Slightly less faux-hipsterish: there’s a local pizzeria/brewery whose IPA is intensely floral, which works amazingly well with pizza. I love it. But far too many IPAs out there don’t really try for any other flavor besides bitter. Bitter is fine, but it needs elaboration. I’m out of the market for new IPAs, having been burned once too often on something just bland and bitter.
Oysters and crabs and lobsters aren’t really overrated, because I can see why others like them; I just don’t particularly care for them (oysters I can’t stand, crabs are a bit yucky, and lobsters taste to me like low-grade shrimp). Farm-raised shrimp are an abomination, but wild Carolina shrimp are the food of the gods.
Here in NE, there are at least 6 chains selling burgers and fries-I suspect that many will die soon-their products are all the same.
“Molecular gastronomy”-No, i don’t want to pay $40.00 for a big empty plate with some liquid nitrogen frozen peach merangue on it.
Thain food: nothing wrong with it, but pretty much every Thai restaurant serves the same stuff.
Alcohol in general. If its reputation was built on “it’s legal and you can get fucked up on it” I would consider it an awesome foodstuff. However all the other benefits it possesses; thirst quenching, great tasting, fun starting, relaxing, stimulating etc are mostly bullshit.
I had this happy discovery a while ago. My brother pointed out that the beer I have drunk for years “tastes like shit.” I didn’t believe him but decided to check it out. Upon taking my time drinking a couple of bottles I discovered that he is right. Further testing revealed that the only alcoholic drinks that I liked as much as, say a chocolate milkshake largely tasted like a chocolate milkshake. It made giving up absolutely painless.
To me it’s a bunch of gloppy sauces over perfectly good meat. At first you can tell the difference between the sauces and actually appreciate them. The problem is that pretty soon everything becomes the sauce and it permeates everything. I sometimes want to boil my mouth afterward just to get rid of that cloying feeling.
That said, I do enjoy making my [i[very lightly sauced* pulled pork every once in a while.
You’re quite correct in that there are worlds of difference between all-u-can eat buffet steak and proper piece of flame-kissed cow flesh from a top steak house. You’re also right in that people who say the don’t like steak might not have had the proper steak education and experience. I still agree with marshmallow. Steak is…good, just not overwhelming. If I’m going to sit down with a nice piece of seared flesh then I’d be much happier with a thick cut, marinated, bone-in pork chop.
Part of my ambivalence about steak may stem from the fact that we ate it a great deal when I was growing up. Dad loved a steak and we had it for supper at least twice a month. I’ve had my share.
As long as you mean “grilled with sauce does not equal BBQ”, I’ll agree. I find sauces can complement any way of cooking meat, though not all methods of cooking meat need sauce.
I’ll chime in on the oysters. There are a few places here that do $1 oyster happy hours (or late night), in which case I will certainly enjoy the treat. But any more than that and it’s stupid expensive. ($3 oysters? Please!).
Note the phrase “has to.” If it has to be sauced, it ain’t good barbecue. Now, sure, a little sauce can compliment the meat, but cue isn’t about the sauce, although I love making sauce every time I make cue. It’s always served on the side, though.
Anyhow, the hamburger discussion reminded me–gourmet over-sized pub burgers. You know, the ones that come a half pound (and up), and have all sorts of crap on them. Now, I do eat them every once in a long while, but I’ll prefer a fast-food style burger 9 times out of 10. Just in general, I prefer fast food burgers to anything served at a restaurant or bar. (So, yes, for me the overrated In N Out is rated just right, as it’s my favorite burger in the world)
Me, I love a half-pound pub burger, but I don’t see the point of putting anything on it besides lettuce, onion, tomato, mustard, and mayo. All the extras I’ve tried have taken away from the deliciousness of the burger. But that exact kind of pub burger is IMO a bajillion times better than a flat fast food burger.
Yeah, for me, the lettuce and tomato is usually too much when I’m in the mood for that big burger. Just give me cheese, mustard, onion, pickle, ketchup. (ETA: OK, and a fried, runny egg if available.) But, yeah, 9 times out of 10, I want fast food style with the thin patties.
Foie gras.
I love chicken liver, duck liver, turkey liver, chopped liver…pretty much any poultry liver. Except foi gras; the fatty, washed out liver taste does nothing for me & the price! No Thanks.
Totally agree. I think In-N-Out is fine, but the way some people obsess about it is baffling. Actually when I moved to CA, my friend took me to In-N-Out and said “THIS BURGER WILL BLOW YOUR MIND!” and I… didn’t understand it. It’s ok.
“just?” Skip the mustard, pickle and ketchup and then you’ve got a burger that is just a burger, not some condiment holding vessel. ETA: My vote for “most overrated food” is condiments.
I agree with kale, among other things mentioned in this thread.
One thing I never understood is the sheer giddy joy some people have when they see a chocolate fountain. Chocolate covered strawberries are overrated, as mentioned, and what else do they have to dip in the fountain? Angel food cake? Melons?? Marshmallows? And the chocolate itself is always cold and bland, it makes Hershey’s syrup taste gourmet. It’s not like some fancy fondue or anything, it’s a gimmick, pure and simple.
But one gimmick I can get behind at those all you can eat places is the soft serve sundae bar!
Also, I’m going to say it: Cake. Cake is boring. Brownies, cookies, ice cream, fudge, all of it has some unique texture going for it. Cake, however, is the Wonder Bread of desserts. Granted, there are some great cakes out there, but 99% of them are bland canvasses for someone to make inedible artwork out of. My policy is “look but don’t touch”. I’ll pass up all but the most delicious looking carrot cake or German chocolate for a chewy brownie or chocolate chip cookie any day.
OK, don’t get angry, but . . . corn on the cob just picked.
Maybe my palate is lacking, but I like corn whether it was picked 2 minutes ago or 2 days ago. Starting a pot of water boiling before you go out to pick the ears is aesthetically pleasing, but I’d fail a blinded taste test.