Do you notice how food courts in shopping malls have different types of cuisine–most of which are very westernized interpretations of food from various cultures?
Panda Express, for instance, is supposedly Chinese food, while Sbarro claims to serve Italian food.
While mall food is not fancy–and it's okay if you thought they were–it's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea.
Yet, some of these walk-up establishments have huge lines because shoppers either don't know any better and think the offerings are authentic, or it's just a matter of convenience for them to look for a quick bite.
Curious to know about the types of food that are given more hype than they deserve, Redditor Faihus asked:
"What cuisine do you find highly overrated?"
Unfortunately, many Redditors misunderstood the assignment and named examples that were not a style or method of cooking that represents different countries or establishments.
Nevertheless, here we go.
It's crazy how marketing adds crazy value to edibles that are nothing out of the ordinary.
Fancy Bake
"High-end cupcakes."
– redjack847
Cheap Bake
"Yeah. I would have to agree with that. It may be an unpopular opinion but I still love the Duncan Heinz or Betty Crocker Blueberry Muffin mix. Grew up on that stuff."
– redjack847
Store-Bought Reigns Supreme
"I fail to see what's wrong with a normal cupcake. Hell, even boxed cupcakes are super good. I would rather have 10 delicious boxes cupcakes than one mediocre, overpriced one."
– cbk00
Some people use condiments to enhance a flavor. Others prefer methods that induce an eye-roll.
Mineral Sprinkles
"Gold-flaked cuisine."
– bushbeanbuddy
Aesthetics First
"Gold leaf on food is bullsh*t. It does not add flavour, only makes it look gold and increases the price. If you want to sh*t good like a Lannister, it’s good for that. The instagram food trend is all about looks not taste."
– timesuck897
Snapworthy
"Social media-oriented cuisine, like those milkshakes where they spread chocolate outside the glass. The only point of doing that is looking better on Instagram since it objectively worsens the product"
– anon
Some establishments would do well serving just alcohol.
That, or patrons shouldn't expect much fro the menu at their local watering hole.
Barf-ood
"As an American, any 'American' restaurant eatery without a speciality. It’s all bar food that’s SLIGHTLY better than actual stereotypical bar food (Chili’s, Cheddars, Logan’s etc) Hell, actual bar food is probably better honestly."
– ShadowsCheckmate
Tall Order
"You don’t want an 18 dollar cheeseburger with onion rings and 'our house made barbecue sauce' that you have to unhinge your jaw to eat?"
– guanwho
Sticking To The Basics Is A +
"There’s so many 'brew houses' and 'bistros' where you cant get just a regular cheeseburger. They’ll have a first time chef trying to be fancy but if you can’t make a plain cheeseburger made with upscale ingredients taste really f'king good I guarantee you your bacon jam’d, house made ketchup’d, unripe off season tomato, 3/4 lb patty on a brioche that doesn’t hold together just doesn’t taste that good. And what do you mean you don’t have pickles? The acid is there for a reason. As a veteran of the business it drives me insane."
– pullonmynards
Finally, we were going somewhere with the assignment in reference to naming a cuisine.
Real Italian
"I want to say Italian, but sometimes my italian friend will make something for me and I will eat myself stupid so I think it's probably just americanized italian that I'm not into."
– KittyLord0824
We Need A Re-Introduction
"I told my Italian friend I didn't like Italian food and she almost fell off her chair. I think I've eaten too much domesticated Italian and need some re-centering...for her sake."
– Limelight1981
I can't say with absolute certainty which particular cuisine is overrated, but I can say which type of food is overrated.
Under that scenario, I can say smoothies sold in chain restaurants like Jamba Juice are overrated.
People seem to think that just because they're having a fruit smoothie, it does their bodies good.
Most smoothies are pretty much fruit juices, not actual fruit with fiber, and are loaded with tons of sugar.
They may taste delicious, but that's because all of the added sugars tantalize repeat customers.
Seeing so many locations selling smoothies, in general, makes me question the nutritional value of many of their menu options. But, that's just me.
Curious to hear what some of these examples could be, Redditor DrDecane asked:
"What's the smallest thing that made someone unattractive for you?"
These Redditors found it challenging trying to make awkward romantic situations work.
