DiningBuzz! - 10 worst dining trends of the last decade

The writer's 10 worst, with photos at the bottom:

1. Deconstruction
2. The chef as media whore
3. The menu as book
4. Foam
5. Knee-jerk online reviews
6. Proudly obnoxious fast food options
7. The Communal Table
8. The $40 entrée
9. Molecular gastronomy
10. Fried onion blossoms

Decades from now, when you reflect on what dining was like during the fledgling years of the 21st century, on a good day you will picture a heartening trend toward comfort food in the wake of Sept. 11 and a well-meaning push toward locally sourced menus.

But on a bad day, when someone asks what the worst restaurant trends of that first decade were, will you be able to shut up? One restaurant type cracked: "As long as we're not naming names, I'll talk. Because now that you ask this, specific chefs and self-important restaurants are coming to mind."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/dining/chi-091021-worst-dining-trends-pictures,0,5192606.photogallery

The faux server familiarity served up in North America stretches back more than a decade but it would be included on my list. The annoying "Terry will be your server this evening," "Hi Guys, My name is Bob and I'll be serving you this evening," etc. is only heightened by the occasional "And how are we tonight?" to which I sometimes reply "We're fine, and how are we?" I'm not really interested in establishing a meaningful relationship. I only seek good food and decent service. YMMV.

Cheers,
Fredd

My personal bete noire is so-called "fusion". Simply put, I prefer to experience the strengths of one particular cuisine at a time, not a juxtaposition of flavors and ingredients that tends to make the food unfocused.

I disagree with just about everything in the diaTRIBe. Jusr goes to show
that universal literacy may not be a good thing.

I absolutely agree with 1 (deconstruction) and 4 (foam) and would add sous vide. But my #1 pet peeve is deconstructed. It is stupid, stupid, stupid.

The first four on the list and number 9

What is "foam"?

The trend I hate the most is this over the top bacon must be in everything trend. I get it, you love bacon and it's bad for you. Also, you love rebelling against the idea of living healthily, so you have to now infuse vodka with bacon (http://www.bakonvodka.com/), put it on your donuts (http://blogs.liblime.com/developers/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/bacon_donut.jpg), make a friggin' apple pie with bacon (http://www.slashfood.com/2008/12/03/apple-pie-with-a-bacon-lattice-top-and-more/) and come up with something called Bacon Salt (http://baconsalt.com/).

Seriously, enough! I enjoy bacon too but I don't need to have it with everything.

What is "foam"?

I always think of spit when I see "foam". I don't get it, obviously.

I think for me is the over-complication of food (shoulder of lamb sous-vide with a gastrique of blood orange infused with lemongrass candy served with a manchego cheese and port wine reduction foam served with pea shoots in a dashi-kombu broth accompanied by a truffle and champagne vinaegrette). This then leads to every other chef copying said Frankenstein dish and charging outrageous sums of money for it.

However, a good "foam" and a well deconstructed dish can be very satisfying in the right hands. Sadly, there are too few of those "right" hands in the kitchens.

For me, it is the over seasoning of food. Too often, the meat, chicken or fish that I order tastes nothing like meat, chicken or fish. The too liberal use of seasonings (especially garlic) covers up the natural taste of the animal being eaten. At times it makes the food unrecognizable.
Simplicity is best...and a lighter hand on the seasoning goes a long way!

It seems that Pork Belly is now on every menu. :td:

My personal bete noire is so-called "fusion". Simply put, I prefer to experience the strengths of one particular cuisine at a time, not a juxtaposition of flavors and ingredients that tends to make the food unfocused.

Yes. I've had, in all those years, exactly one restaurant which did a good (or better said, fantastic) job in having really some kind of good working fusion food.(Italian/Chinese) Everything else was fail.

It's always that a few restaurants know how to do something right, have success, and than others will try to copy them.

:td: <-Foam. Too many foams, not enough people who know how to use it.

The trend I hate the most is this over the top bacon must be in everything trend. I get it, you love bacon and it's bad for you. Also, you love rebelling against the idea of living healthily, so you have to now infuse vodka with bacon (http://www.bakonvodka.com/), put it on your donuts (http://blogs.liblime.com/developers/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/bacon_donut.jpg), make a friggin' apple pie with bacon (http://www.slashfood.com/2008/12/03/apple-pie-with-a-bacon-lattice-top-and-more/) and come up with something called Bacon Salt (http://baconsalt.com/).

