8 Ubiquitous Menu Items We Don't Need To See Anymore

Part of the excitement of going out to a restaurant is the opportunity to sample dishes that are hard to replicate at home. Even if the dish isn't all that innovative, the restaurant should serve a good and solid version of it. It's satisfying to have a meal that tastes just right, whether it is a simple pasta entree or a 40-ingredient mole sauce.

There are a few restaurant dishes, however, that have become so ubiquitous that we can't help feeling a little disappointed when we see them on yet another menu. Although there are several great versions of these dishes that exist, many of the replicas fall a bit short. It makes sense why restaurants continue to include these dishes -- people sometimes like familiarity, and familiarity sells. Familiarity doesn't always equal quality, however.

That seems to be a recurring problem when a dish, at its core, is quite delicious. Everybody wants a piece, but not everybody can do it justice. But we suppose it's better to have too much of (what should be) a good thing rather than none at all.

Check out our list of cliched menu items in the slideshow below.

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Comments

[Dillinger13]

08:35 PM on 11/06/2011

This article is ridiculous. Eating out shouldn't be about complexity or theatrics, it should be about quality ingredients, professionally put together.

[storeysound]

03:28 PM on 11/04/2011

Can't say I've ever seen beet & goat cheese salad anywhere, let alone at enough places for it to be labeled "ubiquitous". Nor have I ever seen lobster mac, or pork belly on any menu. I will agree that the parsley (or whatever else) garnishing the plate instead of the food is getting pretty tired.

[kareemachan]

01:36 PM on 11/04/2011

Weird list. I like all of them except the lobster mac & cheese (never had it - I'm on the wrong side of the country to consider buying lobster) and I've never tried pork belly.

[Cold in Michigan]

04:28 AM on 11/04/2011

I still don't understand how a food can go out of style. At one time all menus had greek salad, now they have beets and goat cheese. I would rather have the salad thankyou, but don't mind the alternitive. The problem is that all the places offer the same fare. They may call it something different, or serve it a little different, but they have all gone to the same spice rack and all claim they have new updated menus. I would gladly go someplace that does not have something with mango, or that keeps the sauce off the fish and still manages to keep it mosit and well cooked. Of course I will be happy when the current tex/mex craze is over and everything stops tasting the same.

[PollyTics]

03:37 AM on 11/04/2011

It's all a matter of taste...

[clearthinker2008]

12:56 PM on 11/03/2011

"8 Ubiquitous Menu Items We Don't Need To See Anymore"

No, but maybe the author should just stay at home so they never have to SEE these things on menus. lol

[Sixtracks]

11:03 AM on 11/03/2011

The ONLY slider is a White Castle burger.

[mlaiuppa]

11:39 PM on 11/02/2011

Caprese salad is timeless. Like anything, it all depends on the quality of the ingredients.

[kareemachan]

01:36 PM on 11/04/2011

Definitely. If the tomatoes are store-bought, meh.

[storeysound]

03:33 PM on 11/04/2011

Read this for an interesting explanation.
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/28/137371975/how-industrial-farming-destroyed-the-tasty-tomato

[jukesgrrl]

12:51 AM on 11/05/2011

This salad has been on the menu of virtually every restaurant in Italy and Greece I've been. Are they a cliche, too, or only if Americans do it?

[honeybear64]

06:08 PM on 11/02/2011

I have to say, most of these items look really good, actually, although the glaze on the pork belly looks a bit dodgy (maybe it's just the lighting), and the parsley on the pasta is really just too much - a light sprinkle is sufficient; you don't need to turn the whole plate green.

And come on - butternut squash soup is passe? What's next - mashed potatoes or pot roast?

Variety is nice, but I see no reason for restaurants to have to reinvent the wheel every five years or so. Some foods are classics - precisely BECAUSE they're perennially popular and have qualities that stand the test of time. And of course some people are better at preparing them than other people are - but that's no reason that they're foods that "we don't need to see anymore".

[johnsmith9875]

05:35 PM on 11/02/2011

Dessert items that have jumped the shark in restaurants are "death by chcolate" ANYTHING.
The idea of paying nearly $10 for an oversized portion of ice cream, cake and misc fruit drenched in chocolate syrup is just plain low brow fare, and it seems nearly all chains are guilty of this.

No, I don't want to share it with friends, I just want a small portion of dessert...I just had a huge meal and don't want to wolf down another 1200 calories of milk and corn syrup.

[xstevejx]

04:46 PM on 11/02/2011

With the chocolate lava cake, one problem is that many restaurants don't make desserts from scratch, but buy so-so single serving frozen desserts they just heat up, plop on a plate and maybe garnish it to look better. So a lot of places have the same so-so desserts.

[jukesgrrl]

12:52 AM on 11/05/2011

Yes, and most of them seem to come from Costco.

[Robin Percyz]

01:42 PM on 11/02/2011

A lot of these are definitely over-played. I wish restaurants would start playing into the cupcake trend and serving these for dessert! I had some of the best cupcakes ever at this like bakery cafe in BK, but you never see it in fine dining.

[mlaiuppa]

11:41 PM on 11/02/2011

You rarely see pie in a good restaurant either. Cheesecake, but not pie. Even the cake selections are limited and not that good. It's like once they're done with the entree, they lose interest in presenting a good selection of quality dessert items.

[ASHTON CRUZ]

02:40 PM on 11/04/2011

Cupcakes? really? Cupcakes? heck while you are at it why not cotton candy, candy corn, ice pops, donut holes and Jello pudding. What are you 10?

[rainy1216]

12:12 PM on 11/02/2011

I have to say, as a born and raised Brooklyn girl, I have watched the unfortunate demise of my hometown due to hipsters, and the culinary wannabe scene. I honestly do see beet & goat cheese salads everywhere. In fact, just about every single one of the items on your list is found in just about every "chic" restaurant in Brooklyn. It's gotten to the point where they all try to be artisanal, and fancy, that most places are a disappointment with these dishes. Although I happen to know of one place who has been doing the molten chocolate cake for more than 10 years. They're kosher, and I wouldn't dare tell the hipsters about it. LOL.

[J0E1]

11:32 AM on 11/02/2011

You might be sick of these things on menus but honestly, how many people who don't eat dinner at restaurants 5 days a week are tired of them?

[dan can]

09:54 AM on 11/02/2011

all that food looked disgusting. and to say these items are ubiquitous is hyperbole.
poor article.