Hubby and I had lunch at On the Border in Vernon Hills this week. It would not have been my fist choice by a long shot, but we had a gift card.

The entrees were your typical Mexican chain restaurant quality. Middling food and nothing offensive or creative, but the salsa was just awful. It tasted like they had cooked down some tomato juice, added a ton of sugar, and then added paltry bit of chopped tomatoes and onions to make it look fresh.

Sadly, I still have money left on the gift card.

Kim

Two foods:

1. The microwavable Lean Cuisine panini. I thought that it looked terrible, but my father kept on raving about it in the way that retired people do. Maybe a quick solution for lunch? Not so much. I took two bites and threw it away - it tasted like tough chicken wrapped in paper. But that's really more my fault; I did knowingly attempt a Lean Cuisine, and I paid dearly.

2. The Oreo shake from Baskin-Robbins. I desperately needed an ice cream fix and BR is the only place within walking distance. Thought I'd try my luck. It had maybe half a cup of actual ice cream and the rest of it was milk with all these flavor additives. I know it's Baskin-Robbins, but still, how does any ice cream chain mess up ice cream?

So no shockers, but lots of sadness.

Worst in recent memory, indeed, worst ever? Let's see: early spring 2006, I was getting cabin fever and took a roadtrip on an unusually nice day. I stopped at an unnamed place in northwest Indiana that, among other things, offered jambalaya.

What I got just looked just wrong; it had this odd, dull sheen to it. That should have clued me in, but no, I ate about a third of it. I thought to myself, "Hey, this doesn't taste right, either - it tastes as dull as it looks." Ecch. The remainder went in the trash.

Eight hours later, after getting home, well, let's just say that three days of sheer agony commenced.

I haven't ordered jambalaya anywhere since then. I think I ought to get myself over to Maple Tree Inn to break the fear... I had a fantastic shrimp Creole there not too long ago.

AH, Crispy, your post reminded me of my worst ever dining experience.

In college, I was a server at one of the "fine-dining" establishments in town. We actually had tablecloths and cloth napkins! The focus was on fish and steaks.

Staff were only allowed to eat the soup (every day the same - French Onion) or house salads. Anything else, we had to pay. I think we got it for 1/2 price. So, every once in awhile a few of us poor students would order something and split it. Two of the guys wanted me to go in on an order of oysters on the 1/2 shell. Having not had them, I said sure!

Mick and Fred showed me what to do as my actions mimicked theirs. We all put the oyster in our mouths simultaneously and we all disgorged the oysters out of our mouths on our napkins simultaneously. I think the restaurant specifically saved these for us, knowing that these could never be served to a paying customer.

<shudder> I still remember that. It's probably all I remember from college. Won't ever try them again.

End of last week at J. Alexander's in the burbs.

The Grouper special.

It was served broiled with a dill sauce over Israeli cous-cous. It may have been one of the worst pieces of fish I have ever eaten. It was rubbery, amazingly overspiced, and more or less inedible.... and $29!!!

Bought an 8-oz package of Vita lox at Marketplace on Oakton and pretty much ruined 2 corn rye bagels from Kaufman's. Very salty with an odd coppery strong fish flavor, an odd orange hue and a odd dense texture reminiscent of a thin slice of over cooked corned beef.

Not the worst thing I've ate lately, necessarily, but it sure did freak out my dining companions:
Cooked up a nice turkey barley risotto last night with Angelic Organics spinach and Antigo's Stravecchio. It was a great homey Sunday night meal- until... K finds cooked meal moth larvae sprinkled throughout the grains. Not a problem for me, but a freaked out dinner table for sure.

Not a problem for me, but a freaked out dinner table for sure.

A fair description of the LTH community at large.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:

brotine wrote:A McGriddle sandwich this morning. I confess a liking to Egg McMuffins, primarily for their canadian bacon, but after months and months of curiosity asked for a McGriddle this morning at the drive thru. Blecch! I never see eggs and meat served between maple syruped pancakes at Walker Bros. or other breakfast haunts -- I have no idea why people think this is a tasty breakfast combination.
>>Brent

If you try one with just the sausage, your opinion may change. Mine did (somewhat). Think about the mix of sausage, syrup and pancake on a typical breakfast plate ... you don't want eggs and cheese in there complicating that elemental sweet/salt/fat experience, do you? Or consider pigs in a blanket, which I know for sure is on Walker Bros. menu and is delicious.

That said, the McGriddle flap-jackoids are not terribly tasty, and certainly can't be compared to a real pancake (for one, they're far "sturdier," for the obvious reason that they must stand up to being tossed in a box and then held like a sandwich, typically in a moving vehicle).

Recently I was at McDonald's doing my usual mental balancing act: dine a sensible Egg McMuffin or go for what I really like by selecting a Steak and Cheese Bagel. I then glanced at the McGriddle and gave it a whirl instead. I had one many years ago with the same sense of sturdier pancake I found rather unpleasant.

