Why oh why do "Chefs" insist on using twenty ingredients....

[WCGreen]

When five or six will do....

Oh my god....

Pasta was great tonight....

Until I bit into some roasted scallions, green onions to the rest of us....

I thought I cut my tongue...

It so didn't belong...

And then a few "soaked" in Olive Oil assorted blanched pine nuts that Chip and Dale would have slipped on running back to the bath house sogged up the meal....

And don't get me started on the spice cake hidden underneath the banana split "designed" by the desert chef....

Oy...

And the presentation....

The kabobs delivered to the group of ladies at the table next to us looked like they would get a thread on DU locked, your know a "Roman" presentation, if you get my drift...

I asked the waitress if she was happy to see me and I thought she was going to pee her just so pleated black pants...

For heavens sake, someone could get an eye poked out....

And when did mushy over cooked spinach become the vegetable de jour... What happened to peas with little onions, corn and lima beans, string beans and almonds...

No one I know likes cooked spinach.....

And when did layering food become the next "thing"...

We scoffed at KFC putting everything on top of everything else...

But one of the meals delivered to our table started with the Spinach, yuck, with mashed yams and garlic providing the next layer and then came the Salmon (which was undercooked, BTW) and at the very top of this pile of food was a sprig of pine something or other....

I didn't know whether my companion was going to yell dig in or TIMBER!!!!!

Oh well, I guess everyone has to have a "signature" dish now a days to distinguish themselves from the Suburban wasteland that is Apple-bees, Friday's and Denny's.....

[liontamer]

1. i like cooked spinach

and when i go out I like eating complex dishes. When I'm home I tend to make simple food (mostly out of laziness). Next time you go out, if you don't want the bells and whistles, as for everything plain. Some chef will probably cry tears of frustrated boredom, but you'll be happier.

[WCGreen]

6. It's not that at all....

It's just they advertise one thing, Veal Parmagne, for example, and deliver some variation on a theme...

My MIL was very disappointed...

And a lot of what these "chefs" do is just for the sake of being different....

And this particular Bistro had a solid Cleveland area name attached to it...

The people came in expecting one thing and I believe were given something out of Beetlejuice...

[Floogeldy]

2. WCGreen, take comfort in the fact that . . .

. . . cheese nachos with jalapenos is still a great food. Especially with an appetizer of peanut butter and celery! ;)

[WCGreen]

8. Sometimes....

That is all it takes...

But when I am prepared to plop down 100.00 for two meals, I better get something better than a chef's experimentation ...

I ain't goin' back...

[Floogeldy]

12. Agreed.

That is why the steak, vegetable of the day (not usually spinach), baked potato, bread and butter is usually the way to go. :)

Edit: I forgot the green salad (not spinach). :)

[KurtNYC]

3. Yes - Simple 5 ingredient stuff is underrated

Just pick a few things that go together and let it happen. It helps if they are great ingredients!

- new jersey tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, salt and olive oil
- pizza dough, pesto, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil
- hamburger patty, egg bun, garlic mayo, lettuce, tomato
- rye bread, corned beef, swiss cheese, mustard, (and a beer to make 5)
edit to add:
- sausage, bell pepper onions, italian loaf, provolone
- pasta, roasted peppers, ricotta, sausage, carmelized onions

[WCGreen]

4. I agree....

The whole point is that I love food.... It's just that lately, people are being attracted to complex dishes that are little more than, I think, a chef saying look at how cool I am...

It doesn't ad that much to the taste....

Complexity nor simplicity means good....

Taste is what makes something good...

[_testify_]

5. They worry too much about how this flavor goes well with that one, etc

They forget that it should taste okay by itself first and foremost.

Like a steak - I don't need anything to enjoy it, no sauce, marinade, garlic butter, or herb crust.

[WCGreen]

7. I think they ad that stuff...

Cause they don't trust the meat...

[_testify_]

9. Yes!

Go to a chain and ask for a burger med. rare, they won't do it. It's not safe, they say. I say, if you knew how to prepare raw meat, you wouldn't have to worry!

[WCGreen]

10. I hear ya loud and clear....

[GirlinContempt]

11. I enjoy cooked spinach.

[WCGreen]

16. In a restaurant....

It's usually way overcooked....

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. Oh, I hear that!

So often you see those stacks of food.....

We've encountered them as well........

Now my husband asks that the dish be spread out and that improves it no end!

I would not spend that kind of money either......

I do love cooked spinach.......as long as it's not mushy! :puke:

And a good spinach salad is hard to beat.......:9

And do not get me started on undercooked salmon........ick!

Sorry you had an unpleasant time......

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

14. I'm weird about salmon.

Either I want it thoroughly cooked or raw. Nothing in between. I do prefer raw salmon though.

[WCGreen]

15. I liked cooked Salmon.....

Wit a good, light sauce....

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

17. I pretty much prefer raw fish over cooked.

Best sashimi I ever had came off a tuna one of the guys on the boat caught. Tuna steaks for dinner, but sashimi for lunch on the boat.