- A steak served to me either sitting in or covered with some type of sauce. If it's truly a good steak it should be able to stand on it's own and doesn't need a sauce.
- Sauces that have a heavy liver taste. Yes, they do exist.
- Deep dish pizza
- Pop - I only really like Mt. Dew and root beer
- Beef stroganoff
- Prime rib - shocker, right? I haven't had it in years and should give it another try.
- Shrimp with their heads still on
- Wait staff who serve your food, come back less than a minute later to ask if everything tastes good before you've even had a chance to take a bite and then never appears again except to give you the bill. Does everyone learn this in training? I wish they'd give you a little more time, maybe glancing over every little bit to see if you're trying to get their attention, and then go back. Maybe even one more time after that for refills and just to be sure everything's okay. I understand that diners don't want to keep getting interrupted but seriously.
- Dark beers
- Alcholic drinks that all you can smell or taste is the alcohol - thanks to college, this makes me gag
- Captain's and coke - again, thank you Ohio State
- Weak coffee - I use a level 1/8 cup of grounds per 2 cups coffee plus a half scoop for the pot. YUM. Skip the extra half scoop for really bold blends.
- Breakfast restaurants that don't carry Splenda
- Breakfast restaurants that only have set combo meals and charge you up the ying-yang for subsitutions or a la carte items - Bill and I have a restaurant idea for when we're old and gray (or find a bunch of investors) that will challenge this concept.
- The fact that McDonald's stops serving breakfast at 10:30 - seriously? Who is eating lunch at 10:35? I want to meet these people. 11:00 would be more reasonable.
- Being put in the position of sending food back - if you're eating at IHOP for $6.50, unless you find a hair or nail in your food, you're going to choke it down without much complaint. If you're spending over $30 for steak and wine, you have an expectation that if you order your food medium rare, that's how it's going to be cooked. If it's medium well, you have every right to expect them to fix it but don't you feel like the guilty jerk for doing so? I really, really hate sending food back and always get a sick-to-my-stomach feeling.
- Restaurants claiming to be something they're not - Joseph's Steakhouse here in Iowa City is the epitome of this. They claim to be a Chicago steakhouse and a Chicago steakhouse they are not. First, they wet age their steaks. Most places in Chicago dry age. They also charge you $32 for an 8 oz filet which is more or the same as the dry aging places. That's a tad steep for me. And, unfortunately, we've eaten there 4 times and twice had to send our food back. One time, the second steak for Bill came out worse than his first one. If we go back it will only be for their dessert and french pressed coffee.
- Overpriced food - I was once called a snob because I complained that for the high price, I didn't like a restaurant's food. The person went on to say that food doesn't have to be expensive to taste good. I agree 100% but the higher the price, the higher my expectations. The restaurant better deliver or I will assume the food is overpriced. Since when does not wanting to spend high dollar on mediocrity make someone a snob?
- People who become vegetarian based on the inhumane treatment of animals argument but then go on to eat eggs - I've heard a quote before "there is no such thing as a humane egg". I think PETA might agree based on their excitement over California's recent passing of Proposition 2.
- As mentioned in My Favorite Food Things list, people who claim not to like something and yet they've never even tried it.
- People who absolutely refuse to try something - I have to admit though, there are a few things that I will never, ever try. I will never eat a domesticated animal - dog, cat, horse - including non-domesticated pets. This is why I could never live on a working farm. I'd name all of the animals and then starve to death. I could also never eat a Filipino dish called balut (not commonly found in the States). It's a fertilized duck or chicken egg that contains a nearly-developed chick, that's boiled, cracked open and then eaten whole....WHOLE. I've been told it's good and I will take those peoples' word for it. Bill, my brave soldier, plans on trying this one day. And finally, I won't eat something if there is a real chance that I could die from eating it, such as blowfish.
- Brut champagne
- Being pressured to tip 20% - I'll be really, really honest, I tip based on service and it doesn't seem like a lot of people do that anymore these days. I also tip like a Canadian - before tax. Tax inflates the tip and why should the server get more just because the government wants their share? If you're just average you're getting 15%, if you go a little above and beyond 18%, if you're stellar 20%. If you were really terrible, I don't go below 10% but I'll usually include a little note as to why you're getting stiffed. The person should know how to correct whatever it is they're doing wrong if management isn't. Plus, they should know that I'm not just an asshole and that I had a reason. The whole notion of tipping people, including the entire restaurant industry's mentality of paying their people nothing and expecting us to pick up the rest, really bothers me but that's a different topic for a different blog.
- Wine glasses without a stem - what can I say, I'm traditional.
- Food Network's new website - could it be more cluttered and impossible to find recipes??
- True food or wine snobs who think they're better than you - I've said this before and I'll say it again, it's all subjective. People are free to eat and drink whatever they want and they don't have to like it. And the whole notion of someone being better than someone else just because of food? Please.
- Orange push-up desserts - do they even still make these things?
- Artificially flavored cherry or orange, and sometimes grape, gum or candy
- Plain potato chips
- Brie cheese - I think it's the consistency
- Custardy desserts like flan
- Tofu
- Most Filipino desserts
- Tawny port - I prefer ruby
- Saki - except for saki bombs, yes, I'm mature
- Being ignored by wait staff after being seated in a restaurant
- Watching someone clean off a table in a restaurant using a towel and then using that same towel to wipe down the seats and then proceeding to the next table - I can't even begin to describe how disgusting I think this is
- Being seated at a table while it's still wet from the aforementioned cleaning
- Watching Bill eat something that fell off his plate onto the table in a restaurant - oh yes, he does this unless I stop him first. He's gotten better about it.
I don't like being negative but this list was kind of fun. I'm sure I'll think of more.
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