Friday, March 5, 2010

food at home..

Isn't it the pits how you can never recreate restaurant food? Even the simplest things are nearly impossible to make at home. You know, such as these things:

  • Salads: You can never make delicious salads like some restaurants. Even though you might have all the ingredients, it doesn't matter. And, somehow, the dressing never tastes the same. Especially ranch dressing. It always tastes different at home.. in a bad way.
  • Sandwiches: Probably the most pathetic and embarrassing one. You can never make a sandwich like Subway does. It's remarkable how we will pay more money for a turkey sandwich, when we have all the ingredients in our fridge. But it's because their turkey sandwich tastes DELECTABLE!
  • Fish: Unless you're, like, a native of a coastal city, it's hard to cook fish. Once, I tried to cook an entire fillet of salmon on the grill. Mark liked it, but it tasted grody to me. Never again will I attempt to cook fish. Especially when it never, ever turns out like restaurant fish does!
  • Baked potatoes: Sigh. One of the saddest ones. Even if you've got cheese, butter, sour cream, etc., it never comes out like the restaurant potatoes. I really love the Red Lobster ones, because they're covered in salt. In fact, I hate homemade baked potatoes. They never taste as good as ones from Raffertys or some other great restaurant!
  • Chips & Salsa: OMG. Somehow, I can devour chips & salsa in any Mexican restaurant. But, if I buy it at Kroger and eat it in my living room, I can only barely eat it. I just pick at it and think, "This tastes nothing like restaurant salsa." And it is so sad. Why can't they bottle & sell restaurant salsa? WHY?


There are zillions more. No wonder our culture loves to eat out.. because we can't recreate the food at home! What have you tried to make at home, but failed miserably?!





15 comments:

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  2. I second that. I really love my chicken fingers, and so does Mark, but they don't taste like restaurant chicken fingers. I don't know how they do it..

    And we never really ever eat garlic bread, but I see your point!

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  3. So funny! I disagree with *almost* all of these! (But probably because Chris and I don't like eating out.)

    -Our salads at home are SO MUCH BETTER than those from restaurants. BUT we prefer spinach to lettuce. And our salads only consist of spinach, really fresh Nature Sweet vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, and organic salad dressing. (Our current dressing: http://www.marzetti.com/products/marzetti/detail.php?bc=30&cid=1&pid=998) Our salads are simple, but we enjoy them so much more than salads from a restaurant.

    -We make THE BOMB sandwiches. For real. When Chris and I first met, we used to buy all the good products from Kroger and make and eat home made sandwiches ALL THE TIME. YUM! We actually were reminiscing about this on Monday when we were at Kroger!

    -I don't like seafood. But I agree here. The seafood I've had from restaurants *does* taste better than home made. And I gag at seafood. I have only had *ONE* bite of fish my entire life that I actually enjoyed until I got the fishy aftertaste, and it was from a restaurant in Sarasota, FL. Right by the beach. :)

    -Potatoes are my favorite food. Except when they're baked. I don't like baked potatoes from anywhere.

    -I could eat chips and (organic) salsa at home any day of the week. There's a really yummy organic salsa that is way better than restaurant salsa, IMO!

    Your food posts are always so fun! :D

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  4. PS I second the chicken fingers!

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  5. OMG I know what you mean and it's so annoying! We don't buy salad kits anymore either because they don't taste the same! Mike always tells me too "you can make a sandwich at home" uhm no it will never be as delicious as a Subway sandwich..

    French fries don't even taste the same either when we try to make them here. Or lasagna for that matter. I'm just really picky when it comes to foods.

    One amazingly delicious mexican restaurant from home actually does sell their salsa at their restaurant. I would always buy a lot when I went in omg its so good.. Basically next time you go out just ask for some togo the worst thing they can say is no..

