I think most of us have some meal(s) that we like to be made in a special way, whether it’s in some particular restaurant, some special ingredients, made by the family member that nobody can compare to, or even the way we make it by ourselves. However, many of us also come across many foods that may seem simple to make but most of the time lead to disappointment when we order them.
Speaking about that, one Reddit user asked folks online to share meals that the majority of people or restaurants always manage to mess them up. Well, the responses vary from cooking eggs, sauces to simple restaurant cakes. So scroll through this ‘disappointing foods menu’ and share your thoughts!
More info: Reddit
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Onion rings.
A great onion ring is an elusive thing.
I had some good onion rings once: perfect, slightly sweet, crispy batter with a touch of spice just in the background. The batter didn't separate from the rings, so when you bit one, the whole onion didn't slip out and leave you with a hollow shell. I've been chasing that ever since.
I just had to pay $4 dollars extra to ADD mushrooms to stroganoff.... that should not be an additional fee.
Fkn bacon. Don’t come at me with that floppy s**t.
Don't come at me with your fragile bacon that you can shatter with a fork.
Omelets. The cheese goes on the inside people!
And for the love of all things holy, when you're making a grilled cheese, the cheese should actually be melted!
Maybe my problem is the way cheese is prepared? Ok, I'm changing my answer to cheese
Omelets take practice! When I go to buffets with an omelet station I ask if I can watch. Most makers of omelets are happy to have an audience--one person even explained what he was doing as he went along. Same with crepes. I've learned a lot and my omelets and crepes are pretty good.
There are too many breakfast places that can't cook eggs properly
Hashbrowns. I don't get why I can only get lightly toasted but mostly white potato shavings. Even if I say, "no white" they still come out raw.
caesar salad. it either has barely any dressing, or it's so drenched in dressing that it pools at the bottom of the bowl.
Mashed potatoes. Stop using instant.
Instant mashed potatoes are 90% as good as the real thing. Sometimes it's worth the time and effort saved to use them.
Chicken pot pie. Do they really think I don’t want top AND bottom crust?
Coffee is rarely good in a restaurant.
A bit of salt cancels out bitterness. But if your coffee is so bitter you need salt, then chances are high the machine is dirty. The oily residue from the beans will stick and build up. That is the cause of a nasty bitterness
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Coffee is rarely good anywhere but in designated coffee places. I mean, they should serve only coffee plus some pastries. When there's any other kind of food, do not expect good coffee. Except if you're in Italy, then your chances are considerably higher.
Or France, or Switzerland, or Germany... in fact almost everywhere in Europe you'll normally get good coffee in any restaurant. Parts of Greece may still offer only Greek coffee (with the grounds left in the cup) or Nescafe, but this is slowly changing and most places now offer proper espresso.
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From my experience, there should be the word 'American' in there ahead of the word. 'restaurant'.
In my experience as well... At this point the only coffee I can drink outside my own house is at a coffee specific Cafe in a location filled with coffee snobs
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I will absolutely agree with this. Even coffee shops struggle with this. I prefer my own coffee from home, store brand, in a can.
True. We used to have a really good mid-price Italian restaurant locally that in addition to excellent food had VERY good coffee. It is rare for me to enjoy coffee black but theirs was that good. The place was a treasure and so sad it closed. Awesome food, awesome service, small intimate classy atmosphere. Basically everything Olive Garden isn't, for just a slightly higher price.
Often it comes down to a wrong brewing temperature. It's either too hot (burnt taste) or too cold (bitter taste)
Ugh, yes! Going to a place that has good breakfast but c**p coffee brings down the entire experience
My only complaint is no two restaurants or cafes make it the same, so I don’t know in advance whether to ask for full strength (double shot) or half strength (single shot) when I order my Flat White. I usually default to full strength and add extra sugar if it’s too bitter.
In Spain and Portugal bad coffee is a deal breaker. I'm not talking all the BS that some people enjoy. Expresso, real coffee. A bit of milk. not a cup twice the size of a can.
Most people I know that visit my island and come back to USA tell me, the one thing they miss the most is the great coffee they can get anywhere. Even gas stations sell better coffee than most restaurants here in the states.
Macaroni and cheese.
Sometimes the noodles are gummy. Sometimes the sauce is bad, usually not very flavorful. Sometimes it's both.
Macaroni is usually a disappointment.
This is another dish that I will only make at home for myself. There is one frozen brand that is AMAZING!!!! but I just can't force myself to pay that price for a frozen side dish that I can make fresh for a lot less money. It truly is "The World's Best" though.
Too much truffle. Truffle flavoring is usually made with petroleum byproducts. It’s nasty. Truffles don’t “infuse” into oil. That scent and that taste isn’t natural, it’s all synthetic.
Stop putting truffle flavor on everything! You are eating nasty a*s chemicals *and* paying a premium for it!
So many people seemingly can't cook rice. I don't get it, it's one of the easiest things to cook, just let it be and it practically cooks itself. But so many people can't make it
Lo mein. You can’t use regular spaghetti noodles and pass it off as authentic!
honestly, its a minor pet peeve of mine that some americans just call all pastas, spaghetti etc "noodles" xP
Chicken breast. Every restaurant cooks it to death. You have to undercook it a bit and let the carry over heat finish it off, but restaurants are too afraid of salmonella so you end up with a dry piece of s**t.
Tortillas - so many dry and flavorless industrially produced tortillas out there. Whether it’s tacos, enchiladas, etc, even if the fillings or toppings are great, a bad tortilla brings the whole thing crumbling down (literally) in my opinion.
