This isn't so much a worst thing I've eaten; it's more of an ALMOST. A friend and I decided to try a popular sushi place. We're seated at a table where you can see behind the food runner's station for the sushi bar. We had just ordered drinks when we see one of the food runners duck down, eat a piece of sashimi, then wipe his hands on the IN USE garbage can in front of him. When he's done "cleaning" his hands he stands up and grabs an order of sushi to run to a table. My friend and I (we both work in restaurants) were dumbfounded; we've both seen people shovel food on the job but never dumb enough to use a plastic garbage bag as a napkin!

The good news is that I had never seen someone get fired so fast. We told the manager what we saw and he nearly dragged the kid off the floor physically. That brings me comfort knowing the place does a lot of business. So the manager wanted to buy us something - food, a cocktail at the bar. I was starving so alcohol didn't sound good unless there was food involved, but definitely not sushi.

I was reminded of this story after seeing some of the food poisoning posts. Ick.

The worst thing I have had recently is the Sedona Tortilla Soup from CPK. It was bland, glutinous, and seemed to be mainly composed of watery procesed cheese.

Trader Joe's BBQ Chicken Pizza.

I thought I had learned my lesson about their frozen stuff from the stromboli.

But no.

I had breakfast at the Aiprort (O'hare) Chili's Too (I think that's the name). It made me very sad. I kind of understand why everything is so expensive at the Airport (greed and fees) but why does it have to be so bad? It's sort of a slap in the face to everyone who eats there.

I've got several candidates from ORD, but rather than ennumerate them, I think it's safe to say that should LTH ever launch a "worst-eating-region-in-the-Chicago-metroplex survey, the neighborhood known as ORD with its combo of limited choice; likelihood of stale, industrial grade quality ingredients; clueless service; and (final slap) over-inflated prices would win hands down. No contest.

jbw wrote:I've got several candidates from ORD, but rather than ennumerate them, I think it's safe to say that should LTH ever launch a "worst-eating-region-in-the-Chicago-metroplex survey, the neighborhood known as ORD with its combo of limited choice; likelihood of stale, industrial grade quality ingredients; clueless service; and (final slap) over-inflated prices would win hands down. No contest.

You know what the funny thing is? It doesn't have to be this way at all! Midway Airport has great food choices w/o crazy prices. There is nothing like getting on a flight with a Potbelly's Wreck in tow.

jbw wrote:should LTH ever launch a "worst-eating-region-in-the-Chicago-metroplex survey

Or better yet, a Worst-a-Thon!

I'll start a thread on the Events board....

cilantro wrote:Or better yet, a Worst-a-Thon!

I'll start a thread on the Events board....

Nah. I have my limits.

I'll happily participate in a Wurst-a-thon [which would have to start or end at Hot Doug's, no?] but I like to employ as much of my calorie consumption as possible with deliciousness.

Giovanna

One day last week I went driving around looking for something new around Division & Damen-- what neighborhood would that be again?

Of course, what I found at lunchtime was that what was new was not open, and what was open was not new. (I did get to read Crust's very slick marketing stuff in its windows about how unslick and natural it is, or will be. I trust that the whiff of Chipotle its marketing gives off is not a fair reflection of the restaurant.)

Finally, in some desperation, and following Mike G's new awnings technique, I picked a place with a new awning that proclaimed Janik's Cafe. (The new awning turns out to be because it used to be Janik's Subs.) I have to say that the initial vibes I got from the pleasant interior did not suggest a marvelous culinary experience ahead. The first sandwich listed as a choice on the board was PB&J... wraps came with your choice of tortilla flavors (spinach, tomato, etc.), which suggested the flavor-overkill school of strip mall chain dining... mediocrity shouted from every direction, but I was the only one standing in front of the cash register, I couldn't leave. Although Janik is presumably a Polish name or something, the staff seemed Mexican, so I decided to go with something Mexicanish-- a breakfast burrito, egg and chorizo inside, I mean, hell, if extremely Anglo places like Flo and Kitsch'n can make a decent one, these guys should... play to their strengths, I thought...

...dissolve to the kitchen, early that morning. Janik, a fearsomely bearded Pole who learned his trade in the Polish Navy during the blockade of 1936, flings a bag from McDonald's at his crew of cowering Mexican cooks. "Thees! Thees is a bureakfast boorito, you skoorvy sons of Gdansker wharf fleas!"

Okay, the eponymous Janik is probably actually a nice lady for all I know, not a character from Tintin, but riddled, honeycombed, catacombed with vast amounts of scrambled egg inside its tomato-tortilla wrap exterior, and only lightly dotted with chorizo or anything else imparting flavor, this was just like a McD's breakfast burrito (per my memory of many years ago, that is), except bigger and harder to get through. The beans actually were okay, the rice was, well, Mexican rice, but the burrito was an eggy overdose that has kept me from wanting another egg for a week (and in fact sent me across the street for Caffe Gelato, just to wipe the taste out).

