Food Cliches of 2012

Food Cliches of 2012 (and likely even before)

We eat out a lot, and it’s come to our attention that there are some standard food items that, though delicious, have really had their moment and should, while they still have some dignity, step to the side and let other foods get some time on the plate.

• Hamachi. Fresh, raw fish. What a great way to start a dinner! But after the same fish has started dinner, oh, a zillion times, I’m ready for something different…and I’m not talking about tuna Tartare…about which, ditto.

• Scallops. I love scallops – or, I should say, loved scallops. Now, every other meal, they’re there, looking delicious but very repetitive. It’s a privilege to eat these creatures, they’re delicious, but enough already. Make way.

• Salmon. If I never see salmon again, I might live. Make no mistake: I like the stuff. However, salmon is the new chicken, the non-meat alternative that’s pretty much a required menu item everywhere. Putting aside that a lot of salmon is kind of second-rate (after having Skuna Bay salmon for the first time this year, the standard is set pretty high), it’s become just too commonplace. Not commonplace like hamburger (which is eternally satisfying) but commonplace like, you know, scallops.

• Beet and goat cheese salad. What an incredible combination! The earthiness of the beet up against the milky light funk of the goat cheese, beautiful. Now, get outta here.

• Short ribs. T’was a time, short ribs were considered somewhat undesirable meats, not quite so déclassé as kidneys, but a long way from steak. Then, the head-to-tail revolution kicked in, and we were all eating pig snouts and ox tails and everything in-between. Including short ribs, which are great…I just don’t need to see them for another decade or so. Enough already.

• Chipotle-anything. As with just about everything here, I like chipotle flavor – I just don’t like it enough to have it every day, but I’m certain that just dining in Oak Park alone, I could probably have this seasoning at every meal. Again, a good spice, victim of its own popularity. So hit the bricks, pal…and take truffle oil with you.



• Meat as the climactic dish. So many tasting menus lead up to the climactic moment when a hunk of meat – usually beef – is presented. I like meat, but it seems too easy to throw down the beef and let that be that. The meat course is almost like punctuation, signaling the end of a multi-course meal, or the music that comes up near the end of a movie to let you know that you should get ready because we’re concluding here folks. Even at superb, innovative restaurants like Elizabeth and El Ideas, when just about all is eaten, it’s meat that comes out for a star-turn, announcing that we’ve hit the apex of dining, the crown of culinary creation, the hunk o’ flesh. Yawn. I mean, yum, but also, definitely, yawn.

I am fully aware that this is a First World problem, and that this whine could come only from a privileged North America who can fill his belly with great food regularly. Maybe I should spend more time fighting for world peace rather than arguing against yet more Hamachi. But I’m a food writer, and this is where I work for a better world.

My sympathy David. Tough gig. How about some equally witty solutions?

Jazzfood wrote:My sympathy David. Tough gig. How about some equally witty solutions?

Hey bro, you're the chef.

Novel solution: don't order these things*


* Solution does not apply to tasting menus. Your millage may vary. Void where prohibited.

You nailed it Hammond. Bien fait. Now, if I might widen the dining experience beyond hackneyed foods, I present you with:

•Pinot (freakin') grigo. So, somehow, we moved from ABC (Anything But Chardonnay), to the wine steward's fave innocuous (Jancis Robinson's "anodyne" is even more à propos) white wine. It won't offend anyone, except people who care for decent white wine, and evidently there aren't many of those: Italy's acreage *doubled* to 16.5K between '90 and 2000. C'mon folks, we could do better, you know.


Geo

Prefer your take on it.

Me, I still like salmon and don't need liquid nitro to get me excited but then, I'm part dinosaur. Delicious is what I seek, not the new kid on the block for the sake of it.

Geo wrote:You nailed it Hammond. Bien fait. Now, if I might widen the dining experience beyond hackneyed foods, I present you with:

•Pinot (freakin') grigo. So, somehow, we moved from ABC (Anything But Chardonnay), to the wine steward's fave innocuous (Jancis Robinson's "anodyne" is even more à propos) white wine. It won't offend anyone, except people who care for decent white wine, and evidently there aren't many of those: Italy's acreage *doubled* to 16.5K between '90 and 2000. C'mon folks, we could do better, you know.


Geo

With you on this. Geo. I have consumed gallons of Pinot grigio (usually poured for me before I know what it is) and I seem to recall having one glass that I thought conveyed any interesting flavor. What makes it a cliche, as you suggest, is that it's unavoidable.

I think you hit one big reason behind many of these cliches: they're safe and "won't offend anyone." Even I'm not offended by them; I'm just bored with them.

jesteinf wrote:Novel solution: don't order these things*


* Solution does not apply to tasting menus. Your millage may vary. Void where prohibited.

Obviously, but here's the thing: when a menu offers cliches, valuable menu space is devoted to stuff I'm not going to order, thus limiting options.

