# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/141 "2009-01-14T14:47:10Z")
> [@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? The sweet white garlic sauce is definitely a Halifax thing, and nearly impossible to find outside of Nova Scotia. _shudder_ From what I’ve been told, it all started at King of Donair in Halifax, where the Lebanese owners concocted the goopy white stuff. The rest is history… Haligonians love them some sweet donair sauce and will show signs of withdrawal when they go without their donair fix for long periods of time, the rest of the Canada never quite figured out the appeal. Of the things I miss about Hali, the donair is not one of them. The eccles cakes from Larkin’s bakery, on the other hand, were a thing of beauty. ---
**Author:** ![vifslan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f4b2a3/32.png) [@vifslan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vifslan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/142 "2009-01-14T16:07:44Z")
Got enough space in here for a European? I’m going to nominate [sautéed reindeer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saut%C3%A9ed_reindeer) (I’m probably hundreds of miles away from the closest reindeer herd, but it’s not as if you can expect foodie business travellers to go for a twelve-hour train journey if they hanker for a taste of Rudolf and friends, when all they’ve got is a free afternoon. So reindeer has become a national Finnish speciality, never mind that most of the population live out their daily lives without ever seeing one.) The entire raison d’etre for this dish is that you’re pretending to be in a rather more primitive state than a modern kitchen, with only a frozen round of reindeer, a trusty knife and a frying pan at hand. All you can manage is scraping off thin slices of meat that you put into the pan. When browned, add water or beer and a bit of cream. And voilà, you get something that looks like döner kebab in a thin, pale brown sauce, traditionally served with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam. I don’t know if I’m being influenced by fifteen years of vegetarianism, but I like to handle reindeer meat a little more respectfully than carving it into shoe leather. ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/143 "2009-01-14T17:27:48Z")
I don’t say this within earshot of too many people, but both Pat’s and Gino’s are both overrated cheese steaks in my opinion. Especially Pat’s…over-cooked single slab of tasteless chipsteak with florescent yellow cheese-like substance slapped on it. Both are sloppy and unimpressive. There are plenty of wonderful steak shops that give you tastier **chopped** juicy chipsteak and actual italian rolls…not those spongy abominations from Amaroso’s. The only time I ever go to either of those places is when I have a car-full of drunk friends from out of town that insist on going there after the bars close. (oh and I take mine wit and provalone) Also another local item that is fast become a nation-wide scourge, Yeungling Lager. What an absolute crapfest that one is. I think most people order it because it’s easy and everywhere and you only have to ask for a lager and the bartender knows what you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/144 "2009-01-14T17:40:18Z")
Rocky mountain oysters– AKA cross-sections of breaded, deep fried bull testicles. Supposed to be a Colorado specialty, and I believe it was on the menu when the Summit of the 8 dined at one of our famous local restaurant (The Fort) They have very, very little flavor or texture–imagine…I dunno–a texture similar to fois gras and a flavor like slightly beef-y mozzarella cheese. Frankly if you remove the stringy nature of the it, they’re essentially deep-fried mozzarella. Which is ok, I suppose. But you’d expect breaded, deep-fried bull-testicle cross sections to be…exotic. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/145 "2009-01-14T17:41:41Z")
> [@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. We tend to have gyros here in the States, which is the Greek cousin of the Turkish doner kebab. They are very similar but not really the same. I prefer the Greek version, which seems even less healthy than the Turkish variety. ---
**Author:** ![Gwyen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/858c86/32.png) [@Gwyen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gwyen)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/146 "2009-01-14T17:50:46Z")
Yeah, another vote for grits, and for hush puppies. Cole Slaw is nasty, it’s even worse when you put in Barbecue, which comes best from Arkansas of course. How about chocolate gravy, I had never even heard of it until I moved to North Arkansas. Nasty, nasty nasty. Hot, lumpy chocolate pudding on my biscuits? No way. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/147 "2009-01-14T18:09:15Z")
> [@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 keep mistaking this for a [Donner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party) kebab. ---
**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, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/148 "2009-01-14T18:19:37Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > I am not a huge starch-by-itself-fan. But hominy and its derivative grits have a certain pure value as the distillation of starchy goodness. Of course, both are great when dressed up. But try the vehicle itself (either hominy or grits), unadorned, one day when you have a big starch craving. Much like plain tortilla chips (salted or un) or white flour tortillas straight from the wrapper, there is an obvious appeal to pure corn meal flavor. Agreed–and if you want that taste, you gotta go for yellow grits, which IMO are far tastier than white grits. > [@](#): > > Sacrilege. Especially if fried up in the grease used to fix the fish (the bacon, the whatever), the hushpuppy has an entirely different, sweeter, more evocative appeal than the fry (the fry is separately awesome, especially back in the days when McDonald’s used tallow). I guess, but even good hushpuppis are IMO inferior to good steak fries, and I’d always prefer the latter to the former. > [@](#): > > I am partial toward raw unsalted pecans, and love their flavor, so I am biased here – but wow do I disagree (certainly, the corn syrup takes on a perhaps-too-dominant note in the pie – but boy do I sure taste the pecans). Maybe that’s the thing: I love pecans, think they’re the pinnacle of nutdom. Pecan pie is almost always insufficiently nutty and far too gooey. Occasionally it’s made with bourbon and molasses and just a little corn syrup, and then it’s fine eating. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/149 "2009-01-14T18:25:41Z")
Two additional Chicago ones come to mind, Jays chips, which are just run of the mill potato chips and Eli’s cheesecake, which is a fine cheesecake if you like your cheesecake to be made with cream cheese instead of, yanno, real cheese like sweetened ricotta or mascarpone. ---
