# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Heropsychodreamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Heropsychodreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heropsychodreamer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/21 "2009-04-03T14:03:34Z")
My wife and her family are Irish, and they cringe everytime I tell them their mashed potatoes are just as good as from the box. It is meant as a compliment. Yes, I prefer boxed mashed potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/22 "2009-04-03T14:07:39Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > 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. Agreed. Well, to an extent…I can identify higher-end liquors because the taste changes from “ass” to “four parts ass, one part non-ass”. Generally speaking, this is not a significant enough improvement to justify spending more money. (The exception to this is tequila. Cheap tequila will not only peel paint, but the actual walls as well. Keep away from pets, children, and all of humanity in general.) My advice to you: familiarize yourself with the wonders of Everclear. One shot and you’re done for the night, or two if you want to get _really_ wild, and all for the price of a bottle of midrange vodka. Doesn’t taste any worse than anything else, although it _will_ let you know if you bit your tongue recently. For me, it’s mac & cheese. In all my years trying each of its various incarnations, I’ve only ever met one I didn’t like, and that was because the lady who made it felt compelled, unbeknownst to me (well, until I took a bite, at which time it was quite beknownst indeed) to dump half a jar of mayonnaise in it before baking. Blue box, oven-baked, that weird egg-filled kind that’s basically a cheese omelet with pasta in it, the amorphous blob of goo you receive at Sheetz…it’s all good to me. Going by numbers alone, there are far more craptastic versions of the stuff than good ones, so that qualifies me for the OP’s criteria. Yay bad macaroni! ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Black\_Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/23 "2009-04-03T14:19:07Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > 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! Now I know what I’m having for lunch. Two of these and an orange Hi-C, and my day is complete. I usually take the bun off and just eat the “filet” and the cheese. Not saying it’s healthy, but surprisingly low-calorie. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/24 "2009-04-03T14:30:04Z")
For most of my nearly four decades on this earth I avoided American cheese, but just in the last year I’ve started buying it regularly. There’s just nothing better on a blustery day than a grilled cheese sandwich with a couple of slices of that melty goodness. I still don’t think it’s really “cheese,” but I’ve embraced it nonetheless. However I draw the line at “cheese food” or “cheese food product.” Vile stuff…unless it’s draped over a filet-o-fish, then it’s post-drinking-binge gold. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/25 "2009-04-03T14:34:19Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’ll take 7-11 or street vendor coffee over Starbucks any day. People here cringe when I walk in every morning with coffee from 7-11, but it tastes totally fine to me and it’s quite a bit cheaper than any “legit” coffee place. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/26 "2009-04-03T14:34:42Z")
There’s nothing like a cheeseburger grilled to perfection, but sometimes I just have to have a Quarter Pounder. ---
**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, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/27 "2009-04-03T14:45:04Z")
> [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > My advice to you: familiarize yourself with the wonders of Everclear. One shot and you’re done for the night, or two if you want to get _really_ wild, and all for the price of a bottle of midrange vodka. Doesn’t taste any worse than anything else, although it _will_ let you know if you bit your tongue recently. I’m well acquainted with Everclear, and once had the equivalent of half a dozen shots in two really strong screwdrivers. Needless to say, I don’t remember anything about that night, but one of my best friends does and she won’t let me forget it happened. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/28 "2009-04-03T14:48:21Z")
I thought this was going to be a response thread to me extolling the virtues of Carl’s Jr’s Kentucky Bourbon burger in that other thread and how it beats the pants off the BBQ burgers from sit-down restaurants. I didn’t even get the “six-dollar” type, just a regular single patty. Man, that was good. Count me in as preferring Chinese buffet over “proper” Chinese restaurants, and Panda Express over Chinese buffet. There may not be any MSG in the orange chicken and mandarin chicken, but I’m quite certain there is crack. ---
**Author:** ![satoridt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@satoridt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/satoridt)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/29 "2009-04-03T14:51:37Z")
I dont like it _better_ but sometimes i **crave** a frozen pizza and a good hand-tossed one just wont do. mostly when I’m hung-over ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@Mister\_Owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Owl)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/30 "2009-04-03T14:55:30Z")
Grilled cheese sandwiches using Velveeta. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/31 "2009-04-03T14:58:40Z")
I love Smart Beat “cheese” slices, which I eat because they’re lactose-free (as well as cheese-free, I think.) Beats real cheese slices any day. ---
**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, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/32 "2009-04-03T15:04:23Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > 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. And the booze at the bottom of the bottle tastes best! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/33 "2009-04-03T15:11:57Z")
The drip coffee I make at home with the Wal-mart store brand for about 10 cents a mugful tastes better than anything I’ve tried at Starbucks. Some brands of cheap vodka taste better to me than most expensive brands. You have to be choosy because some of the cheap brands taste like rubbing alcohol. Poland Springs brand, which I’ve only ever seen for sale in Maine and New Hampshire, is better than most premium brands but not as good as the more expensive Luksusowa. I’ve also noticed very little correlation between price and tastiness in most types of wine, so I usually grab the cheap stuff when buying for myself. The above does not apply to beer, tequila, and whiskey. Here the good stuff is worth the higher price. Premium root beer mostly tastes like medicine to me. On the rare occasions when I’m in the mood for it, I buy the tastier and cheaper store brands. Cola is a different story. The cheap stuff tastes nothing like real Coca-Cola. I much prefer chicken thighs to chicken breasts, at a third the price. White meat has absolutely no flavor for me, and I wouldn’t buy it even if it were cheaper than dark meat. ---
**Author:** ![Tixenfleaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@Tixenfleaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tixenfleaz)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/34 "2009-04-03T15:20:03Z")
McDonald’s plain hamburgers. I can eat 5 at a pop. My cat literally flees when I offer him a sample, but that just means more for me. Oh, and tuna fish. I buy the 69 cent cans, and not because I’m cheap. This stuff is borderline cat food, but I love how it tastes. The expensive stuff is just bland to me. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/35 "2009-04-03T15:28:10Z")
I prefer most of the cheaper cuts of meat (more flavor). I don’t really care for filet mignon-it is too tender, and tastes like bloody cardboard. Give me london broil, sliced thin, with some raw red wine! ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/36 "2009-04-03T15:35:21Z")
VWife and I both agree that if you have to buy oatmeal cookies from the cookie aisle in the grocery store, the cheapest, most brittle, no name brand with icing beats their more expensive competitors every time. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/37 "2009-04-03T15:54:54Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Kraft Mac & Cheese all the way. Me too, although a good baked Mac & Cheese with extra cheese browned on top is also tasty. But I think I actually prefer the Kraft. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/38 "2009-04-03T15:57:38Z")
Pizza hut/Papa Johns \> Authentic stuff Homemade syrup made with sugar, water, and mapeline \> real maple syrup = Aunt Jemima stuff ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/39 "2009-04-03T16:35:57Z")
I don’t care for fresh strawberries. Really. Don’t know why, they just don’t do it for me. But Strawberry Quik? You know, the artificially flavored fake-strawberry sugar powder you dissolve in milk? _Mmmmmmm…_ ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819/40 "2009-04-03T16:46:16Z")
Stroganoff flavored Hamburger Helper. I don’t care for large fresh easily recognizable mushrooms in most dishes (I’m starting to enjoy them more and more, but it’s a slow process). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferring-the-cheap-gross-version-of-a-food-to-the-good-expensive-version/491819.md?page=3)