# Over Rated Items from your Regional Cuisine **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940 "2009-01-12T17:31:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/121 "2009-01-13T18:27:23Z")
> [@missred](#): > > From my current mid-South home: catfish. I don’t have issues with the occasional catfish brought in with a catch (provided I’m not the one cleaning it), but the near adulation of the overbreaded bottom feeder here escapes me. I have issues with all catfish. The best thing people who like it can say is, “it doesn’t taste fishy.” Infact, it has no flavor at all. Turnip Greens - I love to eat and cook most types of greens, but turnip greens are a whole lot of work to cook with very little payoff. They have to be rinsed forever to get all the dirt and sand out of the wrinkles. The stems have to be completely removed because unlike other greens where the stems get tender, turnip stems just get stringy. And anything that requires a huge pot to cook in with just enough finished product to fill a small serving bowl, should taste better than bitter grass, to make it worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/122 "2009-01-13T18:29:06Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I may lose my standing as a native South Carolinian for saying so, but grits and shrimp don’t belong in the same meal, let a lone the same bowl. True, but ya gotta give us the shrimp omlette! ---
**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:** [January 13, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/123 "2009-01-13T18:30:22Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I was curious, so I did me some googlin’, and here’s what I found: I dunno. Like you, I just assumed it was called “red-eye” because of the coffee (although not all red-eye gravy contains coffee.) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/124 "2009-01-13T18:43:59Z")
Still, it’s a better choice than the “brown-eye gravy.” ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/125 "2009-01-13T18:51:01Z")
Most of Kentucky’s contributions to the food world are at least as good as advertised–bourbon, Ale-8-One, Derby Pie, Western KY BBQ, beer cheese. The mint julep has its detractors, but I’m not one of them. I can’t say I’m nuts about the Hot Brown, though. It’s an open-faced turkey sandwich on toast with bacon, usually a tomato, and covered in Mornay sauce (white sauce with cheese). Certainly nothing bad about that list, but it usually falls down in execution. First of all, there’s really no way to keep the toast from getting soggy under all that sauce. Second, unless you use some really giant and thick bacon, it just gets lost under everything else, and they almost never do. Third, most sandwich-type turkey breast is dull and tasteless. Overall, there are so many things going on that it’s hardly worth using good ingredients, since it’s all going to get lost in the shuffle, but the parts don’t add up to anything that makes up for it. The version I had at its namesake Brown Hotel was particularly anemic, and almost offensively tiny for its $11 price tag. Even worse is that it was created as late-night drunk food, and you can’t even get one at the Brown after about 10:00 PM–I don’t even think room service can bring you one. It’s an excellent hotel otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/126 "2009-01-13T18:57:50Z")
No offense-but why do people rave about “Philly Cheesesteaks”? It is just a sandwich , and I’ve had better outside of Philly. The really weird thing-devotees claim you have to make a “real” cheesesteak with Cheezewhiz-that orange plastic-like substance that comes in cans-eeew!:smack: ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/127 "2009-01-13T19:17:17Z")
> [@labtrash](#): > > True, but ya gotta give us the shrimp omlette! Happy to oblige. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/128 "2009-01-14T01:38:44Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Still, it’s a better choice than the “brown-eye gravy.” Ladies & Gentlemen, we have a tie for comment of valor Oklahoma BBQ vs Brown-eye gravy I just busted a gut on that one… :D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/129 "2009-01-14T02:01:15Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > Crabs. Specifically Maryland steamed crabs… Alas, I’ve heard too many testimonials from non-Marylanders coming in and raving about them that it appears I’m in a lonely minority here. No you ain’t. I don’t much care for steamed crabs. They’re messy and as you said, you have to work really hard for nothing. And all the Old Bay and salt hurts my damn hangnails. Also, crabcakes are gross too. Smelly and too salty. And expensive. My friend, who is originally from Massachusetts, still cracks up at the sign every other restaurant in this area seems to have: “Best Crabcake in Baltimore”. Blech. You can have them! I guess I’m the only crab I actually like. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/130 "2009-01-14T02:51:02Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > A vegetarian and a celiac disease, in NO? Oy. > > Heh, sounds like our trio that was vegetarian, fish-allergic, and nut-allergic. I’m amazed we didn’t have someone spontaneously burst into flames at some meal or other there. 😃 My favorite dinner was a celiac, a vegetarian and a Muslim in a DINER. I think we had three milkshakes. To answer the question - walleye. Its a decent freshwater fish, but its sort of a shame that Minnesota isn’t known for something better. Oh, I suppose hotdish and jello salad, but those aren’t making anyone’s culinary top ten lists - even if the hotdish has tater tots and the jello has shaved carrots. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/131 "2009-01-14T02:54:54Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > My favorite dinner was a celiac, a vegetarian and a Muslim in a DINER. “Is this some kind of joke?” (I once ended up in an elevator at work - I work in a hospital - with three hospital chaplains, and I _swear_ that there was a priest and a rabbi plus a chaplain type I couldn’t identify. I struggled very hard to not say that line out loud.) ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/132 "2009-01-14T03:10:03Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Oh, I suppose hotdish . . . even if the hotdish has tater tots > **[Hotdish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotdish)** > > A hotdish (or hot dish) is a casserole that typically contains a starch, a meat, and a canned or frozen vegetable mixed with canned soup. The dish originates in the Upper Midwest region of the United States, where it remains a popular comfort food, particularly in Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Montana. Hotdish is cooked in a single baking dish, and served hot (per its name). It commonly appears at communal gatherings such as family reunions, potlucks, and church suppers. In my mind, its reputation is not so overblown, and so it lives up to (maybe more than to) this modest reputation. Decent comfort food/'70s style casserole. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/133 "2009-01-14T03:20:57Z")
Well, I’ll be… following that hotdish wiki link along for some wiki-diving, I reached this: [St. Paul sandwich](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul_sandwich). Which is apparently a local St. Louis specialty I’ve never, ever heard of before. hmm… like egg foo young, but white bread is vile. _ponder_ ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/134 "2009-01-14T03:53:49Z")
Any of the food at [Dick’s Drive-In](http://www.ddir.com/), except the milkshakes, is overrated. (That doesn’t mean I don’t still eat there maybe once every five trips to Seattle.) The fries especially- the website makes a huge deal about them being fresh cut, but what they really are is grease in a potato disguise. I can’t find the sketch from Almost Live, but there was a “Which bag of fries came from Dick’s” scene once- and while completely greased stained paper bag identified as Dick’s fries was an exaggeration, it was only slightly so. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/135 "2009-01-14T04:25:24Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > “Is this some kind of joke?” > > (I once ended up in an elevator at work - I work in a hospital - with three hospital chaplains, and I _swear_ that there was a priest and a rabbi plus a chaplain type I couldn’t identify. I struggled very hard to not say that line out loud.) You shoulda said, “So a priest, a chaplain, a rabbi, and an ax murderer get into an elevator, and the ax murderer says, ‘Is this some kind of joke?’” They woulda laughed and laughed! Daniel ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/136 "2009-01-14T04:33:23Z")
After an evening on the town, getting shit-faced, Halifax students are known to seek out a [Donair](http://www.thegreatness.com/old/olddonair.html) on their way back to the dorm. “it lacks even the patina of healthiness. Just look at it: A pound or more of spiced beef, slathered in a sauce that’s mostly cream and sugar, sprinkled with “the works” – usually diced onion and tomato – and wrapped in a big piece of pan-fried pita bread that’s also been drenched in sauce for good measure” ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/137 "2009-01-14T04:40:37Z")
> [@longPath](#): > > After an evening on the town, getting shit-faced, Halifax students are known to seek out a [Donair](http://www.thegreatness.com/old/olddonair.html) on their way back to the dorm. > > “it lacks even the patina of healthiness. Just look at it: A pound or more of spiced beef, slathered in a sauce that’s mostly cream and sugar, sprinkled with “the works” – usually diced onion and tomato – and wrapped in a big piece of pan-fried pita bread that’s also been drenched in sauce for good measure” Aw man – the doner kebab is worldwide (it may be worse, who knows, in lovely Halifax), and is nasty yet awesomely tasty worldwide. Streetmeat=streetmeat, no matter where you roam. ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/138 "2009-01-14T04:52:01Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Aw man – the doner kebab is worldwide (it may be worse, who knows, in lovely Halifax), and is nasty yet awesomely tasty worldwide. Streetmeat=streetmeat, no matter where you roam. I’ve only had the local version. I quite enjoy the ones from Velos Pizza on Almon St. but only once every 6 months or so. Is the sauce (Carnation milk, sugar, vinegar, garlic) universal or is it a Hfx. creation I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/139 "2009-01-14T05:01:10Z")
> [@longPath](#): > > I’ve only had the local version. I quite enjoy the ones from Velos Pizza on Almon St. > but only once every 6 months or so. > Is the sauce (Carnation milk, sugar, vinegar, garlic) universal or is it a Hfx. creation I wonder? Hmm. That could be local to Halifax. My impression is that “white sauce” (the only phrase I’ve heard the Turkish/Greek/Arab Jihadi vendors, worldwide, use), is supposed to be some commingling of yogurt, dill, garlic – what? This is basically shawarma, writ streetwise. Carnation milk??? ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/140 "2009-01-14T05:09:09Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Well, I’ll be… following that hotdish wiki link along for some wiki-diving, I reached this: [St. Paul sandwich](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul_sandwich). Which is apparently a local St. Louis specialty I’ve never, ever heard of before. > > hmm… like egg foo young, but white bread is vile. _ponder_ Yeah, I’d eat that on a dare, but only then. Egg foo yung is of marginal value even as a Chinese-American dish. And Chi-Am cuisine as practiced in the Midwest? Game probably not worth candle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940.md?page=8)