Popular foods that don't live up to the hype and price tag

Published Sep 10, 2024

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We have foods we love, and those we won’t touch. We all have our likes and dislikes, but what are the most overrated foods?

That is the question that is always posed on social media platforms and there are always a lot of opinions. Some make sense to us, and some are things we had never thought of before.

Here are the internet's most overrated foods.

On Redditor, foodies mentioned that Instagrammable hipster burgers, gourmet doughnuts and a restaurant's 'most expensive wine’ are some of the foods that they think are overrated.

Instagrammable hipster burger. Picture: Pexels/Dabid Geib

Overloaded, tall, Instagrammable hipster burgers

@ncurry18 wrote: “So many 'upscale casual' restaurants seem to think the pinnacle of dining is an expensive burger, loaded with pointless ingredients meant to sound high-end (like truffle aioli and Wagyu beef), and requires you to unhinge your jaw like a snake to take a bite.

“Not to mention the fact that they are usually an absolute mess and are usually okay-at-best in taste."

Glass of red wine. Picture: Pexels/Cottonbro

The restaurant's 'most expensive wine’

@draggar wrote: “Honourable mention goes out to anyone who asks for a restaurant's 'most expensive wine’.

“You are just showing off your money to the people around you and telling the staff you have no idea what you are ordering. You will usually get a mediocre wine with an expensive price tag."

Gourmet doughnuts. Picture: Pexels/Valeriya

Gourmet doughnuts

@Karen Rogers Sandra wrote: “I could forgive the silly flavours, the exorbitant prices, and the tendency to stuff them full of inedible amounts of caramel, but gourmet doughnuts' greatest crime is their wilful blindness to the fact that a deep-fried doughnut is best when freshly cooked."

As we continue to browse through social media and feast our eyes on all the deliciousness that is there, we also feel these foods are overrated.

Glass of Bloody Mary. Picture: Pexels/Lava

Bloody Marys that are over-loaded

How about over-loaded Bloody Marys? Some places are making them with over-the-top ‘garnishes’ like burgers, wings and shrimp.

One person said a place in their town throws a whole fried chicken on top. We would like to see that. But seriously, it’s supposed to be a drink, not a meal.

Trendy hot sauces. Picture: Pexels/Kpaushtite

Trendy hot sauces

Some people like it spicy but not everyone does. Restaurants should not put hot sauce on everything just because it's popular. People should be able to choose their heat levels instead.

Gold flakes. Picture: Pexels/John Detochka

Gold flakes

This one seems like it doesn't need an explanation, yet here we are. Adding gold flakes to food has been a trick of high-end restaurants for some time and it doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.

As far back as ancient Egypt, the wealthy were using gold for spiritual reasons - also, they probably thought it was the ultimate power garnish. And since then, luxury has been defined by what we now call conspicuous consumption.

How else would you describe using something that is both devoid of flavour and incredibly expensive as a way to make people pay a hefty price just for one order of chicken wings?

Melted cheese burger. Picture: Pexels/Nano Erdozain

Too much-melted cheese

Most people love cheese but there is such a thing as too much. Food covered in melted cheese looks great on Instagram, yet it is messy and complicated. Plus, what if the cheese is only there to disguise that the meal doesn't taste very good?