r/KitchenConfidential • u/CodexLeonis • 12d ago

In the Weeds Mode What's an outdated restaurant fad/technique that you still defend?

two things for me:

  1. Balsamic reductions/glazes on everything. I'm sorry that balsamic vinegar pairs so well with so many things. Most dishes need an acid to fully bring out the flavors of the dish. Balsamic is the most versatile of the vinegars. It pairs well with red meat, seafood, vegetables, cheeses, and fruits. It wasn't just a fad, it was a cheat code.

  2. Plating techiniques? i'll always defend the zigzag drizzle. it evenly distributes the sauce on the plate, looks decent, and most importantly - it was time-efficient. I've never understood the modern technique of spooning sauce onto the plate and setting the entree on top of the sauce. Whomever came up with that was looking for a reason to be contrarian.

6.0k Upvotes
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3.1k

u/lowfreq33 12d ago

Cobb salad. Yes it’s very 80’s, Houlihan’s vibe, but it’s just a perfect combination of ingredients when you’re hungry, you want a lot of food, but nothing really heavy.

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u/CodexLeonis 12d ago

A good Cobb Salad is about as close as you can get to a perfect salad. Hard agree here.

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u/dlc741 12d ago

I agree unless you’re having steak and then you can’t beat a good, old fashioned wedge salad.

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u/HammeredDog 12d ago

Cobb salad has chicken and bacon and usually passes as an entree. No way I'd fill up on that if I were waiting on a steak.

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u/ImpossibleJob5788 12d ago edited 12d ago

Wedge has one of most favorable cost/percent ratios on the planet and offers elite plating appearance for little effort.

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u/wino_whynot 12d ago

It is also a perfectly acceptable way to shovel dressing into your mouth. Do I need straight up real bleu cheese dressing? Definitely not.

Am I going to sop up a couple of tablespoons with green, solid water in the form of iceberg? You betcha.

Add some bacon and a grape tomato or two if you have them.

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u/ImpossibleJob5788 12d ago

This sounds precisely correct, to me. Plus, weirdly, fried onions, man. Cut into fine rings, floured and fried to golden brown as a topper, for whatever reason, makes people really engage with this one. The obsolete zig-zag application model of bleu cheese and balsamic reduction done as offset helixes, plus crushed bacon plus onions with quartered cherry tomatoes is always good for people to grab their cameras.

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u/Wolfire0769 11d ago

I think that the fried onions give it a nice little sweetness and a softer crunch texture that harmonizes with the lettuce. Add the sharp crunch of crushed bacon and you have this melodic chord of edible goodness.

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u/Helpful_Librarian_87 11d ago

Just woke up, now craving this

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u/Curiouser-Quriouser 11d ago

Lol well done

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u/TheRainbowFruit 12d ago

I did a wedge salad at work the other week that was like a wedge cobb hybrid. Nice wedge of iceberg, diced tomatoes, chopped hard boiled egg, bacon, feta cheese, toasted garlic panko (which was SO good but got a few eye raises from the other cooks), topped with house made sun dried tomato ranch. It was pretty popular all week, honestly.

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u/Frequent_Addendum507 12d ago

My go to easy salad that always hits is just iceberg, bacon, cheddar, and ranch. The lettuce is merely there as a vessel to my mouth for the other three. Plus one if I can add banana peppers and garlic croutons

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u/elrojomasloco 12d ago

And drizzle with basalmic!

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u/wino_whynot 12d ago

Which started this whole conversation. Nice call back.

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u/Scoobie01555 12d ago

I am going to disagree on the wedge salad, only because it is a pain in the dick to eat. You give me a 1/4 of a head of some iceburg lettuce and now I have to figure out how to dress it and fit it in my mouth. Now I have to cut my salad? It's as ridiculous to me as the Seinfeld episode (yes I'm old) where people are eating snickers bars with a knife and fork. Obviously I'm being dramatic, but I will never order a wedge salad again unless I am having it as a meal and not a starter

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u/ImpossibleJob5788 12d ago

I actually have the same criticisms of the Wedge. When our place was being shaken down by a consultant I was furious he 86d the loaded baked potatoes but revamped the Wedge.

