The Not-So-Great Meal thread

[y_p_w]

Ribeye with mashed potatoes and gravy at a Chinese place? That says something about their Chinese food. LOL.

A lot of places call themselves "Chinese & American food" to try and broaden their customer base. There's a lot of places that kind of diversify. I've been to this sandwich place owned by an ethnic Korean family. I had a burger and fries. Their regular menu is just burgers, sandwiches, eggs breakfasts, etc. However, they'll usually have daily specials on a white board that include oddball stuff including Japanese or Korean style food.

 

[PandaBear]

That egg rolls look like they refried it with a batter again. That's probably why it is tough and hard, the kind of Chinese places that give Chinese food a bad name.

Sadly this is what happen when borderline bankrupt business try to be creative to survive. It is a race to the bottom situation.

 

[PandaBear]

I'm telling you, despite the zombie movie prop appearance, the ribeye didn't taste that horrible. No idea how they managed do get that raw liver look.

Dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, ginger juice, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, cooking wine (shaoxing, similar to sherry), baking soda (1 tea spoon per lb of beef), water, corn starch, oil.

That's the basic beef marinade. You can adjust according to your preference.

A few chefs told me the fundamental of Chinese beef marinade are done with tough meat and alkaline like baking soda / lye water. This makes the meat tender and flavorful when fully cooked to well done, vs the Western way of aging marbled beef and cook to medium rare to make it tender and flavorful.

 

[y_p_w]

Dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, ginger juice, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, cooking wine (shaoxing, similar to sherry), baking soda (1 tea spoon per lb of beef), water, corn starch, oil.

That's the basic beef marinade. You can adjust according to your preference.

A few chefs told me the fundamental of Chinese beef marinade are done with tough meat and alkaline like baking soda / lye water. This makes the meat tender and flavorful when fully cooked to well done, vs the Western way of aging marbled beef and cook to medium rare to make it tender and flavorful.

Well - I've tried using chemical meat tenderizer like Adolph's. Doesn't impart much flavor except that it has table salt, which makes t a bit tough to use any other seasoning that includes salt - i.e. gets too salty. And if it's kept too long it's really mushy.

Still - one of the weird ones is making abalone tender enough to eat without having to chew excessively. I saw on Bizarre Foods on a visit to South America where one chef showed her method for preparing abalone. It consisted of placing it in a large rubber tube, closing it off, and then bashing it over and over against a hard object. I think that might work for other meats, although something with a good deal of fat might just fall apart.

 

[vavavroom]

Well - I've tried using chemical meat tenderizer like Adolph's. Doesn't impart much flavor except that it has table salt, which makes t a bit tough to use any other seasoning that includes salt - i.e. gets too salty. And if it's kept too long it's really mushy.

The bromelain in pineapple makes an excellent meat tenderizer. You have to use fresh pineapple. Also, red wine and/or diluted vinegar tenderize meat if you marinate for a few days. Also, beer, ginger, and Coca Cola can be used as tenderizers.

 

[vavavroom]

I decided to have dinner at a local landmark restaurant last night. I'm familiar with their menu and with most of their dishes. I really like their pot roast. 3 to 4 slices of roast with red sauce. The red sauce is, for my taste, on the salty side. That's why I always order a side of penne and throw them on the plate. That way I got a little pasta and the whole dish is less salty. They brought me a side of penne in meat sauce last night. I didn't want to be a jerk and didn't say anything. You can see the unholy and slightly too salty mess below. There are two more slices of pot roast under all that red sauce. The meat was very good, though.

 

[01rangerxl]

Oh yeah I had a not so great meal today. My parents are obsessed with Burger King so I got a chicken sandwich and there was not one but two hairs in my sandwich . I took it back in and got my money back.

