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Kobe beef. I think it's probably because I don't eat that much beef to begin with to make the distinction.

truffles. I cannot understand why they are considered the ultimate ingredient for decadence.

I wasn't overly wowed by Kobe beef the first time I tried it either. Oh, and the same for ox-tails -- although, it was at the same restaurant, and it was actually a country club (graduation party), so maybe the standards weren't very high.

Thai Tom's place in Seattle, to me whatever I ate was WAY too sweet and then left a nasty after taste. But people stand in the rain outside and wait for up to an hour and a half for this. Everyone raves about the food. Nope, I like The Little Thai, that makes everything wonderful.

Meh, Kobe beef. So-called Kobe beef on many restaurant menus is really "Kobe-style" American beef which is really Wagyu crossed with Angus cattle and raised in the United States and/or Canada.

This American Wagyu is sold in so many different grades you can't possibly tell how good the beef is going to be purely because it's labeled as "Kobe beef" on a restaurant's menu.

I've only had bona fide imported Japanese Wagyu once in my life, but the portion size was maybe half an oz. It was part of an expensive tasting menu at Alinea (one of only 12 grade A5 ribeyes to enter the United States each week), and it was wonderful. The marbling was insane.

Caviar... I'm with Jerzee on this one... I've tried the best money can buy and I still felt like Tom Hanks in the movie "Big" when he used a napkin to wipe it off his tongue.

@LPC... You mean I don't have to just drink the butter by itself?!

@LPC - LOL. That's the cornerstone of my Christmas Eve dinner! But in truth, I stuff it with crabmeat and the butter is merely another ingredient.

Re: Restaurants - we got rave reviews about a breakfast place here in Atlanta called J. Christophers. We tried it. 3x. Never had a GOOD meal there and now it's permanently off our list.

As far as food goes...(Shrugs). I love all the things that were mentioned above. For me, it would probably be the way a certain restaurant prepares something that might leave me uninspired, vs. the ingredient or food itself.

have to agree with Jerzee on caviar, a dear friend gave me a very pricey jar for christmas one year along with a lovely mother of pearl spoon, I still use the spoon for dishing out cat food which incidentaly is what the caviar was after I tried it. Lobster is vile and I wouldnt eat it if you put a gun to my head, growing up I spent 2 summers on a relatives lobster boat.

Yeah, put me on board with caviar. I don't hate it, just the fact that such a big deal is made of it. Guess I was expecting something wonderful and life changing. Salty and fishy is not my idea of gastronomic
enlightenment.

I've never had caviar, but I'm w/LPC on the lobster....tried it a few times, still don't care for it. I do cook it occasionally for my husband though...he loves it!

Limberger cheese. I know that most people find it repulsive, as do I, but, I think it qualifies for the catagory because people that enjoy it will rave about it. I never actually tasted it because I could not get past that rotting wound smell, eeyuuccck. I remember unwrapping it from its smell proof packaging, and saying outloud "you have got to be kidding" before promptly putting it inside several plastic grocery bags and throwing it out in the garage trashcan. Never again!

I'm taking the road less traveled on this one -- no, not caviar, not foie gras or truffles (though I'm with you on those two), but rather something pretty common-place and inexpensive: roasted parsnips. I decided to make my normally delicious and simple roasted red skinned potatoes a bit more interesting earlier this week by adding peeled and cut parsnips to the mix. I got them nice and brown on the edges, they were perfectly seasoned and buttery, and I was so excited to pop a piece into my mouth....Yuck!!! I DO NOT like roasted parsnips.

Escargot. I didn't care for the sauce it was in. I'd probably try again but I think I'd try the sauce first and if I didn't like it, I'd pass.

The lure of caviar baffles me as well. Truffles are only OK. I am really baffled by the popularity of Coors Light. It is the worst stuff I have ever tasted. Some people say it tastes like water, but water tastes good. Bud is a revolting beverage as well. Keep in mind, I LOVE beer.

Olives. Any kind.

@pjracz--you are 86'd from Seattle! How dare you shame the glory that is the Tom!

Truffles and foie gras.... What's the big deal?

Blue cheese as well. Can't take it

@saillordave- lol I know I know, I tried the food twice and I wanted to like it, I got so hyped up about it, but both times the sauces they used was too sweet, and then it had a funky after taste. But everyone says to go when Tom is cooking, but he rarely cooks anymore. I like The Little Thai and Thaiger Room better Will you un 86 me if I tell you I love, love, love love, Dick's Drive In????? Puleezzz?? lol

Sailordave is going to re 86 from Seattle on this one. But I don't like salmon, , oysters, clams, mussels caviar, rice and all the milks out there that is not from a dairy cow.

I have dreams of opening a restaurant someday, based on the idea that virtually everyone would rather have a great burger or a perfect Italian Beef or a well-seasoned pulled-pork sandwich than middling-at-best 'fancy food'. I don't want Kobe, I want properly-juicy beef cooked fast on a hot griddle. I want odd cuts of beef stewed in a spiced gravy for hours. I want pork shoulder smoked until it falls apart, then doused with sauce and served on a fresh, buttery roll with house-made coleslaw.

I hope I'm not alone.

@NotAmerican-great idea but the critics would hate it.

I agree with LPC on lobster. I much prefer crab legs--snow crab, that is. King crab is not as tender or sweet.

And (please, nobody shoot me for this) creme brulee. I'll take an ooey-gooey chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream over creme brulee any day.

I'm also going to go with a restaurant experience. I went to Boudro's a Texan bistro in San Antonio. I had a good time, loved the guac, loved the margaritas...but I've got to say our main courses were VERY overseasoned. Our blackened prime rib was way too peppery (and believe me I like pepper) and our big tails little tails lobster dish tasted like pure salt. I was surprised because our waitress described these dishes as perfect, but they were both way too overseasoned for me. Still had a good time though (don't worry if you're someone that recommended the place).

Hillary
Chew on That

Salmon. I have tried it many times, but just don't like it. It's the texture. I also never got on the 'sun-dried tomatos' kick that was all the rage several years ago, again, it was the texture.

GolfGirl, I'm with you on both counts. Never liked either. Salmon tastes like concentrated fish-oil, and sun-dried tomatoes are far, far too dry and tough, especially the way they're used by most people.

I must respectfully disagree with those who dislike Champagne (and I presume, other sparkling wines). It's one of those things where when it's good, it's really, really good. But I do admit that when it's not, it's awful. We have two bottles of Australian 'sparkling rose' that were brought over for a party. I presume they will remain unopened until the end of time, as I wouldn't even water the plants with the stuff.

Goat's cheese I can stand in small amounts, but lots of places want to chuck jolly great fistfulls on, making the whole dish taste awfully 'goaty'.

@buffy
I agree on the creme brulee. One spoonful and I'm done. Anymore and I start feeling ill from all the cream and sugar.

I don't get champagne either, it tastes like seltzer water to me. So does beer. The only beer I ever liked was an unfiltered one straight from a vat in a brewery. That actually had flavor.

I don't think I really get foie gras, either. I enjoy it when I eat it, but its definitely not something I crave. It's fluffy, creamy, and buttery, but I don't go gaga for it.

Brining turkey. I did it for the first time this Thanksgiving and blech, it was not only way too salty, it just changed the flavor and texture of the meat in a not-good way, IMHO. Never again!

Alcohol of almost all varieties. Beer tastes like dirt to me, and champagne like very, very bubbly nothing. I almost like wine, but there's something about it I just don't like after a few sips.

Meyer lemons taste like Pledge furniture spray smells! Marjoram tastes like dust. And I agree Champagne is not worth the money.