# Trendy Foods That Make You Ask "Why"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721 "2011-05-12T23:34:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/21 "2011-05-13T06:50:56Z")
I can’t stop chuckling over the price of arugula. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/22 "2011-05-13T07:04:38Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Crudités 😃 DUDETTE!!! That’s just WRONG! ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/23 "2011-05-13T07:11:10Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > I don’t know whether you wanted your question answered, but a traditional aioli is garlic, olive oil, and egg. And it seems to often be used to mean mayo with garlic - which, if it’s \*good \*mayo with garlic, isn’t _too_ far off the garlic-olive oil-egg combination - just with a bit of acid added (lemon juice or vinegar). I like 'em both. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/24 "2011-05-13T07:23:43Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Fusion” stuff, especially when it’s really not much of a stretch, like Vietnamese/Thai. > > Fuck fusion. If I want Thai, I want Thai. > > If you’re going to do fusion, have the balls to fuse something INTERESTING. I want to see Helmut Nguyen’s House of Bavarian-Vietnamese Fusion Cuisine, or The Norwexican (Herring tacos FTW.) Pho Shizzle: Vietnamese Soul Food ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/25 "2011-05-13T08:22:50Z")
I like the minature vegetables - if they’re cooked right. Same as regular vegetables, I guess. I don’t like how fancy sandwiches have lemon mayonnaise in them, as it always seems too sharp, and overpowers the salmon or tuna or whatever. Beyond that, I can’t think of anything as most trendy stuff goes right under my radar - I hate it when almost every packaged sandwich has tomato slices, but I don’t think tomatoes count as trendy. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/26 "2011-05-13T10:34:44Z")
Lemon mayonnaise? Oh god that sounds so disgusting! ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/27 "2011-05-13T10:50:24Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Fusion” stuff, especially when it’s really not much of a stretch, like Vietnamese/Thai. > > Fuck fusion. If I want Thai, I want Thai. > > If you’re going to do fusion, have the balls to fuse something INTERESTING. I want to see Helmut Nguyen’s House of Bavarian-Vietnamese Fusion Cuisine, or The Norwexican (Herring tacos FTW.) Ask and you shall receive. I give you [Wahaca](http://www.wahaca.co.uk/html/3_marketfood.html) in London. I often have the herring tacos. Marinated and served with olives and tomato if my memory serves me correctly…yum! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/28 "2011-05-13T11:07:58Z")
I don’t like the idea of putting one ingredient in most dishes. The ingredient will vary. For instance, I LIKE cilantro…in small doses. But it doesn’t need to be in every single savory dish on the menu. And ditto the big chains’ jumping on the bandwagon when it’s already gone by. For a while there, it seemed like the only main-course salad that anyone offered was a chicken Caesar salad…which most chains seemed to think consisted of chicken on Romaine lettuce with a nasty dressing. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/29 "2011-05-13T11:13:52Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Lemon mayonnaise? Oh god that sounds so disgusting! I made the mistake of picking up a jar to make a blue cheese dressing. My reasoning was that the recipe called for lemons and mayonnaise, so I was being efficient. It tasted… not _bad_, and it seemed to go down OK with the people who ate it, but to me it tasted like I’d spilled some oven cleaner into the bowl. We threw the rest of the jar out. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/30 "2011-05-13T11:16:59Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Lemon mayonnaise? Oh god that sounds so disgusting! Really? Mayonnaise has acid already in it in some form (usually vinegar, but often there’s lemon juice too) so why would ramping up the lemon seem so bad? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/31 "2011-05-13T11:22:52Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Ask and you shall receive. I give you [Wahaca](http://www.wahaca.co.uk/html/3_marketfood.html) in London. > I often have the herring tacos. Marinated and served with olives and tomato if my memory serves me correctly…yum! As a native of San Diego who has been enjoying delicious Mexican food all my life, I have but one thing to say; This menu is absolutely _fascinating_. I’d love to try it at least once in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/32 "2011-05-13T11:49:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > As a native of San Diego who has been enjoying delicious Mexican food all my life, I have but one thing to say; > > This menu is absolutely _fascinating_. I’d love to try it at least once in my life. It gets very good reviews. particularly as it is good value for money in a notoriously expensive city. It may be that your USA portion radar needs recalibrating before you try it though. (Though I’ve never had cause to complain) The lady who’s idea it was certainly cares about authenticity and though I’ve never eaten Oaxacan in the wild, those that have say she makes a good stab at it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/33 "2011-05-13T11:59:29Z")
