Foods That Have Become Too Trendy

Foods That Have Become Too Trendy

There’s a downside to becoming very popular, especially when it comes to food. So Redditor u/burgher89 asked, “What food in your opinion didn’t need a ‘bougied up’ version, but food trends have caused it to happen anyway?” Here’s what people said.

1.

“Tacos. A simple street taco for $1.50 with well-seasoned meat, cilantro, onions, and a squeeze of lime juice is utter perfection. Yet, there are half a billion places around the country packed to the gills every night making needlessly complicated tacos with ridiculous ingredients for $7-11 a pop. The best tacos I’ve had all year were from a tiny shop attached to a gas station in Dallas, Texas.”

2.

“Cupcakes. They were once a nice excuse to eat cream cheese frosting, but now they’re like a full blown art scene.”

3.

“Arancini. I first discovered these deep fried rice balls at a dumpy fast food-ish spot in a train station in Italy. I spent €2 for a giant one. Imagine my surprise when arancini became trendy in the US, where a place will charge $20 for three tiny rice balls covered in tomato sauce. I’ll take the cheap, less fancy version every time.”

4.

“This may be controversial, but French fries. You’re going to charge me an extra $5 bucks for ‘truffle’ that I can’t even taste over the parmesan? I certainly like to spice things up, but I hate the exorbitant charge for what is essentially just a little basic seasoning.”

5.

“I’ve been seeing this a lot with sushi. There’s a new omakase spot opening pretty much every day in New York City at this point, and many places are trying to get fancy by putting things like truffles, caviar, gold flakes, and foie gras on top of nigiri. In my opinion, these additions are more for show than flavor and they actually subtract from the taste of a really delicious, high quality piece of raw fish.”

6.

“Burgers. I don’t know who decided that grinding up wagyu beef, squishing it into a burger and selling it for $60 was a great idea. It still isn’t better than a burger out of a good food truck. Just leave me with a basic and delicious burger.”

7.

“Brownies. Maybe it’s just me, but I just like a simple and plain fudgy brownie that is crispy on top and gooey in the center. I don’t want my brownies with layers of Oreo’s and peanut butter and Biscoff and so many other ingredients.”

8.

“Hot dogs. Like tacos, I prefer cheap hot dogs so I can have a few instead of a single $10 dog I can’t even eat with my hands.”

9.

“Milkshakes. I just want drinkable ice cream. Stop putting so much stuff in it or on top of it.”

10.

“Street corn. I don’t need it to be ‘elevated.’ Just give me a simple elote or cup of esquites with everything on it, please.”

11.

“Donuts. I don’t need a lavender-frosted donut dusted with cocoa and fruit loops. Just give me a maple bar and leave me alone.”

12.

“Pho. Fast, hot, and cheap pho is part of what makes it so satisfying. When it’s elevated to like $25 a bowl or something, it loses its allure a bit for me. Not that a $25 bowl can’t taste great or be innovative, but I want something that tastes reliable and won’t break my wallet.”

13.

“Grilled cheese. There’s a local place by me that sells different grilled cheese variations, but they don’t consistently have basic grilled cheese. They have every other iteration of it…and no tomato soup. What is that about!?”

14.

“Chicken wings. Cheap wings used to be a trick to get you to go to a bar and spend money on overpriced drinks. Now ‘cheap’ drinks are a trick to get you to go to a bar and spend money on overpriced wings.”

15.

“Crêpes. I did a semester abroad in Paris and crêpes were a food you could buy on every street corner for 2 Euros. Now that I’m back in North America, it’s frustrating that I can only get fancy crêpes at nice restaurants for several times the price.”

16.

“Avocado and bread (aka avocado toast). It was the poor man’s breakfast until restaurants started charging $15 a pop.”

17.

“Mac n’ cheese. Restaurants go so overboard with the truffle oil, lobster, and other add-ins, it’s almost impossible to find just solid, normal mac.”

18.

“Poutine. The world does not need poutine with lobster or truffles.”

19.

“Guacamole. Leave my guac alone. It doesn’t need any freaking pomegranate seeds in it.”

20.

“Poké. Simple marinated shoyu ahi tuna over rice that should cost about $10. I don’t need the fancy Chipotle-style fish with bougie add-ons that make it cost $30.”

21.

“Pizza. I understand how this food easily lends itself to experimentation, but I always return to a nice simple pie with good sauce and cheese over all the fancy toppings.”

22.

“Banh mi. It’s supposed to be a banged up baguette from a mom and pop store with maybe five basic ingredients, costing $3-5. Now people are adding meatballs and Sriracha mayo and tomatoes and all this other crap that somehow makes it cost upwards of $10.”

23.

“Bloody Marys. What is this completely ridiculous hipster nonsense with the preposterous toppings like an entire cheeseburger slider? Seriously?”

24.

“Hummus. The original version is so good on its own, but now we have all sorts of flavors that are sold at silly prices. Beet hummus?! Give me a break.”

What’s a ~trendy~ food that tends to get dressed up and elevated, but you still prefer the OG version of? Tell us in the comments.