I was going to say…coq au vin and puttanesca is hardly “fancy schmancy” food – quite the opposite, actually. It may have an air of sophistication because of its foreign name, but its roots are very humble.
Anyhow, you like what you like. Creme brulee is one of my favorite desserts in the world and, once again, I wouldn’t call that fancy either, but for the name. It’s just custard. With a hard caramel top.
Well, considering most of the servings we get today are WAY too much food (a healthy serving of meat is three ounces, and I defy you to find a three ounce steak at a restaurant) I don’t have a problem with “small” portions. I even read somewhere that a McDonald’s kid’s hamburger today is the same size as an adult McDonald’s hamburger some years ago.
Ivylad and I have eaten at Emeril’s twice. That’s probably the fanciest we’ve been to, and I don’t think it’s even the fanciest restaurant in Orlando(ish.) Even there, the servings were nice sized, elegantly plated, and the flavorings were wonderful.
I think if a chef knows what s/he’s doing, experimenting with new flavors can be a good thing. But doing it just to come across as trendy? No.
I picked coq au vin and puttanesca based partly on their ingredients (one has mushrooms and one has anchovies, neither of which I consider to be edible foods) and partly because of the names. Dessert is harder to screw up because most things that go into desserts tend to work well together, but creme brulee was the least impressive thing I have ever put in my mouth. I took 2 or 3 bites and left the rest alone, which is really something as I have a sweet tooth that cannot be rivaled by anyone. I would have been happier with a couple of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups instead of the creme brulee…I’ll save mine for you next time!
I think that, while I will continue to try new things in hopes of expanding my dietary horizons, I am a comfort food person at heart. I will always prefer my food deep fried and covered in gravy I guess but that doesn’t mean I can’t try new things every now and again.
Okay, so that’s a separate issue entirely then.
James Lileks might have some evidence to the contrary. And there may be some stuff that you’re not acculturated to–for example, how does the thought of sweet sticky rice with grated dried fish strike you?
Like Anne Neville noted, there can be a lot of variance in execution. I’ve had a lot of lousy creme brulee, but I’ve also had some really good creme brulee.
Well, obviously YMdoesV; Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups taste rancid to me because the quality of the chocolate is so poor.
Outta curiosity, what are your thoughts on this menu?
Well, not liking particular ingredients isn’t the same as not liking all fancy foods. I dislike eggplant, but that doesn’t mean I hate all Italian cooking, just that I won’t order the eggplant parmesan.
If you’ve only had creme brulee once, I’d suggest waiting for a recommendation and trying it again. Bad creme brulee is pretty common, and pretty unimpressive: it can be grainy, watery, and gelatinous all at the same time. Good creme brulee is the smoothest, richest thing you’ll ever put in your mouth.
Daniel
Spaghetti Puttanesca = “spaghetti in the style of a prostitute”. I just call it “whore noodles”. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
As for me, I call myself a foodie. I haven’t had an opportunity to experience haute cuisine - I may one day make it to the French Laundry, after I’m rich and famous. For me, it is more about taking pride in my work. It is about seeing my Grandmother’s knife in my hand and wondering if I will ever be worthy of it. It’s about old traditions, but also about making new ones. It’s about bringing the world to my dinner table and being in touch with the seasons and the earth. Yes, food is almost a religion to me, a mishmash of honoring my ancestors and my environment.
Chances are if someone served you puttanesca and called it “spaghetti sauce with olives & capers” (assuming you like olives & capers) you’d never have a clue it had anchovies in it. Anchovies in preparations like this are like an herb or a spice; you don’t taste 'em, they just add depth to the sauce.
In fact, I’d wager that there’s plenty of spaghetti or marinara sauce out there made with anchovies that nobody mentions; I know at least one restaurant that ran into trouble because their standard marinara had anchovies and vegetarians assumed it didn’t. Anchovies have a complex, intriguing taste.
Anyway, to get back to the OP, you like what you like! Just don’t assume you don’t like something just because it has a fancy name. Like many have said in this thread, a lot of fancy food is peasant food, and the fancy name scares people off. Beef Burgundy? That’s beef stew, with some red wine in the sauce. Pasta Carbonara? Spaghetti with a sauce made with bacon and Parmesan and eggs. It’s not really all that scary.
Also, a lot of high-brow places that serve little bits of food with twenty ingredients and a big price tag really aren’t all that good. You shouldn’t feel bad about not liking them. I’ve been very much shying away from high-dollar places unless they get incredible reviews, and even then I’ve been burned. You’re right, butternut squash ravioli is tasteless nine times out of ten, even when it costs $34.95 for 5 raviolis on a fancy plate. It’s that tenth time you get them and your eyes roll back in your head and suddenly you realize just what people gush about when they gush over butternut squash ravioli that you never figured out before that makes it worth it.
