# Preferring the cheap, gross version of a food to the good, expensive version **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2009, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819 "2009-04-03T06:34:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/1 "2009-04-03T06:34:50Z")
I have a confession: I like the barely-real-meat cheeseburgers from AM/PM better than real cheeseburgers. I like the way they’re dry and fibrous, and I find them delicious with a dense, crystalline coating of pure salt. What gross versions of food do you prefer to the real thing? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/2 "2009-04-03T06:51:53Z")
Although I love real cheeseburgers, I also love the crap they sell at White Castle. And I remember when you could get a whole bag of them for what only one costs today. And I’d rather eat milk chocolate than dark . . . but \*\*\*good \*\*\*milk chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/3 "2009-04-03T06:52:10Z")
This is somewhat embarrassing… but I can’t tell the difference between 100% real dark amber Vermont maple syrup and your basic bottle of Aunt Jemima Generic, exactly 0% of which has ever been inside a tree. So I buy the latter, because it’s cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/4 "2009-04-03T07:17:16Z")
I like macaroni and cheese made the right way, but sometimes I’d rather have the stuff that comes out of a box that you can get for less than $1 when it’s on sale. And I usually don’t add milk because because it dilutes the bright orange color and gritty texture of the “cheese”. ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/5 "2009-04-03T07:20:26Z")
My daughter, who eats very little real meat, has confessed to her mother that she gets cravings for gas station hotdogs(eww…!). ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/6 "2009-04-03T07:26:39Z")
I think margarine tastes better than butter, “salad dressing” tastes better than mayonaise, and fast food joints make the best burgers and fries. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/7 "2009-04-03T07:29:21Z")
Kraft Mac & Cheese all the way. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/8 "2009-04-03T08:12:40Z")
Macdonald’s Filet o’ Fish is the MOST delicious sandwich I have ever eaten in fast food. No real fish I’ve eaten in a resturant comes close to that little patty with the half strip of cheese melting on it. Screw the lettuce and all the other things, I just want that fish and the strip of cheese! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/9 "2009-04-03T08:32:28Z")
> [@zenith](#): > > My daughter, who eats very little real meat, has confessed to her mother that she gets cravings for gas station hotdogs(eww…!). Gas station cuisine often exceeds expectations, in my book. Granted, those expectations are usually pretty low. I briefly thought my love of gas station burgers might be nostalgia for my days on the road as a musician, when I ate a lot of them. But if that were the cause, I should also love Taco Bell, and I don’t. (And where’s the barfing smiley when you need it?) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/10 "2009-04-03T08:35:19Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > Macdonald’s Filet o’ Fish is the MOST delicious sandwich I have ever eaten in fast food…Screw the lettuce and **all the other things** , I just want that fish and the strip of cheese! You mean the bun? ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/11 "2009-04-03T08:57:10Z")
Yeah, boxed mac and cheese all the way, though I prefer Annie’s, which is at least a bit healthier than the blue box stuff. Also, sometimes a Chips Deluxe is better than a “homemade” chocolate chip. Depending on who’s making the homemade kind, that is. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/12 "2009-04-03T09:28:46Z")
I prefer Cheese Whiz on my cheesesteak. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/13 "2009-04-03T10:33:24Z")
Mrs. Butterworths is better than real maple syrup. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/14 "2009-04-03T12:10:21Z")
Hershey’s chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/15 "2009-04-03T12:41:16Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > …And I usually don’t add milk because because it dilutes the bright orange color and gritty texture of the “cheese”. I’m with you there… I like the mac & cheese without the milk. It just tastes better. And with spaghetti cheese: sometimes my wife will buy a good block of aged parmesan or pecorino to grate over my pasta…but I still want to go with the Cheese-like stuff in the green jar (I think it’s Kraft as well.) The texture is just right. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/16 "2009-04-03T13:36:02Z")
For those hating, or indifferent, to real maple syrup: I’ll grant it’s an acquired taste, especially if one has grown up on corn syrup, but really: there’s no comparison. Keeping with the breakfast theme: I and Mrs. Raza prefer _Aunt Jemima Complete_ just-add-water pancake mix to add-egg-and-oil and other variants. Weird, but it just tastes better to us; the others taste too eggy. It’s not about the extra work, I swear! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/17 "2009-04-03T13:37:23Z")
I’ll take 7-11 or street vendor coffee over Starbucks any day. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/18 "2009-04-03T13:41:27Z")
Alcohol. It doesn’t matter what the flavor it purports to be, after a certain proof, everything just tastes like alcohol to me (a taste I _don’t_ like), so I tend to go for the cheaper product to get more bang for my buck. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/19 "2009-04-03T13:46:58Z")
I like Taco Bell, particularly the refried beans and the burritos with the white flour tortillas. With extra cheddar! I LIVE with an authentic Mexican. I know what Mexican food tastes like. I’ve had really delicious authentic Mexican food. But as a rule, I prefer Taco Bell. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/20 "2009-04-03T13:59:08Z")
I prefer Taco Bell to real Mexican food, and your average American Chinese restaurant buffet fare to authentic Chinese cuisine. I’m not proud of it, but there it is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819.md?page=2)