Ridiculous food

eww... yuck... it sounds like the take a duck, stuff it into potatoes and add so other yucky stuff... wonder what it smells like or what it looks like!!

That sounds delish to me. Really.

Actually the photo of the dish looked pretty good and I'll bet it does taste pretty good but there is just something about 15 word menu items that is just.... ummm.... hard to digest.

I love duck, but it's hard to get all the BB's out...

Personally, what I find ridiculous is the stuff they make on Iron Chef Japan. "Trout ice cream, with eyeball". Truly bizarre food.

Reminds me of a line from the film Flower Drum Song. I'd like some thousand year eggs and make sure they're fresh.

I like salmon mousse so maybe trout ice cream (hold the eyeball) would be something like that!

The Iron Chefs do come up with some original stuff, don't they?

I've heard about 1,000 year eggs......

I love salmon mousse...

whether or not I'd like the duck confit with sweet potatoes sort of depends on the recipe.

I growl at pretentiousness, but do like to hear what is in the food, so it is sort of a fine line for me.
It is hard for waitfolk to recite all this material, and many aren't very interested. On the other hand, some are. I'd rather read it, not only because I have some trouble hearing in some situations, but it gives my mind time to conjure images.

Some good places have info on the menu, without too many curlicues, and you can ask where the lettuce is from or the fog cheese.

I wish sometimes I would remember you can ask for a menu copy - I am still trying to replicate the specific eggplant caviar delectable from the 301 (Carter House) in my town.

They'd tell me if I just went over there. Hmm, maybe I will.

I ask for recipes at restraunts all the time. Almost always they give them to me.

I'm wish I could find the one for gorgonzola cheesecake with polenta crust. I may have to head back over there and ask again!

I guess it is the pretension that bothers me too, osso. Let's say the dish was called "duck with sweet potato confit" and the menu described it in more detail - that I think is a-okay. It's those oral 15 word specials that make me crazy.

I grew up in the south and one of my favorite dishes is etouffee. If I saw it (or worse, heard it) described as a "rich roux based ragu with crawfish, shrimp, crab, celery, onions blah blah blah" I'd probably pass.

Everyone from the south knows that etouffee is leftovers.

I was in a steakhouse not long ago and ordered some fancy smancy soup at $9 a bowl and it was gumbo fercryingoutloud.

a silly sounding thing to me
Chicken fried Chicken.

http://www.redwoodvisitor.org/printrecord.asp?id=137

http://www.cabbi.com/view/page.lasso?page=restaurants&inn=CHI

A disclaimer, the owner of the Hotel Carter and Carter House and 301 restaurant is a sometime client of ours. I liked the place before that happened and would cheerfully tell you about the dishes that didn't work.

I use it as an example of where there is effort to make excellent food, a giant/considered wine list, and the matter of how to present that to folks who just want dinner after a day going through the big redwoods - at the same time some really wanna know details.

Plus, it's in a not very sophisticated town - which the owner is very much from - well not sophisticated in the big city way, though local products and produce are wonderful. So snooty doesn't work locally, even if one wanted to dwell in the heights of snootiness.

Still, I'd be interested to see what Cav would say about all this menu description.

but Boomer, if I went to that restaurant and ordered etouffe because of the pretty name - i'd be dead

i like the info - and lots of it

I think I've seen a recipe for gorgonzola cheesecake with polenta crust at that other site I like so much.

Good point, ehBeth!

I so want to go there osso. It really sounds wonderful.

It reminds me of that restaurant in Washington DC... of heck, what is it called "1864"?... something like that.

Anyway, the gimmick is that they only serve things that were seasonally available in the year the restaurant was built, or something like that.....

Gorgonzola cheesecake with polenta crust? be still my heart, and yes, it might still my heart.

I'd prolly only like that if the b/cheese bit didn't overwhelm everything. Reminds me of that roman pizza I liked, which had mozzarella, gorgonzola, and walnuts, but did not slap you about with blue cheese - it was more of a waft...

It ain't perfect, just a struggling restaurant with some winners. Part of why I like it.

On a job we were doing with the owner and another fellow, I got to go with them to Willi's in Santa Rosa. Damn that was a good snack. Willi's is a wine bar. Now, there's a menu...

But, back to the question. I think some of the angst rests on adjectives. Baby foofoo spangled carrot curls...

One thing is for sure our ability to get all the wrolds most sought after ingredients. In New YORK City you can have the worlds best of everything all in conveniently located places.

I sometimes look forward to coming home and being able to cook Kooglemuncup any time I want cause the ingredients are around.

Sorry, ebeth, I missed your post.

That is a good point. I can understand how someone with dietary concerns would want a lot of information given.

I'm not adverse to information. I'm adverse to having the recipe given by the food name. I've always found that when I ask "what's in that?" or "how is that prepared?" that I've been given all of the information that I need.

In a restaurant that serves duck with blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah usually the waiters are very forthcoming.

But I get where you're coming from.

And oh yeah, I would love to have that cheesecake recipe again if you know where to find it!