# Have you ever been underwhelmed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764 "2024-11-25T16:43:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/101 "2024-11-26T16:15:39Z")
Niagara Falls Distinctly underwhelming from the US side. Ought to be seen from the Cdn side. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/102 "2024-11-26T16:17:56Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > One of them mentioned that there was a line up to get into the first class lounge at one of the airports they had a layover in. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of the first class lounge. Funny you should say that. I’m on an airplane now. And did indeed deal with the overcrowded first class lounge this morning. There are now 3 tiers of “first class” lounges at airports. The true “first first class” lounge, the “anybody with an expensive credit card” middle manager’s lounge, and the “Anybody with 50 bucks to spend to get a couple ‘free’ cheap beers and some snax” lounge for the proles. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/103 "2024-11-26T16:28:58Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The true “first first class” lounge Yeah, those are nice too. In my experience you can only use them if your not flying domestically. I suppose you can pay. Donno. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/104 "2024-11-26T16:31:52Z")
I’ve got two, and I’m going to post them separately. I went to see the famous Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants (“The Glass Flowers”) at Harvard University. I don’t know what I expected, but they look EXACTLY like the flowers and plants they represent. I understand that they represent an astonishing level of artisanship and achievement, I really do. But it’s sort of like having someone make a glass book that looks exactly like a used book to sit on your coffee table, or a glass copy of a pencil. It’s just hard to build up any whelm. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/105 "2024-11-26T16:39:34Z")
My wife’s family has a meme for being underwhelmed. My wife is the child of Greek-Cypriot immigrants who were active members of the Orthodox Church. When she got engaged (late husband), they wanted her to get married in their local church. She wanted to get married in a beautiful old Connecticut mansion that was often rented out as a venue for special events. I’ve seen it myself since then…inspiring staircases, warm paneling, beautiful wood details, lovely ballroom, etc. So she took her father to see it before the ceremony, expecting him to be impressed. His first words upon walking in: “This isn’t fancy! It’s just wood!” ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/106 "2024-11-26T18:49:52Z")
Ooh, I have another one to add: Beef. Especially steak, but also just any sort of undifferentiated cattle-flesh. I’ve had only maybe 2-3 steaks in my life, in supposedly fancy places (not that I can tell), and each time was more disgusting than the last. I just don’t understand the appeal… gooey globs of sliced cow parts, with a texture more like wet bread than actual meat. Just… why? I’ve also had the misfortune of trying “kobe beef” in Japan, where they brought out smaller-than-usual steaks and made us cook it ourselves. Once it was “ready”, the server insisted I try a taste. I did, rejected it, cooked the remainder to extra-well-done and then made an OK fried rice out of it. Still wasn’t great. By contrast, I’ve never met a chicken dish I didn’t like. I’d also take a Filet o’ Fish over The World’s Bestest Burger™ any day. I know, I know… uncultured heathen and all that. Maybe it’s genetic? Maybe I’m just broken. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/107 "2024-11-26T18:57:23Z")
Ken’s Steakhouse restaurant in Framingham MA. Ken’s Steakhouse dressings are ubiquitous around here, don’t know but maybe all over the country. So one day wife and I were in Boston wanted to get something to eat on the way home, had heard of the restaurant and figured we’d give it a try. Didn’t have high expectations but underwhelmed was the right word for that experience. Coulda done as well at a place like Applebee’s for less money. Edible food but nothing special at all. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/108 "2024-11-26T19:00:04Z")
We have a local attraction in Watts Ca. Watts Towers, when I was a kid my Dad took me there and they were huge and made a huge impression on me for years to come. 30 years later I took my kids back to see them and they looked like they had shrunken. I had spent my life in the trades so the workmanship of the old man while still admirable but no longer wondrous. I wish I had never gone back. My first protest was here with my mother and father. They wanted to tear them down. They pulled on them with a crane and the cable broke. The city stopped when that happened and decided they were not a hazrd and were granted permits. This is my 12 yr old version of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/109 "2024-11-26T19:22:13Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Lisbon is the spot to visit? Major yawn from me. My memory of Lisbon is that there was something astonishing and wonderful around every corner, to the extent that, _approaching a corner_, I would genuinely get breathless with anticipation. YMMV I guess. But I’ve been way too positive about European tourist sites. Here’s a couple of underwhelmers. Colmar. The thing everybody knows (uh, well, many people know) about Colmar is Little Venice. [The wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colmar) has a photo of it. **Everything** you see about Colmar has a photo of it.,..fabulous canals lined with beautiful houses… except nah, there’s only one canal. One short stretch of canal, to be precise, so that even out of season every viewpoint is heaving. It’s like when you see a trailer of a movie, and subsequently realize that everything good about the movie was in the trailer. That’s not quite fair - away from the tiny canal, a lot of Colmar is very attractive. If you were driving through Alsace, knew nothing about it and just happened to stop by, you would be impressed and charmed. But it’s all been colossally oversold, which is deeply annoying. And…Knossos. The problem here is that there isn’t that much of it left (compared to, say Efes/Ephesus), what there is isn’t that interesting, and in any case what you see is substantially an “interpretation” of the site by Archaeologist Arthur Evans. > While Evans’ discoveries were undoubtedly significant, they were not without controversy. His decision to reconstruct parts of the Palace of Knossos using concrete was met with criticism, with some accusing him of being overly imaginative and not entirely accurate. [Source](https://knossos-palace.gr/arthur-evans-knossos-palace/#elementor-toc__heading-anchor-6) If you have the choice, go to Efes instead. j ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/110 "2024-11-26T19:36:41Z")
