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Lobster and escargot are some of the most overrated restaurant foods, said Dallas restaurateur Tanner Agar. Fightin’ words!<\/p>\n
Photos\/DMN files, Getty Images; Michael Hogue\/Staff Artist<\/p>\n
We’ve all done it. We pick up a Dallas restaurant menu, and\u00a0there. Right there. It’s that one ingredient you hate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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Listen to that episode here.<\/a> (Prepare for heartbreak!) Then, we let the experts take over. Here are 14 things Dallas restaurateurs, chefs and influencers love to hate.<\/p>\n Cumin<\/p>\n Cumin, the popular herb found in many cuisines,\u00a0from Mexican to Middle Eastern, is on the naughty list for Joe\u00a0Zavala, owner of Zavala’s Barbecue in Grand Prairie. “Doesn’t belong on Tex-Mex or barbecue,” Zavala said \u2014 which are the two styles he cooks at his restaurant.<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Seltzer water<\/p>\n Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Don’t give him seltzer. “It tastes like static\u00a0noise sounds,” he said. “I don’t understand why people willingly drink it, unless they’re just trying to be fancy pants.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Liver<\/p>\n Chef Tim McLaughlin, owner of\u00a0Crossbuck BBQ in Farmers Branch<\/a>, cooked liver “night after night” at a high-end restaurant in St. Louis. It was “absolute torture.” \u00a0<\/p>\n “It genuinely tastes like the armpit of hell to me.”<\/p>\n Hot take, huh? Look for McLaughlin on BBQ Brawl, the Food Network show airing May 11, 2026.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Fancied-up caviar<\/p>\n Dallas diner Drew Stephenson, whom The Dallas Morning News\u00a0called\u00a0“the Michelin man” because of his\u00a0quest to dine at all of Texas’ 1-star Michelin restaurants<\/a>, loves caviar. He just doesn’t want chefs to mess with it.<\/p>\n Dallas diner Drew Stephenson, known as @drewthefoodguy on Instagram, says stop messing with caviar.<\/p>\n Photos\/DMN files, Getty Images; Michael Hogue\/Staff Artist<\/p>\n “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\u00a0dishes.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n Lobster and escargot<\/p>\n Yes, both. Tanner Agar, CEO and creative director of Greenville Avenue restaurant and bar Apothecary<\/a>, thinks neither lobster nor escargot are worth the price. They need too much fluff to taste good, he said.<\/p>\n “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\u00a0itself, 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.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n And yes, he said butter jacuzzi.<\/p>\n “I find shrimp and mushrooms have a lot more bang for my buck. And are actually good.”<\/p>\n Truffle oil<\/p>\n “I love truffles, but they don\u2019t need to be on everything,” said Peter Edris, director of baking for several Dallas restaurants, including the new Bread Club in Uptown<\/a> and its Michelin-starred neighbor, Mamani.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “The oils don\u2019t represent the true flavor of truffles \u2014 it\u2019s an aromatic trick.”<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n Nachos<\/p>\n Yeah, she said it. Chef Anastacia Qui\u00f1ones-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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “But hear me out: Nachos\u00a0compuestos are where it’s at.”<\/p>\n Dallas chef Anastacia Qui\u00f1ones-Pittman doesn’t love nachos. I know.<\/p>\n Photos\/DMN files; Michael Hogue\/Staff Artist<\/p>\n And what are those? Nachos\u00a0compuestos 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.<\/p>\n Froth<\/p>\n As MasterChef judge and Dallas restaurateur Tiffany Derry<\/a> explains, chefs make froth by aerating liquid until it forms “large, unstable bubbles” that dissipate. This\u00a0technique can seem like fancy chef stuff, but Derry sees right through it.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “Most times, froth lacks depth of flavor. And more times than not, it dilutes the dish,” she said.<\/p>\n 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.)<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Beef tenderloin<\/p>\n Gasp! Christophe De Lellis, executive chef and partner at\u00a0Mamani<\/a>, has beef with beef tenderloin.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Dallas chef Christophe De Lellis has something to say about beef tenderloin.<\/p>\n Photos\/DMN files, Getty Images; Michael Hogue\/Staff Artist<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Aguachile<\/p>\n Chef Regino Rojas, who owns Mexican restaurants Revolver Taco and Pur\u00e9pecha, has an issue with how some places are using aguachile. It’s fairly simple: lime juice and chile are used to cure raw seafood.\u00a0Rojas wishes chefs would\u00a0keep the preparation traditional.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “Aguachile got so out of control, people started putting it on their steak!” Rojas said.<\/p>\n Foie gras<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Casual food, like the world I live in, should look anything but fancy. And taste amazing.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Hot honey<\/p>\n Get outta here, hot honey, said Henry Cohanim, managing partner at Feels Like Home Hospitality, which owns\u00a0Dallas restaurant Mamani<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Henry Cohanim says “no” to hot honey.<\/p>\n Photos\/DMN files, Getty Images; Michael Hogue\/Staff Artist<\/p>\n “It is overused on pizza,” he said. “And I have even seen it on pasta, which is horrible.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Deep-fried everything!<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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