Oddly enough, I find that Burger King chicken sandwiches (NOT the long original one or whatever), are one of the safer bets around here for being correctly/safely prepared, second only to Arby's. I don't trust Bojangles if I want a fully cooked sandwich size fillet, and have even had pink chicken from Wendy's. Krystal somehow undercooks their nugget sized chicken. Bojangles Supremes/tenders are fine, but the cajun fillet is high risk! I understand they want to get people out, but chicken needs to be fully cooked and if I've been waiting 20 minutes it definitely shouldn't be pink and raw tasting. I love chicken when it's done well, but I'm way more wary of fast food chicken than I used to be.

That said, about 15 years ago a Burger King original chicken sandwich purchased off a heat table at the Orlando airport caused the biggest gastrointestinal blowout of my life. Luckily I made it through the flight and even to home, but then proceeded to spend days on the toilet with a trashcan in front of me. I've mostly forgiven BK, but can never eat the "original" sandwich again.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Oddly enough, I find that Burger King chicken sandwiches (NOT the long original one or whatever), are one of the safer bets around here for being correctly/safely prepared, second only to Arby's. I don't trust Bojangles if I want a fully cooked sandwich size fillet, and have even had pink chicken from Wendy's. Krystal somehow undercooks their nugget sized chicken. Bojangles Supremes/tenders are fine, but the cajun fillet is high risk! I understand they want to get people out, but chicken needs to be fully cooked and if I've been waiting 20 minutes it definitely shouldn't be pink and raw tasting. I love chicken when it's done well, but I'm way more wary of fast food chicken than I used to be.

That said, about 15 years ago a Burger King original chicken sandwich purchased off a heat table at the Orlando airport caused the biggest gastrointestinal blowout of my life. Luckily I made it through the flight and even to home, but then proceeded to spend days on the toilet with a trashcan in front of me. I've mostly forgiven BK, but can never eat the "original" sandwich again.

That sucks about the blowout lol. Yes Krystal is the worlds worst for undercooked food and they couldn’t make a slider right to save their life. Every time I asked for no onions it came out with onions. White Castle is the way to go for sliders in my opinion.

 

[01rangerxl]

I used to love Krystal 10+ years ago, but they've really gone downhill. Undercooking food is a common complaint with them, I've heard that from so many people about so many locations. I'll happily wait another minute for properly cooked food.

Knock on wood, Arby's here is consistently good, at least when it comes to fully cooking their chicken.

There's a local chain called Milo's that used to get frozen, pre-breaded tenders for their chicken sandwiches that were AMAZING. I'm sure the breading had some MSG or something, but the frozen Milo's tenders were always good and always fully cooked. They started doing this new "hand breaded in store" chicken a few years ago, and it has sucked everytime I have tried it. Slimy, nasty, not sure if cooked all the way, tastes weird. I wish they would go back to the awesome frozen pre-breaded chicken and have told them that, and they just gave me some coupons for burgers which I don't eat (just not big on ground beef). Now all I eat there are "toasted cheese" (grilled cheese sandwich).

 

[AutoMechanic]

I used to love Krystal 10+ years ago, but they've really gone downhill. Undercooking food is a common complaint with them, I've heard that from so many people about so many locations. I'll happily wait another minute for properly cooked food.

Knock on wood, Arby's here is consistently good, at least when it comes to fully cooking their chicken.

There's a local chain called Milo's that used to get frozen, pre-breaded tenders for their chicken sandwiches that were AMAZING. I'm sure the breading had some MSG or something, but the frozen Milo's tenders were always good and always fully cooked. They started doing this new "hand breaded in store" chicken a few years ago, and it has sucked everytime I have tried it. Slimy, nasty, not sure if cooked all the way, tastes weird. I wish they would go back to the awesome frozen pre-breaded chicken and have told them that, and they just gave me some coupons for burgers which I don't eat (just not big on ground beef). Now all I eat there are "toasted cheese" (grilled cheese sandwich).

Yes they closed our Krystal a few years ago. I don’t miss them though I hate to see a business go under. Arby’s here is usually pretty good too except ours is pretty much self serve lol seems they can never find staff. I’ve heard good things about Milo’s too. I know their tea is good. We don’t have one here but the tea is good.

