# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/61 "2011-05-14T09:27:16Z")
…And she had a fixed location in a bazar. Mobile can be a disadvantage. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/62 "2011-05-14T11:52:01Z")
I don’t know if it’s because it’s Angus or not, but it does always seem to make a better burger. Even the worst (Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr.) taste significantly better than their non-Angus counterparts (or predecessors, in the case of Hardee’s). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/63 "2011-05-14T11:58:36Z")
To answer the OP: I unfortunately cannot think of any food trends I don’t like, unless replacing cheese with fancy versions without altering the dish is a trend. New cheese is good. But you must tailor the cheese to the dish. Or if you can count people assuming you must like sushi if you are at all intelligent. Maybe the cooked variety, but not uncooked: too slimy. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/64 "2011-05-15T19:23:02Z")
You know what puts a giant turpentine reeking water bug up my ass? All this gluten free bullshit and trending. Suddenly everybody is “allergic” to gluten and living in their special little rainbow of fruit, nuts, and granola. Krohn’s disease is a rare disease and not everybody has it… yes you, you self important, homepathically overdiagnosed, Indigo child. It’s like the ADD of the food world. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/65 "2011-05-15T19:57:11Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > The Spanish would like to have a few words with you. > > I don’t know whether you wanted your question answered, but a traditional aioli is garlic, olive oil, and egg. Actually.. in Spain the correct pronunciation is Ali Oli and the correct ingredients is only garlic and olive oil. Smashed and mixed with a mortar and pestle. ---
**Author:** ![what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a5b964/32.png) [@what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/what_do_I_type_here)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/66 "2011-05-15T21:35:36Z")
Turducken was trendy on the internet among the Stuff White People Like types, like bacon is now. I’ve never had it but I find the concept distasteful. Two different animals in the same dish is gross. Edit: Although a lot of lunch meat is made of combinations of cow, chicken and/or pig, and I enjoy that… ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/67 "2011-05-15T21:45:27Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > You know what puts a giant turpentine reeking water bug up my ass? All this gluten free bullshit and trending. Suddenly everybody is “allergic” to gluten and living in their special little rainbow of fruit, nuts, and granola. Krohn’s disease is a rare disease and not everybody has it… yes you, you self important, homepathically overdiagnosed, Indigo child. > > It’s like the ADD of the food world. Yeah. They changed my favorite rice crackers to be gluten-free. In the process, they completely ruined the crunch. I wouldn’t mind them being an option, but do _all_ the damn crackers have to be gluten free? Lame. As for me, for a while, there was the “put jalepeños on it” trend. I don’t like the taste of most peppers. I mean, I don’t mind the _heat_, but I’m not keen on the taste. And it clings to everything. And everyone wanted them on otherwise delicious food, like cheese curds or burgers or cornbread. Bleh. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/68 "2011-05-15T21:46:30Z")
Turducken has been a Cajun favorite for quite a few years now. Ooh, somebody outside the Louisiana/Texas axis just discovered it? So suddenly it’s “Trendy.” Myself, I’m not against the concept of Trendy, but execution can fail. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/69 "2011-05-15T22:42:51Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](#): > > Yeah. They changed my favorite rice crackers to be gluten-free. In the process, they completely ruined the crunch. I wouldn’t mind them being an option, but do _all_ the damn crackers have to be gluten free? Lame. I can’t tell you how many things like cereal have recently been ruined this way when it became trendy to make them all “whole grain”. Completely ruins the texture of anything it’s in to me. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/70 "2011-05-15T22:53:13Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Cake, but in a single-serving size; it’s a win-win situation. I’m a bit puzzled by the shops that **only** sell these, however. What I don’t get is _how_ they’ve become trendy. Cupcakes have always been on sale in every shop from the tiniest corner to the biggest hypermarket, and they’re one of the easiest cakes to make - lots of parents will make them with their toddlers. Now I see them on sale at specialist shops for like £3 a cake. 😕 It’s as if bread suddenly became fashionable. And I don’t mean foccacia, ciabatta or whatever, but the simplest sandwich bread. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/71 "2011-05-15T22:58:03Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > You know what puts a giant turpentine reeking water bug up my ass? All this gluten free bullshit and trending. Suddenly everybody is “allergic” to gluten and living in their special little rainbow of fruit, nuts, and granola. Krohn’s disease is a rare disease and not everybody has it… yes you, you self important, homepathically overdiagnosed, Indigo child. > > It’s like the ADD of the food world. I’m with you on there being a trend to claim gluten intolerance, but coeliac disease is the usual cause of genuine gluten intolerance; Crohn’s disease is only tangentially connected to diet. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/72 "2011-05-16T00:48:56Z")