Seriously, enough! I enjoy bacon too but I don't need to have it with everything.

bacon vodka - own it
bacon donut - had em and love em
apple pie with bacon - never tried it
bacon salt - have a box of it, but havent tried it

I will admit that the bacon mints were gross, but a bacon maple bar is a mighty tasty piece of food

It seems that Pork Belly is now on every menu. :td:


I'll take your share :)

bacon salt - have a box of it, but havent tried it
Hardly worth the effort - doesn't taste like bacon at all (http://davescupboard.blogspot.com/2008/08/seasonings-part-two-bacon-salt-without.html).
It seems that Pork Belly is now on every menu. :td:I'll take your share :)

Have to fight me for it!

I would think the growth of chain restaurants outweighs 1-10. I've never been able to figure out why someone would go to a keg instead of going to a real restaurant.

Ditto on foam.

Chefs that babble about architectural qualities of food.

"Tall" food. When served such, I take my knife in hand, silently mouth "Batter up!", swing, and "deconstruct" the dish.

Yup. Deconstruction. Just annoying. I don't mind if media whore chef who can (once) cook (Bourdain, Ripert). I mind the others (Rachael Ray, Rocco)

I'll add theme restaurants. Why oh why will anyone beyond 10 years old go to Rain Forest Cafe. Or Hard Rock, or ESPN....

And chain restaurants. They're not restaurant, they're just more expensive fast food with sit down service.

The trend I hate the most is this over the top bacon must be in everything trend. I get it, you love bacon and it's bad for you. Also, you love rebelling against the idea of living healthily, so you have to now infuse vodka with bacon (http://www.bakonvodka.com/), put it on your donuts (http://blogs.liblime.com/developers/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/bacon_donut.jpg), make a friggin' apple pie with bacon (http://www.slashfood.com/2008/12/03/apple-pie-with-a-bacon-lattice-top-and-more/) and come up with something called Bacon Salt (http://baconsalt.com/).

Seriously, enough! I enjoy bacon too but I don't need to have it with everything.

Hahahaha this reminds me of when I was pregnant... I craved bacon and ham all day every day. I ate a ham steak and eggs for breakfast, and then bacon bacon bacon. I actually lost 5 pounds while pregnant because I ate no carbs (gestational diabetes). Man, those 6 months of constant bacon consuming bring back great memories... now I eat it once or twice a month, tops.

4 and 6, but especially 4 (Foam). Done well it can be an interesting twist to a dish. I don't need it on every dish, and don't do it unless you are really competent.

For me, it is the over seasoning of food. Too often, the meat, chicken or fish that I order tastes nothing like meat, chicken or fish. The too liberal use of seasonings (especially garlic) covers up the natural taste of the animal being eaten. At times it makes the food unrecognizable.
Simplicity is best...and a lighter hand on the seasoning goes a long way!

+1

Especially, making dishes hot and spicy without any indication on the menu. I personally do not like and cannot eat food that is particularly hot, and I often get the simplest dishes that I cannot tolerate - especially soups. The other day the mashed potatoes had lots of pepper, never mentioned on the menu.

I don't understand the fad of putting the entree (such as a piece of meat) on top of one of the side dishes (such as the potatoes). It just makes the potatoes yucky and you have to move the meat over on the plate anyway.

Can we talk about Rosemary fronds sticking out of one's food - or was that last last decade?

My personal bete noire is so-called "fusion". Simply put, I prefer to experience the strengths of one particular cuisine at a time, not a juxtaposition of flavors and ingredients that tends to make the food unfocused.

:-::-: Agreed 100% ^^ :-::-:

Foam and deconstruction kinda get me..as do the pretentious menus that list pedigree of the cow that graciously provided the NY Strip i'm about to enjoy..and 40$ entrees suck, rarely are they worth it.

I don't understand the fad of putting the entree (such as a piece of meat) on top of one of the side dishes (such as the potatoes). It just makes the potatoes yucky and you have to move the meat over on the plate anyway.


I'm not sure why, but some of the best overall restaurant meals I have ever had have been served this way, even though it wasn't necessary at all. Also, it certainly isn't new. I saw it much more often 15 years ago than I do today.

