Several chefs reveal the starters that you absolutely must avoid ordering at the restaurant, at the risk of disappointing your taste buds.
At the restaurant, the starter is the first impression that punctuates the rest of the meal. Whether it’s an out-of-season item, a popular dish, or one you could easily make yourself at home, here are the appetizers best avoided when eating out to avoid disappointment, according to American chefs who are experts in the subject, interviewed by the American gastronomic site Eat This, Not That.
Avoid any entree based on out-of-season vegetables
Not all hors d’oeuvres can be eaten all year round. Chef Brian Motyka, from the restaurant Longman & Eagle of Chicago, revealed to the that one should always avoid ordering “any type of vegetable dish that is not in season”, such as, for example, the Caprese salad in the middle of winter or the Hollandaise sauce with asparagus in full summer.
“Products will always taste better when they are local and in season,” he warns. In the fall, for example, the chef recommends ordering, instead of a Caprese salad, a starter such as Motyka’s delicata squash with goat’s cheese and salsa macha, or apples and endives with a vinaigrette. with apple butter and manchego.
Watch out for seafood and charcuterie boards
Executive Chef Grant Morgan, of 97 West Kitchen & Bar of the Drover Hotel in Fort Worth, meanwhile advised, “If you can’t see the ocean or it’s not a restaurant that specializes in fresh seafood, I would skip these entrees because there’s has other great offerings on the menu and your stomach will thank you”. If you are in the mountains, you will have understood that seafood will not have the same taste quality and the same freshness! And beware of the risk of food poisoning! It is good to remember that just like fruits and vegetables, seafood respects a certain seasonality.
Seafood to avoid in particular are pre-opened oysters and shrimp cocktails. “These oysters often stay in a cool environment for a while. You can tell they are not shucked fresh when you squeeze the lemon on them and they don’t move. Pre-shucked oysters can be bitter and coarse” , explains Eric Duchene, executive chef at JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa.
The charcuterie board is to be avoided
As for the shrimp cocktail, for chef Yulissa Acosta of Hearth ’61 in Arizona, it’s a starter that’s usually lacking in flavor, and the “texture of the shrimp often ends up being too rubbery”. In addition, “a traditional cocktail sauce is usually associated with it, consisting only of horseradish and ketchup”.
The last restaurant menu item to absolutely avoid is the charcuterie board. Chief Brian Hatfield of Surveyor in Thompson Washington D.C. explains that “the trendy charcuterie platter is almost always overpriced and may contain mostly produce that you can find pre-prepared at your local grocery store (…) unless it’s of a specialized establishment which you know manages its own production internally”. As you can see, these popular appetizers can make you miss something much tastier!