The question is, did I just order extremely badly at Janik's, outsmart myself in my attempt to avoid mediocrity and find a little slice of above-averageness, or is it just the kind of place that would be a nice little breakfast place if it was in the Pheasant Crossing Mall next to the Christian bookstore and Second Time's The Charm kids' clothing near the new tract houses off I-77 just north of Plungeville, but not at Damen and Division in the authentic urban heart of Chicago?

Janik's Subs, make that Cafe
2011 W. Division, Chicago
Tel: (773) 276-7930

a chicken burrito from Chipolte. It is the worst lunch I have ever eaten. The chicken was dry, and flavorless, the rice was terrible, and the salsas were more sour than having the faint hint of heat. I will never go back. With all the good tacquerias in the area I dont know why I went in the first place

I have coworkers who rave about Chipolte so I had to try it. Now I question any of their recommendations regarding food.

jimswside wrote:a chicken burrito from Chipolte. It is the worst lunch I have ever eaten. The chicken was dry, and flavorless, the rice was terrible, and the salsas were more sour than having the faint hint of heat. I will never go back. With all the good tacquerias in the area I dont know why I went in the first place

I have coworkers who rave about Chipolte so I had to try it. Now I question any of their recommendations regarding food.

Ugh...I hate Chipo(t)le, too

Their burritos don't even aspire to the most mediocre of Mission-style.

(and I ain't a fan of Mission-style)

the first(and last time) I ate there(the one on State and Division)...I ended up unrolling the "tortilla" and picking out the black beans to eat...the rest went in the trash...

this was 3 or 4 years ago...and I still wince when I see that place packed...

no taquerias in the neighborhood, tho'
so no competition

christopher..


my spelling of Chipotle was as bad as the food I had...

jimswside wrote:christopher..


my spelling of Chipotle was as bad as the food I had...

I was thinking there ought to be a competing chain by that spelling...

Claim Jumper -
Ordered the South West eggrolls as an appetizer. (9.00)

A half order of fish and chips as the main. (15.00 and change ) Came with a side of "Thai peanut slaw."

The three fish sticks we got were good. As was the warm sourdough bread for the table, and the whipped butter served with it.

The rest of this meal prompted me to post in this thread.

What??? - We had a gift card!!

seebee wrote:Claim Jumper

How were the portions?

Lol!
That's what actually surpised me, although to be fair, we did order fish and chips - a HALF order. Like I said, in the $15.00 order of three fish sticks, a handful of WAAY too salty fries, and some horrible Thai Peanut "slaw" concoction,

the three fish sticks were good.

The place kinda seemd like a Cheesecake Factory "lite" wannabee.
Would I go back?

Still got 25.00 on the old gift card. Maybe next year sometime. :-p

It's the (incinerated) hamburger on a (much too large) stale bun they served me at Joey's Brick House the other night. At least I knew, having been there before, to request the french fries without their customary seasoning of...sugar!

Joey's Brickhouse
1258 W. Belmont Ave.
773-296-1300

Worst "pan-Asian / Asian fusion" horror food I have had in a long time. I thought we had evolved out of this but evidently Tamarind, 614 S. Wabash Ave, 312-379-0970, has not.

Go there if you want to risk losing your appetite for the next several days.

Worst sushi ever.

Bizarre spicy tuna mix with flour tortillas.

Mango coconut rice NOT made with the right rice (you should use sticky short-grain!), swimming in excess coconut sauce. If it was Tamarind's attempt at combining East-West rice pudding concepts, it failed.

Overly salty soup.

Dried-out soup buns.

The only thing good was the jasmine tea. (NB: We had delivery.)

Positive note: I didn't mind Bacino's low-fat stuffed pizzas. Didn't make me feel like I was going to have a heart attack.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I was coming back mid-afternoon from a training that I thought was going to include lunch so I was hungry, and I've been living all week on stress and peanut M & Ms, so I thought some vegetables would be nice. I was taking the pedway anyway, and there was Field's--I mean Macy's-- basement food court, whatever they call it. The grill and stir fry place was still open. I looked at the stir-fry choices and picked a "Thai style with peanuts."

I got my vegetables all right, and since they really had been freshly cooked they were nice--green beans and broccoli predominating. But the whole thing was covered with probably 3/4 of a cup of a gloppy, congealing mess that I assume was some commercial "Thai style" stir fry sauce. Dreadful. And did I mention how stupid I was?

seebee wrote:Claim Jumper -
Ordered the South West eggrolls as an appetizer. (9.00)

A half order of fish and chips as the main. (15.00 and change ) Came with a side of "Thai peanut slaw."

The three fish sticks we got were good. As was the warm sourdough bread for the table, and the whipped butter served with it.

The rest of this meal prompted me to post in this thread.

What??? - We had a gift card!!

My sister wants me to make reservations here for Mother's Day dinner. It's about a 30 mile drive from my mother's house. Lovely.

My vote for this thread: McCormick & Schmick's. Probably better for a "Most Overrated" or "Most Disappointing" thread actually, since the food was not the absolute worst I've eaten, just solidly mediocre and a rip off for a $35 meal. Fried shrimp were what I'd expect from the blue plate special at Denny's, slightly overcooked and utterly unmemorable, served lukewarm with a handful of matching french fries on a worn plate. Soggy carrot cake ($7) comes with a strong refrigerator taste. I had delectable fried shrimp at Legal Seafood in DC a few years back, was hoping for something half as good. Didn't get anywhere close.

alouette wrote: My sister wants me to make reservations here for Mother's Day dinner. It's about a 30 mile drive from my mother's house. Lovely.