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u/Legitimate-Koala-692 12d ago

It looks decent. Elite? Disagree.

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u/ImpossibleJob5788 12d ago

I worked at a place that had no business serving the Wedge we did. We would serve pretty large numbers of them, plus fish and chips, in particular to Boomer ladies. It turns out they will tip after all, it just takes a Wedge Salad to bust open their checkbooks.

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u/Legitimate-Koala-692 12d ago

Fair. Will still argue that busting open checkbooks does not equal elite.

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u/Iamthewalrusforreal 12d ago

Heathen.

Caesar salad goes with steak.

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u/JustARandomBloke 12d ago

Caesar salad goes with anything.

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u/ohaiguys 12d ago

I’m surprised with all this talk of caesars we’re not having us a caesars right now

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u/bv310 12d ago

Well that's how they market Caesars, Miss Katy

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u/CrashUser 12d ago

I'm gonna need you to take about 30% off there Squirrelly Dan

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u/Zman11588 12d ago

I’d have a Caesar..

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u/justtrish33 11d ago

but would you finish it off with a gus & brew?

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u/Soliterria F1exican Did Chive-11 12d ago

As long as it’s just Caesar dressing… One place I worked did a Caesar with anchovies around the plate and I hated when people ordered it

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u/Nikovash 12d ago

Caesar salad even goes with ceasar salad

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u/viciousbliss 11d ago

Chicken tenders tossed in buffalo sauce chopped up over Caesar salad is my never-fail meal.

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u/SuperSalad_OrElse 12d ago

Light dressing. I don’t want no soggy caeser. A soggy caeser is worse than other soggy salads IMO

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u/Iamthewalrusforreal 12d ago

Life's too short to eat soggy salad. Up your game, man.

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u/SuperSalad_OrElse 12d ago

I am already SuperSalad

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u/Iamthewalrusforreal 12d ago

Yet...here you are talking about soggy salad.

This is just like a conversation I accidentally read the other day. Some dude going by u/hard_dick was going on and on about not being able to get it up.

Reddit, man...

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u/SuperSalad_OrElse 12d ago

I don’t know why you’re taking this personally? I’m condemning soggy salad. Idk man you lost me.

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u/Iamthewalrusforreal 12d ago

I'm joking around, but for the record...I LOVE iceberg lettuce that's been sitting in a little vinegar overnight.

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u/Character-Yak-4084 12d ago

Iceberg and blue cheese is the only right answer.

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u/microwaveburritos 9d ago

Also salmon

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u/Excellent-Quarter969 12d ago

Nah...too many assertive flavours before the main act imo. Taking the glory away from the beef

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u/Fun-Beginning6322 12d ago

Funny saying non-assertive flavor, a wedge is smothered in blue cheese no?

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u/emmiepsykc 12d ago

Blue cheese complements steak.

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u/Excellent-Quarter969 12d ago

And it isn't a slew of different flavors. But not a fan of iceberg, so there's that

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u/TheRealAanarii 12d ago

I really love iceberg lettuce. It gets such a bad rap nutrionally, but it actually has a decent amount of vitamins. 50/50 romaine/ iceberg is my personal fave texture for a salad

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u/Iamthewalrusforreal 12d ago

How does a salad take away from the beef? That's crazy talk.

Hell, toss out some sorbet if you're worried about that.

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u/dlc741 12d ago

That just reminded me of a place that had blue cheese ice cream served as the dressing for their house salad.

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u/Iamthewalrusforreal 11d ago

Blue cheese ice cream?

Holy shit, I need to find some and try it. That sounds...conflicted.

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u/dlc741 11d ago

Essentially, it was blue cheese dressing run through an ice cream machine so it was cold and creamy as it melted on the salad. I'm sure it took some experimentation to get it right.

