• Recipes
  • Contact
  • Work with Us
  • Privacy

Chattavore

What I ate, plate by plate.

  • Start Here!
    • Contact
  • Easy Recipes
    • Air Fryer
    • Drinks
    • Easy Baking
    • For the Grill
    • Freezer Friendly
    • Instant Pot
    • No-Bake Desserts
    • One-Pot Recipes
    • Salads and Cold Dishes
    • Sheet Pan Recipes
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
  • Videos
    • From Scratch
    • Recipe Videos
    • Techniques
    • Tools
  • How-To
    • How to Cook From Scratch
    • How to Get Organized
    • How to Make Ahead and Meal Prep
    • How to Use Tools and Techniques

Friday List: Food World Trends That Annoy Me

June 22, 2012

1.  Every celebrity is also a chef.

I’m not talking about “celebrity chefs” here (i.e. the Altons, Emerils, and Bobby Flays of the world).  They went to culinary school, they are clearly good with a television audience, and they have built their success in the food world on that.  I am also not talking about non-chefs like Rachael Ray or Paula Deen, who built their food celebrity on a niche (Ray started off cooking and teaching cooking classes in grocery stores and hosting a local cooking show; Deen owns a very successful restaurant in Savannah, GA…well, in many other places now as well…) or food bloggers like Pioneer Woman.  Nay nay, my friends.  I am talking about people who are already famous and suddenly they have a cookbook.  I mean, Gwyneth Paltrow has a cookbook.  Eva Longoria has a cookbook.  Some chick (celebrity status questionable, and I’m not talking about Bethenny Frankel, who does have a culinary background) from one of the Real Housewives shows has a cookbook (maybe even two?).  I’ve even seen cookbooks from siblings and parents of celebrities.  WHAT. GIVES?  Jealousy?  Sure.  I won’t lie.  I’d love for someone to give me a publishing deal to write a cookbook.  But you know what?  I’ve spent a lot of time and energy on food….not to say that these celebrities haven’t, or that they aren’t good cooks…..but it’s just not cool that they get the cookbook deals just because they’re famous (don’t get me started on actors and actress who are meh singers releasing albums-soap box!!!).

2.  Bakery cupcakes must have at least 5.2 inches of icing.  Selling items other than cupcakes optional.

I have nothing against a good cupcake.  Nothing.  And I’ll give you this: the current trend of cupcakes with towering mounds of icing is quite beautiful to look at.  However, I don’t really like having to work for my treats (and neatly scraping off 2/3 of the icing from a gigantic cupcake is indeed work) and when so much effort is put into presentation (icing colors, swirls, a different “look” for each cupcake), the flavor and texture of both the cupcake and the icing suffer.  It’s true.  I’d much rather go to my favorite Federal Bake Shop, where the cupcakes are white or chocolate with white (almond-flavored) or chocolate icing.  Belle’s Cupcakes (sold at Market Street Tavern) are also nice…jumbo cupcakes (perfect for two) with a reasonable amount of icing.  And you know, sometimes when I go to a bakery I’d rather get something else….so the “cupcake bakery” trend annoys me a bit too….but seems to be dying off, if slowly.

3.  Apparently, anything goes on a slider bun.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love sliders.  I mean, I do live in the city where Krystal originated….so I’ve been eating sliders my entire life.  I’ll admit to thinking the slider trend was cool when it first happened, and I’ll even admit that I occasionally order sliders at restaurants-and even cook them at home.  However, to me a slider must be a burger.  My slider annoyance comes in the fact that restaurants will put anything on a slider roll.  Buffalo chicken.  Crab cakes (seriously?).  Pimento cheese.  Yep, you read that right.  One casual dining chain had a pimento cheese slider for a time.  I tried it-I had to.  It was terrible.  Terrible.  Leave the sliders to the burgers, guys.  Please.

4.  Diet Trends

Michael Pollan says it best: Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.

