PrintWhat trend in plating or presentation irks you?
I first realized that presentation made all of the difference when I noticed that my tuna sandwich tasted soooo much better when sliced diagonally. Paying attention over the years, there are two trends in fine dining that have me yawning: the constant use of arugula to green-up the plate [almost as ubiquitous as the parsley of yore, without the breath-freshening charm] and the random sprig of fried herb impaled in the protein. Are there things out there where you, too, are asking "Why? Why!?!"?
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14 Comments:
Honestly the overuse of added things to jazz up a dessert plate. Drizzling caramel, chocolate, coulis etc. all over the plate. I agree with drizzling it on the cake or dessert itself but the overuse of drizzling on huge plates with a small dessert to me is just junk.
Putting a small dessert on a huge plate doesn't make it taste better.
Make the cakes better and the serving more simple. Desserts should be good and simple.
JerzeeTomato at 8:50PM on 09/30/07
Vertical food is awfully hard to pull off, I think. I am deeply tired of a sprig of rosemary stuck in something at every meal at certain restaurants; it seems to have begun to wane locally, thank goodness. And stacking food to accomplish verticality is hazardous. I've had meat land in my lap as I was trying to deconstruct something so I could cut it up. We were reviewing the restaurant, and we did remark on that in the review, which probably didn't please the chef, but I thought readers ought to know.
lemons at 9:50PM on 09/30/07
putting things inside vegetables. Just because something can be stuffed, it doesn't mean it should be.
michichan at 11:10PM on 09/30/07
"White space" around the food: it doesn't make it look like a framed work of art, it makes it look like you're skimping on the food.
Vertical food: Gah.
thepictsie at 2:24AM on 10/01/07
Garnishes that serve no purpose whatsoever. Food items that appear on plates to "make it more interesting," I like a refined rustic look or something well thought out, not something that is a somewhat pretentious knock off of someone elses truly beautiful presentation. This isn't to say I don't like the gravity defying spinning dishes, I just don't like it when it's done without consideration to the dish as a whole. If its vertical then there better be a reason, I want to see layers and precision. Not a tuna tartar with a sprig of micro greens on top and dots of sauce. If its spinning then I want that to add something to the meal (besides disbelief that its spinning), but if its there just to be there then I would rather not have it at all.
lola27 at 5:28AM on 10/01/07
I too, am sick of the squeezy bottles decorating plates. But what I really hate is stuff sprinkled along the edges of the plate, like paprika, that just seem to do nothing but make my shirts dirty.
Tellicherry at 8:04AM on 10/01/07
I don't like vertical presentation -- stacks or towers of food are impossible to eat.
KitchenKore at 11:14AM on 10/01/07
If I can't eat it, or am not supposed to, please don't put it on my plate!
stareater at 11:28AM on 10/01/07
This may sound strange but sometimes my patients in the hospital ONLY eat the garnish (usually an orange slice or leafy green)---or maybe that tells me what they think of their meals--ha-ha!
JEP at 11:55AM on 10/01/07
It drives me nuts when shrimp (with the exception of shrimp cocktail) have the tails on.
SSMom at 12:31PM on 10/01/07
I'm with stareater. Too many instances of not-supposed-to-eat-it items on my plate have made me gunshy. If it seems even remotely garnishy, I get confused.
Adam Kuban at 4:34PM on 10/01/07
Architectural masterpieces really grill my cheese. There is no reason to stack food fourteen feet high, making it impossible for the server to carry it and the diner is left with no idea how to even begin eating it. There are very few exceptions to this rule.
Recently I dined at the China Grill in NYC and was treated to a dessert called Bananas In A Box. It was a sugar/caramel box folded around the most delectable Bananas Foster concoction topped with whipped cream. The four of us sat there holding our spoons wondering how to tackle it. The waitress offered, "The best thing to do is just knock it over and go at it with your spoons!" We took her advice. It was amazing.
Another trend I find irritating is to have the menu state that something comes with a particular "sauce" only to have a token decorative "squirt" of it on the plate. In my opinion, that's not worth mentioning at all, let alone being listed on the menu.
chiff0nade at 4:46PM on 10/01/07
Heh... "grill my cheese."
Back on topic: I can't stand the trend to have the clams in their shells in linguine in clam sauce. I mean, come on. I know it shows that it is fresh and all, but why must I fiddle with my pasta? I don't want to have to liberate the things before I eat them.
jpolk at 4:54PM on 10/01/07
Foam. Ick. Looks nasty
jennywenny at 6:29PM on 10/01/07