 

[Dave9]

So crappy restaurant where you regret paying for food. It happens. Bad lighting, yet another sign of idiot owner who doesn't recognize that food needs to at least look good.

 

[Dave9]

A few chefs told me the fundamental of Chinese beef marinade are done with tough meat and alkaline like baking soda / lye water. This makes the meat tender and flavorful when fully cooked to well done, vs the Western way of aging marbled beef and cook to medium rare to make it tender and flavorful.

That's fine if it's dirt cheap food in an area where beef is scarce. In the western world this is just trying to screw customers out of decent beef and charging as if they got it (more often than not).

However it is still the inferior way to do it. If you want tough meat palatable done right, you just slow cook it for hours. Seems like too many shortcuts, like I'd rather just fix my own meal even if it was leftovers if I didn't want to cook that particular meal.

 

[vavavroom]

So crappy restaurant where you regret paying for food. It happens. Bad lighting, yet another sign of idiot owner who doesn't recognize that food needs to at least look good.

That's a gross misinterpretation. It's not crappy restaurant. I did not regret paying for the food. They made a mistake with the penne. I made the mistake of mashing up the penne and meat sauce with the red sauce and making it look like slop. As far as lighting goes, it's a restaurant not a photo studio. In person, the food looks fine. Probably there's mixed lighting. I don't know the owner personally and I can't comment on his intelligence, but this restaurant is crowded every evening. It's been there since 1956. His other location opened already in 1937.

 

[IndyIan]

I decided to have dinner at a local landmark restaurant last night. I'm familiar with their menu and with most of their dishes. I really like their pot roast. 3 to 4 slices of roast with red sauce. The red sauce is, for my taste, on the salty side. That's why I always order a side of penne and throw them on the plate. That way I got a little pasta and the whole dish is less salty. They brought me a side of penne in meat sauce last night. I didn't want to be a jerk and didn't say anything. You can see the unholy and slightly too salty mess below. There are two more slices of pot roast under all that red sauce. The meat was very good, though.

After watching Kitchen Nightmares with the wife too many times, I'm pretty picky on where we go out to eat. Either its a known reputable place, a chain where there is no chef back there trying to recycle yesterdays special, or fast food. No "average" places where the owner is trying to cut corners to make a buck. If I'm on the road myself I'd rather just go to a grocery store and buy some food that no one has messed with, instead of paying double digits for who knows what.

 

[vavavroom]

After watching Kitchen Nightmares with the wife too many times, I'm pretty picky on where we go out to eat. Either its a known reputable place, a chain where there is no chef back there trying to recycle yesterdays special, or fast food. No "average" places where the owner is trying to cut corners to make a buck. If I'm on the road myself I'd rather just go to a grocery store and buy some food that no one has messed with, instead of paying double digits for who knows what.

My reply to you is the same as to the previous post.

 

[vavavroom]

Just a reminder that the topic of this thread is Not-So-Great-Meals. It's not Not-So-Great Restaurants or Not-So-Great-Food. A meal can be less than great due to various circumstances. It also doesn't necessarily means the food was bad. There are many levels between not-so-great and bad. In my first example in this thread the food just looked weird and the ambience was indeed terrible. The food tasted however okay. Since that was a Chinese family restaurant with fairly low prices I won't hold the look of the food against them. It wasn't crappy food. As for my second example, the food was quite good. The salt content was not to my liking but most people would likely add more salt. So I don't fault them for that. The bungled the order but that's not a biggie. I'll go to IKEA tomorrow. I'll likely have some of their cafeteria meatballs. Get ready!

 

[PandaBear]

That's fine if it's dirt cheap food in an area where beef is scarce. In the western world this is just trying to screw customers out of decent beef and charging as if they got it (more often than not).

However it is still the inferior way to do it. If you want tough meat palatable done right, you just slow cook it for hours. Seems like too many shortcuts, like I'd rather just fix my own meal even if it was leftovers if I didn't want to cook that particular meal.

