Disturbing Trends: Romaine, the New Iceberg

Disturbing Trends: Romaine, the New Iceberg

I seem to recall a time in the not too distant past when Romaine lettuce was the leafy, green alternative to the bio-engineered bowling balls of Iceberg lettuce that most of us grew up eating and which in much of these United States are still virtually synonymous with “salad.”

In response to what I believe had been a general tendency of Americans to choose this lusher leaf, the corporate farm has responded with what seems a ghastly hybrid that marries the long leaf of Romaine with the essentially tasteless, solid water character of iceberg. I’m sure it travels better.

Me no like.

Another disturbing trend: the increase of “Steak and Lemonade” places in Chicago called Babas or Baby’s. Where did this come from; how did this happen?

I don't know about Baby's but on my way back from Snackville Junction I did notice two or three of those steak-and-lemonade places of various names on the far south side. Same question: when did that happen?

David Hammond wrote:In response to what I believe had been a general tendency of Americans to choose this lusher leaf, the corporate farm has responded with what seems a ghastly hybrid that marries the long leaf of Romaine with the essentially tasteless, solid water character of iceberg. I’m sure it travels better.

I'm not sure if it's in response to choices that people are making as much as it is the "upscaling" of the American supermarket--more options, more choices.

Either way, I agree. I am psychically allergic to iceberg, and Romaine has always been my go-to lettuce, until about a year ago.

Cookie and I both noticed that Romaine lettuce was much tougher than they used to be. We'd buy a head of it and use less and less of it.

We've switched to the "red leaf" lettuce found in most produce stores around the area. It has a much softer, more tender leaf and plenty of flavor.

Best,
Michael

Did you try the romaine in this week's box? We're still on last week's lettuce, but, generally, we find Vicki's lettuces to be, well, about as far from bland as possible--at times close to too bitter.

PS
Me, I have nothing against iceberg and love a good wedge with thick creamy dressings. In fact, because I've never seen local iceberg, I don't get is as much as I'd like.

Vital Information wrote:Did you try the romaine in this week's box? We're still on last week's lettuce, but, generally, we find Vicki's lettuces to be, well, about as far from bland as possible--at times close to too bitter.

Oh yeah, the Romaine from smaller growers is just fine, and it's even possible to find the lush and leafy Romaine at corporate grocery stores. What I'm referring to specifically are the three-packs of Romaine that are uniformly crisp, clean* and flavorless.

*You had mentioned how "dirty" some of Vicki's lettuce is, and I agree: last night, I had to rinse some of her leaves four times in a big bowl of water before spin washing it, and there were still little crunches of dust embedded here and there. This is not a complaint; it's the price we pay for handcrafted produce. I'd rather wash the dirt from flavorful foliage than buy the perfectly clean and perfectly vapid bagged varieties at Dominick's.

Hammond

I should add (or note) that in honor of this week's romaine, we made one of our infrequent visits to the Oak Park Dominicks. It seems that Domminicks is good for, essentially, one thing. Davidson's pasturized eggs, even though we get a dozen farm-fresh from Vicki*, we're still a bit edgy about using them raw. So, with Davidson's in hand, we plan on a nice Cesar Salad one night.

*The eggs are a hoot. Because the chickens are different breeds and ages, it's a dozen "mixed", ranging in size and color. Not eggs to bake with, per se, but as delcious as anything.

On the other end of the spectrum, the prepackaged "Romaine Hearts", while essentially flavorless, are a far, far better alternative to packaged chopped lettuce -- it keeps longer, crisper, and is more economical.

For a weeknight dinner with salad, this has been our go-to green (although it's been getting supplanted with bins of spinach lately, even though spinach will turn to slime pretty quickly.

Iceberg heads I've found have a lot of waste, and have very little green-ness to them most of the time.

JoelF wrote:On the other end of the spectrum, the prepackaged "Romaine Hearts", while essentially flavorless, are a far, far better alternative to packaged chopped lettuce -- it keeps longer, crisper, and is more economical.

"Essentially flavorless," I agree, though it seems these hearts may be useful as a balance to a much greener, more intense type of leaf (for instance, a heavy-duty radish green).

I believe flavor may rise in inverse proportion to crispness. My amateur analysis is that the more water, the more crispness but the less actual flavor in the leaf.

In response to what I believe had been a general tendency of Americans to choose this lusher leaf, the corporate farm has responded with what seems a ghastly hybrid that marries the long leaf of Romaine with the essentially tasteless, solid water character of iceberg.