Many times with hamachi, scallops, and the big meat closer (as suggested), these items are on the tasting menu so there's no turning back.

The thing about Pinot Grigio that gets me is how much people will pay for it. If you want a decent Pinot Grigio, a good wine store will have many serviceable substitutes for less than half the price of Santa Margarita.

The first time I encountered Hamachi as a starter on a non-Japanese menu was at Charlie Trotters years ago.

I'm with you on the scallops, David. We make them at home every few weeks. Good quality scallops taste amazing. But they've crossed over into that group of dishes that I can make better (and a lot cheaper) at home, so I never order them.

Another note on pinot grigio: in my opinion, the best of them comefrom Alsace, where the grape is called "pinot gris." But as the NYT article shows, even here the grape is all over the place. My fave value for money is the Trimbach Pinot gris Réserve, which would set you back c. $25, more in a resto--if, by some chance, you could find it!

Geo

With you completely on the Pinot grigio!

Give me a nice Viognier, a Sauvignon Blanc, or a Gewurz (Trimbach makes one of the best ones on earth IMHO), or even a well-balanced dare I say it? Reisling!
Full of flavor!

and of course, ABC (LOL)

its a copycat business...have u wondered why all ice cream is served as a quenelle?...yeah it looks nice but everyones doin it... also, why does a charcuterie plate have to be served on a cutting board?

gocubs88 wrote:its a copycat business...have u wondered why all ice cream is served as a quenelle?...yeah it looks nice but everyones doin it... also, why does a charcuterie plate have to be served on a cutting board?

Tradition

My absolutely favorite scene in Fiddler!!! Saw the original on Broadway in 19____???? I'm kind of tired of artisanal food (sorry if I didn't spell that right, spell check words were hilarious)

I was at the Chicago Gourmet in 2011, and much of your gripe list (except for the beet/goat cheese) would work great as a drinking game (very easy to get those drinks at Chicago Gourmet, too). Just about every booth brought out the Umami Bomb, with no room for brightness, acidity, fresh herbs, etc.

I predict that if you make this list next year, Sriracha will replace Chipotle on the yawn list.

... but this is nothing new. I implore you to go read "Bellwether" by Connie Willis, all about fads and trends (and basil on every menu in town, 1996).

Things I'd like to see more of, though, on mid-level menus:
Green papaya in salads (expanding from the few Thai places that do)
Hearty broth-based main courses (expanding from Pho)
Wet sandwiches (variations on Italian Beef, Torta Ahogada, Hot Brown)... although we're getting back to umami bombs again
Low-tannic reds other than Pinot Noir (somebody out there has got to want to send me on a research trip to Spain and Italy for this)

Jazzfood wrote:I'm part dinosaur.

Me too. I'd like to add the following to the list, but in no particular order:

Sun dried tomatoes (they've been on my list for 30 years)
Runny egg on burgers
Poutine anything
Cupcakes
New style doughnuts
Microgreens on everything, now including desserts
Compressed (???) melon, fruit, whatever...
4 oz portions of clam chowder served in mini mason jars at $2 per oz (GT Fish, I'm talkin' to you...)
Rows of tiny miscelaneous shit (ingredients) running along one side of a huge empty plate
food soil
Caprese salad served anytime other than August/September (varies by geographical region)
Pretzel buns...they always suck and overwhelm the hamburger patty
Gastrique anything...enough with the f'kin gastrique

I'm sure I'll add on a few more.

Evil Ronnie wrote:Rows of tiny miscelaneous shit (ingredients) running along one side of a huge empty plate

Hilarious.

For me, salmon is so out it's in again.

Oh yeah.....balsamic drizzle and cheap balsamic reduction. For G-d's sake, please go away!
Zig zag pattern from a squirt bottle all over the food...please...that's so 1985.
Encrusted anything
Stacking stuff on top of mashed potatoes
Anything strewn all over the rim of the plate

Getting warmed up now...

sauce brushed on to a plate with a wide brush

Two things: Short ribs will never be a cliche. They might be the best cut of the cow. It's been my cut of choice for years for stews and hamburgers. Second, chipotle is a 2012 cliche? It seems to me that chipotle had become an annoying cliche circa around 2003/2004. I'm not trying to be "oh....chipotle...that's sooooooo 2003," but, seriously, my recollection is when I moved back to the US in 2003-2004, every goddamned thing was chipotle-flavored this and that. I haven't noticed any uptick in chipotle as a flavoring this year.

Unfortunately, I haven't eaten out enough this year to figure out what my personal peeves are. Bacon & sweet stuff like bacon doughnuts or ice cream with bacon? But that also feels like a couple years past its prime. Same with half-assed charcuterie and house-smoked meats. Just because it's made in-house doesn't mean it's good.

Binko wrote:Short ribs will never be a cliche. They might be the best cut of the cow.