Extreme diet trends have been around for years.  Cabbage soup diet.  Self-prescribed liquid diets.  Atkins.  These days, gluten-free diets are trendy even for those without medically diagnosed gluten intolerances or sensitivities.  I fully believe people have every right to follow these diets…so what really drives me nuts is when they get all militant about it.  I don’t want people to bug me about it and tell me 100,000 reasons why I shouldn’t eat meat, or gluten, or cheese, or sugar.  I am an everything in moderation type of girl.  I recently saw a whole foods blogger get firebombed with comments from people who believe that gluten is the root of many of our health problems.  Their opinion (based on a book they had all read).  She thanked them for their comments but explained that she and her family had chosen to eat grains in moderation and that they felt it was part of a healthy diet.  These people persisted in their criticism of her choices.  That bugs me, people.  I’ll eat what I want, you eat what you want.  It’s a free country. I have pretty strong opinions about food, but I don’t bombard other people with them unless they choose to read my blog.   If you’d like to share your own opinions…..start your own blog.

5.  Communal dining tables….cause we all want to dine with strangers (right?).

I didn’t even think about this one till a friend pointed it out.  Apparently it’s a new trend in restaurants to have a communal dining table(s) where people can choose to sit, and some restaurants just flat out encourage sitting at tables with strangers.  There are, of course, the hibachi restaurants that seat you around the grill with other people to “watch the show”, and Bea’s, a local restaurant that seats you with whomever has room at their table.  We don’t go to these restaurants unless we are with other people.  I don’t have a problem with strangers….it’s just that I’m not the most outgoing person and I’m probably not going to feel too free with my conversation around someone I don’t know.  And I really don’t want to be uncomfortable while I’m eating….

6.  Food in fancy restaurants must be stacked.  Apparently chefs like Jenga?

I realize that part of a dish’s appeal is in its appearance, but is it really necessary to put everything on top of each other?  Invariably, if you order a dish that comes with mashed potatoes, rice/risotto, or some sort of vegetable puree, the meat part of the entree will be on top of that item.  Sometimes multiple items are stacked on top of each other.  Tetris, anyone?  It kind of makes you worry that the food is going to topple off of the plate before it makes it to the table.  Also, some people prefer for their food to not touch.  This is an ugly proposition for those people.

7.  Artisan everything.

This is made even more annoying (albeit funny) when pronounced “artesian”.  But seriously.  According to dictionary.com, artisan means:

1. noun; a person skilled in an applied art; a craftsperson.
2. noun; a person or company that makes a high-quality, distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand and using traditional methods: food artisans.
3. adjective; pertaining to or noting high-quality, distinctive products made in small quantities: artisan beer.
Okay, I get that.  I have great respect for artisans, in the food world and not in the food world.  In a way, I feel like an artisan, at least an amateur one.  However, the word artisan lost its credibility when Tostitos introduced an “artisan” line of mass-produced chips that they charge more for than their regular chips.  “Artisan” is to this era what “gourmet” was to the eighties.  I cringe when I hear the word now.
8.  Bacon on everything.
Just kidding!  You know I’m totally down with that.  Except the bacon sundae at Burger King.  Or the bacon milkshake that someone has (Jack-in-the-Box, I think?).  Or bacon “flavored” anything.
So, those are some trends that annoy me.  There are more, to be sure, but these are the ones I’ve thought of over the last couple of weeks.  I am sure that many of these things will be gone in a few years, or maybe just a few months.  For the moment, though, they’re on my nerves.

Want recipes from scratch & restaurant reviews in your inbox weekly?
Subscribe below to get Chattavore's weekly newletter AND a free set of recipe cards to help you learn to cook from scratch!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.

Filed Under: Chattavore Chats Tagged With: lists, writing By Mary // Chattavore 8 Comments

She’s Becoming Doughmesstic!