If you haven’t seen the movie Ratatouille it’s worth it just for the scene where the food critic regresses into his childhood over a meal so good that it brings back every single good thing in his life. That’s what we all want out of restaurants - because every once in a while, you get that amazing, wonderful experience that makes all the crappy meals worth it.
Man, you couldn’t get me into that place with a promise of free blowjobs. That menu reeks!
If it makes you feel any better, everyone always tries to trade me a bite of their fancy-shmancy breakfast dishes for a bite of my chocolate chip pancakes.
Depends on the woman. 
I have no interest in anything on that menu. 
Interesting…because it’s almost all just variations on basic comfort food and pub food. This is one of those places where you’ll tend to run into chefs dining there on their day off.
No it isn’t. The entire top half of the menu is crap. The bottom half (large plates) is over-priced by 50% at least, and I’d be willing to bet that I could find better cheaper within 2 miles of that place. Marrow bones and ox tail aren’t comfort food in my neck of the woods. Neither are frog’s legs or foie gras.
If chefs eat there, then I’ll go someplace where cooks eat, thank you very much. 
Frogs legs, marrow bones, tongue, and fois gras are not comfort food. I can see where this kind of thing would appeal to some but this is more extreme than what I was talking about in the OP. I can find something I will eat on pretty much every menu, even the one you linked to, but I really don’t enjoy it the way I’d like to if I am paying for food. If someone else is paying for it I won’t complain but if I am paying for it I want to savor every bite. I don’t want to leave and think, “That was okay. I wish I’d gone to a diner or something though.”
FYI, This is comfort food!
As is this.
I cut my teeth as a prep cook to sous chef, starting at age 15, working in a few 4-star kitchens. I am a food snob, but my snob side runs to the cheap regional cuisines, or cheap places that do something fantastic.
My problem is whem I’m taking my wife out to a place for, say steak, and paying a horrific amount of money for cheesy ambience and a mediocre steak. We are both frugal enough that we’d rather pay money for a really special meal, than be treated like royalty.
I’ll hit the five-dollar take out Thai joint before the sixty-dollar sit down place because I know the curry or satay I get is going to be authentic and awesome and I could care less about the accoutrements. Real soul food is a favorite (Steve’s in Detroit) as is real BBQ. Heck, give me beignets from Cafe Du Monde, or a raised glazed from DD, or a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendys, they’re all great.
Yes, I keep duxelles in my freezer for cooking and use it pretty often, and there are few high-end ingredients that I keep on hand, but I still make and love Kraft mac and cheese (especially with magarine, no milk, and louisiana brand hot sauce as the base).
So, I feel ya. Also, sounds like you’re no stranger to the kitchen yourself. Cook what you like!
Hmm. Marrow bones and ox tail are definitely comfort food to me. As are liver and kidneys. But I grew up poor, and mac ‘n’ cheese from a box would be unthinkable as much because it’s cheaper to buy real store-brand cheese and noodles in bulk and make your own, as because of food snob value. And this was an era and location where mum and dad could feed us cheaper by far by cooking at home than running out for takeout.
That menu looked good to me, but apparently my idea of comfort food is calibrated very differently from many others’. Chicken livers were cheap as dirt, and while they’re no foie gras, I did get a kick out of making my own pâté. My grandmother used to get tiny tins of pâté de foie gras from the import store… definitely not the same as fresh, but it still turned my tastebuds on. I’m going all Proustian now on the memory of eating it on Breton crackers with a glass of vividly green cordial (like kool aid, only sweeter. 
Not really the best pairing…)
Hmm. It really does depend on your frame of reference, doesn’t it? I would certainly consider both of those peasanty, comfort-type foods. Ox tail stew is very homey. Perhaps the tastiest, most satisfying meat to use for a stew (besides, perhaps, short ribs.) Nothing fancy at all. Marrow bones are awesome spread on a piece of thick, Eastern European bread, drizzled with a bit of salt. I wouldn’t consider either of these haute cuisine. Once again, quite the opposite.
I mean, the menu you linked to is perfectly good. I’d like to try anything on that menu. But the menu Hunter Hawk linked to sounds pretty damn good as well. I’d love to try anything on that menu. My main complaint is that it’s overpriced by about two bucks or so, for me.
In certain ways, I’m pickier than you (in other ways - not), and I’ve been to Quinn’s a few times. I’ve tried the burger, the meatballs (they did not come with polenta then), and the time that I was feeling adventurous, I talked someone else into ordering the sloppy joe…it was ok.
I do feel childish sometimes when it’s clear I have the palate of a 6 year-old. So, from time to time I try different things to make sure that my food preferences are made from a position of knowledge (that I’m not saying “ick” because it looks like it might be unappetizing, but because I actually ate some and found it inedible). But I’m ok with prefering fries and a grilled sausage sandwich from the place across the street from Quinn’s. (Where someday I really will try the octopus.)
This makes me feel much better! And now you have me thinking about BBQ! Mmm, BBQ…