# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/81 "2011-05-16T09:28:40Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > 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. The latest trend in fad diets is claiming that grains are bad for you. [Paleo diet.](http://thepaleodiet.com/) ---
**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 16, 2011, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/82 "2011-05-16T10:27:22Z")
> [@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. Yip. My sister had actual allergy tests from an actual M.D. You know, the pin prick kind. She gets rashes, numbness in her mouth, trouble breathing, etc. Too many places do not take this thing seriously, even if, around here, most people actually do. ---
**Author:** ![beartato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@beartato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beartato)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/83 "2011-05-16T10:34:40Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > The latest trend in fad diets is claiming that grains are bad for you. > [Paleo diet.](http://thepaleodiet.com/) Sure, that exists, but most people falsely claiming a gluten allergy will be: - women - who are trying to lose weight - and know most grains are high in carbs and calories - and are apparently unable to use willpower to not eat grains, and instead create a false “allergy” to avoid them. ---
**Author:** ![phantom\_lamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@phantom\_lamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantom_lamb)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/84 "2011-05-16T12:14:50Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Garlic is wonderful, but I got the impression that it got used to cover up a lot of lazy cooking. “This dish is bland?.. No problem – just gratuitously slather a few huge gobs of garlic into it!” Hey, if it works every time - I don’t see the problem. Garlic is just too delicious and we should definitely use that to our advantage (whether it’s to compensate our culinary shortcomings or just make a good dish taste that much better). 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/85 "2011-05-16T12:48:45Z")
> [@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. There’s a cupcake bakery near me. How it manages to stay open is mind-boggling, considering that other than selling brownies and cookies, it sells nothing else. Obviously there’s a market for single-serving baked goods? ---
**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 16, 2011, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/86 "2011-05-16T12:56:47Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > There’s a cupcake bakery near me. How it manages to stay open is mind-boggling, considering that other than selling brownies and cookies, it sells nothing else. > > Obviously there’s a market for single-serving baked goods? There are a lot of cookie shops. There are a lot of doughnut shops. There are a lot of cake shops. Why not cupcakes? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/87 "2011-05-16T13:53:25Z")
WRT the big chains, especially fast food, being “late to the party” on food trends: It takes some considerable time for them to go from having the idea to include an item, through having their labs/test kitchens devise dishes using the item, through testing and test marketing those items to decide which one to bring to market, to finally bringing the many individual stores on board with it. Joe Schmoe’s family restaurant can just buy a couple jars of chipotle nước mắm lime mayonaise, slather some on the scrapple sliders they already sell and market their new Mexicanese-Pennsylvania Dutch fusion sandwich. If it doesn’t sell, they’re not out much. For the bigger chains, it’s a bigger risk and they don’t want to rush something to market that they aren’t reasonably sure will sell. Even then, they sometimes strike out. Remember the McDLT? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/88 "2011-05-16T16:29:06Z")
Who invented this moniker? I guess its a neat way to sell meatloaf, macaroni and cheese as entrees (at $19 a plate). Just think-Ma’s home cooking-at NYC prices! I wonder what kind of wine to serve with mac&cheese? ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/89 "2011-05-16T16:40:15Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Little ‘slider burgers’, and I KNOW why. It’s a ploy by restaurants like Applebees to make you think you’re getting something special. They also sell them pre-made in the meat section, and special little buns, and you pay double the price for the novelty. Not to mention a pain in the butt to cook on the grill unless you put them in a special basket. It drove me nuts when sliders and other mini fast food suddenly became popular for weddings. I mean, for kids sure, but a wedding?? I think it was Britney Spears who made that trend popular. She’s now permanently on my black list. I also wasn’t a fan of fake meat when vegetarianism became more mainstream. Why make a vegetarian version of meat when other vegetable-based vegetarian foods are just as tasty? ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/90 "2011-05-16T17:09:41Z")
