Travel destinations where the food disappointed (Amsterdam, Spain, person, Texas)

[Dane_in_LA]

All right, reality check:

• There are those who dislike commonly used ingredients in regional cuisines. If you do not like garlic and olive oil, Mediterranean cuisines will not be for you. That's hardly a reflection on the quality of the food to be found there. I never had a liking for ballet, and I'd be bored senseless if I were to watch the Bolstoi perform - but I'd never say the Bolstoi was disappointing. It's just something that my personal taste keeps me from appreciating.
• Except for metropolises like London, New York, Paris etc., one shouldn't criticize a country's cooking unless you're eating the regional dishes. Someone complained about the steaks in Paris, and they have a point: French cooking does not do steaks well. That's because - let's face it - you don't spend a decade working your way up from the lowest ranks in a Michelin kitchen learning how to grill a steak. The quality of the cut is the ceiling for how good of a steak you can serve. French cuisine is traditionally about elevating the ingredients. Someone posted about how French cooking was about covering up bad ingredients - it's not true, but not entirely false either. At its best, it's about taking basic ingredients and creating something not at all basic.

I've had amazing meals for little money in out-of-the-way auberges in France - there was a Lapin au moutarde somewhere in Provence that has never been eclipsed. Simple country dish, executed extremely well.

[Zambon]

Originally Posted by lieqiang

Obviously personal preference plays a big part here, two people can eat the same thing and have very different opinions. I'd be interested to know where you went expecting a greater culinary experience than you had.

I'd say my #1 disappointment is France.

It isn't bad by any means, but compared to the reputation as a foodie destination and I find food in France quite underwhelming. I think my favorite thing in France was the cheeses, especially when you're at a joint with a cheese cart and cheese person who proudly explains the history or nuances of it. The worst for me was steaks, I don't like the way they prepare them in France and eventually gave up trying to find a good steak.

I've spent time working in France so been lucky enough to have locals (coworkers) taking us out and a fat budget since expense account, but still think meh it's alright. They'd take us somewhere and talk about how this town is known for this amazing (onion soup, beef stew, whatever) and I just didn't get it. Good enough, but nothing that would get me emailing my wife back home about or planning to try again.

I agree about the food scene in Paris. It really didn't even come close to living up to the hype.

Saigon was another city that really let me down in terms of food. Vietnamese food is great, and Hanoi had lots of great options. In Saigon, my wife and I struggled to find anyplace that we enjoyed eating at.

[Zambon]

Originally Posted by stan4

Italy.

Blecch.

This can't be a serious post. Italy had some of the best food that I've ever had, and everyone that I know who has been there agrees. Great food in Italy is in such abundance that you don't even need to look for it. It is everywhere.

[stan4]

Originally Posted by soursop

This can't be a serious post. Italy had some of the best food that I've ever had, and everyone that I know who has been there agrees. Great food in Italy is in such abundance that you don't even need to look for it. It is everywhere.

"Most people " like all sorts of food I find boring and/or offensive. Boring is just as bad as offensive.

I cannot stand American Italian food one bit. Cannot stand it. Cannot stand the spices used. The cheeses offend me. And I am not someone who craves pasta. Oregano should be taken out and shot and left to die.

But I knew that when I went to Italy, Italian food there would have little to no resemblance to the crap that is made in this country and served up as "Italian."

And there was little resemblance. The food was fairly diverse, always fresh, and I still did not enjoy it one bit. The wine? Boring and uninspired, as well. The coffee I did enjoy. Venice was the worst pit of despair foodwise.

Contrast this to France...where I could not find a bad meal if I tried wherever I went in the country.

I don't eat at chains or whatever. Homes, small local joints, etc.

[stan4]

Originally Posted by Dane_in_LA

All right, reality check:
[list][*]There are those who dislike commonly used ingredients in regional cuisines. If you do not like garlic and olive oil, Mediterranean cuisines will not be for you. That's hardly a reflection on the quality of the food to be found there. I never had a liking for ballet, and I'd be bored senseless if I were to watch the Bolstoi perform - but I'd never say the Bolstoi was disappointing. It's just something that my personal taste keeps me from appreciating.
ll.

Sure.

But...

The title of this thread is which country did we go to and were disappointed in the food. Fully expected to be served great food in Italy. And I was disappointed.

When I spent the summer in Germany, I was not expecting great food, and I was not surprised. Nor was I disappointed.

That in no way means that someone else couldn't go to Italy or Germany and taste the food and enjoy it thoroughly and rave about it.

I was not one of those people.

And this is not in any way related to your post (it's just related to the subject), but the idea that something is more delicious because it's more authentic is asinine.
Go spend a summer in a Mexican village eating fresh, authentic food, and then come here and make ridiculous remarks like that. Great weight loss plan.

[justanokie]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

My son and GF went to Italy and he hated the food. I have never heard of anyone hating the food in Italy before. He thought it tasted like Chef Boyardee.

Hard to take this seriously.

Originally Posted by 509

Really, awful. How could they drink the stuff!! Ok, it was 1976, and that Judgement of Paris.....was no surprise to those of us that grew up in California. Remember they were comparing cheap wines from California to expensive wines from France....and the French still lost!!