Sadly, I rather like a lot of the items mentioned in this thread, including almost everything in the OP (except the coffee, which I don’t drink). If your chicken is tough and your mini veggies tasteless, they’re being cooked wrong. Sliced buffalo mozzarella with slices of tomato and basil leaves, drizzled in olive oil and black pepper is lovely. And quinoa is no worse than rice or couscous. If you want full-on fusion, just wait until [this guy](http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/may/02/tim-anderson-masterchefs-burger-king) gets his own restaurant. Asian/American/European mixed flavor dishes with a heavy slice of whimsy on top. The man is insane, but in a good way. And hmmm. There’s a Wahaca across the street I’ve never been to. I’ll add it to the to-do list… Food trends I don’t understand: - Foam. Seriously, I get that you can make a delicately-flavored foam and that this is very hard to do. Well done, you. Now please keep it off my food; it looks like the cat has been sick on my plate. - Goji berries. They are not miracle berries. Stop saying that they are. - Arugula / rocket / roquette. This one seems to be fading but there was a period where it was on everything - sandwiches, salads, pizza. It’s bitter, it’s nasty, and it pokes you in the face when you try to eat it. There are so many varieties of lettuce and _this_ one becomes popular? Urgh. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/34 "2011-05-13T12:02:22Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Really? Mayonnaise has acid already in it in some form (usually vinegar, but often there’s lemon juice too) so why would ramping up the lemon seem so bad? I’ve only seen it with lime in the Hispanic isle. I think it’s tasty. My assumption was that the lime was the acid. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/35 "2011-05-13T12:03:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Fusion” stuff, especially when it’s really not much of a stretch, like Vietnamese/Thai. > > Fuck fusion. If I want Thai, I want Thai. > > If you’re going to do fusion, have the balls to fuse something INTERESTING. I want to see Helmut Nguyen’s House of Bavarian-Vietnamese Fusion Cuisine, or The Norwexican (Herring tacos FTW.) I would totally eat herring tacos. I would drive out of my way to get herring tacos. Now I need to buy a jar of herring and make some herring tacos this weekend. The Wife will hate you forever for putting such an idea into my head. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/36 "2011-05-13T12:05:13Z")
Specifically to the OP. I think any food becoming “trendy” annoys me somewhat. You can’t like it without seeming to be a bandwagon jumper or pretentious, nor dislike it without seeming like you are just a contrarian. I suppose the one benefit of “fashion” is that we may gain exposure to something that otherwise would pass us by, just a shame that some of them have to come with such baggage. Overall though, better that we just judge things on their merit to us personally and leave it at that. After all, one person’s fashion food is another person’s staple diet. (and this comes from a man who can be very picky about some of the foods and drinks that he buys and wishes that insisting on them didn’t make me sound like a knob! I mean, if I were buying mozzarella in a market in rural Lombardy I’d be shocked if it \*wasn’t \*buffalo sourced and there would be no accusations of “being trendy” if I insisted on it) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/37 "2011-05-13T12:14:49Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > - Arugula / rocket / roquette. This one seems to be fading but there was a period where it was on everything - sandwiches, salads, pizza. It’s bitter, it’s nasty, and it pokes you in the face when you try to eat it. There are so many varieties of lettuce and _this_ one becomes popular? Urgh. All good points that you make Gyrate. However, I’ll just put a little addendum to your rocket tirade. I like to have rocket _in_ my salad, I don’t wan’t it to _be_ my salad. It is so powerful that it needs to be balanced with other, more neutral or sweeter leaves. And that is the problem with fashion right there. When it is a fad people think that more is better and it quite clearly is not. I suspect that you wouldn’t mind it so much if your exposure to it was an occasional peppery hit, rather than a full-on taste and face assault. (and aren’t I the lucky one as I can cycle down to my local beach and bring back handfulls of wild rocket and fennel whenever I like) ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/38 "2011-05-13T12:29:31Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Huh? Mounding I can figure out, but steal? Purloined loin of seal. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I like to have rocket _in_ my salad, I don’t wan’t it to _be_ my salad. It is so powerful that it needs to be balanced with other, more neutral or sweeter leaves. Good point. Sometimes there is a good reason something becomes a fad, but not everyone following it understands how to make it work. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/39 "2011-05-13T12:41:31Z")
Speaking of weird fusion, there’s a restaurant on Ohio State’s campus that does Korean and Cajun foods. I can only assume that a very interesting married couple runs the place. I pretty much enjoy all culinary innovation, so there hasn’t been a thing in this thread that bothers me. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/40 "2011-05-13T12:46:22Z")
Cupcakes. Why? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721.md?page=3)