David,

Were you referring to President's Choice Crispy Lettuce Wraps, which are actually marketed explicitly as a romaine-iceberg hybrid? They sound about as versatile as the trendy silicone kitchenware the New York Times highlighted back in January.

happy_stomach wrote:They sound about as versatile as the trendy silicone kitchenware the New York Times highlighted back in January.

And nearly as flavorful!

I think the romaine lettuce invasion and de-tastification is directly related to the incredible upsurge in the popularity of the Caesar salad in all its multitudinous variations.

happy_stomach wrote:

In response to what I believe had been a general tendency of Americans to choose this lusher leaf, the corporate farm has responded with what seems a ghastly hybrid that marries the long leaf of Romaine with the essentially tasteless, solid water character of iceberg.

David,

Were you referring to President's Choice Crispy Lettuce Wraps, which are actually marketed explicitly as a romaine-iceberg hybrid? They sound about as versatile as the trendy silicone kitchenware the New York Times highlighted back in January.

No, actually I've never heard of this President's Choice product, but it wouldn't shock me if other items that are being marketed as "romaine" are actually "romaine-iceberg."

I remember an Emeril show on which he pulled the very thick, white, tasteless spines from some romaine leaves and said, "do you want to eat these? No! You don't! So why are you serving them to your guests?" and he threw them at the camera. I think of that every time I go through a bag of romaine lettuce, pulling out all the big white tasteless stem parts, feeling dismayed at what's left.

David Hammond wrote:I believe flavor may rise in inverse proportion to crispness. My amateur analysis is that the more water, the more crispness but the less actual flavor in the leaf.

20-minutes, or less, in an ice water bath crisps up flavorful, if slightly tired, lettuces nicely. No need to buy water infused if that is actually what they are doing, not unlike meat that has been enhanced with 12% water, phosphate etc.

G Wiv wrote:

David Hammond wrote:I believe flavor may rise in inverse proportion to crispness. My amateur analysis is that the more water, the more crispness but the less actual flavor in the leaf.

20-minutes, or less, in an ice water bath crisps up flavorful, if slightly tired, lettuces nicely. No need to buy water infused if that is actually what they are doing, not unlike meat that has been enhanced with 12% water, phosphate etc.

Right, yes, I meant that the moister the lettuce (as in the Romaine-Iceberg hybrid), the less taste. I don't think they're actually "infusing" the moisture, but rather designing it into the Franken-seed.

JoelF wrote:On the other end of the spectrum, the prepackaged "Romaine Hearts", while essentially flavorless, are a far, far better alternative to packaged chopped lettuce -- it keeps longer, crisper, and is more economical.

I recently found that Napa cabbage has all of these characteristics, (well, OK, it has flavor) and if shredded & dressed a little before dinner, makes an excellent salad green, plus there are hundreds of ways to cook it.

I wonder how nutrition is being affected? After an argument with my mother about those anemic Argentine iceberg salads, I grabbed a bag of iceberg and a bag of romaine to show her the nutritional info: iceberg has almost none (and almost no calories,) and romaine is actually very good for you.

Seriously tho, what is up w/ all the Baba's steak joints? I see them everytime I'm heading down to Chickies - there are 2 baba's and one other steak-Lemonade joint just from Chicago ave to 30th on Pulaski alone.

Some googling helped me find some helpful reviews on Yahoo:

4 get philled up proper-like.....


ok, there are NUMEROUS location peppered throughout chicagoland, but this particular location haz my preference down 2 a science. they break u off with some philly steak, chicken or ribeye sandwichez 4 starterz (though their menu also haz burgerz and normal fast-food fare), they shove some friez in there with whatever u order, and they whip up a phat frozen lemonade with unorthodox - yet delicious - flavour concoctionz 4 u 2 wash your meal down with. it'z not an eat-in place, and ion remember any kid-friendly menu itemz offhand, but if u don't feel like mcdonald's or wendy's and one of theze iz nearby, it won't hurt ya 2 give theze peepz a chance 2 prove they can phill u up proper-like.

t...


Visit date: April 2006

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May 28, 20063 IF IM Ever Drunk


I Was Completly wastd on a saturday night!! Although it was tough getting home, I was truly starvd. BABA'S Steak n Lemonade is what i read. Now the choices for steak sandwiches were great steak,chicken, n a rib-eye samiche, But all hail the Lemonades. The flavor, tha lemons n cherries all wrapd n plastic. OOHH!! tha memories. IF your n chicago i Recommend a BABAs LEMONADE lyk i would a Jager-Bomb.At least 4 at a time.

ab wrote:Seriously tho, what is up w/ all the Baba's steak joints?

I don't know, but the one on Addison near Wrigley is closed, with a new banner hanging outside. "Home Run Depot," maybe? Can't recall.