The Silent Partner
"I once went on a date with a man who literally only spoke when responding to a question, answered as briefly and evasively as possible, and offered no reciprocating questions or remarks."
"At the end of a 45 minute struggle when we parted ways, while I was still trying to figure out why a person with such crippling social anxiety would subject himself to an interaction so far outside his ability to handle, he asked if we could see each other again sometime."
– willingisnotenough
Bad Taste
"They were a bad cook. They didn’t use SEASONINGS! It’s not an allergy thing either. They made good money too it’s not a poverty thing. Literally they liked plain chicken breast no seasonings and dry as bone. He made me a 'taco' that consisted of only unseasoned hamburger in a plain ( not even warm) taco shell 🌮. No salsa , no cheese, no cilantro.. greasy meat in a room temp shell."
"I’m not cooking 3 meals a day for 2 people for the rest of my life and I sure as sh*t ain’t eating his satanic creations."
– Winter-Ad1853
Annoying Catchphrase
"I dated a girl that had a catch phrase. I think she uses Reddit and the catch phrase is very distinct so on the off chance she sees this I won’t say it. It didn’t make a lot of sense, think if someone were to say 'If you’re there, then you’ve made it!'”
"Except she would say it in response to all sorts of random situations where it wasn’t at all appropriate. Whenever someone complimented her or me, if you talked about plans you had. Just randomly tossing it out on conversations."
"It became a turn off so quickly because I just could not wrap my head around why she said it so often. I got sick of hearing it from her. Legitimately one of the biggest reasons we broke up."
– validusrex
Some dates are just unkisseable.
Gross Deposits
"White stuff in the mouth corners."
– gardenomette
Exaggerated Masticating
"Went to dinner, they started chewing kinda loud with their mouth open. I have misophonia, so it's probably even worse for me when someone does that. Immediate no."
– Erenalianon
The Sloppy Friend
"My husband’s best friend can’t eat without getting food all over his face and making gross noises while chewing. He also is a SUPER loud drunk. And walks out of the bathroom and back to the conversation while still simultaneously zipping/buttoning his jeans and buckling his belt."
"Really sweet, funny guy and a wonderful friend to both of us. But I cannot even imagine dating him. It would probably end in murder."
– meegcabre
Food Flinger
"Jesus, I dated a guy who ate like a bird...there was food EVERYWHERE by the time the meal was done. Flinging it around somehow without me actually seeing him do it. A sneaky flinger. Picture a parakeet beak deep in a food tray filled with seeds. Just chucking the seeds. Dig, eat, fling, nope, don't like that one bite, fling over the shoulder..."
"Dude cringed when I brought out a beach towel and put it on my new couch before we started eating dinner. As I was spreading the towel, I looked him dead in the eyes and declared, 'if you damage my new, $2,500 couch, you are dead.'"
– 37-pieces-of-flair
Unsolicited texts and photos aren't always the way into one's heart.
Not The Way To Start The Morning
"He sent me selfies every morning with his good morning text."
– Witch_on_a_moped
Now What?
"Yesssssss. So awkward. Like, am I supposed to send one back? Every day?"
"We hadn’t even met in person yet."
– LeotiaBlood
It took a vacation for these Redditors to realize they were not with the kind of people they'd want to ever share a life with.
Realization During A Vacation
"On a trip to the islands. HE WAS STEALING BATHROOM TOWELS and putting all the sugar and tea packets into his bag. He was telling me to hurry and stock up as well😐 I asked him if he really planned to steal 'thousands of a** towels..' he stopped packing. This was an eye opener to me. I was turned off and we are no longer together.😎"
– Law_Yer7
Demeaning The Workers
"They went from an 11/10 to a 0/10 because they decided to berate and belittle the people who were helping us with our luggage as we got on and started our boat cruise. The rest of the trip was awkward af"
– WorstLuckChuck
At the risk of sounding shallow, years ago I briefly dated a tennis player whose winsome personality won my heart.
However, I noticed something really peculiar about him. Every time we were out walking, I noticed he had the tendency of leaning into me whenever I was on his left side while walking in tandem.
When I casually asked him about his frequent need for getting awkwardly close, he explained that his gait was affected by a condition that left him with one leg shorter than the other.
After we completed that day's rendezvous together, I subsequently ghosted him.
Okay, I fully admit my shallowness in that situation.
I'm not proud of it.