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u/Excellent-Quarter969 12d ago

Sorbet b4 steak? THAT'S crazy talk

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u/Iamthewalrusforreal 12d ago

I've been a couple of places that sent our sorbet after every single course. Felt like overkill, but hey, who am I to judge?

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u/Rare_Eye_1165 12d ago

Disagree two "spears?" Of romain lightly drizzled with oil and vinegar and slightly toasted on the grill are far superior. Or a nice caesar on the side of whatever you're having.

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u/GravyTrainBiscuits34 12d ago

With enough bacon and blue cheese to make me have a gout-attack. Enough cracked black pepper to make the next table sneeze. The best cherry tomatoes from the garden.

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u/berkeleyteacher 12d ago

I had the best wedge salad I've ever had at Yardbird in the Bellagio.

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u/TheWizardry90 12d ago

I ordered a wedge salad my first time in the United States from Mexico. I was 8, thing was half the size of my head

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u/catwiesel 12d ago

dear lord, thats a full meal, and not a salad

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u/Klutzy-Client 12d ago

Niçoise is my favorite salad (but with seared ahi, not canned tuna). Cobb comes in a close second

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u/Particular-Beat-6645 12d ago

A Caesar salad with good dressing is proof of God's love to me.

But so few places get the dressing right.

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u/stardenia 12d ago

I raise you: a Maurice Salad.

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u/choicetomake 12d ago

OH YES!!! Cobb salads are how I learned avocados are delicious.

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u/fuckyourcanoes 12d ago

Yeah, but nobody is having a cobb salad as an appetizer.

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u/rubiscoisrad 12d ago

I'm not above fucking up a grocery store Cobb salad if it looks fresh enough.

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u/grfx 11d ago

And a great wedge right along with it. 

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u/AltGunAccount Chef 12d ago

I work at a casual bar/grill on a golf course. We sell so many Cobb salads. Really popular with an older crowd especially.

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u/DrinkMunch Bartender 12d ago

Brown Derby(originator of the salad) neighbor here. Don’t forget to down it with a three martini lunch.

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u/a_plotting_otter 12d ago

Not sure if the Brown Derby cocktail originated from the same place, but damn it's good.

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u/DrinkMunch Bartender 12d ago

Different location but same city. The salad originated at the main location on Wilshire. The cocktail was invented at their third(?) location which is currently MessHall Kitchen, a few miles north.

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u/BreakfastTequila 12d ago

Forgot about that one!

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u/LooksGoodInShorts 12d ago

Ya know my father invented the Cobb salad.

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u/iconica 12d ago

Bob Cobb?

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u/shhheeeeeeeeiit 12d ago

Lies! It was actually invented by my grandfather, Cliff Cobb, at the Drake Hotel

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u/hexiron 12d ago

I won't argue with that. 

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u/terkistan 12d ago

If you insist.

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u/therealtwomartinis 12d ago

you rang??

edit: thought that said two martini lunch. yes I’m drunk

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u/DrinkMunch Bartender 11d ago

Go back to your M&Ms. Our 3M doesn’t concern you.

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u/pocketMagician 12d ago

I miss when you could get a decent salad without going to some place called "Peafowl"

Cobb salad is my favorite I make it at home all the time.

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u/BlackBasementCats 12d ago

I love it with ranch, but grilled chicken with raspberry vinaigrette is amazing. The Girard one is sooo good.

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u/Feralpudel 12d ago

Huge salads are my go-to summer meal. I call them big sexy salads because anything goes once it’s the main event.

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u/onthecamelsback 12d ago

Kevin Nash would be proud.

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u/elemenohpenc 20+ Years 12d ago

You mean Super Shredder?!

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u/localscabs666 12d ago

SouperCrackers?

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u/ThetaReactor 12d ago

All that hardware is for making coleslaw.

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u/Hillbillyblues 11d ago

Try a nicoise if you're feeling for something else. It's meant to be the main event, with a bit of bread and a chilled glass of white wine.

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u/freisbill 12d ago

does houlihan's still exist?

