Does EVERYTHING have to be spicy?

[tvguy]

ON MY SOAPBOX

Hot and spicy is the fad in food these days, and I expect Hot Wings, and Blackened chicken, and salsa, and items on the menu with chipolte or jalapeno, or cayenne in the description to be hot, but I've gotten some meals ruined by spice.
Meals in recent months I have had ruined by spice:
1)A broiled ribeye
2) Sauteed shrimp
3) Fettuccine Alfredo.
4) Mashed Potatoes

Salt and pepper, garlic, and onion I expected. Not HOT
So restaurants, but a warning in the menu if you make it hot, if not, don't make it hot.

 

[disneyfans95]

I love hot and spicy food, but they should be clear on the menu so people are aware and can steer clear of it.

The hot mashed potatoes are a new one though. Have not seen those around.

 

[DawnM]

To me those aren't ruined, they just save me the bother of having to put it on myself!

Sorry they aren't to your liking. I would make sure and ask all waiters what spice level things are if you know you don't want any spice.

Dawn

 

[disykat]

Spice is such a personal taste it's hard to quantify. I have several friends who think their tongues are burning eating mild taco sauce, regular bbq sauce etc.

It's hard for me to imagine mashed potatoes being too spicy, but my guess is too much white pepper for your liking?

 

[bicker]

There are a few things going on.

First, taste-buds degrade as people age, and so people tend to develop and ever-increasing taste for spice as they get older.

Second, apart from the effect of aging, an increasing number of consumers actually are developing an strong appreciation for spicy food.

Third, and most importantly, spice tends to overshadow mediocre food ingredients, and inexpert food preparation, which have both been prompted by consumer demand for lower prices.

 

[bicker]

To me those aren't ruined, they just save me the bother of having to put it on myself!

In many cases, that's not really an option. Many spices need to be cooked into a preparation (rather than just sprinkled on top after-the-fact), and therefore unless each portion is made individually, having it "one way or the other" isn't practical (especially in the context of the third item I listed earlier).

 

[pixiewings71]

I would have sent them back and asked them to be prepared again with less spice this time. I love spice but not in mashed potatoes thank you. lol Spice is a very individual thing but maybe there was someone new cooking and they made a mistake on your item. I know DD14 made DBF and I dinner one night, she made potato wedges and added some cayenne, well they were super hot, so hot we couldn't even eat them so we tossed them, she didn't understand what she did wrong because she followed the recipe. But it was very easy for her to make them too spicy for us to eat. Perhaps it's the same type of situation for you.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We don't eat spicy and we ask for EVERYTHING to be unseasoned. You have to ask about everything on the plate. Meat, fries, veggies, salads, etc.

If they cannot be ordered unseasoned we pick something else. If there is nothing to order that can be unseasoned to order then we leave and never go back.

Now we do "know" the places that are preseasoned and do try it on occasion to see how it is. Some of it can can tolerate and some places we cannot.

I have started to order sauces on the side because they just drown the food in them. I don't mind some sauce, but the drowning of the food in it so we can see that you have shrunken the meal to nothing is stupid.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I agree with the OP!!!!!
Either make make it clear "seasoned with spices and pepper"
Or leave the seasoning up to the patron...

Salt and pepper are usually on the table.
So WHY add a completely insane and sickening amount of black pepper to every single item on the menu, before it is served.

"Blackened" dishes
"Peppered" this or that... Okay, I get it... no problem.
Even if they were to state openly.... 'Mashed potatoes with a 'kick''. (which should be optional)

But, other than that, I find it completely disrespectful to push that level of pepper and spices on every single dish to every single patron.

Once, on a kid's chicken fingers and fries, (yes for little kids) the fries were covered in so much hot RED pepper that I swear it could cause a contact burn... I immediately sent it back to be replaced with NO apology.

 

[tvguy]

It's hard for me to imagine mashed potatoes being too spicy, but my guess is too much white pepper for your liking?

Nope. A liberal springling of Cayenne. If it said Cayenne Mashed Potatoes, fine, it just said mashed potatoes.
I could have handled white pepper. White pepper isn't hot to me. My late MIL used to put so much black pepper in mashed potatoes, they turned grey. But she was a smoker, and over salted and peppered everything.
We don't even have a salt or pepper shaker on our table. Bad side of that is, my doctor keeps telling me to cut the salt to get my blood pressure down.....problem is, we buy fresh meat, fruit and veggies, and don't salt when we cook either!

