if “disappoint” is the right word, but I was unprepared for how unbelievably _heavy_ one of those things is; I made it less than halfway through and couldn’t continue. (Probably wise, as they apparently have about a week’s worth of calories and fat.) Didn’t try any after that, and the smell of _dendê_ oil boiling on every corner became a bit nauseating. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/130 "2012-04-04T15:17:59Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > /hijack Those of you who loved lobster and then didn’t: try making it yourself and dipping it in melted whole butter. I find that in restaurants etc they tend to provide clarified butter, which somehow destroys the experience. Something in those butter solids is necessary to bring out the full flavor. I’ve tried using clarified butter and adding salt, but that doesn’t fix the problem. Maybe that’s the problem. Will try. (I posted my last from the previous page, without seeing this one.) > [@Huerta88](#): > > Fugu and abalone… Abalone is about as chewy as jellyfish and with no more flavor. > [@ralph124c](#): > > Abalone: rubbery and tasteless, like eating inner tubes > [@lisiate](#): > > I disagree with you about abalone (which we call paua over here) though. It’s got a great taste, although the texture is pretty unusual though. Cut into thin strips and lightly fried in garlic and butter is mjy favourite way to have it. Abalone is great! You just have to pound the hell out of it. I’ve never had it as strips; only as steaks about 1/4" thick and 7" across. Mom got some with the lobsters from Punta Final. (The fishermen were very reluctant to sell her any, as all of their catch went to Japan – This was in the mid-'70s. Oh, and they did all of the pounding for her.) She put the nearly-dry abalone steaks in flour mixed with some salt for just a ‘dusting’ rather than a ‘coating’, and fried them in butter. This is the way it was cooked at a restaurant last time I had any. The texture was similar to correctly-cooked squid, and was not chewy or rubbery at all. Just delicious! Mom told me of when she was a girl in Santa Ana. The grown-ups would say, ‘Let’s have abalone tonight!’ They’d go down to the beach and pry them off the rocks. Or they’d wade out and grab a few lobsters. Alas! By the time I came around, such things were no more, and lobsters and abalones were expensive treats! ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/131 "2012-04-04T15:22:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Hostess Fruit Pies. I blame the comics. Dude, you’re only supposed to use them to distract poorly conceived supervillains. No one expects you to actually eat the damned things. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/132 "2012-04-04T15:28:10Z")
I’m sad reading about all the lobster-haters. (I haven’t had lobster in years, maybe I should save up and treat myself now that I got the yearning.) It’s like being in a jewelry store and hearing, “I hate all these over-rated rubies, emeralds, and diamonds, give me a pair of little white gold hoop earrings.” ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/133 "2012-04-04T16:28:41Z")
Campari soda. I first heard about it in college, and it seemed like the height of European sophistication. I was all prepared to make it “my drink.” What could be more mysterious and effortlessly cool than sipping a Campari soda at happy hour while everyone else is downing watery margaritas.? BLECH. I have wide taste buds, and I simply cannot imagine how anyone on the planet can think it is good. I’m told it’s one of the top drinks in Italy, and I have no idea how that even works. It tastes like sparkly burnt tires. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/134 "2012-04-04T16:33:35Z")
I LOVE Campari, it is a great summer drink. I like it with soda and a piece of lime. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/135 "2012-04-04T16:37:32Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I LOVE Campari, it is a great summer drink. I like it with soda and a piece of lime. Yeah, Campari’s awesome, but you kinda have to like herbal stuff or bitters to appreciate it. I could see how some people would find it disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/136 "2012-04-04T16:39:30Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Campari soda. I first heard about it in college, and it seemed like the height of European sophistication. I was all prepared to make it “my drink.” What could be more mysterious and effortlessly cool than sipping a Campari soda at happy hour while everyone else is downing watery margaritas.? > > BLECH. I have wide taste buds, and I simply cannot imagine how anyone on the planet can think it is good. I’m told it’s one of the top drinks in Italy, and I have no idea how that even works. It tastes like sparkly burnt tires. i like Campari soda, but IME many bars mix it too rich with too much Campari and not enough soda. Comes out bitter and syrupy. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/137 "2012-04-04T16:43:43Z")
I agree that lobster is underwhelming but for a different reason. I thought that it was going to be extremely gamey, because it looks pretty freakin gamey-tasting. Whereas of course, since it’s usually literally as fresh as possible, it’s completely ungamey and frankly pleasant-tasting. What underwhelmed me about lobster is how little meat you get for all the effort of dismantling the corpse. I wouldn’t try lobster again if there were other tasty entrees on the menu unless it came pre-cracked for me. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/138 "2012-04-04T16:51:52Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I agree that lobster is underwhelming but for a different reason. I thought that it was going to be extremely gamey, because it looks pretty freakin gamey-tasting. Whereas of course, since it’s usually literally as fresh as possible, it’s completely ungamey and frankly pleasant-tasting. > > What underwhelmed me about lobster is \*\*how little meat you get for all the effort of dismantling the corpse. \*\*I wouldn’t try lobster again if there were other tasty entrees on the menu unless it came pre-cracked for me. That’s why I dislike blue crabs. I could work for ten hours and still be behind the hunger curve. One can never feel satisfied eating crabs. With lobster I find that I reach the satiation point if I have a 2-pounder or above. I won’t torture myself with a 1.25 pounder unless you provide a baked potato. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/139 "2012-04-04T17:02:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, Campari’s awesome, but you kinda have to like herbal stuff or bitters to appreciate it. I could see how some people would find it disgusting. Yeah, in my experience people either LOVE Campari or hate it. We’re in the love category Chez Athena, but I’ve given it to plenty of people to try, and I’d say about 60% hate it. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253/140 "2012-04-05T12:13:26Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Add me to the lobster bandwagon. Admittedly I’ve only tried it a couple of times, once steamed and once grilled, but both times it was a letdown after all the hype. I’ve had much more blissful experiences with crab. > > Thought I liked every kind of cheese, but the first time I put a wad of brie into my mouth I almost choked. The flavor/consistency combination was extremely unappealing in a visceral way I’d rather not describe. > > Before visiting Salvador, Brazil I had read about and was looking forward to eating _[acarajé](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acaraj%C3%A9)_. I don’t know if “disappoint” is the right word, but I was unprepared for how unbelievably _heavy_ one of those things is; I made it less than halfway through and couldn’t continue. (Probably wise, as they apparently have about a week’s worth of calories and fat.) Didn’t try any after that, and the smell of _dendê_ oil boiling on every corner became a bit nauseating. You are right about acaraje-it is unbelievably dense and filling. But a freshly made one, hot off the bubbling dende oil, with a cold beer-is great. DO NOT ever take one home though-once they get cold, they are nauseating piles of grease (“dende” oil resembles paraffin wax when cold). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-wanted-to-try-that-dissapoint/617253.md?page=8)