Poll: Which "Bad Dish/Bland Dish" Would You Find Unacceptable? Starter, Main Or Dessert?

[Twintix]

A month or two ago, my family and I went to a local charity gala that my mom had been somewhat involed with. And it contained everything that a gala would contain; Music, speeches and of course, food. Unfortunately, the food they served was very sub-par. And for coming from an actual restaurant, that is not a good thing.

The chicken they served, while cooked to perfection, was devoid of flavour. Which is a goddamn shame; How am I supposed to appreciate well-cooked meat if I can't taste it? The potato gratin was also flavourless, which is weird, because isn't cheese supposed to at least taste like something even if it's cheap? And I don't remember if there was any sauce, but if it was, I've forgotten what it tasted like.

And then we got to the dessert. I still don't understand what it was supposed to be. I have never tasted a blander and more forgettable foodstuff in my life. It was like they'd mixed quark (I'll leave the Ratchet & Clank jokes to you guys) with whipped cream and that was it. I think there was cardamom in there, because I saw it, but couldn't taste it. There were some crushed cookies and raspberries in there, as well, but the taste of them was completely absorbed in the nothingness that was the quark-cream.

As an avid baker, the complete failure of a dessert somewhat irritated me. For me, the dessert is a sub-par to bad meal's last chance to redeem itself and finish the experience with something spectacular. If you fail to do that...I don't know how to describe it, but if feels a bit wrong to have a bad last act, so to speak.

Of course, I also think it's bad to have a bad to bland main course. It's kinda supposed to be the main character.

But listen to me, sitting here, being a bit tipsy and acting like I'm some kind of food critic. What about you guys? Which part of a meal do you find unacceptable if done incorrectly/badly?

And if I've forgotten a dish/part of a meal, please tell me.

 

[tippy2k2]

Ideally you would obviously want nothing to be bad but if you had to choose...

Main Dish > Dessert > Appetizer

The Appetizer is the first thing you hit and while having a bad first step leaves a bad impression, you can make it up later. Appetizers also tend to be smaller (since they're not the meal) so if you are suffering through garbage, that garbage will be quick.

Dessert is next. Though leaving with a bad taste in your mouth hurts, desert to me is (literally sometimes) the cherry on top. A bad dessert is also much more acceptable to leave alone on your plate since people may assume you are just full and not that the desert.

The main course is the most important part so at all cost, let that one be good. It's going to be the biggest and most filling thing. Your primary meal is that main course and if it's bad, you're meal is dead in the water. You might be able to save the night with a good dessert but a bad main meal will chase people away.

I would go back to a restaurant if I had a bad appetizer or dessert; I would be hard pressed to go back if my main course was bad.

 

[Frission]

The main course is paramount as tippy2k2 said, but I'll elevate appetizers over desserts. Truly terrible appetizers will ruin your appetite, even if the rest of the meal is otherwise good. It also depends on what's being served.

A bad soup or bad bread is always disappointing and vegetables can be over-boiled, but badly prepared meat is far more awful in my opinion. It's easy to make chicken and beef lose it's taste if your overcook or overload it with sauce, not even mentioning lamb, pork and duck. It's even worse if it's badly prepared seafood, because that's outright inedible. Bad Oysters in particular can not be forgiven, because they will make you sick.

Anyway, I'm curious as to how they managed to make something tasteless. Making it taste bad is easy, but how do they manage to create something without any taste? How is that even possible?! Did they boil the chicken until it has the consistency of rubber? Did they use old dried up potatoes that had the consistency of cardboard? By what feat did they manage to get cheese without any taste? How did they even manage to mess up the dessert? Did they just dip everything in lye and call it a day?

 

[Twintix]

Anyway, I'm curious as to how they managed to make something tasteless. Making it taste bad is easy, but how do they manage to create something without any taste? How is that even possible?! Did they boil the chicken until it has the consistency of rubber? Did they use old dried up potatoes that had the consistency of cardboard? By what feat did they manage to get cheese without any taste? How did they even manage to mess up the dessert? Did they just dip everything in lye and call it a day?

Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are. It's been a few months and I still don't understand how you manage to make a meal that bland.

Also, the chicken breast was not boiled. Like I said, it was cooked beautifully, which makes it even weirder that it has no flavour.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

Main course is the worst. I'd go some place with lame appetizers and desserts because you can just skip those, but the main course is kind of unavoidable. After that I rank dessert above appetizers. Can forget appetizers, but dessert is the last bit and I think excellent dessert wins over an excellent appetizer

 

[Rack]

The chicken they served, while cooked to perfection, was devoid of flavour.

If it was cooked to perfection, it would've tasted like chicken.

Without wanting to be "that guy" factory chicken is pretty flavourless no matter how you cook it. Seasoning can save it but you can absolutely have chicken that is neither under nor overcooked that doesn't really taste of anything.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Main course since it is called "main" for a reason.

Appetizers and dessert are small and you can skipped those but main you cannot.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

The Main course must be good. I went to a function that had tiny pieces of meat they claimed were steak and mine was very overcooked. The dessert was good but it ruined the whole meal.

 

[FalloutJack]

The chicken they served, while cooked to perfection, was devoid of flavour.

If it was cooked to perfection, it would've tasted like chicken.

Without wanting to be "that guy" factory chicken is pretty flavourless no matter how you cook it. Seasoning can save it but you can absolutely have chicken that is neither under nor overcooked that doesn't really taste of anything.

I feel as though the 'tastes like chicken' joke denies this. When stated, it's not commonly spoken in disgust, so chicken is probably a flavor. I would think so, at least.

OT: In what dimension is it that I have to CHOOSE which one is unacceptable to screw up? It's perfectly reasonable to be angry if ANY of it is bad, because you don't go to a restaurant for bad food.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

I vote main dish since that is all i will ever eat

 

[Pyramid Head]

If you're actually serving someone expecting those three courses, the first and last impressions can make them forget a little sloppy execution in the main course. I'd still say appetizers are the most important because they're the one with the least room for error.

If i'm talking about dining for my self? I typically only order a main course, and the only time i draw an exception is if i order an appetizer as a snack at a place i'm drinking, or if i'm eating at the place where i work which is a modern tapas joint. In that case, it's still appetizers since tapas are basically nothing but high end appetizers.

 

[Shraggler]

I don't care. Unless I'm spending a lot of my money, I can rarely find fault with food. As long as it's edible and it keeps me alive, I don't care.

I very infrequently go out to restaurants and I never order dessert. It's happened a couple of times, but I was always with a group of people that ordered for everyone.

From the customer standpoint the main course, since that's the main part of the meal and cost the most, from professional point-salads, if you screw up a salad there is no hope for you.

I'll just go with inu-kun. Main dish = more money = more important. If someone serves you a fucked up salad, you may need to make sure you're actually in a restaurant.

 

[SecondPrize]

The main course has to be right, because it's the reason you're there. An appetizer may leave a poor first impression, but all will be forgiven if the main course gets it right. A dessert may suck, but you don't have to eat it because your tummy is still happy from the main course.