All my favorite Mexican places near me make their own tortillas and it’s just a different standard. Otherwise, so many times I’m excited to try a popular spot, but then find the tortillas subpar.
Pad Thai. Many places make it way too sweet.
Ordering noodles can be hairy, because a lot of them are over cooked and over sauced, resulting in a sloppy mess.
I can't remember the last time I had decent fried egg rolls at a restaurant. The insides are often just mushy, flavorless cabbage.
yes...this!....they used to have celery, carrots, onions, and tiny shrimp in addition to the cabbage...and they had that thick bumpy shell
Calamari. Often over cooked into rubber. At least here in the Midwest. I think enough people around here don't even know how good Calamari is it is screwed up so much.
Crabcakes. Even in MD it's hit or miss, outside of MD places tend to use too much filler and binder.
Poutine. It's trendy to stick fries, with cheese and a sauce and call it that, but you can't really substitute any of the ingredients and have it taste anywhere near the original.
This photo is an insult to poutine. There is not enough gravy, and an embarrassingly small amount of shredded cheese.
I’ve never had good nachos at a restaurant. The ratio of, and distribution, of toppings to chips is always disappointing. And the chips are often rubbery. Even if the flavor is nice, the balance is terrible.
Reuben sandwich… because when it’s good it’s great but when it’s bad it’s terrible.
Right? I love them so much that I rarely order them because I don't want to be disappointed. Very few places make them well. Not too much corned beef which ahs to be low on fat and gristle and not smooth. It needs a little grain to it. Lots of kraut and not too much dressing. Is that so hard?
If it's not a bakery, CAKE! Cakes in restaurants always tend to SUUUUUCK. They're not fluffy or delicious or leave a soft warm feeling in your body when you eat it. That's what I look for in my cakes, a good cake should be so soft and delicious that it makes you feel loved like a loving parent. Restaurant cakes are just either too dry, too hipster, or too goopy.
Note: this post originally had 42 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I can't tell how good these descriptions are. Because usually I've never experienced the good better alternative.
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Meringues...especially from bakery, dry as, they are awful. Lemon meringue pie...it's supposed to be soft under a thin crisp crust not dry and crumbly fgs.
Where do you buy your lemon tarts? Most bakers around here uses Italian meringue and the tartes are perfect, although I can bake them just as good myself.
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Kinda looks like it’s not really worth going out to eat and waste all that money on c**p when you could make it better at home.
Salsa/pico de gallo that's really a few finely minced onions floating in tomato juice.
if you want good fries, go search out the movable feast foodtruck. they make the crispiest fries ive ever eaten. yo want steak, ribs, or anything, for the love of primus, avoid applebees at all costs!
Once choked on a hockey puck chicken breast from there. Nobody noticed.
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I think eggplant is very frequently undercooked. I order Eggplant Parm alot, and am disappointed alot because it it chewy or woody and bitter. The eggplant is supposed to be cooked until it is so tender it practically melts on your tongue. When it's like that, it tastes really sweet.
Most of these are personal preferences that vary greatly. Try being specific when you order - polite but specific , "please let the chef know i like my eggs ____ , thank you"
I know this isn't so common, but alligator tail! Done right it's by far my favorite protein, I'd rank it higher than lobster. I was hosting some of my Dutch family members down here in Florida one year who had understandably never tried it - I raved about it and said they must! I found an expensive seafood place that happened to offer it, we went, and I was so embarrassed - if was rubbery and awful! I think the only time I can remember ever sending a dish back. Couple nights later, at another expensive place, same thing. They left before I could find them a good gator tail, sadly, as the best I've ever had came from transient roadside spots, and the only permanent place that's always amazing is a reasonably-priced restaurant six hours away! They probably still think I'm nuts.
I can't tell how good these descriptions are. Because usually I've never experienced the good better alternative.
Load More Replies... Meringues...especially from bakery, dry as, they are awful. Lemon meringue pie...it's supposed to be soft under a thin crisp crust not dry and crumbly fgs.
Where do you buy your lemon tarts? Most bakers around here uses Italian meringue and the tartes are perfect, although I can bake them just as good myself.
Load More Replies... Kinda looks like it’s not really worth going out to eat and waste all that money on c**p when you could make it better at home.
Salsa/pico de gallo that's really a few finely minced onions floating in tomato juice.
if you want good fries, go search out the movable feast foodtruck. they make the crispiest fries ive ever eaten. yo want steak, ribs, or anything, for the love of primus, avoid applebees at all costs!
Once choked on a hockey puck chicken breast from there. Nobody noticed.
Load More Replies... I think eggplant is very frequently undercooked. I order Eggplant Parm alot, and am disappointed alot because it it chewy or woody and bitter. The eggplant is supposed to be cooked until it is so tender it practically melts on your tongue. When it's like that, it tastes really sweet.
Most of these are personal preferences that vary greatly. Try being specific when you order - polite but specific , "please let the chef know i like my eggs ____ , thank you"
I know this isn't so common, but alligator tail! Done right it's by far my favorite protein, I'd rank it higher than lobster. I was hosting some of my Dutch family members down here in Florida one year who had understandably never tried it - I raved about it and said they must! I found an expensive seafood place that happened to offer it, we went, and I was so embarrassed - if was rubbery and awful! I think the only time I can remember ever sending a dish back. Couple nights later, at another expensive place, same thing. They left before I could find them a good gator tail, sadly, as the best I've ever had came from transient roadside spots, and the only permanent place that's always amazing is a reasonably-priced restaurant six hours away! They probably still think I'm nuts.