I wouldn't say it is a cheap corner cutting.

Some of the finest taste of beef is in the tough cut and the texture is very different between tough cut soften with alkaline like baking soda vs rare fatty beef. Slow cook gives you a completely different texture and IMO not worth it for many style of cooking. The closest thing I like for non rare beef that's good texture and taste would be Kobe style beef but those are way pricier and not necessary for everyday meal in stir fry, when baking soda marinated tough beef is sufficient.

 

[Dave9]

I wouldn't say it is a cheap corner cutting.

Some of the finest taste of beef is in the tough cut and the texture is very different between tough cut soften with alkaline like baking soda vs rare fatty beef. Slow cook gives you a completely different texture and IMO not worth it for many style of cooking. The closest thing I like for non rare beef that's good texture and taste would be Kobe style beef but those are way pricier and not necessary for everyday meal in stir fry, when baking soda marinated tough beef is sufficient.

I would never pay for "sufficient". That's crap quality food using chemicals to try to soften it. Yuck. I don't go out to eat to experience that.

Again, if you have poor quality beef, slow cook it. Only cheap hateful cooks use chemicals to get the job done wrong.

I feel sorry for you if you have to eat like that. On the other hand, I recognize the benefits of an acidic marinade, but that is mostly about penetration of the flavors.

 

[PandaBear]

I would never pay for "sufficient". That's crap quality food using chemicals to try to soften it. Yuck. I don't go out to eat to experience that.

Again, if you have poor quality beef, slow cook it. Only cheap hateful cooks use chemicals to get the job done wrong.

I feel sorry for you if you have to eat like that. On the other hand, I recognize the benefits of an acidic marinade, but that is mostly about penetration of the flavors.

I'm not sure I mentioned things correctly. It is a common cooking technique, not "sufficient" or make do with what you have because that's all you can.

Seriously, there are expensive beef that's prepared this way, it is not "cheap hateful cook use chemical". What do you think about Tamale? Is it cheap hateful chef use ash to make corn digestible? Or what do you think about pancake? A cheap version of crepe?

Again, there are fundamental cooking technique difference that turns food from one ingredient into another. As I said this is done with beef on a dish that sells for $20 each plate, or in a $100 per person banquet, in the restaurant of a 5 star restaurant, some even Michelin star. It is not the American Chinese food only corner cutting. It is a real technique on making beef taste the way it is intended, just like what we called Aging Beef, it is not a way to save meat from being rotten back in the days before fridge was invented for poor people.

Slow cook is a completely different thing, and to be honest it exchanged a lot of flavors with the liquid that it is no longer the same meat anymore. It is a completely different dish. Imagine you go order a 5 guys burger and then your friend say burger is crap, go eat an Italian meatball sandwich instead. That's basically what you are suggesting.

 

[Dave9]

^ Using cheap ingredients then overcharging for it is the art of a restaurant, for suckers who will pay for chemically degraded low quality food.

Tamales are cheap for impoverished people. I happen to like them, if done well, but it is what it is.

It's a real technique to use all of an animal, the cheaper cuts of meat for poor people then restaurants got this idea to screw people and maximize profits. Slow cook, especially SMOKING the meat, is what any honorable chef would do, not mutilate it with chemicals to half break it down before you digest it yourself.

It's not at all saying not the same dish. It's saying use substandard meat that is unpalatable, break it down into mush, then charge as much as if it weren't substandard. No thanks. I'm not paying someone to serve me crap for their extra profit.

It seems like you are invested in this for personal gain, and if people want to pay for that, it is their choice. No thanks, I am well aware of what better food is like. There is no case where chemicals beat slow cooking, for the person eating it opposed to the greedy restaurant preparing it, and this is still using low quality cuts of meat. HQ meat, please do not ruin it with the chemicals, slow cooked it can practically melt in your mouth when done right, rather than being sludge in your mouth because chemicals reduced it to that.

Slow cooking IS a completely different thing, the right thing, if you want to make low quality meat pleasant.