Most, if not all, McDonalds produce their sandwiches to order instead of stacking them like they did in the past. A freshly made Big Mac is far superior to the one that is about to time out with lettuce barely holding onto its crispness. This Just-In-Time method has improved the McGriddle, too. The McGriddle I had reminded me of freshly made pancake with sausage, egg and cheese stuffing. It was far better than my original introduction to McGriddle years ago. Probably more like the prototypes served to executives who pulled the trigger to make it a product. While it may not be my favorite breakfast sandwich, it is no longer regarded by me with instant condemnation.

Sometimes it is worthwhile to revisit what you thought you didn't like.

Regards,

Lasagna at Ranalli's in Lincoln Park.

Ricardo's had a long wait, and so I bailed out here instead of doing the smart thing and going to Chicago Pizza and Grinder right next door to Ricardo's.

The lasagna had mystery cheese and a bizarre tasting sauce--sweet with a strange mix of herbs. I couldn't figure out if this had been sitting in a fridge too long or if it was just weird to begin with. Decent fries were scant compensation.

How can you screw up lasagna??

Camusman wrote:Ricardo's had a long wait, and so I bailed out here instead of doing the smart thing and going to Chicago Pizza and Grinder right next door to Ricardo's.

I think the smarter thing would have been to go to Brick's.
1909 N Lincoln Ave
(312) 255-1490

Camusman wrote:The lasagna had mystery cheese and a bizarre tasting sauce--sweet with a strange mix of herbs.....How can you screw up lasagna??

I think you just described it.

Best,
Michael

Worst thing lately came from one of the best places: kerosene-flavored sticky rice and a rubber-and-gristle main dish from Sticky Rice. I don't usually cry over dinner, but this time I had to make an exception.

Burger King Steakhouse Burger

Nasty. Really vile, even for BK. It was the only place open in the middle of the night on the middle of the interstate. I figured, in for a penny, in for a pound. Disgusting, cooked long-ago meat-like patty. Horrid sweet glop on everything, and fake bacon bits for some reason.

Thanks for the warning. Just noticed the ads for this and wondered if they were making any kind of serious effort to produce an actual decent burger. You just saved me.

Meanwhile, the worst thing for me was barely warm Connie's pizza an purveyed at Brookfield zoo. Squishy, puffy crust, sweet sauce. rubber cheese flecked with ancient faux herbs bearing a whiff of grandma's closet. For you, $6.

While we're on the subject of Trader Joe's, I just tried their "new" heat and eat Chicken Vindaloo meal....I couldn't even eat it. The brown rice mixed with the "vindaloo" sauce to create a most unappetizing color. The sause was more vingary than vindaloo...I was so dissapointed and of course I bought two, so now I'll have to throw it away too.

Also, there's a greek fast food place in Midway airport I got stuck going to last month...both the grilled chicken and gyros were cold, rubbery and unedible and the hummus had absolutely no flavor (a first ever for me). They're open 24/7 which is just scary.

Pegasus on the Fly
Midway airport

Nasty. Really vile, even for BK. It was the only place open in the middle of the night on the middle of the interstate. I figured, in for a penny, in for a pound. Disgusting, cooked long-ago meat-like patty. Horrid sweet glop on everything, and fake bacon bits for some reason.

We never, ever eat at Burger King, even by the minimal standards by which I can say "we eat at McDonald's," but for some reason Younger Son had a jones for it so I took him recently. Everything was much, much worse than my memories, and that was even following Mike G's rule of fast food survival (order the things most like what they offered when they first opened in 1959, they'll be the most real). Styrofoamy bun, lukewarm patty-like thing, French fries seem to be dipped in pancake batter, nothing had the crisp greasy insidiously likable pleasure of fast food, just p*ss-poor execution in every way.

Not to mention this exchange:

ME: Uh, where are napkins?
BK DRONE: They're on your tray.
ME: No, they're not. Can I have a couple?
(begrudgingly hands me napkins from the Napkin Vault, throwing the whole night into the red with my profligacy)
BK DRONE: They're on your tray.

Which they weren't, astonishing as it may be to imagine that something slipped through the cracks at BK.

While we're on the subject of Trader Joe's, I just tried their "new" heat and eat Chicken Vindaloo meal....I couldn't even eat it. The brown rice mixed with the "vindaloo" sauce to create a most unappetizing color. The sause was more vingary than vindaloo...I was so dissapointed and of course I bought two, so now I'll have to throw it away too.

i have returned many food items to trader joes because i didnt like them. dont throw them away, take them back. or if it's too late, next visit to TJ, tell them you hated the dish, and why. feedback gives them useful info. so they can decide which foods should be abandoned. (lots of the prepared foods, IMO). justjoan

French fries seem to be dipped in pancake batter,

There is something going on over the past few years in the world of frozen fries. More and more of them come with odd coatings or batters without being advertised as different in any way. The purveyors just call them "fries," yet they are clearly "fries" + mystery coating, which, rather than trumpeting as some sort of improvement e.g. "savoury herb and parm. crusted fries," they are simply pretending isn't there at all. I find this disturbing. McD's fries are still pure, but many hot dog stands and other lower end places that you used to be able to count on for a basic potato-stick-in-hot-oil fix are using this strange artificial product. Anyone have any industry insight as to what it's all about? It's as if all potato chips were being silently replaced by Pringles.

mrbarolo wrote: Anyone have any industry insight as to what it's all about?

Not an industry insight, but perhaps a fast and foolproof way to get crispy "fries"?

mrbarolo wrote:I find this disturbing. McD's fries are still pure

Not exactly.

McDonald's Website wrote: French Fries:
Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*), citric acid (preservative), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent). *CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK (Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients).

McDonald's Ingredients

I'm so depressed. I really thought: potatoes, oil, salt. What a fool. What a naive child. I shall turn away from the world now. Bitter and disillusioned.

This was a few months ago now, but this has got to be the most revolting thing I've eaten recently. It's some sort of rice with peas, carrots, and a heck of a lot of oil, found in a train station in Romania.



After an 11-hour overnight train ride with our next train leaving in about an hour, it looked good. Looking back at the picture, though, I can't believe I ate it. It did not sit too well either.

Finding ourselves around the corner from Riconcito Sudamericano on Sunday (and feeling like we needed to eat something before heading to the MapRoom), figjustin and I decided we should give it a try. As I just attempted to make their spicy green dip for the potluck, as reverse engineered by GWiv, I felt like I should give the original a shot. Unfortunately, I should have stopped there.

Not much of our meal was redeeming and I may post about the whole experience under another thread, but the worst thing, by far, was the seafood stuffed calamari. Even as I write this, I'm getting a little squeamish. The overcooked, tasteless, rubbery calamari was stuffed with a vile, grey, seafood paste then battered, fried and covered with some sort of cream cheese sauce. Uggh...

More and more of them come with odd coatings or batters without being advertised as different in any way. The purveyors just call them "fries," yet they are clearly "fries" + mystery coating, which, rather than trumpeting as some sort of improvement e.g. "savoury herb and parm. crusted fries," they are simply pretending isn't there at all. I find this disturbing.

Yes, this nastiness is everywhere now. Got served a big batch of these fake-coated fries at Connie's a few days ago, promptly dispatched them. I hate the weird, chemically taste of this stuff. I think it's designed to extend the notoriously short french fry hang time, the artificial "seasoning" shell makes them "crispy" and extends their post-cooking shelf-life. Yuck.

Corner Bakery Cinnamon Crumb Muffin Top

Not gag-me awful. Just depressing. Over-beaten batter, leathery tough, sweet muffin jerky. $2.08 w/ tax. Just so unecessarily bad. Sigh.

I know there was a long saga of their being sold years ago, going downhill, and, I thought, being repurchased and coming back to life a bit. Not yet. Though. I mean, this one was clean and well stocked, and the help was efficient and friendly. Just a lousy muffin.

Marzetti brand hummus. took one taste and had to throw the bin out. I normally find most store bought hummus (Tribe, Athena) decent enough to snack on when I don't want to take the 5 minutes it takes to make it at home . But, this stuff was downright nasty. Soupy, strange non-chickpean/tahini taste. Avoid it.

Worst thing I have eaten lately? Without a doubt it would be Heaven on Seven! I just could not believe the quality of the food that they served. Bland. Really, it just made me want to spit it out. Although, I know the waitress could tell that I didn't like it and she took some of my uneaten food off the bill.

CFL,

When you have time, why not copy and paste these amusing stories here.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:CFL,

When you have time, why not copy and paste these amusing stories here.

Regards,

I don't want to get too off topic, but isn't this a potential copyright violation? After all, the poster didn't indicate that it was his/her website.

American Airlines Breakfast ("omelette" with faux hollandaise and bacon bits, "hash brown" potatoes on the right):



I know it seems like a cheap shot to post an airline meal as the "Worst Thing [I've] Eaten [Lately]." But, I'm very forgiving of airline food in general. In fact, a BBQ chicken salad I had last week was on par with what I usually get from the chain lunch places in the Loop during the week (I'm talking about you Au Bon Pain). [Of course, that's either a compliment to airline food, or a swipe at the chains, you take your pick.]

But this omelette was inedible. It took me three bites to figure out why, which was three bites too many. It wasn't the generic Egg Beaters "omelette" in and of itself. Yes, the egg was bland, and the texture was styrofoam-y, but it wasn't inedible. No, it wasn't the faux hollandaise, either, which tasted mostly of salt. Finally I had it - I've never had Fake Bacon Bits heated up before. The swell of this heated-up industrial frankenfood in my mouth, which tasted like I dove into a chemical vat and swallowed in the process, was wretch-inducing. Hopefully, that's the worst thing I'll eat in a long time.