I mind the others (Rachael Ray, Rocco)

Rachel Ray is a chef? Since when? :eek:

Can we talk about Rosemary fronds sticking out of one's food - or was that last last decade?

Last decade!

Guilty pleasure, I like the rosemary. I just wish it were on the table when I sat down instead of in the food. It smells so darn good!

I don't understand the fad of putting the entree (such as a piece of meat) on top of one of the side dishes (such as the potatoes). It just makes the potatoes yucky and you have to move the meat over on the plate anyway.

I love that! Put a slice of meat loaf on a pile of mashed potatoes and mix your side of peas into the mashed potatoes. Yum! ^

I don't understand the fad of putting the entree (such as a piece of meat) on top of one of the side dishes (such as the potatoes). It just makes the potatoes yucky and you have to move the meat over on the plate anyway.

I think of the "stack" like that as a mid-late 1990s thing more than current, but yeah... didn't get it then, don't like it now.

Another pet peeve: restaurants that don't do steak well to begin with adding a couple of expensive steak option (whether "Kobe" or "dry aged.") If I wanted to spend that much on a steak, I'd go someplace with a fair bet of preparing it in the properr manner.

The faux server familiarity served up in North America stretches back more than a decade but it would be included on my list. The annoying "Terry will be your server this evening," "Hi Guys, My name is Bob and I'll be serving you this evening," etc. is only heightened by the occasional "And how are we tonight?" to which I sometimes reply "We're fine, and how are we?" I'm not really interested in establishing a meaningful relationship. I only seek good food and decent service. YMMV.

Cheers,
Fredd

My pet peeve is the way some servers recite the specials. Always too fast... besides, I also think that they might as well say "We need to get rid of some salmon/beef/whatever, so we came up with a dish that is not in the menu".

Anyway, another trend that bothers me, common in fine dining restaurants, is the "3 ways" thing. I never really like all 3.

My pet peeve is the way some servers recite the specials. Always too fast... besides, I also think that they might as well say "We need to get rid of some salmon/beef/whatever, so we came up with a dish that is not in the menu".


i completely disagree with that statement.

most of the restaurants in which i eat make a special effort to get what is freshest and best at the market that morning. those become the "specials" i tend to avoid the straight menu in most places, as there is a good chance that it was prepared a while back.

the antelope from west texas, the fish direct from hawaii(on the last friday of the month), etc, are not leftovers.

i completely disagree with that statement.

most of the restaurants in which i eat make a special effort to get what is freshest and best at the market that morning. those become the "specials" i tend to avoid the straight menu in most places, as there is a good chance that it was prepared a while back.

the antelope from west texas, the fish direct from hawaii(on the last friday of the month), etc, are not leftovers.

That may be true for fine dining restaurants (specially in those that actually change the menu every day), but I wouldn't be so sure it's the same in the mid-range ones.

That may be true for fine dining restaurants (specially in those that actually change the menu every day), but I wouldn't be so sure it's the same in the mid-range ones.

i guess we do "fine dining" in the mid-range field.

Have to fight me for it!

+1 for the pork belly fight as well:)

I don't understand the fad of putting the entree (such as a piece of meat) on top of one of the side dishes (such as the potatoes). It just makes the potatoes yucky and you have to move the meat over on the plate anyway.

Like obscure2k mentioned, bring this on!! We even "fight" for the juices/blood from the platter a roast rests on so that we can pour it over our potatoes.

The faux server familiarity served up in North America stretches back more than a decade but it would be included on my list. The annoying "Terry will be your server this evening," "Hi Guys, My name is Bob and I'll be serving you this evening," etc. is only heightened by the occasional "And how are we tonight?" to which I sometimes reply "We're fine, and how are we?" I'm not really interested in establishing a meaningful relationship. I only seek good food and decent service. YMMV.

There might be a generational aspect to this, the familiarity drives my parents (70’s) and most of their friends (60’s-90’s) up a wall yet most of my friends (30’s-40’s) could care less.