Whole Wheat Sally Lunn Bread

Comments

  1. Amber says

    June 22, 2012 at 10:48 am

    Okay, I can agree with everything here. Except the icing. What is there not to like about decedent inches of icing?! I am fairly certain that cupcake exist for the sole purpose of holding as much icing as possible. Otherwise, they are just muffins. :)
    Reply
    • Chattavore says

      June 22, 2012 at 11:49 am

      Now, I didn't say that I don't like icing.....I agree that a cupcake without icing is just a muffin....or worse, just naked. I'll also admit to eating homemade cream cheese icing out of a bowl, with a spoon. I just prefer that the icing have lots of flavor. That's what bothers me about the cupcake with tons of icing trend. There's so much icing that they probably can't afford to make it taste all that good....they just use the shortening and the sugar and not very much of the flavorful ingredients. It's all flash and no substance :)
      Reply
    • PaigeP says

      June 22, 2012 at 1:06 pm

      I'm with you, Amber! I think the icing at Gigi's is phenomenal. It has a ton of flavor, and I will take all of the icing that I can get! I feel like if there is a single bite of cake left that doesn't have icing, then I was robbed! I am a dessert connoisseur, and the Kentucky Bourbon Pie cupcake at Gigi's is one of the best things I have ever tasted!!!
      Reply
      • Chattavore says

        June 22, 2012 at 1:22 pm

        Perhaps I haven't had the right cupcakes, but the ones I've had from Gigi's were blah. Regardless....too much icing makes me sick. And makes my teeth hurt! Federal Bake Shop all the way! (Gotta do a blog post on them!)
        Reply
  2. Brooke says

    June 22, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    Boooo for tons of icing. I think they do it because their cupcakes don't taste too good. Of course, there is the exception of Chattanooga Cupcake's strawberry cupcake. Tons of strawberry cream cheese icing. I eat every bit of it. And, seriously, bacon on everything... funny you should mention it, given the bacon sundae at Burger King. Puke.
    Reply
    • Chattavore says

      June 22, 2012 at 5:08 pm

      Brooke, I knew that you would comment on the cupcake/icing one. I haven't been to Chattanooga Cupcakes, but if/when I go I'll be sure to try the strawberry cupcake, 'cause strawberry cream cheese icing sounds like something that only happens in my dreams. And I actually meant to go back and exempt the bacon sundae at Burger King (and the bacon milkshake that someone-Jack-in-the-Box, I think-has now) from my bacon love. Burger King bacon sundae, not so much. Fixing that one momentarily.
      Reply
  3. Vanderbilt Wife says

    June 22, 2012 at 6:16 pm

    I'm on the side of not wanting 6 inches of icing. It's enough to put me in a sugar coma, and I just prefer cake to plain sugar. I had Chattanooga Cupcakes for the first time recently - phenomenal! And I love Federal Bake Shop, too. Mmmm.
    Reply
  4. Brooke says

    June 22, 2012 at 6:27 pm

    It is dreamy. The cupcake is awesome too, which is why it's so darn good. I've had a couple from there that aren't great, like their "Domino" cupcake. Icing is really strange. For the most part- they are really great- even if I have to scrape off a couple inches of icing.
    Reply

Thanks for your comments, but remember that Chattavore is a positive site. I reserve the right to delete any comments that contain unnecessary negativity! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Chattavore

Hi, I'm Mary! Welcome to Chattavore, a destination for people who want to feed themselves and their families well every day! Life can be crazy, which means that getting dinner on the table can be a challenge (more often than not!) and my mission is to take all your favorite recipes and figure out how to serve them on a Tuesday.

Follow Chattavore!

  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Bloglovin
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • RSS

Categories


Copyright © 2023 | All content property of Chattavore and may not be reproduced without permission | Cha Creative Clique

Want recipes from scratch & restaurant reviews in your inbox weekly?
Subscribe below to get Chattavore's weekly newletter AND a free set of recipe cards to help you learn to cook from scratch!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.