I did finally find a bottle of French wine a couple of years ago that was not only drinkable, but worth drinking! I guess the French are finally learning how to make decent wines.

I am certainly no francophil and in general steer clear of that country but this is just ridiculous. Next you will be telling me that compared to California the Greeks are just figuring out how to make olive oil and the Italians are just figuring out how to make pasta.

I suppose Italian wines suck too

Originally Posted by ohhwanderlust

Italy.

If you don't like dairy or garlic, you're out of luck. I don't like either of those things.

Not true at all. plenty of dishes without either. In fact most have neither.

Originally Posted by Dane_in_LA

I'll say it: If you failed to locate a good meal in France or Italy, it's entirely on you.

Sure, I've had disappointing meals in either country. I've had disappointing meals in every country I've been. But the high notes, the memorable meals, seem to focus on those two countries.

true. very true. I would say my most memorable meals were had in Italy and Singapore though.

Originally Posted by ohhwanderlust

Since I don't like dairy or garlic and my husband doesn't like tomatos/aubergine/olives, and neither of us much care for pork, Italy is probably the worst country for us, culinary-wise. (If you exclude foreign restaurants, which I mainly patronised while there...ate a lot of involtini primavera there lol).

You could also say...

I don't like rice or soy and my husband doesn't like cabbage, greens or carrots so Chinese food sucks.

I don't like lentils or curry and my husband doesn't like chickpeas, cumin or corriander so Indian food sucks.

seriously.

Originally Posted by Dane_in_LA

All right, reality check:

• There are those who dislike commonly used ingredients in regional cuisines. If you do not like garlic and olive oil, Mediterranean cuisines will not be for you. That's hardly a reflection on the quality of the food to be found there. I never had a liking for ballet, and I'd be bored senseless if I were to watch the Bolstoi perform - but I'd never say the Bolstoi was disappointing. It's just something that my personal taste keeps me from appreciating.
• Except for metropolises like London, New York, Paris etc., one shouldn't criticize a country's cooking unless you're eating the regional dishes. Someone complained about the steaks in Paris, and they have a point: French cooking does not do steaks well. That's because - let's face it - you don't spend a decade working your way up from the lowest ranks in a Michelin kitchen learning how to grill a steak. The quality of the cut is the ceiling for how good of a steak you can serve. French cuisine is traditionally about elevating the ingredients. Someone posted about how French cooking was about covering up bad ingredients - it's not true, but not entirely false either. At its best, it's about taking basic ingredients and creating something not at all basic.

I've had amazing meals for little money in out-of-the-way auberges in France - there was a Lapin au moutarde somewhere in Provence that has never been eclipsed. Simple country dish, executed extremely well.

excellent post.

Originally Posted by stan4

And there was little resemblance. The food was fairly diverse, always fresh, and I still did not enjoy it one bit. The wine? Boring and uninspired, as well. The coffee I did enjoy. Venice was the worst pit of despair foodwise.

Venice does have bad food...in general. The coffee is good. But the wine is bad? Not sure if serious.

Originally Posted by stan4

But...

The title of this thread is which country did we go to and were disappointed in the food. Fully expected to be served great food in Italy. And I was disappointed.

And this is not in any way related to your post (it's just related to the subject), but the idea that something is more delicious because it's more authentic is asinine.

But...that comment was about the poster who rattled of a list of typical Italian ingredients they didn't like and went on to say how crappy the food was in Italy. It wasn't really directed at you.

If you didn't have good food in Italy its entirely your fault. You either don't like Italian food or are basing your opinion on an extremely short stay in highly touristy areas.

I don't care where you are, you get into highest tourist densities and you will find bad food. Its dumb to say NYC doesn't have good food when you spent 2 days there camped out in Times Square in Guy Fieri's craphole of restaurant.

Just because its authentic doesn't make it more delicious. I don't recall anyone suggesting that. Its just as wrong to assume that authentic can't be better also. There are some ingredients that simply aren't as good when you grow them in a different climate on the other side of the planet or try to ship them that far.

[dmlandis]

We were in Morocco earlier this year and although good - not very varied - tangine (stew) and couscous and hard bread.

Here in north China - food is bland unlike Sichuan or Hunan. But anything Cantonese is great. It's gotten better the longer we stay although I don't think toad is something I'd try again -(

[Greysholic]

^Yeah Cantonese food is definitely the best out of all Chinese branches.

[Brave New World]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

1) When I have several hundred to blow on a meal, I will take your recommendations.

2) If I want to eat Cajun and Creole food, why in God's name would I go to London, UK when I can get far more authentic and better prepared foods in the six parishes that make up Acadiana in Louisiana? It makes NO SENSE to me.

You can please yourself what you eat and where you eat, I really don't care.

London has restaurants and cusine representing every culture and you have to be moronic to pretend the best you can get is boiled peas from a can. I think anyone with one iota of intelligence can find a decent restaurant in London, obviously you couldn't - enough said.

Best Restaurants in London - Thrillist

Eat your way around the world - in London - Telegraph

Around the world in 80 plates: London's best international dishes

London's best street food - Markets - Time Out London

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Travel destination with terrible food? My in-laws!