Most boring thing you've eaten (lately)

I think there needs to be a thread in between awesome and awful - the things you often have to eat that are completely uninspiring.

Lately I have two:

Blackened Chicken Muffaletta at Bar Louie in Oak Park - a tiny bit of spice, but basically, meh.

Epic Burger with Horeradish Havarti at new Clinton Location - what is that you say - horeradish havarti? what horseradish? Fresh ingredients, decent bun, but overall, meh.

Fried Rice, and broccoli garnished with carrots at Wok N Fire. The fried rice was blah and the veggies just "healthy". They were not limp or over cooked but plain veggies are kind of uninspired but I eat them 1. I paid for them. 2. they have few calories 3. they are good for you 4. I need the fiber.

Everything we ate at Salsa 17 in Arlington Heights. Big fat yawn. Needed salt, lime and chile in just about everything.

Candelite Pizza......big fan of the genre (Marie's, etc.)..but just don't get this place.....bland IMHO, crust nothing special..

Wedding cake. When anyone offers me free cake, I turn into this. I never bother reminding myself that wedding cake often blows. I don't know where this was from, but honestly, it was a denser Duncan Hines mix.

Spinach/feta omelet and hash browns at The Original Mitchell's on Clybourn. Nothing bad, fluffy and all but just so plain. Even a healthy dose of salt and ketchup on all didn't help. I was just too hungry after a long run so ate it. It probably was healthy as I did not taste much of oil/butter.

I knew it was coming, but every single thing we ate at Paradise Cantina (the one at Damen/Division). We actually went in seeking their giant, $10, 32-oz margaritas (it was a Friday night!) and figured, the food won't be too bad. There are plenty of chain restaurants where the food isn't bad.

And it wasn't bad, per se - just bland, boring, and evocative of nothingness. Spice-less chicken and oily peppers in the fajitas; tough steak and heaps of bland cheese in the burrito. I actually chortled when they said the fajitas came with corn tortillas - what, because you're so authentic? Own up and give me flour. Recognizable as food, edible, even, but totally and completely meh.

I tried a recipe yesterday for lentil dal with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cumin seeds, cilantro, onions, garlic...all cooked in a slow cooker. Wow, was this stuff bland. I know slow cookers deplete flavors, but jeez.

Carry-out lunch at the office today from Ruby of Siam in Skokie. I used to really love this place but I think it's slipped a bit and I've moved on. There was nothing particularly wrong with today's lunch (larb chicken, som tum) but it was just there...and very boring.

=R=