Let's vent a little bile shall we?

[lebelage]

What do you find to be the very most irritating dining scene fads in your region/town?

Mine, Portland, Oregon:

* that EVERY restaurant MUST have a hamburger no matter how irrelevent to the style and cuisine of the restaurant. As in a whole menu of $23-$34 main courses with a burger arbitrarily tossed in there. Why is this done? Because as long as you have a burger you will not be deemed pretentious- for more on this see my next point...

* the overuse, the complete abuse of "pretentious" and "unpretentious" as the judgement of a restaurant. Basically if you are upscale and do not serve one or more of the three magic dishes you will be deemed "pretentious". I think most people handing this judgement down upon a resto don't even know what "pretentious" truly means. However, lucky restaurateurs- throw a burger on that contemporary European, seasonally driven menu and you too can be "unpretentious". Oh- yeah... and if for whatever reason you are not "child friendly" you will most definitely be labelled "pretentious".

* speaking of not being child friendly- really a big deal here. People get absolutely livid if you aren't. Doesn't matter how very inappropriate the presence of a child would be. Better welcome those squalling brats. Cause I sure do relish smelling dirty diaper and watching a baby spit up less than 18 inches away from me while enjoying my $34 main course. And I REALLY love it when that restless flailing toddler knocks into my table spilling my $20 glass of red wine on my new suit. It helps me feel "unpretentious" as I sit there, overwhelmed with nausea from the olfactory assault soaked in wine.

* lets not forget the two other mandatory menu items- fried chicken and mac n' cheese. Doesn't matter how upscale you are- fried chicken and mac n' cheese. Although from reading the local forums and blogs it seems like the fried chicken is mainly there so guests can gripe about how they had the fried chicken at a restaurant and how DARE a resto charge $18 for fried chicken when they can get a whole bucket and fixin's at KFC for less than that! It would seem that a large part of being "unpretentious" is giving your guests something to complain about. A question- if you wanted lots of cheap fried chicken why didn't you just go to KFC in the first place?

* The name of every. single. resource. from which the food came. Every single farm all over the menu. Ok- sometimes an item is so special and unique that you want to call attention to it. But it is beginning to smack of taking your guests around your living room and giving the name brand, origin and price of every item of the decor. When I go in to dine I like to be someplace where I can trust that the chef procured the best possible ingredients for the dish relative to the price charged WITHOUT having to read the pedigree of every onion and lettuce leaf.

* charging exhorbitant amounts for bread. Now, I am not a person who feels that free bread is a must unless it is conducive to a dish- such as- a cheeseplate, pate and the like. BUT! I do NOT appreciate being charged $5.50 for 3 pieces of ice cold (as in fresh thawed or from the fridge) bread, 3 underbake, tasting of raw flour "homemade" crackers and 1oz of olive oil into which has been placed a single olive. The experience leaves me feeling glum. It just does.

So there. That's what I have to say on that topic.
Anyone else fed up?

[mark1]

LOL J., sounds like now is the time to relocate!

[lebelage]

Oh, the same problems with different specifics exist everywhere.

No escaping that as a society we have set mediocrity high upon a throne.

[moselle]

The name of every. single. resource. from which the food came.

Here in the land of Slow Food and Organics people actually ASK where food came from if it isn't written in the menus. People ask us at the farm who we sell to as well. I think they like to know (think?) they are getting resto quality...big deal here...go figure.
Haven't noticed the hamburger on every menu, I usually just have the "special" but I'll pay attention now and get back to you.
I was just at Bouchon a few weeks ago and had the mac-n-cheese starter, it was to die for...lol...how cliché' of me I guess I fell for it-whoosh, right over my head. At least I didn’t order the Caesar salad
One thing I am getting tired of is prefix menus....yawn..I get it, you can put together a meal without me thinking and I will be wowed...now do something interesting with the rest of a menu because it is so moldy it hasn't changed in months, and because I don’t always want a huge meal of your choosing.

[lebelage]

"I was just at Bouchon a few weeks ago and had the mac-n-cheese starter, it was to die for...lol...how cliché' of me"

Would that be TK's Bouchon or a different resto named Bouchon?

Now, now... don't lets get defensive- you know I'm not saying you shouldn't order your mac n' cheese if you want it.

Creamy cheesy pasta? Heck there's a lot to like about that.
BUT! I do not think a restaurant should be made to feel they have to serve mac n' cheese or be labelled pretentious.

[lebelage]

Oh, and prix fixe menus?

When I open my place you will eat it and like it.
Oh yes you will.
I'll even put little stickers all over it telling you where everything is from.

[moselle]

Would that be TK's Bouchon or a different resto named Bouchon?

TK's in Vegas. I almost cried the food was so good, seriously..I just looked down at every plate that was presented to me and I wanted to shout to the kitchen "I GET IT"!! It's like I could hear the chef's talking through the food.
All the food had soul and life...
Oh, and no little stickers saying where the food came from funnily enough

[mark1]

Oh, the same problems with different specifics exist everywhere.

No escaping that as a society we have set mediocrity high upon a throne.

In general, no argument with what you wrote, but specifically here in L.A. in any upscale resto, no requirement to have burgers, fried chicken, mac & cheese on the menu or to cater to squallers.
Like I said, maybe time to relocate!

[lebelage]

"TK's in Vegas. I almost cried the food was so good, seriously..I just looked down at every plate that was presented to me and I wanted to shout to the kitchen "I GET IT"!! It's like I could hear the chef's talking through the food."

Glad you had a good experience there. My three experiences at the Napa location were bad. Very bad. Not just "don't believe the hype" bad but actually feeling ripped off and violated. Glad TK has found people to execute more faithfully.

Ah... Shel. If only, alas... due to my deviant lifestyle I don't always wear the pants in the family. I have to take turns. LA is verbotin unless I get full financing for my own place there. In large part because Mels license to practice won't transfer to Cali so I'd have to be the sole breadwinner.

[Richtee]

Hey... sometimes I wanna burger.

[lebelage]

LOL... I guess I'm the only one who doesn't enjoy their local dining scene trends.

[Richtee]

Nods...I DO understand... It annoys me sometimes as well. Even worse, is when I go to a local pub and see something like duck a'laorange on the menu. Sheesh, folks...

Great rant tho...top notch!

[chefjohn1955]

Nods...I DO understand... It annoys me sometimes as well. Even worse, is when I go to a local pub and see something like duck a'laorange on the menu. Sheesh, folks...

I do have to interject here....
The best duck I ever had was in the '80s at the Bull at Bissam That pub was establish in 1068 so does that count?

They weren't prentitous (at least then) just god quality food well prepared.

[JewelsQ]

I just returned from an 11-day road trip across the US with my sister.

If I get addressed one more time as "Guys" by the waitstaff, it's gonna be ugly, lemme tell ya. In Palm Springs, in Colorado, and I'm not talking about fast food places.

Now give me a local Kansas BBQ'd brisket and a warm "Ma'am" and I'm in heaven.

But seriously, please have a talk with your waitstaff about this if you haven't already. Calling us "Guys" when we look too young to be called Ma'am does not make women feel hip and trendy. Call us Miss and we'll all be happy.

[lebelage]

I hate the "guys" thing too.
I think it all started because some women get offended if you call them ma'am as it implies age.

You would almost think the word "ladies" no longer existed.
I have my servers use ladies and I've heard no complaints.


Funny when you think about it though... these waiters who feel fine calling women "guys"... makes you wonder if there's any servers out there leading a group of male guests to a table with a "this way gals!".

Guys indeed.