Lobster and escargot are some of the most overrated restaurant foods, said Dallas restaurateur Tanner Agar. Fightin’ words!
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We’ve all done it. We pick up a Dallas restaurant menu, and there. Right there. It’s that one ingredient you hate.Â
Your friends seem to like it. Instagram influencers rave about it. Chefs keep adding it to menus. What do they all see that you don’t? This week’s episode of The Dallas Morning News’ Eat Drink D-FW podcast features a heated argument about which overrated dishes and ingredients are truly the worst.
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Listen to that episode here. (Prepare for heartbreak!) Then, we let the experts take over. Here are 14 things Dallas restaurateurs, chefs and influencers love to hate.
Cumin
Cumin, the popular herb found in many cuisines, from Mexican to Middle Eastern, is on the naughty list for Joe Zavala, owner of Zavala’s Barbecue in Grand Prairie. “Doesn’t belong on Tex-Mex or barbecue,” Zavala said — which are the two styles he cooks at his restaurant.
You won’t find cumin in any of his spice rubs. “I think it’s the worst flavor in the world. I spit it out immediately.”
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Seltzer water
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Don’t give him seltzer. “It tastes like static noise sounds,” he said. “I don’t understand why people willingly drink it, unless they’re just trying to be fancy pants.”
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Liver
Chef Tim McLaughlin, owner of Crossbuck BBQ in Farmers Branch, cooked liver “night after night” at a high-end restaurant in St. Louis. It was “absolute torture.” Â
“It genuinely tastes like the armpit of hell to me.”
Hot take, huh? Look for McLaughlin on BBQ Brawl, the Food Network show airing May 11, 2026.
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Fancied-up caviar
Dallas diner Drew Stephenson, whom The Dallas Morning News called “the Michelin man” because of his quest to dine at all of Texas’ 1-star Michelin restaurants, loves caviar. He just doesn’t want chefs to mess with it.
Dallas diner Drew Stephenson, known as @drewthefoodguy on Instagram, says stop messing with caviar.
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“I only want it on its own or as the main ingredient in a dish,” Stephenson said. It’s a shame, then, that it shows up on menus all over Dallas (and beyond) as a topper to pricey dishes.
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Caviar has main-character energy, Stephenson said. So let it shine: “Just drop a bump on the back of my hand,” he said. “I’ll enjoy it best that way.”
Lobster and escargot
Yes, both. Tanner Agar, CEO and creative director of Greenville Avenue restaurant and bar Apothecary, thinks neither lobster nor escargot are worth the price. They need too much fluff to taste good, he said.
“The only way anyone eats them is if they are drowned in butter, garlic and/or heavy seasonings,” he said. “Food should taste great when it’s the most itself, and paired with complementing flavors. If people won’t eat something without it coming from a butter jacuzzi, then I can’t justify paying $50 a pound for it.”
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And yes, he said butter jacuzzi.
“I find shrimp and mushrooms have a lot more bang for my buck. And are actually good.”
Truffle oil
“I love truffles, but they don’t need to be on everything,” said Peter Edris, director of baking for several Dallas restaurants, including the new Bread Club in Uptown and its Michelin-starred neighbor, Mamani.
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“The oils don’t represent the true flavor of truffles — it’s an aromatic trick.”
Chef Josh Sutcliff, executive chef and partner at private member’s club 55 Seventy, agrees with Edris. The trouble with truffle oil is that it’s fake, he said: “It smells so abrasive and it is 100% synthetic and made in a lab. Gross.”
Nachos
Yeah, she said it. Chef Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman, who has served some of Dallas’ finest contemporary Mexican food, doesn’t like nachos. “I cannot stand a mile-high pile of dry chips with some melted cheese on top,” she said.
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“But hear me out: Nachos compuestos are where it’s at.”
Dallas chef Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman doesn’t love nachos. I know.
Photos/DMN files; Michael Hogue/Staff Artist
And what are those? Nachos compuestos are basically better nachos: Each tortilla chip is carefully topped with ingredients to create the right bite every time. They’re nachos with high standards.
Froth
As MasterChef judge and Dallas restaurateur Tiffany Derry explains, chefs make froth by aerating liquid until it forms “large, unstable bubbles” that dissipate. This technique can seem like fancy chef stuff, but Derry sees right through it.
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“Most times, froth lacks depth of flavor. And more times than not, it dilutes the dish,” she said.
Worse: “To me, it reads like soapy water from the dish sink, and I can’t get it out of my head.” (Now we can’t, either.)
If you’re looking to impress, make one small adjustment, she suggested: “I appreciate foam a lot more than froth.” Foams are generally thicker, which means they make a bigger flavor impact.
Beef tenderloin
Gasp! Christophe De Lellis, executive chef and partner at Mamani, has beef with beef tenderloin.
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Dallas chef Christophe De Lellis has something to say about beef tenderloin.
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“It is incredibly tender, which makes it a crowd favorite, but to me it is also one of the least interesting cuts in terms of flavor. I think people often equate tenderness with quality, but there is so much more depth and character in other cuts.”
Aguachile
Chef Regino Rojas, who owns Mexican restaurants Revolver Taco and Purépecha, has an issue with how some places are using aguachile. It’s fairly simple: lime juice and chile are used to cure raw seafood. Rojas wishes chefs would keep the preparation traditional.
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“Aguachile got so out of control, people started putting it on their steak!” Rojas said.
Foie gras
Foie gras and other fancy ingredients like caviar and truffles are an unneeded flex, said Dave Culwell, chef-owner of Burger Schmurger in East Dallas.
“Casual food, like the world I live in, should look anything but fancy. And taste amazing.”
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Hot honey
Get outta here, hot honey, said Henry Cohanim, managing partner at Feels Like Home Hospitality, which owns Dallas restaurant Mamani.Â
Henry Cohanim says “no” to hot honey.
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“It is overused on pizza,” he said. “And I have even seen it on pasta, which is horrible.”
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Deep-fried everything!
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“I am just going to say it,” admitted Janice Provost, chef-owner of Parigi in Dallas. “The State Fair of Texas’ deep-fried everything situation: It’s just silly. It’s gross. It serves no real culinary purpose. It’s shock and awe.”
By this, does she mean deep-fried bubblegum, maybe? Fried beer? Fried salad? Yup, all of it.
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Chef Janice Provost thinks the State Fair of Texas’ ‘deep-fried everything’ is overrated.
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What do you think is the most overrated dish at Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants or the grocery store? Tell us at eatdrink@dallasnews.com.