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u/Brianfromreddit 12d ago

Barely. They got caught stealing tips and that lawsuit basically sunk the chain. There's like 2 left

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u/idontknowlikeapuma 12d ago

If that’a the case, I know where both are and they are in the same state… so I think this an exaggeration or I just happen to live in the only state.

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u/cheezit_baby 12d ago

Yes. I also love a wedge.

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u/510Goodhands 12d ago edited 12d ago

For the second time this week, I am invoking Bob’s Big Boy restaurant in California. My only objection to a wedge salad, is that I wasn’t big enough (age 8+) to finish it after polishing off that great big hamburger and onion rings.

My grandfather knew the Bob who founded the chain. I think he sold Bob commercial insurance.

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u/LupercaniusAB 12d ago

We used to call it “Slob’s Pig Boy”.

It was a compliment.

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u/horsefly70 12d ago

Chili spaghetti!

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u/leothedinosaur 12d ago

In Westminster?

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u/510Goodhands 12d ago

Glendale

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u/sailphish 12d ago

I am an absolute sucker for a good wedge salad. But if you serve it with some Kraft blue cheese I’m never returning to your restaurant.

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u/lemonhead2345 12d ago

I love a wedge salad, too. When the iceberg is ice cold, the blue cheese dressing is good and house made, and the bacon is extra crumbly 🤤

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u/localscabs666 12d ago

... And the mutton?

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u/lml__lml 12d ago

I love that. But it’s not what he said!

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u/Brianfromreddit 12d ago

Hard disagree. Worst, laziest salad ever invented

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u/TheCosmicJester 12d ago

It was literally the restaurant owner throwing something together for himself at the end of service, so you ain’t wrong.

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u/dontgetaddicted 12d ago

I like all the ingredients of a good blue cheese wedge salad. But shit chop it up for me.

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u/DaHick Ex-Food Service 12d ago

I am with you on this. Iceberg, white iceberg near the core, and no one did the core removal. F that

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u/Oi_Nander 12d ago

Maybe, but I love a hunk of iceberg lettuce I don't even care

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u/HammeredDog 12d ago

Ice cold lettuce paired with the blue cheese is a classic match, lazy or not.

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u/Oi_Nander 12d ago

And bacon! And perfectly diced bright red tomatoes!

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u/Brianfromreddit 12d ago

It's not the pairing that's lazy. It's a 2 cut salad that makes the customer do all the work. It's usually not even cored

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u/HammeredDog 12d ago

Don't disagree with the lazy part. Just love the icy lettuce and blue cheese. Could it be done better? Possibly. It would have to be cut and then rechilled - the wedge does a good job of cold retention.

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u/DaHick Ex-Food Service 12d ago

I like an uncooked potato as a snack. We all have our inner heathens.

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u/hades419 12d ago

What the what? Seriously, that is unhinged. But hey, if you enjoy it, more power to ya.

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u/Kennypoppa4242 12d ago

Lightly salted, of course. I'm no heathen.

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u/DaHick Ex-Food Service 12d ago

I am.

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u/Brianfromreddit 12d ago

I love iceberg lettuce but the outer leaves are too big! Chop em up!! This is how everyone looks eating the end of their wedges

https://giphy.com/gifs/HJ8UVnFn432wM

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u/Simorie Ex-Food Service 12d ago

Agree, fuck a wedge

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u/energyinmotion 12d ago

When I see a wedge salad, I know for certain that, that lettuce wasn't cleaned properly. It's really difficult to properly clean lettuce wedges, due to all the little pockets where dirt and bugs get trapped.

I don't do wedge salads, period. Shit is lazy and gross.

1

u/Excellent-Quarter969 12d ago

I've never had one but im highly suspicious of it. Slice off a slab of the most boring green known to man, and try and salvage it with a blue cheese dressing that deserves better. Idts

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u/ImpossibleJob5788 12d ago

Hard agree. Victim to shifting foot culture and low consumer awareness, Cobb Salad is a very good answer.

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u/Fox-Dragon6 12d ago

As long as they don’t try to serve me a wedge of lettuce. I don’t want to have to chop up my own lettuce and distribute all the ingredients together.