What about peeps ? and multicolored meringues :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/91 "2011-05-16T17:17:26Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Would you like some grapes? Then he waddled away. \ \ ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/92 "2011-05-16T17:20:19Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Little ‘slider burgers’, and I KNOW why. It’s a ploy by restaurants like Applebees to make you think you’re getting something special. They also sell them pre-made in the meat section, and special little buns, and you pay double the price for the novelty. Not to mention a pain in the butt to cook on the grill unless you put them in a special basket. Yep, I never got the little cheeseburger trend. If you want a cheeseburger, don’t trick yourself that it’s healthy by getting a small one, especially not when you eat 4. Put simply, White Castle is not food that deserves to be emulated. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/93 "2011-05-16T17:23:36Z")
> [@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! Not that I speak Spanish or anything, but is this a phonetic spelling of Oaxaca? ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/94 "2011-05-16T20:00:17Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > There’s a TexMex-Thai place near me at work. Does that suffice? Curry burritos. This sounds…really good. > [@GoodOmens](#): > > Yep, I never got the little cheeseburger trend. If you want a cheeseburger, don’t trick yourself that it’s healthy by getting a small one, especially not when you eat 4. > > Put simply, White Castle is not food that deserves to be emulated. I’m not tricking myself that it’s healthy. 🙂 I just love that’s it’s less meat and more bread/cheese/onions than regular burgers. It’s candy in burger form. Granted, I mainly have had white castle while drunk, so my opinion could be influenced just a bit… ---
**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, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/95 "2011-05-16T20:13:55Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Not that I speak Spanish or anything, but is this a phonetic spelling of Oaxaca? It is indeed. ---
**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 16, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/96 "2011-05-16T20:22:33Z")
> [@GoodOmens](#): > > Yep, I never got the little cheeseburger trend. If you want a cheeseburger, don’t trick yourself that it’s healthy by getting a small one, especially not when you eat 4. True, but if you really want to have a cheeseburger, it’s better to have a small one than a huge one. Portion control is nice. Another thing I don’t understand: the bacon trend–or, rather, the bacon flavoring trend. I mean, sure, I like bacon. I love it on sandwiches, or for breakfast. I have been known to have a plain old bacon sandwich (admittedly, this was in college, where such gauche things are overlooked)–no lettuce, no tomato, no mayo. Just me and the pig. That being said, bacon salt? Bacon flavored snacks? Bacon flavor in general? Blech. It’s never right. Ever. It’s just. . .rancid and smokey. And even regular bacon–honest to pete, people, it doesn’t need to be on freaking everything. Especially when it’s improperly cooked, which to me is anything without crunch. Chewy, smoky fat. Pass. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/97 "2011-05-16T20:26:51Z")
Both the coffee and bacon trends amuse me. I mean, I like coffee as much as the next joe (ha!) but when the world went all Starbucksie, I couldn’t help but marvel at how hip and cool my 80-something grandparents had become, what with their cutting-edge coffee consumption and morning bacon-frying. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/98 "2011-05-16T20:29:09Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > 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. > **[Aioli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aioli)** > > Aioli, allioli, or aïoli (/aɪˈoʊli, eɪ-/)\[note 1\] is a cold sauce consisting of an emulsion of garlic and olive oil; it is found in the cuisines of the northwest Mediterranean. > The names mean 'garlic and oil' in Catalan and Provençal. It is found in the cuisines of the Mediterranean coasts of Spain (Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Murcia, and eastern Andalusia) and France (Provence, Languedoc, Roussillon). > Some versions of the sauce are closer to a garlic mayonnaise,... In Catalan they omit the egg, but it doesn’t mean that everywhere it is “correct” to omit the egg. Hmm, did some more research and apparently the no-egg is more traditional, but it’s a royal pain in the ass to emulsify with a mortar and pestle, so egg is usually included to make things easier. ---
**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 16, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/99 "2011-05-16T20:53:39Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > [Aioli - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aioli) > > In Catalan they omit the egg, but it doesn’t mean that everywhere it is “correct” to omit the egg. > > Hmm, did some more research and apparently the no-egg is more traditional, but it’s a royal pain in the ass to emulsify with a mortar and pestle, so egg is usually included to make things easier. Right. For ali oli there are only two ingredients ali (garlic) and oli (oil). Adding egg (yolk) and now you are making mayonnaise (also invented in Spain). Obviously garlic is optional for the mayo, but for my tastes absolutely add the garlic. And a good squirt of sriracha 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721/100 "2011-05-16T20:57:18Z")
You can still call it aioli/alioli/allioli if it contains egg. I doubt anyone besides the most hardcore Catalan purists would object. Anyways, I don’t want to derail this thread any further. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trendy-foods-that-make-you-ask-why/581721.md?page=6)