As far as the list, I would happily have everything on it repeatedly if more folks would STOP going to chain restaurants or mindless steakhouses and actually get out an try some new places.

most ridiculous list ever? the author was serious? i agree with 1 maybe 2 points. and im not a foodie, i dont do molecular, and im not even a fan of tasting menus. id say i have expensive tastes but an unsophisticated palate.

agreed
2. The chef as media whore

maybe
1. Deconstruction

who cares? and these are "trends"?
3. The menu as book
6. Proudly obnoxious fast food options
7. The Communal Table

anti new media presumably, ridiculous, but author knows its competition
5. Knee-jerk online reviews

author = ridiculous
4. Foam
8. The $40 entrée
9. Molecular gastronomy
10. Fried onion blossoms

I love that! Put a slice of meat loaf on a pile of mashed potatoes and mix your side of peas into the mashed potatoes. Yum! ^

This is truly proof that we are all individuals. I know people who, even as an adult, hate to have their food "touch" each other (I am NOT one of them). When I see the meat on top of the potatoes, I ask myself "why?" Someone else would ask "why not?"

One detestable trend over the last 10 years that I haven't seen mentioned is: broth. Serving solid food with a brothy underlay when it could be served without just pushes all my buttons.

4. Foam
8. The $40 entrée
9. Molecular gastronomy
10. Fried onion blossoms

Seriously?! You LIKE foam?! Looks like spit, tastes odd to me. AND this is from the restaurant by Chef of the Century.

For me a tiresome trend is huge tasting menus. I LOVE tasting menus. But when they're too big you never remember what you tasted earlier and end up feeling like the fat guy in that Monty Python sketch (it's wafer thin!). Keep the menu small and the dishes memorable, thank you very much!

#4 FTW

Not exclusive to the latest decade: Dump truck sized portions. Who the heck can eat all that? Sometimes they're so big I lose my appetite just looking at them.

A trend I am really sick of is gas stations, Walgreens and almost everyplace else now selling coffee - and its usually terrible.

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Foam as an accent/flourish to a dish - good.

Foam AS the entire dish - not so good.

Not exclusive to the latest decade: Dump truck sized portions. Who the heck can eat all that? Sometimes they're so big I lose my appetite just looking at them.

I hate this too. Another reason for rampant obesity in this country. People feel they have to finish it all because the paid for it all. When travelling, a doggie bag isn't always feasible.

That may be true for fine dining restaurants (specially in those that actually change the menu every day), but I wouldn't be so sure it's the same in the mid-range ones.

Restaurant Confidential (http://www.amazon.com/Restaurant-Confidential-Shocking-Really-Eating/dp/0761100350): Monday nights special is Tuesday's trash.

"The Amuse From The Kitchen".

Truffle flavoring. I love fresh Italian white truffles in the fall, particularly freshly shaved over a simple pasta or risotto. I love fresh black truffles in France.
There is now truffle flavor in far too many dishes. I say "flavor" as I understand that the commercial truffle flavor used in restaurants is often created in a laboratory and not sniffed out by pigs.
Local diners feature truffle fries, truffle burgers, truffle cheese, truffle flavored pasta, salt, honey, etc.

Eliminating spoons from the cutlery set up - why did that happen? I miss my spoon, and often ask for one.

+1 on dump truck-sized portions. And then you offer dessert (similar sized)? I might have a touch of dessert if I weren't stuffed from the entree.

For me, it's the demise of salad bars. I can happily make a whole meal out of a well-stocked salad bar. Maybe too much of it went unused and they had to throw a large portion out at the end of each day?

Yes. I've had, in all those years, exactly one restaurant which did a good (or better said, fantastic) job in having really some kind of good working fusion food.(Italian/Chinese) Everything else was fail.


Makes sense though, you're talking about two cultures that love their rice, noodles, and pork products....

hate fusion

Most trends suck because only a few chefs/restaurants do them well.

I think sous vide gets a bad rep only because most people don't understand it and chefs/waiters love to oversell it. Sous vide is no more special than sauteeing, BBQ, or steaming.

A few trends which I dislike from the past decade (or decade and half):

1) Asian-[insert western cuisine] fusion. Asia is f*!#ing huge. At the very, very least focus on one country, otherwise, all the dishes tend to suck and be unfocused.

2) Smoke. Not smoked meat/protein. But wafting some aromatic smoke to eat with a dish. Sorry, doesn't do it for me.

3) $35+ corkage. Yes, I know the reasoning behind corkage at high-end restaurants. It's still short sighted and annoying. I might give a restaurant a pass if their wine list is diversified and phone book heavy.