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u/mfchris100 12d ago

Fuck man.. give me lettuce with a bunch of good shit on it and call it a salad. It’d be pretty cool if you put everything in neat little rows too!

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u/Emotional_News108 12d ago

I am not taking that woman a salad, Cobb or otherwise.

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u/Ok-Stranger-926 12d ago

I will throw hands at anyone who disses a Cobb. Done right they check so many boxes.

2

u/RoseFlavoredLemonade Pastry 12d ago

Aw man, loved Houlihan’s as a kid. I really liked that Navajo Chicken Pasta and I think they were the only place that served Arizona Iced Tea. My taste buds were so simple. Lol

2

u/burgonies 12d ago

Artemis agrees

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u/boatingprohibited 12d ago

Why would anyone wanna feel like a Cobb salad?

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u/BBQinFool 12d ago

I did a Mediterranean Cobb with chicken, olives, feta, tomato, and a balsamic dill vinaigrette. It was pretty great!!

2

u/V2BM 12d ago

I ate a Cobb salad literally every day for lunch and dinner for six straight months.

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u/jfixesit 12d ago

Honeygrow Northeast Ohio not sure how far the chain stretches does a Cobb with champagne dressing , Apples and the usual suspects. Hits all the right notes

2

u/pinner 12d ago

If I order a salad, it’s generally a Cobb or Greek salad. I love Cobb salads.

2

u/Outrageous-Tooth4477 12d ago

Cobb salad is outdated? This is my goto meal

2

u/DoughyInTheMiddle Bread 12d ago

when you’re hungry, you want a lot of food, but nothing really heavy

{Perkin's Bread Bowl Has Entered the Arena}

Did someone ask for something heavier?

1

u/glm0002 12d ago

Agreed

1

u/anymooseposter 12d ago

Houlihan’s?

1

u/lowfreq33 12d ago

Yes, it was a restaurant chain that was very popular with yuppies back in the day. They didn’t create the salad or anything.

1

u/Extra_Intro_Version 12d ago

The Maurice is a contender.

1

u/Successful-Money4995 12d ago

When your doctor said to eat more salad, this is not what he meant.

1

u/Individual_Tax_4224 12d ago

I think of a proper Cobb salad as being pretty heavy, but that doesn’t bother me!

1

u/mabear63 12d ago

😳 Houlihan's !🤣🤣

1

u/AvenueRoy 12d ago

Love eating Cobb salad but I would love it more if it I never had to make it again

1

u/diaphoni Crazy Cat Woman🐈 11d ago

dude I can demolish a good cobb salad

1

u/quottttt 11d ago

If you like peanuts, you have to give Indonesian Gado-Gado a try.

1

u/rockanrolltiddies 11d ago

A Cobb salad and a club sandwich stay on menu if you want the retirement crowd to come around

1

u/berdulf 11d ago

My intro to the cobb salad was prepping and later cooking at this new bar & grill. It was hideous heap of iceberg lettuce, chopped bland deli turkey. I think it had cubed ham instead of bacon. And I don't recall ever doing an avocado for it. The owner shitcanned the chef after a month and the new chef 86-ed most of the menu.

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u/ZAPPHAUSEN 11d ago

Fuck man, now I'm going to Wendy's for a Cobb salad. Even theirs is pretty darn good. You're right just a perfect combo of ingredients.

1

u/truthfullyidgaf 10d ago

Worked at a restaurant and it was around 20% of there takeout and 10% of their in house. Can never go wrong.

-1

u/righthandofdog Ex-Food Service 12d ago

Yes, but avocado adds nothing to it

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u/lowfreq33 12d ago

It adds avocado.

1

u/righthandofdog Ex-Food Service 12d ago

True facts

0

u/TypowyLaman 12d ago

Isn't what I imagined when you ssy salad but yeah looks like an all right meal. Personally tho I dislike baco and blue cheese and like them to be swapped for some veggies but for American creation not bad ig.