|
|
This topic comprises 9 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
|
|
Author
|
Topic: Chipotle goodness
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 11-06-2010 02:55 PM
Yes, Joe, it's that chopped-up, leafy, green parsley shit they sprinkle in everything. It's often called "Chinese Parsley." It's just fucking gross.
The condition is often believed to be genetically based. There have been studies on identical twins. Identical twins have a much greater prevalence of sharing a hatred of the taste of cilantro than fraternal twins.
Julia Child was a cilantro hater. She was known to pick cilantro and arugula, a related plant, out of her food and throw it on the floor.
This is not an unknown condition. I have known about it for 20 years, obviously. The waiter in the Indian restaurant is the one who clued me in. He was well aware of it.
There are plenty of articles on the subject:
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html
quote:
FOOD partisanship doesn’t usually reach the same heights of animosity as the political variety, except in the case of the anti-cilantro party. The green parts of the plant that gives us coriander seeds seem to inspire a primal revulsion among an outspoken minority of eaters.
N.P.R. - National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98695984
quote:
I hate cilantro. As far as I'm concerned, it should be wiped off the face of the planet. And I'm not alone in my extremist views.
"It has that same sort of acrid sweetness of death," according to my friend Jason. "It's got this evilness to it," my friend Wendy concurs.
Wikipedia" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander
quote:
The leaves have a different taste from the seeds, with citrus overtones. Some perceive an unpleasant "soapy" taste or a rank smell and avoid the leaves. The flavours have also been compared to those of the stink bug, and similar chemical groups are involved (aldehydes). Belief that aversion is genetically determined may arise from the known genetic variation in taste perception of the synthetic chemical phenylthiocarbamide; however, no specific link has been established between coriander and a bitter taste perception gene.
Over the years, I have been able to train my sense of taste to overcome some of the aversion. I can overcome small amounts of the stuff and, if it is cooked, the taste is further mitigated. However, Chipotle's food is literally swimming with the stuff. There is no overcoming it.
Go outside and catch a stink bug then squash it. Cilantro has almost exactly the same awful, putrid smell to me. If you get enough of it, you can become nauseous! That is the effect cilantro has on me when I get a snoot full of it. The taste is soapy and slightly metallic. It is like somebody didn't wash the dishes. It is soapy and dirty tasting like filthy dish water.
Yes, I did write Chipotle a message about it last night after I got home. It was almost exactly what I wrote above but I left out the cussing parts.
Frankly, I'm pretty damn disappointed. You guys talked the place up so much. I was expecting greatness but the sight, the smell and taste of that awful shit was enough to turn my stomach.
Celiac/gluten allergy, peanut allergy or seafood allergy can land people in the hospital and even kill them. I don't have a problem with a company who caters to those problems even if only 5% of the combined population is affected but at least 5% of the population is allergic to cilantro, even if it won't kill them. It only makes me feel like puking.
When you have an allergy to a food you learn to take it in stride. You realize that most other people don't see it the way you do and you deal with the problem. However, the thing that pisses me off the most is how they shout to the rafters, "Cilantro! Cilantro! Cilantro!," yet none of their employees and none of the company literature seem to have any inkling of this problem.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 11-07-2010 12:31 AM
I want to make it clear that the experience at Chipotle was good except for the cilantro. I had to wrangle with them on two occasions to get food without it.
My wife, who does not share my aversion to cilantro thinks that they use too much of the stuff. She says, the taste of cilantro overpowers the flavor of the rest of the food.
I like burritos. There are few other places in town where you can get good "authentic" burritos. (At least "definitively good" burritos, if not authentically Mexican.)
There is an authentic Mexican restaurant in town. http://www.elcanelo.net/
It is owned by Mexicans even if it caters to the American stereotype of a Mexican restaurant. My wife doesn't dig Mexican food as much as I do, so we don't go there as often as I like. I thought Chipotle would be a good compromise because they serve taco/burrito salads which, although watered down in terms of "Mexican style," Melanie does like them.
One plus for Chipotle is that they do serve a spicy salsa. I really dig spicy food. I keep a collection of hot sauces at home to spice up food at the dinner table. Since Chipotle does offer Tobasco and Tobasco Chipotle sauces in the bottle to use as a condiment I'll give them an extra bonus point.
If they didn't literally douse their food with cilantro I could put enough Tobasco sauce on the burrito to cancel out the soapy flavor. However, it would be nice if a place as upscale as Chipotle offered their own house brand of hot sauce.
I would have given them another bonus point if they had better access to non-cilantro alternatives and they could have scored a third bonus point if even one of their employees understood that some people find the taste of cilantro repulsive.
I'll wait and see what kind of reply I get to the message I sent last night. If it is, at least, favorable without being some kind of canned, "We're sorry" reply I might be willing to give them a second chance.
When I go there again... IF I go there again, I'll probably be packing my own bottle of hot sauce. Likely "Inner Beauty Real Hot Sauce!" ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Joe, I thought it was pronnounced, "Chip-OAT-lee" ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 9 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic