Seems lots of people are complaining about food and dining culture, primarily in terms of how it's served. Today's link roundup is dedicated to food trends that bug you.
1) We started the week with a gripe about Cheese Culture's cheese cakes from FQS9000:
Plastic flowers and waxy candles are equally stupid and are onlyI actually like the idea of a rustic cake that's made of cheese, since the textures, décor, sourcing, and flavors are more diverse (and interesting) than an actual cake. But I can see how some assert that moss does not belong on or near a plate, except at a picnic.attractive to those who think cute is more important than edible. Fools
who lace food that other people will eat with inedible crap are utter
jerks and should be made to consume the refuse.
2) Another cheese complaint comes from Stefan Kamph's grilled cheese post in which he implores fans to grow up:
...the crass spread of the grilled cheese into winking haute menu itemI'm with Stefan. With PB and J's on the horizon, next thing you know, we'll find it perfectly acceptable for servers to spoon-feed diners puréed parsnips and beets.risks devaluing the deep currency of our childhoods by marketing this
simple concoction until it's as overplayed as the burger and ripe for
parody. Then we'll get bored and start filling our grilled cheeses with
rutabaga or water chestnuts or whatever other bullshit keeps things
interesting.
3) Moving on to small plates, the Amateur Gourmet would rather have a one-dish the equivalent of the Mona Lisa than a collection of them:
My beef is with a new crop of restaurants that sell "small plates"that aren't really designed to be shared. They look like normal plates
of food -- a traditionally styled appetizer or entree -- except you now have
to awkwardly divide up the single basil leaf, peeled grape and
eyeball-sized nodule of mozzarella... if you've ever
tried to divide a single razor clam four ways, you know that you'd
probably have an easier time conducting your own brain surgery.
I'm not tired of small plates, as I'm no fan of giant entrées. But seven
plates, $80 in, and the tab doesn't account for drinks. And I'm still
hungry. Read his rant here.
4) Wine guy and Batali partner Joe Bastianich -- whose new book is out May 1 -- dishes on trends that annoy him:
very casual restaurants, the single-concept shop, superabbreviated
menus: "With four-appetizer, four-entrée menus, it's like, give me a
break. That's not a restaurant, that's a dinner party."
What have we missed?
New Times on Facebook | Clean Plate Charlie on Facebook | Melissa on Facebook | Clean Plate Charlie on Twitter | Melissa McCart on Twitter | E-mail Melissa |
