Mashed! with lots of butter, pepper and a touch of garlic :)

So what? As GF said, your beef seems to be against bad mashed potatoes. Have you ever had *good* mashed potatoes?

And I still don't agree that mashed potatoes are less labor intensive than serving wild rice. Certainly the prep to get that big vat of mashed requires quite a bit of effort.

I made mashed potatoes according to Robuchons recipe once. As I recall it was whipping potatoes, butter and heavy cream until fluffy. Then pushing the potatoes through a sieve with a wooden mallet; twice. Think about pushing mashed potatoes through a screen door with a wooden mallet. I only made them once because I thought my arms were going to explode from the effort.

Its really kind of silly to be having a comparison of good mashed potatoes to two day old lumpy (specifically noted in one of the above posts) ones. Again, the real message is that bad mashed potatoes arent good or perhaps dont eat at restaurants that serve two day old food, both of which are more or less "dog bites man".

Indeed. And further, one of the marks of a great chef, at least in my view, is taking something simple, something we know, something comfortable, and making it transcendent and surprisingly delicious. SamCat may not be appreciating what that requires...

Indeed, and in addition to the mashed potatoes; having had roast chicken, broiled fish or a poached pear at Michelin three star restaurants, among other examples, I do.

Indeed. They say the true test of a chef is his or her roast chicken. I think it's an excellent test. ;)

‘Labor intensiveness’ is the barometer by which you’re going? In that case, a nicely grilled, medium rare steak must be bottom of barrel crap. After all, not much other than toasting bread is as easy as that. Certainly less labor intensive than mashed potatoes.

In other words, you’re not making much sense.

Neither. Frites + bearnaise sauce.

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Balthazar serves a very nice version of this. It's on their late night menu as well I think.

Hash browns with melted cheddar......^

Usually opt for grilled veggie alternative. If not, baked -- mashed potatoes at lots of places tend to have way too much cream for me; not a fan.

If those were the only two options then mashed. But I usually make my own and this is what I put in it.

3 cheeses
sour cream
butter
chives
bacon bits
heavy cream
potatoes with skin
salt/pepper

YUM, though it seems like a heart attack is waiting to happen.

Sorry, but I have no idea what "TP" stands for in this case.

baked potatoes. duh :D
but I like fries too.

If a restaurant serves it right, I like a baked potato. However, most restaurants serve the potato too cold.