**Author:** ![Gwyen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/858c86/32.png) [@Gwyen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gwyen)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/150 "2009-01-14T18:46:41Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Two additional Chicago ones come to mind, Jays chips, which are just run of the mill potato chips and Eli’s cheesecake, which is a fine cheesecake if you like your cheesecake to be made with cream cheese instead of, yanno, real cheese like sweetened ricotta or mascarpone. Um, I have never had cheesecake that WASN"T made out of cream cheese. Recipie anyone? ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/151 "2009-01-14T19:38:33Z")
> [@Gwyen](#): > > Um, I have never had cheesecake that WASN"T made out of cream cheese. Recipie anyone? I actually don’t care for it so I don’t have a recipe. Hopefully someone that does will post a good one, but in the meantime, the kind with ricotta is often called “Italian style cheesecake” if you decide to google it. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/152 "2009-01-14T19:48:32Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > I am pretty much waiting for God to strike me dead right now, but … I think the Anchor Bar is overrated. The wings can be good, but it’s also the kind of place that can get crowded, and when it’s crowded the quality of everything on the menu plummets as the kitchen simply starts slinging stuff out to keep the orders moving. > > And even when the wings at the Anchor Bar are good, there are other places I think are better. Agreed a thousand times. As you know, I’m not native Buffalo, but my grandparents are, and I’ve been there enough to know that the Anchor Bar’s wings suck. Duff’s all the way! Of course, Duff’s weck isn’t great, but you can’t win 'em all. And add me to the list of people who thinks that Beef on Weck is better than wings anyway. I like wings, but I never crave them like I do the weck, and sadly, there’s only one place I can get weck here, and then only on Thursdays. ---
**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, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/153 "2009-01-14T20:45:46Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Two additional Chicago ones come to mind, Jays chips, which are just run of the mill potato chips and Eli’s cheesecake, which is a fine cheesecake if you like your cheesecake to be made with cream cheese instead of, yanno, real cheese like sweetened ricotta or mascarpone. The “real” Chicago cheesecake that I’ve had (from Pompei, among others) has always been unpleasantly mealy in texture. Got a better example or is that the way it’s supposed to be? ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/154 "2009-01-14T21:06:12Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > The “real” Chicago cheesecake that I’ve had (from Pompei, among others) has always been unpleasantly mealy in texture. Got a better example or is that the way it’s supposed to be? I don’t know if I’d use the word mealy exactly, but it’s certainly drier and firmer than the run of the mill Jello pudding mix style. ---
**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, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/155 "2009-01-14T21:16:03Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > I don’t know if I’d use the word mealy exactly, but it’s certainly drier and firmer than the run of the mill Jello pudding mix style. A cream cheese cheesecake made in a water bath will have an incredibly smooth texture, like creme brulee. Ricotta cheesecakes will never have that texture: they’re a different animal. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/156 "2009-01-14T21:17:25Z")
Call me crazy, but I actually prefer the texture of the Jello Mix cheesecake filling. I like it a lot better than the “cakier” texture of “high quality” cheesecake. The frozen ones are awesome (frozen or thawed!) ---
**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 14, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/157 "2009-01-14T21:17:30Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > I actually don’t care for it so I don’t have a recipe. Hopefully someone that does will post a good one, but in the meantime, the kind with ricotta is often called “Italian style cheesecake” if you decide to google it. There’s also a Polish-style cheesecake that sounds similar. It looks [like this](http://z.about.com/d/easteuropeanfood/1/I/Y/9/-/-/sernik4.jpg) and is made with _bialy ser_ (lit., “white cheese”) which is a fresh cheese similar to farmer’s cheese or fresh ricotta. I actually prefer the creamier American cream cheese style of cheesecake, although both have their place. Both are made with “real” cheese, but they’re going for two different effects. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/158 "2009-01-14T21:22:47Z")
I personally think that anything with sweetened cheese (cheesecake, cannoli, etc) is questionable, at best. I’ll EAT cheesecake and cannoli, but I always have this deep-seated suspicion of them. Cheese is a savory. Making it sweet just feels wrong. I don’t even eat cottage cheese with fruit (and **supervenusfreak** makes fun of me for this)…only salt, pepper, maybe some vinegar to add a little bite. Sometimes just plain. Cheese should really not be a dessert ingredient in my world… ---
**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, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/159 "2009-01-14T21:29:58Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I personally think that anything with sweetened cheese (cheesecake, cannoli, etc) is questionable, at best. Weird. I love cheese in desserts. My latest favorite treat is Norwegian gjetost cheese (it’s sort of like cheese made from caramel) on slices of tart apple. Mediocre cheesecake is pretty bad–it’s not like mediocre pizza which is still awesome. But good cheesecake is sublime. Daniel ---
**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 14, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940/160 "2009-01-14T21:35:57Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > My latest favorite treat is Norwegian gjetost cheese (it’s sort of like cheese made from caramel) on slices of tart apple. Brunost and gjetost are great! They’re also not that difficult to make at home, although they take some time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-rated-items-from-your-regional-cuisine/480940.md?page=9)