# Most overrated foodstuff **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192 "2015-08-06T21:32:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![BaldDudePeekskill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@BaldDudePeekskill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaldDudePeekskill)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/181 "2015-08-12T09:35:49Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I agree, especially filet mignon. I like steak just fine but I don’t ever crave it or look forward to it. I have never once ordered one in a restaurant because there are always many other choices that are more appealing. My father loves steak and is good at cooking them and I can cook them skillfully too so there is no need to go to an overpriced steakhouse if someone really wants them. > > Filet mignon is vastly overrated by people that don’t know much about the different steak cuts. The reason it is so expensive isn’t because it is unusually desirable. It is because the cut only comes from a tiny area of the cow. The cut itself doesn’t have enough flavor to make a good steak but many people see the price (driven up by the comparative rarity) and assume that more expensive must mean it is better. People that know a lot about steak cuts usually go for a Porterhouse or Rib-eye instead. > > Chefs agree with me: > [Filet mignon sucks: famous chefs reveal the most over/underrated meats - Thrillist](http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/filet-mignon-sucks-famous-chefs-reveal-the-most-over-underrated-meats) Agreed, on all points. Filet mignon tastes vaguely liverish to me, so it’s a no go. When I dine out I like the items I can’t prepare myself. I do a great steak, so I usually pass…unless of course I’m going to Peter Lugers, which is probably not going to happen ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/182 "2015-08-12T12:58:40Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Also, wine. I’ve tried to develop a taste, but the only halfway respectable wine I’ve found that I can drink is Riesling, because it’s a little sweet. Mostly, wine tastes too much like vinegar to me. That reminds me: I don’t get red wine. I like white wines, but most red wines are too…tannin-y I guess? It might be the “acquired taste” thing, but it’s not a taste I’m willing to acquire. I prefer the fruitier types. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/183 "2015-08-12T15:07:58Z")
Seconding (or thirding or whatever) crab. All crab. Legs seems to be ice cold by the time I ruin my fork peeling them, and then sticking that thing in warm butter–yeecchh. My sibs get a big bushel of whole crabs when we’re in MD. or DE. I’ve tried them–too much work too much mess–but they go crazy for them. Kale, definitely pokey when raw–I’ve posted here that if feels like lots of tiny razor blades cutting the inside of my mouth–there are no abrasions, but that’s the feeling I get. However, I ate a lot of cooked kale in China and liked it–I just can’t seem to replicate it satisfactorily. ---
**Author:** ![iceiso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@iceiso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iceiso)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/184 "2015-08-12T16:05:44Z")
Nutella - way too sweet and has a strong “plastic-y” taste to me. Filet mignon - it lacks the flavor and texture I prefer in beef. Yes, it’s tender, but that’s it. Cronuts - it’s just a doughnut. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/185 "2015-08-12T18:25:31Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > You suspicions are not universally correct. My family and I have collected different sauces before it was even a trend (yeah, we were hipsters in that arena). My mother even has the full collection of Tabasco prints that represent most major painting styles carefully framed and hung on her walls as well as an expensive walnut display cabinet with nothing but sauces, hot and otherwise, from around the world. We are quite experienced with sauces from all over. You didn’t run across Huy Fong Sriracha until **2002**? That stuff’s been around forever; I remember seeing it at our local Kroger in the early-mid 1980s, although we did have a relatively large Vietnamese community in our area. Every pho joint I’ve ever been in has had it from about 1989 forward (first time I had pho). Oh, and **Silenus** , preach it brother! Too many breweries brew low-hanging fruit that really doesn’t require them to be, you know, GOOD at what they do. Just about anyone can brew a passable stout or IPA- they’re loaded with such intensely flavorful ingredients that they camouflage any flaws in technique or anything else. Lagers, especially lighter ones, really require good technique and skill to be good. I’d personally LOVE to see a pre-Prohibition lager commercially made (not Batch 13 from Coors either). I can’t help but think that’s a license to print money- “good” beer for the Bud Light legions. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/186 "2015-08-13T00:57:42Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Mostly, wine tastes too much like vinegar to me. I wished wine tasted like vinegar to me. Most wines taste at least somewhat moldy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/187 "2015-08-13T04:59:54Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Thain food: nothing wrong with it, but pretty much every Thai restaurant serves the same stuff. I have to agree Thai food is overrated. Even in Thailand, it varies widely in quality, and much of it is pretty disgusting and would never pass sanitary inspections in the West. Such as the northeastern specialty _pla ra_, fermented raw fish that is not only disgusting as all get out but is the main source of liver fluke in the Northeast. (No doubt someone will show me a link to some restaurant in the West that does serve it, but I can pretty much guarantee it will be a sanitized version to some degree.) For a real treat, we go to Western-style restaurants. And there’s no beating a good pizza. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/188 "2015-08-13T07:08:30Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Chipotle. I was gonna say this, but it’s the chipotle flavor, not the chain. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/189 "2015-08-13T19:31:32Z")
The OP has poisoned the well wth a preemptive attack on perfectly innocent and delicious bacon! ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/190 "2015-08-13T20:09:23Z")