    And I used to work at a bakery/restaurant where we made our own ranch. Now no ranch dressing will ever compare and I have no way of buying the supplies to make my own :(

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  6. HA @ all of you. I like a lot of stuff in my salad. The best salads in the world come from Raffertys, where they put.. tomatoes (DICED!!!!!!), potato sticks, boiled egg pieces, cucumber, chicken fingers, and .. i can't remember what else. But it is SO good! We had salad last night w/ our tacos, and we only buy the spinach stuff. Well, I think. It's the dark green and purple lettuce. Whatever that is. And we put diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, and Hidden Valley Ranch. And.. Mark loved it.. but me?? I didn't eat it at all. But maybe that's because of my current condition.

    The thing about Subway is, I am sure, the bread and the shredded lettuce. Those two things really make or break a sandwich. I really like the thick bread.

    And and and I hate fish too. I love shrimp, but that's about it. I haaaaaaate salmon and trout and all of that :\ EW. But I do love tuna fish sandwiches!

    and right now, chips & salsa sounds disgusting...

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  7. ps. Britt: I *TOTALLY* vote for more recipe posts from you & chris! especially if you wanna do a sandwich post. Seriously. I love your food posts!!! PLEASE?!? :) :) :)

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  8. EW! You have the field greens. YUCK! Ha. Chris loves it. I can't stand the purple stuff. It's SO bitter. So I just like spinach, and that is ALL. Plus, spinach actually has a taste, and lettuce doesn't! (To us, anyway.) Don't get me wrong, I *like* lettuce, I just think spinach is so much better and would choose it over lettuce ANY day! (Plus, lettuce has, like, zero nutritional value. Spinach has lots!) We get spinach instead of lettuce on our sandwiches from Subway, too! YUM!

    A sandwich post would be so fun! I'll definitely make it a point to make that one of our dinners on an upcoming menu! :) Oh, and I LOVE bread. Seriously. ALL bread. So that may be why I like the sandwiches we make so much, even though it's just on sliced bread and not the "good" bread from Subway. Ha!

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  9. NO WAY!! OMG!!!!! you are SO RIGHT! i *DID* think my salad tasted bitter! IT WAS THE PURPLE LETTUCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGGH. Thanks for clearing that up!!!! Now I will know to avoid it for SURE. Mark tried to get me to get the jumbo bag of the cheapo lettuce (like the kind you would get in a cafeteria) with 0 nutritional value. I was like "um, it's so cheap because it's not healthy at all!) and the lettuce was nearly white! :\ I really like spinach too, so I will have to remember to get that next time!

    On a separate note, did you know that if you leave a bag of lettuce in your fridge for too long, it will turn to dark brown liquid? Kinda like car oil. I know first hand :) EW!

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  11. LOL at the lettuce car oil! How funny! We almost never have lettuce in the house, unless my mom buys it, so I didn't know that!

    And Dole is our favorite brand of Spinach, but there's a brand at Kroger called Pop Eye (YES, with HIM on the bag!) and it's pretty good, too! It lasts a little longer than Dole, and is usually cheaper. BUT you have to get a good bag. Sometimes they're not so fresh. :/

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  12. I really like the way Jason and I make seafood at home, but that is only when we make it in the oven. I don't like it on our grill. But I definitely agree with the salads! There is nothing like a Rafferty's salad.

    And you said, "My current condition" in an above comment??? Is there a baby Cox?

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  13. You are so, so right about all of the above! The one restaurant meal I've been able to make successfully at home is teriyaki chicken with fried rice (thank you, pre-made sauces from the grocery store). Everything else, though, has been a big FAIL. Chicken tenders, cheeseburgers, pasta.. you name it. It's all better when you eat out (and don't have to clean up after!).

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  14. I agree! :) Though I *like* the food I can make at home. (Sandwiches, salads, etc.), and they're really good, but NEVER as good as restaurant food. Oh great, not I want a sandwich or salad. Hmm. Oh, and I agree with Brittney. I LOVE spinach leaves. By far the best kind of lettuce. Oh yes. :) oh, and "current condition"? what ever could you mean? hehe.

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