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Worst food trends of 2007according to Epicurious.

Discuss!

Black Napkins?

Seems to me the worst trend of 2007, and a few years before that, and worsening all the time, is so much of food writing's dizzy, groupie-ish preoccupation with the sort of restaurant/chef who would serve elephantine truffles, "preview" his restaurant, and make $40 into a standard entree price. As far as I can tell, the author brings up Hardee's strictly for comic relief. If such spendthrift foolishness passes for normal these days, we foodistas only have ourselves to blame, for keeping these jokers in business. It's time we ate for keeps!

Not on the list, but my pet peeve is the growing use of quotations on menus to describe misapplied cooking concepts. (Such as watermelon "consomme," or squash "carpaccio" or onion dip "pate.")

I'll probably get creamed for saying this, but I nominate extravagant use, mention and/or accolades of all things bacon.

Blasphemy!

shoes-

Not exactly blasphemy, but I feel sad knowing that you must have missed the LTH Forum 2007 Picnic and Hammond's bacon-studded cookies!

The use of the word "decadent" to describe any food, especially desserts. Makes me want to put a fist through a wall whenever I hear it.

I agree with you 100%. I love bacon, but if you have it on your menu in more than 2 to 3 items you are cheating. Ok maybe not cheating, but it certainly dilutes your product. It is a cheap way to make things taste better and is an easy way to block your culinary creativity.

Or "Death by..."

Funny recent cartoon in New Yorker has chef standing before judge saying "Well, the menu did say death by chocolate."

I feel the exact same way when I hear a movie described as "smart"!!

I am tired of the misuse of quotation marks.http://www.hotchocolatechicago.com/menu.htmlThis menu is full of confusing quotations. Is the skirt steak Kobe beef? Is it realy a calzone? Does the warm fudge brownie realy have ice cream on it? Or the time when I had to ask the waiter if the Chocolate "souffle" Cake was really a souffle. The answer was no, so I ordered it not sure if I should be confused. It was just a regular cake and its flavor was tainted by the salty tears of frustration.

Amateurs.

Our meal at the French Laundry:

Santa Barbara Sea Urchin, Water Chestnuts, Pea Shoots and Black Truffle "Coulis"

Moulard Duck "Foie Gras Poêlé", Belgian Endive "en Ravigote", Royal Blenheim Apricot "Purée", Yountville Mustard Blossoms and "Sauce à la Moutarde en Grains"

"Sautéed" Fillet of Japanese "Kanpachi", Grilled Abalone Mushrooms, Glazed Baby Bok Choy, Sweet Carrot-Scallion "Emincée" and Yuzu Emulsion

Pan-Roasted "Calotte" of Nature-Fed Veal, Roasted Hearts of Romaine Lettuce, Slow Poached French Prune, Applewood Smoked Bacon and "Sauce Colbert"

"Persille de Beaujolais", Braised Celery Hearts, "Espelette Vinaigrette" and Celery Seed "Melba"

Jacobsen's Farm Meyer Lemon Sorbet, Yogurt "Mousse", Almond "Nougatine" and "Frascati" Biscuit

Field Rhubarb "Torte", Jamaican Gingerbread, Tahitian Vanilla "Mascarpone" and Green Cardamom Syrup

"Mignardises"

I can appreciate a desire not to debase culinary terms, but... yeah.

(Incidentally, I'm pretty sure he could have left "purée" and "mousse" alone, no matter what standard he was using in determining whether or not to quote.)

Oy. Fist, meet wall.

It strikes me that almost all of the terms in quotations are in French, something you used to see often on menus when I was a girl during the mid- twentieth century. However, that was before Julia Child made words such as mousse understandable to Americans.

Yeah, this is what I was generally complaining of above; but it seems like it's either a puree or not. I don't see how you could prepare a "puree."

Back in the days when I was learning proper usage for writing term papers, etc., there was a rule about always using quotation marks (or italics) for foreign words, and since there was no italics option on my typewriter, quotation marks it was. Maybe Thomas Keller is just being really, really proper and old school.

It's still a bit much, though, especially since I find myself mentally replacing quotation marks with the phrase "so called". For example, if a sign says "Home Made" pie, I think: "So called home made pie."

So to me, everything on the French Laundry menu is only allegedly what it claims to be. I would still eat it though, usage be damned.

I too am tired of Zagat

OK. So if a restaurant's got bacon and eggs, a BLT and a salad with bacon on it, they shouldn't serve anything else containing bacon?

I grant you many uses of foie gras were like this in the days before it was banned in the city (but not the suburbs -- I had superb foie gras at Bank Lane Bistro recently!), and truffle oil may have the same effect.

But bacon is an everyday food. This is like saying a menu shouldn't have more than two or three items with beef in them. Or butter.

The Umamification of America.

It's amusing watching "Chowhounds" FUMBLE over the concept of umami and it's corollary, MSG.

Yes. Thank you.

I was going to say, "bacon ice cream". Just stop it already. This is why they hate us.

Are you an anti-Baconite for some reason? Are you also opposed to puppies and sunny days? I'd call any praise for Bacon long over-due. And I have a news source to back up my praise for Bacon:

From the Onion: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/51139

Report: Meat Now America's No. 2 Condiment

"By 2015, our researchers predict bacon alone will supplant condiments as diverse as mustard and Worcestershire sauce," Johanns said. "Crumbled 'bacon bits' are a classic addition to salads, and in recent years, slabs of bacon are increasingly used to wrap vegetables, fruits, and seafood. Adding bacon as a topping to cheeseburgers is old news, but now we are seeing bacon-topped meatloaf, bacon-covered chicken wings, and deep-fried, bacon-wrapped bacon sprinkled on pork chops."

Then again, Bacon Ice Cream...that's a bit much.

No, it really isn't


"6 A.M. Special" at Lola
French toast, maple-bacon ice cream, caramelized apple

For a diner or a fast food venue the random use of bacon is ok in my opinion. But if you are going to be dining for something more upscale than bacon and eggs and blt than you should be able expect more from the chef than the multiple use of a easy ingredient like bacon. The same is too said of other flavor enhancing elements such as truffle oil, smoked paprika or any other strong flavoring that can be added to make something taste better. If you need bacon, as a chef to make people eat your food than you are using it to much. I have seen menus that use bacon in everything from a bacon wrapped scallop, bacon mac and cheese, bacon stuffed crab cake and bacon sauteed greens just for the apps. This is boring, unimaginative and easy. You could easily remove bacon from three of those apps and have a more balanced profile of flavors in your portfolio. I love bacon, it is our friend. But if you take advantage of it and over use it your friend can turn on you and that could get ugly.

Yeah. The LAST thing we want is for our food to taste better.

...

I keed, I keed!

Though I question the logic that bacon is inherently a chef's crutch (any tool can be used for good or for evil!), I understand what you mean, Justin. Any ingredient can be overused and bacon is very trendy and a prime culprit in many establishments.

But that doesn't mean the bacon ice cream isn't really damn good!

Am I the only one who can taste the chemical flavor in truffle oil? I tried it at Whole Foods before I'd read that it was mostly chemicals, so it can't be suggestion....

Yeah, a bottle we have tastes of motor oil.

Truffle oil=essence of kerosene. Some are better than others, I'm sure, but gimme shaved truffles. (Or even one with 5 o'clock shadow.)

truffle oil turns REALLY fast, and when it turns it tastes terrible. that and most truffle oil sucks.