Can I specify _New York City_ pizza and bagels? There are untold numbers of people who will convince themselves that any crummy slice of pepperoni or stale onion bagel they buy in Manhattan is fantastic because it’s from **New York**. No. Sorry. There’s great stuff out there, yes, but there are also a lot of simply terrible and mediocre pizza and bagels in New York. Also: home cooked food in general. Now, some of this is just people being polite. If someone invites you over for dinner, a lot of the time you’re going to rave over the food no matter what you’re served - it’s just a nice thing to do. But many people appear to sincerely believe that any home-cooked meal is _de facto_ superior to something you could buy in a restaurant. > [@marshmallow](#): > > Men overrate meat, women overrate chocolate. Very astute observation! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/191 "2015-08-14T01:28:30Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Can I specify _New York City_ pizza and bagels? I’ll go a step further. Anything that’s advertised as a New York City _style_ of pizza I will avoid. It’s just not good. It’s barely pizza. It’s like a soggy saltine with catsup. Yeah, I spelt “ketchup” that way to be even more divisive! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![1224rattusrattus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ec9cab/32.png) [@1224rattusrattus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1224rattusrattus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/192 "2015-08-14T20:18:29Z")
I’m surprised at the general dislike of IPA’s for banging your taste buds in an unsubtle way. Traditional English IPA is one of the better entry level beer styles to introduce to people who are used to mainstream lagers, much like Sam Adams (might) be in the states. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/193 "2015-08-15T02:18:02Z")
Macadamia nuts. Yeah, they’re big; yeah they’re crunchy. Yeah, they got practically no flavor at all. Gimmie an almond or cashew any time. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/194 "2015-08-15T03:51:57Z")
Totally agree with the IPA haters. Give me a stout or a bock any day. Cheeseburgers. I don’t understand the pairing, except blue cheese on a burger. Nachos. That sauce is horrible. Give me refried beans instead, please. I love escargot and lobster, am scared of oysters, and don’t understand the raves for caviar. Finally, pizza. “Pizza cheese” is an abomination unto the Lord. Sauce from tinny #10 cans. Canned mushrooms. Discs of pepperoni which curl up at the edges and hold their individual cups of grease. Sausage of unknown provenance. Seriously, how can anyone stand 99% of them? Once, in the 1970s, I had a piece of deep dish pizza I liked. There was also a pizza joint in the city where I attended college which used a blend of whole-milk mozzarella, provolone, and Cheddar cheeses. This was a good pizza if they held half the sauce, and there was nothing but the cheese. Everything else, especially Chicago-style deep dish, is horrible. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/195 "2015-08-15T06:53:09Z")
Fast food places like McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Nandos and KFC are ubiquitous wherever I travel to and offer bland, unhealthy, uninteresting meals. I appreciate that they aren’t rated highly but that there are so many of them leads me to believe that people rate them highly enough to eat there regularly. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/196 "2015-08-16T04:07:20Z")
> [@1224rattusrattus](#): > > I’m surprised at the general dislike of IPA’s for banging your taste buds in an unsubtle way. Traditional English IPA is one of the better entry level beer styles to introduce to people who are used to mainstream lagers, much like Sam Adams (might) be in the states. I may be putting words in his mouth, but I don’t think the gripe is with IPAs as a style, but rather that a whole lot of US micro and craft brewers seem to be in some kind of IPA fixated period, where some breweries may brew 3-4 different varieties of IPA, and others seem to be in a hops-centric arms race, producing beers with upwards of 75-80 IBU. If you’re not a hop-head, this isn’t too appealing. There’s a world of difference between say… Worthington White Shield and Bridgeport’s Hop Czar. Both are IPAs, but the Bridgeport product is very hop-forward and out of style for a traditional British IPA, while the Worthington product is well within the style. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/197 "2015-08-16T04:34:20Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I may be putting words in his mouth, but I don’t think the gripe is with IPAs as a style, but rather that a whole lot of US micro and craft brewers seem to be in some kind of IPA fixated period, where some breweries may brew 3-4 different varieties of IPA, and others seem to be in a hops-centric arms race, producing beers with upwards of 75-80 IBU. If you’re not a hop-head, this isn’t too appealing. > > There’s a world of difference between say… Worthington White Shield and Bridgeport’s Hop Czar. Both are IPAs, but the Bridgeport product is very hop-forward and out of style for a traditional British IPA, while the Worthington product is well within the style. Yeah, that’s my gripe with them (though I haven’t mentioned it in this thread.) I love IPAs, but there’s only so many I need on tap. Some bars I go to have like 85% of their taps devoted to IPAs and it drives me nuts. (And if you count Imperial IPAs, IBUs can easily get to the 90s or more. And some get stupid silly, [like 1000+](http://www.beertutor.com/beers/index.php?t=highest_ibu). I’ve never tried anything that high. Highest I’ve tried, I think, is Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, which is listed at 120 IBU. Oddly enough, I don’t particularly remember it being that bitter–it’s balanced with a lot of malt and alcohol.) ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/198 "2015-08-16T06:10:47Z")
Sundried tomatoes Quinoa Cashews Many prepared foods from Trader Joes ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/199 "2015-08-16T06:42:04Z")
Earl Grey tea. Can’t stand the taste of bergamot, don’t know why people like it! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192/200 "2015-08-16T11:48:41Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Highest I’ve tried, I think, is Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, which is listed at 120 IBU. Oddly enough, I don’t particularly remember it being that bitter–it’s balanced with a lot of malt and alcohol.) Mmmmm DFH 120! I attended an event where they tapped four different vintages Dogfish Head 120s. You got four glasses served together. We began taking polite little sips of each and comparing the amazingly different brews, but things quickly got raucous. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-foodstuff/727192.md?page=11)