4) Creme brulee. Most are just "ehh"

5) "Molten flourless chocolate cake" Double "ehhhhhhhh"

6) "Still or sparkling water?" Bottled water has taken over in our daily lives. I'll take unspoken option #3, then I'll consider ordering from your crappy wine list.

How can this list be considered complete without the idiotic "Dark" scam?

Truffle flavoring. I love fresh Italian white truffles in the fall, particularly freshly shaved over a simple pasta or risotto. I love fresh black truffles in France.
There is now truffle flavor in far too many dishes. I say "flavor" as I understand that the commercial truffle flavor used in restaurants is often created in a laboratory and not sniffed out by pigs.
Local diners feature truffle fries, truffle burgers, truffle cheese, truffle flavored pasta, salt, honey, etc.

+1

I'm not particularly keen on truffles and the misuse of them generally leads to a dish that only tastes of truffle. It's as though they have to prove there's truffle in there by overpowering every other flavour.

Truffle oil :td: Just give me EVOO thank you very much!

Asian-[insert western cuisine] fusion. Asia is f*!#ing huge. At the very, very least focus on one country, otherwise, all the dishes tend to suck and be unfocused.

Reminds me of how every somewhat supposedly upscale restaurant now has to offer a seared or raw tuna appetizer with some godawful wasabi sauce.

A few trends which I dislike from the past decade (or decade and half):

1) Asian-[insert western cuisine] fusion. Asia is f*!#ing huge. At the very, very least focus on one country, otherwise, all the dishes tend to suck and be unfocused.


4) Creme brulee. Most are just "ehh"

5) "Molten flourless chocolate cake" Double "ehhhhhhhh"

6) "Still or sparkling water?" Bottled water has taken over in our daily lives. I'll take unspoken option #3, then I'll consider ordering from your crappy wine list.

+1 on these sentiments.

For all of the fusion cuisine haters, have you been to Malaysia or Singapore? Now that's fusion and some good eating! Though I do understand how it can be disliked particularly how its marketed everywhere..

+1 on these sentiments.

For all of the fusion cuisine haters, have you been to Malaysia or Singapore? Now that's fusion and some good eating! Though I do understand how it can be disliked particularly how its marketed everywhere..

Singapore and Malaysia are a bit different, unless you are talking about haute-cuisine Malay-Western and Singaporean/Western fusion (of which I've never tried). Those two countries have culinary influences from neighboring Asian cultures as well as Western countries from colonial times. That is old-school "fusion" which has to come to have its own character as "Singaporean" food.

As an American-born Chinese (Hong Kong ancestry), I've never understood or liked the "HK cafe-style" food which is a weird Cantonese-European old-school "fusion". But I'm veering a bit off topic now.

I agree completely about pretentious menus that describe the pedigree of their foods.
It's getting to the point where some menus are becoming novellas.

I don't really care if my tomato salad originated as heirloom seeds collected from an Amish family and then grown by hand in an organic family owned farm that overlooks the Shenandoah Valley.

Singapore and Malaysia are a bit different, unless you are talking about haute-cuisine Malay-Western and Singaporean/Western fusion (of which I've never tried). Those two countries have culinary influences from neighboring Asian cultures as well as Western countries from colonial times. That is old-school "fusion" which has to come to have its own character as "Singaporean" food.

As an American-born Chinese (Hong Kong ancestry), I've never understood or liked the "HK cafe-style" food which is a weird Cantonese-European old-school "fusion". But I'm veering a bit off topic now.

i'm hk-raised, yet still i hate the fusion: except sth like tea w milk.
Spaghetti overcooked soaking in MSG water. ew.....

I'm a variant of number two:

the chef as corporation. There are too many restaurants with great chef's names where the chef is only in the restaurant a few times a year.

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I'm a variant of number two:

the chef as corporation. There are too many restaurants with great chef's names where the chef is only in the restaurant a few times a year.

At least the public understands that the namesake chef will not be there most of the time.

If the resident executive chef and his/her team is very skilled, and also (maybe more importantly) the restaurant concept is portable to multiple locations, then the branch location should have a good chance of success (Nobu might be a good example).

I'm a variant of number two:

the chef as corporation. There are too many restaurants with great chef's names where the chef is only in the restaurant a few times a year.
I'm rarely disappointed at Joel Robuchon's or Alain Ducasse's restaurants.
One notable exception was Ducasse's Beige in Tokyo.