 

[MushyMushy]

Yes, this is something that's been bothering me too. I've got Barrett's esophagus so I have to be careful with spicy foods. Hot sauces are particularly bad. I love strong flavors, don't get me wrong, but not anything with much heat. There are places where I know to ask for things as mild as possible, but once in a while I'll get stuck with something too spicy for me to eat.

I think I'm also developing an intolerance to pepper. I used to be able to put pepper on everything, but even just a tiny dash of it tastes and feels horrible to me.

Now, wasabi, that's a spice I can tolerate as hot as possible. It doesn't burn going down; it just burns the sinuses.

 

[bluesaturn]

I love spicy food. I rarely find restaurant food that is actually spicy enough. But I like spicy done right, where it actually enhances the flavor not just for shock.

 

[tvguy]

There are a few things going on.

First, taste-buds degrade as people age, and so people tend to develop and ever-increasing taste for spice as they get older.

Second, apart from the effect of aging, an increasing number of consumers actually are developing an strong appreciation for spicy food.

Third, and most importantly, spice tends to overshadow mediocre food ingredients, and inexpert food preparation, which have both been prompted by consumer demand for lower prices.

Well, I'm 53, and my tolerence for spice has DECREASED as I have gotten older.
On the third point, I agree 100%. Goes back to the 70's when our high school spanish class went to Mexico for a week. Our teacher was from Mexico City. Someone asked if we would be able to find food that wasn't spicy. Teacher said he avoided all restaurants with spicy food because historically they used spice to cover up poor quality (and rancid ) ingredients. He claimed authentic Mexican food is not spicy, only AMERICANIZED Mexican food is spicy.

 

[tvguy]

I love spicy food. I rarely find restaurant food that is actually spicy enough. But I like spicy done right, where it actually enhances the flavor not just for shock.

What I'm talking about is when all you taste is the spice.
One of my co-workers makes wonderful salsa. Fresh chopped ripe tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, and onion, and jalapeno.

I don't know how she does it, but in every bite you get a fresh tomato taste with a hint of cilantro, then the garlic comes on, with a hottish finish. Each flavor stands out briefly. After better than some salsas that are all fire, and not other taste.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

It's something that bothers me too, OP. I like my taste buds and therefore, don't want to burn them off. I at least want to option. If people choose to make it spicy, it should be their inconvenience of adding more spice, not mine for wanting to taste something but hotness.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

We accidentally bought a jar of SPICY tomato basil spaghetti sauce last night. We didn't see the spicy on the label until we started eating it.

 

[Lintasare]

I avoid spicy foods like the plague. Gives me reflux something bad. Sometimes I will indulge in a favorite like tamales around the holidays, but only because there are a couple places here that make awesome tamales. And when I do I always take a Zantac before and keep Tums in my desk.

Of course living in New Mexico, chile is in everything. And I mean everything. You can go to a generic steakhouse and they will have green chile in their dishes. I just ask for them to leave it off or put it on the side.

I don't like a lot of black pepper either. My parents love the Montreal steak seasoning on everything meat. I find it has too much pepper.

The only really spicy spice that I like is ginger. I love the sweet spicy of ginger on chicken and in some pork dishes. But that is about it.

 

[kimblebee]

I wouldn't like to have food brought to be that had already been spiced up at all. I am a supertaster so for me, even regular pepper is too hot for me to handle. If you ever eat at my house, you know you will not be eating overly spicy, salty or sweet food.

 

[disykat]

I think not caring for (or able to eat) food that is in the least bit spicy is really like a food allergy and it becomes your responsibility to make your needs known prior to the food being made. I never make 'hot' food for guests, and avoid some strong spices like curry unless I've checked with them first, but it would never occur to me not to spice the food at all. I honestly can't imagine serving food to guests I haven't used something to season.

The only restaurant I've ever been too that had some food too spicy IMO without warning was fish at Applebee's. Fortunately, I like spicy food but I did wonder if they have issues with those who don't sending food back.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I think not caring for food that is in the least bit spicy is really like a food allergy and it becomes your responsibility to make your needs known prior to the food being made. I never make 'hot' food for guests, and avoid some strong spices like curry unless I've checked with them first, but it would never occur to me not to spice the food at all. I honestly can't imagine serving food to guests I haven't used something to season.

The only restaurant I've ever been too that had some food too spicy IMO without warning was fish at Applebee's. Fortunately, I like spicy food but I did wonder if they have issues with those who don't sending food back.

It is not a question of "liking it". I can't eat it. It totally blows.

If you come to my house to eat, you add your own spices after. It is bland central here. Blah! It gets boring.