Someone else posted very recently about mediocre "right off the foodservice truck" food here.

You've been warned.

If I was you, I'd be kicking and screaming.

Claim Jumper takes reservations?

Tortfeasor wrote:It was much more brown than yellow, and it was completely soaked in some kind of liquid. I thought to myself that while this sure didn't look like any Uni I had ever eaten before, I am sure it is ok... Plus, I couldn't back down now after bragging to my friend about how amazing Uni is.

As soon as it was in my mouth, I knew something was wrong. The taste, instead of being creamy, was briny and bitter. I felt my stomach heaving and knew that I was just a few seconds from not just spitting out the Uni, but perhaps even throwing up. I choked it down, waved my friend off, and drank a whole glass of water and chased it with a mug of green tea.

Hm. Now that I think about it, my first (and thus far, last) taste of Uni was exactly as you describe, and I also ate it at a conveyor-belt place, in California. (I won't give the name of the restaurant because then I wouldn't be able to tell you about the cockroach that was hitching a ride with the spicy salmon rolls one night ) So it ISN'T supposed to taste like that? Where can I find a good example? Because it was nothing if not memorably vile. Worse than a raisin, even.

But anyway, back to the topic. I don't think we've had anything too horrible lately - aside from jalebi at Sukhadia's, but really, I should have known better - but this thread got me thinking about the worst food experience I have ever had on my beloved Devon. I was poisoned by a restaurant I frequented, because I had not yet learned the maxim one must live by when on Devon - or anywhere, really - that ordering the thing that doesn't sell well is not a good idea. Such as, say, a vegetarian dish at a place that bases its business on meat and meat and meat with meat sauce and a meat chaser. Three days of torture followed...and I left for vacation the day after it began. Awful.

I've never eaten an entree at a Claim Jumper, but I have fond memories of the Motherlode cake. Three or four of us would get together and try very hard to finish it. I recall it being like the Grail of chocolate cakes; but I haven't been there in almost fifteen years, so it's not unlikely that either the cake has changed, or I have.

Worst ever was a little bowl of slimy fishy goo topped with a dab of potato and served to me at a company function in Tokyo. I have no idea what it was, but my Japanese colleagues really enjoyed watching me choke it down. A bad Uni experience is also close to the top of the list. In fact, in a land of generally delicous and sublime dishes, I had some seriously nasty food experiences in Japan. Anything that includes natto also at the top of my list.

But more recently, at Wrigley Field yesterday I choked down what must have been the worst hot dog ever - and I don't have high expectations when it comes to ball park franks. A hard, rubbery, tube of meat on a flacid flat bun. I should have ordered and Old Style to help it down. Yet somehow it was in accord with the Zambrano and Co's equally bland showing against the Pirates in their battle for NLC mediocrity.

wak wrote:Yet somehow it was in accord with the Zambrano and Co's equally bland showing against the Pirates in their battle for NLC mediocrity.

Hehe.

We like Claim Jumper but did not like the thai slaw. Not much taste. I thought it was kind of dry.

I did like the appetizer - parmsan garlic crusted onion rings.

Did not like the mini burgers.

NY Slices pizza in Highland Park. I'm all for a good east coast pizza but this really did not seem to be it for me. The sauce and the crust are just way to sweet for me.

Patty Burger downtown is THE WORST EVER! Worst of probably 5000 hamburgers I've had in life. This was a burger so much worse than even Burger King, worse than the microwavable in the bag high school cafeteria burgers. It had more salt in one bite than a bag of pretzels. The bun was like those 7/11 "deluxe" buns that are just stronger play-do than usual.

The whole concept is terrible. I am supposed to wait 10 minutes for this---or sit waiting at one of a few tables for 10 minutes while people who have their food eye me? It is NONE of the convenience of fast-food, and none of the quality of the restaurant burgers it is trying to trick you into believing you are getting...

And, like, where did you get those "retro" art works hanging on the walls for me to admire and wish that I too ate burgers in the 1950's? I've seen the same ones hanging in many hot dog stands...even Villa Palermo...hot dog stands with AUTHENTICITY...

I should send an email to the Mayors Office accusing Patty Burger of using Foi Gras

Marco wrote:Patty Burger downtown is THE WORST EVER!

Well, I'm not going to go this far, but I will say that it is a major disappointment and I'd be surprised if it lasts since it's not turning out an impressive product (either burgers or fries). I'm still waiting for In-N-Out to come to Chicago.

BR wrote:I'm still waiting for In-N-Out to come to Chicago.

That would be great; a double-double animal style that I had in Vegas is the best fast-food burger I ever had. However, a few weekends ago when Wolfy's had their anniversary specials going on I got a cheeseburger with everything there and found that it was damn near as good as my memory of that In-N-Out burger. So while I'll still eat at an In-N-Out any chance I get, at least I've got a pretty good fast-food burger a lot closer to home.