The goodness of a food and the cliche-ness of a food are separate issues. Consider the scallop.

As stevez's video above suggests, there are some things that are traditional and conventional, and it's tough (and pretty much makes no sense) to categorize those things as cliches. For instance, oysters before dinner...and maybe even the bread basket.

I think we've just had a few bad vintages of chipotles. That's all.

Binko wrote:Two things: Short ribs will never be a cliche. They might be the best cut of the cow. It's been my cut of choice for years for stews and hamburgers. Second, chipotle is a 2012 cliche? It seems to me that chipotle had become an annoying cliche circa around 2003/2004. I'm not trying to be "oh....chipotle...that's sooooooo 2003," but, seriously, my recollection is when I moved back to the US in 2003-2004, every goddamned thing was chipotle-flavored this and that. I haven't noticed any uptick in chipotle as a flavoring this year.

100% agreed on both counts here. Chipotle has been overused on so much for so long, I can't even remember when I got sick of seeing it, but it was long, long, before this year. And I also don't have any reason to wanna sound like I keep current more than anyone. If there's one thing I really do not keep track of, it's trends.

I will say that my one thing, even though it was probably more two years ago than this year, is friggin cupcakes. never understood that one, really. Especially the bad ones that cost 3 bucks. I've never had a GREAT one, but then again, I really enjoy plain old, Duncan ass Hines boxed cake mix.

Here's what was new 100 yrs ago, pre cliche:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mollykayt/15-hottest-food-trends-of-1912

Evil Ronnie wrote:Runny egg on burgers

Lets not get crazy.

David Hammond wrote:

Binko wrote:Short ribs will never be a cliche. They might be the best cut of the cow.

The goodness of a food and the cliche-ness of a food are separate issues. Consider the scallop.

As stevez's video above suggests, there are some things that are traditional and conventional, and it's tough (and pretty much makes no sense) to categorize those things as cliches. For instance, oysters before dinner...and maybe even the bread basket.

Like I said, I don't eat out as much as you guys, but I personally have not experienced short ribs as being overused, and certainly would not go around making crazy statements like "I just don’t need to see them for another decade or so. Enough already." I have, though, noticed a significant run-up in price. Three or four years ago, short ribs were under $3/lb, sometimes close to $2/lb at my local supermarket. Now they're $4-$5/lb. But so have all the beef prices, so I'm not sure whether it's new found popularity or simply the price of meat.

Chipotle feels like a cliche to me. Short ribs don't. Nor does salmon feel to me to be any more popular than it's been before. My experience is that salmon has always been a fairly standard fish dish on menus. The mention of sriracha is an interesting one. Rooster sauce does seem to have been gaining in popularity over the last decade or so. It hasn't quite reached the cliche stage of chipotle yet, but it has been appearing in a lot of menus (especially at pubs, which is where I usually eat when I eat out) over the last couple of years. I can't see it quite reaching the chipotle level of culinary cliche--I don't think it's quite as interesting an ingredient--but we'll see. Chipotle is kind of unique and flexible in that it adds heat and smoke without having to resort to Liquid Smoke-type products. Sriracha (Huy Fong brand) is just heat and garlic powder, for the most part. There's plenty of that flavor combination already out there.

What about brioche? My experience may be atypical, but it seems to me that I've been seeing brioche everywhere from french toast to puddings to hamburger buns. (And, man, do I hate brioche as a hamburger bun.) Speaking of, pretzel buns seems to have become a cliche themselves, too.

You'll know sriracha has jumped the shark when Burger King offers Sriracha Mayo on a chicken sandwich, and McD's offers a honey-sriracha dipping sauce for McNuggets.*

My concern with short ribs is not only the run-up in price, but the fact that it's fake now: Sure the cross-cut chuck roast "boneless short rib" is a very tasty cut when slow braised, but without the bones and connective tissue, you're losing about 40% of the flavor and mouthfeel benefits of a real short rib.

* Let me add a positive shout-out to Culver's for stocking Cholula sauce, apropos of nothing

I had no idea Sriracha has made it to McD's and BK already. In that case, I'm comfortable calling it a cliche.

I agree and disagree about the short ribs. Yes, the bones make them unctuous. However, they are beefy in their own right off the bone. It was about six or seven years ago that I tried boneless short ribs in a stew where bones would not have been appropriate and it was awesome. At the time, it was priced competitively with, and sometimes cheaper than, chuck. It still is my favorite stewing beef cut. It can be a bit "too beefy," I suppose, but you can always cut it with another stewing cut.

Same with its use as ground beef. Boneless short ribs just explode with flavor (and fat.) Sometimes you need to cut it with something leaner, but I like my burgers 100% short rib.

So I agree that you are missing out on some of the special qualities of a boney cut a d the additional gelatin it brings to a stew, but even without the bones, to me, it offers a lot of desirable characteristics that I don't find to be as pleasing in other cuts of beef.