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Confessions of a Foodie

Food Peeves

June 10th, 2008 by Jamie Rogers | 7 Comments

When I decide to spend my hard-earned cash and dine out, there are certain things that I REALLY don’t want to deal with. Strike that…shouldn’t HAVE to deal with.

Pet Peeve (noun) A minor annoyance that can instill great frustration in an individual.

Food Peeve (noun) An avoidable annoyance that creates unnecessary angst for the diner at a restaurant.

When I decide to spend my hard-earned cash and dine out, there are certain things that I REALLY don’t want to deal with. Strike that…shouldn’t HAVE to deal with.

Giant Roll, Tiny Filling

It happened tonight: I ordered a sandwich and the roll was twice the size of the crabcake. I felt like Clara Peller of the “Where’s the beef?” commercials as I examined the excessively large and doughy bun versus the minuscule cake/burger/chicken breast. For shame!

Extra Side Trickery

I love me some quesadillas, and a side of guacamole is a must. When my server asks me, “Would you like a side of guacamole with that?” my ears perk up. “Why, yes I would!” I reply with glee. But when that little green side appears on my bill, I turn green like the Incredible Hulk. Guacamole is a given side for quesadillas. Like salsa and sour cream. Jamie. Angry.

Unnecessary Garnish

Fans of “Sex and the City” may recall the fight between Carrie Bradshaw and boyfriend Jack Berger. Carrie made a persistent request that the waiter not include parsley on her plate—neither in the dish nor as a garnish. I couldn’t agree with her more. I have nothing against the herb, but when sprinkled amongst my food, I see it as just one more thing to get caught in my teeth.

Please share your food peeves. Let’s live in this misery together.

About the Author

Jamie Rogers comes from a mixed pedigree of chefs. She prefers describing her culinary prowess as "efficient" rather than "lazy." Her loves include Crawdaddy’s Mustard Fried Catfish, The Drafting Room’s Cream of Wild Mushroom soup, and a Popsicle on a hot summer day.

More About Jamie Rogers...

Categories: Articles, Confessions of a Foodie

7 Comments So Far

  1. Erik – Jun 12, 2008

    ou are forgetting of of the most annoying things about eating out. The pushy wait staff. Of course there are a lot of great waiters in town, but every now and then you’ll get one of two types.
    1) the showman: the showman feels that his service is the best part of the meal. He will approach your table and give you his normal banter sit down at the table with you, make generic jokes, and ask you about every aspect of your life. The only thing that this guy doesnt do is give you a complimentary lap dance. This may be great at first until you turn around and hear him telling the same exact jokes to another table.
    2) The new guy: This person may come across cute and cuddly at first and yea it may be a little fun to mess with them and make odd complaints and requests. Some of my favorite are “my beer is too wet” or ordering a glass of water with everything, try it it’s really funny how many you can get on your table. The annoying part comes when they stop by every 2 mins to ask, “is every thing okay” or “how we doing” or my personal favorite “how did everything come out.”

  2. Dr Zibbs – Jun 12, 2008

    That picture of the parsley got me nervous so I just got up to look in the mirror and I’ve been walking around since lunch with an entire chicken wing stuck to my cheek.

  3. Fran – Jun 13, 2008

    Cilantro. Cilantro on everything. I blame the Food Network, whose chefs use it in every recipe.

    I have to ask if cilantro is an ingredient, whether it is appropriate to the dish. Cilantro makes me ill.

    At one restaurant (Chinese/Asian), I was assured that it was not in the dish, only to find that cilantro was liberally strewn all over the food and platter. The waitress’ response: “Oh, it’s not an ingredient, it’s only the garnish.” Ok, what part of allergic didn’t you understand?

  4. Emily – Jun 30, 2008

    I am very okay with cilantro being in/on everything. DELICIOUS.

  5. Chef Paul – Nov 07, 2008

    typical americans. don’t mess with waiters, they’re trying to make a living. so what if they are enthusiastic or new. if a side isn’t listed on the menu, expect to pay for it. parsley is good, and good for you, so is cilantro. if you are allergic, you should say so and expect to send something back right away if it comes out wrong, nobody is perfect so don’t let your affliction kill everybody, or just stay at home, nobody likes a complainer when out and about. also, you have to understand you are not dealing with people who believe in the value of education, and they are in control of something you put in your body. be careful.

  6. kimdec – Sep 08, 2009

    Refilling my coffee without asking, after I’ve prepared it just how I like it :(

  7. Kyle – Sep 28, 2009

    Parsley as a garnish can be a little annoying. However herbs within things as garnish do add a better pop. Imagine a spoonfull of creamy white beans with nothing, and then one with bits of well chopped parsley and chive. Not only will it add a nice lighter note to the dish but it will also add a health visual appeal. A few parsley sprigs with the stem intact laid on top a piece of fish, no. Finely chopped leaves of parsley folded into your something or other. nice touch.

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