Sushi. Don’t get me wrong, I like it (but I like everything), but can’t understand the massive appeal to so many Americans. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/73 "2011-05-16T01:27:20Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > What I don’t get is _how_ they’ve become trendy. Cupcakes have always been on sale in every shop from the tiniest corner to the biggest hypermarket, and they’re one of the easiest cakes to make - lots of parents will make them with their toddlers. Now I see them on sale at specialist shops for like £3 a cake. Yesyesyesyesyes!!! I thought the same thing when cupcakes suddenly became “trendy”. I picture a boardroom full of powerful trendsetters, all trying to decide what’s the new “in” thing is going to be. It’s late, they’re tired, they want to go home… all of a sudden, somebody says “How about cupcakes?” And now cupcakes are somehow fashionable. I first noticed it last July. There were cupcake trucks all over downtown. It was about 94 degrees and 100% humidity. “Just what I’m craving right now,” I thought. “With a big glass of milk on the side. Now that’s what I call Summer!” ---
**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:** [May 16, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/74 "2011-05-16T04:58:43Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > Sushi. Don’t get me wrong, I like it (but I like everything), but can’t understand the massive appeal to so many Americans. I would have agreed with you maybe 20 years ago, but now it’s become such a mainstream part of American food culture, that it’s impossible to call it “trendy.” Well, in my opinion, at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/75 "2011-05-16T05:40:36Z")
Acai berries and pomegranates as “superfoods.” First of all, “superfood” is a stupid word. Second of all, stop touting these foods as miracle workers that cure cancer, rid your body of (unspecified and possibly fictional) toxins, and make you shit rainbows. They don’t. Eat pomegranates because they’re delicious, not because you want to be Superman. (And though I haven’t tried acai berries, I hear they’re nothing to write home about.) Also, really really fancy and/or elaborate cakes. I get wedding cakes. I don’t get cakes that are in the shapes of roller coasters. You’re going to be destroying it in a few minutes, what’s the point? I used to like the TV shows that showed them being made (like Cake Boss) but now they’ve just gotten ridiculous. (Also, when they’re sculpting the cakes into said elaborate shapes, they seem to just throw out all of the shavings–what a damn waste!) ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/76 "2011-05-16T05:56:52Z")
Eh, cake is cheap; art and skill are expensive. The leftover paint on the palette isn’t worth as much as the paint that ends up on the canvas. I like the cake art that ends up featured as “Sunday Sweets” over at the [Cake Wrecks](http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/) blog. Check out Sunday’s asparagus one! I will likely never buy a cake like that, and I would not want to eat a bunch of fondant, but there’s still bakeries putting out art cakes like this old school [masterpiece](http://i.imgur.com/KWhIL.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/77 "2011-05-16T07:08:08Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I’m with you on there being a trend to claim gluten intolerance, but coeliac disease is the usual cause of genuine gluten intolerance; Crohn’s disease is only tangentially connected to diet. Thanks for correcting me there, I suppose as a special snowflake list, it would go coeliacs, Crohn’s, nut allergies, and any other bullshit “allergies” that everybody seems to have nowadays. And you know, it really pisses me off, because it makes the real allergy sufferers seem like they are crying wolf. ---
**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 16, 2011, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/78 "2011-05-16T08:50:29Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Thanks for correcting me there, I suppose as a special snowflake list, it would go coeliacs, Crohn’s, nut allergies, and any other bullshit “allergies” that everybody seems to have nowadays. > > And you know, it really pisses me off, because it makes the real allergy sufferers seem like they are crying wolf. Count me in on this as well. My daughter has a genuine egg allergy (as in, “comes up in a rash and requires an antihistamine solution and carries an epipen”) And we have to be careful what we order and I always end up feeling slightly uncomfortable when asking for allergy clarifications as I imagine people are thinking me to be one of “those” parents. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/79 "2011-05-16T08:57:48Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Thanks for correcting me there, I suppose as a special snowflake list, it would go coeliacs, Crohn’s, nut allergies, and any other bullshit “allergies” that everybody seems to have nowadays. > > And you know, it really pisses me off, because it makes the real allergy sufferers seem like they are crying wolf. Actually, I am allergic to wolf tears. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/80 "2011-05-16T09:09:12Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Thanks for correcting me there, I suppose as a special snowflake list, it would go coeliacs, Crohn’s, nut allergies, and any other bullshit “allergies” that everybody seems to have nowadays. > > And you know, it really pisses me off, because it makes the real allergy sufferers seem like they are crying wolf. It does, and although that has disadvantages, there are advantages too. I have proper coeliac disease, diagnosed by blood and stool tests at proper doctor’s, not a pin-prick at a health food shop shop, and I have had people flat-out not believe me and trick me into eating wheat and getting ill. OTOH, it’s much easier to get hold of gluten-free products than it otherwise would be. I’m assuming you weren’t saying that those diseases are bullshit in themselves, because they’re not exactly in contention as really existing, but yeah, some people claim to have wheat or gluten intolerances without actually having them. Crazy people - it’s an incredibly awkward diet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721.md?page=5)