Oh, they’ll yank mine for saying that poutine is overrated. It’s just fries and gravy–which are available anywhere–with cheese curds added. Nothing special.
Shoo-fly pie. It’s basically crumb crust soaked in molasses. It’s too sweet for me.
Oooh. Me!, Me!
[waves hand frantically in nerd-like fashion]
Crabs. Specifically Maryland steamed crabs. More specifically as in over rated, over priced, bottom feeders that yield miniscule droplets of crab ‘meat’ which were it not for the Old Bay seasoning slathered around said critter would draw a similarity in taste with moist cardboard.
For the longest time I postulated that Marylanders didn’t enjoy the taste of crabs so much as the experience. 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.
Country ham. (Known to some self-styled epicures as Virginia ham. La de da.)
Look, salt curing was just a way to preserve meat before refrigeration. It wasn’t meant to produce something delicious, and it doesn’t. It is functional. It is edible. Curing ham this way keeps the meat from spoiling. But the resulting product is too-salty and as tough as shoe leather. We have refrigerators now, so there’s no good reason to ruin a perfectly good ham by drying it out with salt.
And don’t get me started on red-eye gravy, which is really just bloody grease.
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.
I like the St. Louis-style pizza every once in a while, but I have to agree with you on toasted ravioli. It’s ok sometimes, but certainly not something I would ever crave. Oh, and what are slingers?
Edited to add that I think the restaurant Tony’s is overrated, too - the last time I was there (admittedly a few years ago), the service was great, but the food was so-so.
I was raised eating Southern, and I can tell you that grits are only edible when hit with enough butter, pepper, cheese and bacon to make Styrofoam edible.
That’s a little different though, isn’t it? The Anchor Bar might have turned into a tourist trap, but wings in general are worth it.
I’ve got to say Buffalo’s specials in general are more underrated than overrated. Beef on Weck is sublime. White pizza is pretty darn good.
I don’t know if you’re from the area (I am not), but Cincy chili is really bad. REALLY bad. “Oh, but it has cinammon and allspice!” Yeah, that’s why it’s terrible. “But you’re not eating it right - put it on spaghetti!” No, see - I like chili on spaghetti. Steak n’ Shake actually makes a very good chili 3-way (or 4 or 5, depending). Know why SnS has a good three-way? Because their chili doesn’t taste like ass (okay - cinammon/allspice flavored ass, to be fair).
Yep, I’m with you.
Also, that’s why I was careful to say “bad, as chili” as opposed to “bad period [even as some perverse Greek-originated spaghetti sauce, which you might or might not like.]”
I don’t like.
Agreed…and I love Imo’s!
Undercooked egg yolk also helps the grits go down. But that’s not considered “healthy” now. And there’s that modern sausage that cooks up without producing grease. “The other white meat” my eye!
If I want a healthy breakfast, I’ll eat some granola & fucking yogurt…
Yeah, I wasn’t sure about that – but both examples in the OP are specific restaurants so I figured either way was okay.
The other local thing I was going to mention is Chiavetta’s, but it’s more that I personally don’t care for it rather than it being overrated … I think for people who like that sort of thing it’s probably fine.
Hmmm…I’m having a hard time thinking of any regional cuisine from VT other than maple syrup…which IS as good as it claims to be. (Though legend tells of heathens who actually prefer that thick, fake, overly sweet crap known as “pancake syrup.” A pox on them, I say!)
Anything with sourdough bread. It’s edible, but I always think it’s going to taste way better than it actually does before I take a bite. I don’t know why I have this rose-colored memory of the stuff.
Oh … and Moxie. Yeesh. What is that shit? Shoe polish cut with paint thinner?
Around here (North o’ Boston), the regional cuisine is fried clams. On a summer’s evening, you’ll see people lined up 50 deep outside of the local clam shacks just to place an order. Now fried clams are OK. Even tasty. But they’re not * that * tasty. Not tasty enough to merit 40 minute lines for a $20.00 box of grease, mollusks and batter.
I was happy when I found some Moxie in a general store in Vermont. I had read about several times. One gulp killed that happiness for good and ruined the next few hours. Luckily, my little brother was visiting and he didn’t see my contorted face so I offered him a drink. Most of the rest of the day was ruined for him as well. I have heard some people like Moxie and even order it through mail but I don’t see how or why.
I like Moxie. I can find bottles of it at one of the local markets that stocks a lot of obscure sodas. Different, I’ll grant you. But “day ruining?” Not to my palate.
It’s hard to overrate muktuk. I mean…it’s muktuk, ya know? Same goes for fermented beaver tail and Eskimo icecream.
On the other hand, all those things said about Copper River red salmon are true, although cooking a perfectly good salmon on a cedar plank just ruins it, IMO.