I’d go back to Lisbon just to hit up the ginjinha stands again. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/111 "2024-11-26T20:06:33Z")
Oh yeah, and that! (For those who don’t know, it’s a sweet liqueur made from sour cherries, and sold in a cup made of chocolate. You drink the liqueur and then eat the cup.) j ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/112 "2024-11-26T20:17:43Z")
Singapore. Been there twice. I’m not a foodie, and I hate shopping, so there was zero appeal for me. On each visit, I was counting down the hours until the return flight. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/113 "2024-11-26T23:52:41Z")
Regarding art: Whistler’s Mother (_Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1_). Had never really seen the interest in it. Saw in on tour at NAG in 1994. Even by my low expectations it significantly underwhelmed. I’ve seen some of his other work that’s really good. Why this piece gets the attention is beyond me. Anything by Klee or Rothko. Note that I’m not against modern/abstract stuff. Some of Pollock’s stuff just draws me in. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/114 "2024-11-27T00:00:09Z")
This was during the heyday of both bands, in the early 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/115 "2024-11-27T00:01:26Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > This was during the heyday of both bands, in the early 1980s. Ah, gotcha 🙂. ---
**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 27, 2024, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/116 "2024-11-27T01:05:05Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Undelightful was my first and last Krispy Kreme, an insipid collapsing mouthful of toxically sweet warm goo. Yeah. My exact thoughts. > [@Jophiel](#): > > The one horseshoe I had left me feeling like it was just a dumb idea for a sandwich. I’d never heard of this and had to google. Looks gross. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/117 "2024-11-27T01:13:16Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@susan](#): > > > > Undelightful was my first and last Krispy Kreme, an insipid collapsing mouthful of toxically sweet warm goo. > > Yeah. My exact thoughts About half of 'Murrica _lives_ for toxic sweetness. But FWIW I’m w you. So gross. > [@carrps](#): > > > [@Jophiel](#): > > > > The one horseshoe I had left me feeling like it was just a dumb idea for a sandwich. > > I’d never heard of this and had to google. Looks gross. Despite having lived for 20 years about 100 miles from Springfield IL, wiki’s claimed ground zero for this horror, I’d not known of them before tonight. @Jophiel you should be ashamed for spreading news of this abomination far and wide. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/118 "2024-11-27T01:17:55Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Just avoid Bourbon street and it’s a nice time. Agreed. I don’t go into the Quarter much any more, but back in the day Royal street was fun. Bourbon street is to be avoided. That said, get out of the FQ and head uptown. There are some fun stores on Magazine St. St. Charles has nice old homes. The N.O. zoo is quite nice. Like any place, the headline location is a small part of what is interesting. ---
**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 27, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/119 "2024-11-27T01:26:07Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > So she took her father to see it before the ceremony, expecting him to be impressed. His first words upon walking in: > > “This isn’t fancy! It’s just wood!” I can guess why he was underwhelmed. Friends of mine got married in a tiny jewel box of a Greek Orthodox church. It was seriously impressive. Gold icons with colorful enamels and jewels covering just about every vertical surface. Gorgeous. That Connecticut mansion sounds like old money reserve that’s not intended to impress the same way. > [@rbroome](#): > > Agreed. I don’t go into the Quarter much any more, but back in the day Royal street was fun. Bourbon street is to be avoided. I haven’t been to NO since 1984 (?). It was Mardi Gras, and I had a blast. The friend who’d invited me had relatives in the area, and a cousin lived in a shot-gun house on Ursulines, so we had a free place to stay. They had cars, so we had transportation. On Fat Tuesday, itself, an aunt and uncle lived on Bourbon Street so we had somewhere we could pee without having to buy drinks. They also made a gigantic pot of chili, so if we wanted to eat cheap/free, we could. There were a couple of times I thought I might be crushed in the crowds, but I survived. Seeing Al Hirt’s band marching through those crowds was an awesome sight. We had a crawfish boil at her dad’s family’s house outside the city that was not just an experience, but tasty! We drove around Pontchatrain. We got propositioned which made us all laugh hysterically. The beignets and chicory coffee were quite good (although the ones I had a Disneyland when they still had them were surprisingly the best I’ve had) at Cafe du Monde. There were a lot of interesting , unique shops, too. Not a lot of the commercialization @LSLGuy has described back then, either. So, I had a ball. Sad to hear it’s gone downhill. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/120 "2024-11-27T01:34:11Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@carrps](#): > > > > > [@susan](#): > > > > > > Undelightful was my first and last Krispy Kreme, an insipid collapsing mouthful of toxically sweet warm goo. > > > > Yeah. My exact thoughts > > About half of 'Murrica _lives_ for toxic sweetness. But FWIW I’m w you. So gross. > > > > > [@carrps](#): > > > > > [@Jophiel](#): > > > > > > The one horseshoe I had left me feeling like it was just a dumb idea for a sandwich. > > > > I’d never heard of this and had to google. Looks gross. > > Despite having lived for 20 years about 100 miles from Springfield IL, wiki’s claimed ground zero for this horror, I’d not known of them before tonight. > > @Jophiel you should be ashamed for spreading news of this abomination far and wide.😉 I had traveled to Springfield a few years ago with a friend for a reunion and we saw these advertised. Thought we would connect with some local specialties. Underwhelmed indeed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764.md?page=7)