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#Post#: 15266--------------------------------------------------
Re: How In-salt-ing
DIR By: Chez Miriam
Date: October 3, 2018, 1:30 pm
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I went to John Torode's Luxe not too long after it opened, and
was expecting great things...
I had one of the two worst restaurant meals of my life: I'd
ordered the "spicy" bean burger, and was served a bun with
barely-tepid, lightly squished kidney beans. It looked and
tasted as though someone had nearly-heated a tin of beans,
mostly drained them and gone over them lightly with a fork
before herding it into a patty shape.
No spice, no seasoning, no anything else to add flavour, just
dry bun & soggy beans.
You betta believe I asked for salt! Had someone given me any
lip, they would have received a mouthful. >:(
Having watched him and Gregg Wallace repeatedly sneer* at
contestants not tasting/seasoning their food on Masterchef, I'd
expected Torode's restaurant to come up with something better
than Burger King offer; I was sadly disappointed. Never went
back.
At least the chips were good, and (bizarrely?) had been
seasoned. ???
We have a salt shaker that lives in the car - comes in great for
takeaway sandwiches, so I'm echoing the poster who suggested
carrying a small shaker/packets with you.
* They had got a lot better about the gurning and sneering, up
till the last season. :-\
#Post#: 15267--------------------------------------------------
Re: How In-salt-ing
DIR By: NFPwife
Date: October 3, 2018, 1:44 pm
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--- Quote from: lowspark link ---
>
> [quote author=JeanFromBNA link=topic=720.msg15262#msg15262
date=1538588824]
> [quote author=lmyrs link=topic=720.msg15251#msg15251
date=1538583155]
> Salting your food before tasting it is rude. I don't think a
lot of people care, but some people do.
>
> That said, you have your reasons for knowing that you will
want salt. To do it politely, take a quick taste, and ask for
salt. They may still get PA, but that's not your problem to
solve or care about. No explanation needed. If it's problematic
at a particular place and you don't want to deal with it, go
somewhere else. Explanations aren't going to make a difference.
>
--- End Quote ---
It's rude if you're at someone's home, or are someone's guest.
It's not rude in a commercial establishment where you have paid
for the food.
[/quote]
This.
Actually, although I *know* it's rude in someone's home, I've
never really bought into that. Sort of like some people think
it's rude to add ketchup or hot sauce on something.
I get that the cook may feel they've made the perfect meal and
everyone should appreciate it and love it as is. But as a cook
myself, I want people to be happy to eat my food. If that means
adding salt or ketchup or whatever, so be it. I do not want
people to eat something I cooked, all the while not liking it or
wishing they could improve it to their liking but not doing so
to avoid insulting me somehow.
I really don't want people telling me how I should want
something to taste. I don't feel it's any better to tell someone
not to salt their food than it is to tell people *to* add salt.
So I sort of live by the idea that I won't tell you if you don't
tell me.
As for advice for the OP, I'd probably just reply something
like, "Do you mind bringing it, just the same? That way I can be
prepared either way."
[/quote]
I like the bolded.
Also, thanks for the idea about just carrying my own salt - I
found a cute stainless steel travel salt shaker on eBay and
bought 2. One for my purse and one for my work bag.)
#Post#: 15268--------------------------------------------------
Re: How In-salt-ing
DIR By: lmyrs
Date: October 3, 2018, 1:50 pm
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I never said it was rude to salt your food. I said it was
technically rude to salt your food before you tasted it. I
almost always salt my food. I personally don't care at all if
someone salts their food whenever. But, it doesn't make it
polite to salt your food before tasting it. It's an implication
that your chef doesn't know how to properly season food. Whether
the chef is your husband or a famous professional, it's the same
implication.
I seriously can't believe I'm on this soapbox because I could
not possibly care less. But it's frustrating that this an
etiquette "rule" for a reason, that's it's easily followed (take
a bite, then salt) and that some would rather explain how in
their particular circumstance it's not rude or because one
person sucks at salt, it's not rude, or whatever. Just taste
your food. This is literally the easiest thing to do.
#Post#: 15271--------------------------------------------------
Re: How In-salt-ing
DIR By: LurkingGurl
Date: October 3, 2018, 2:04 pm
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--- Quote from: lmyrs link ---
>
> I never said it was rude to salt your food. I said it was
technically rude to salt your food before you tasted it. I
almost always salt my food.
>
--- End Quote ---
And the only thing people didn't agree with you on was you
applying that "rule" to someone eating in a restaurant.
If you truly don't care, then why are you posting here at all?
#Post#: 15273--------------------------------------------------
Re: How In-salt-ing
DIR By: Twik
Date: October 3, 2018, 2:31 pm
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While I know in some Asian cuisines adding seasoning that isn't
a standard part of eating (like soy sauce for sushi) is
traditionally seen as telling the chef he didn't create the
perfect dish, western tradition has always been that you can add
your own seasoning. This led to splendid tableware like the
Cellini salt cellar
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellini_Salt_Cellar.
Now, that was
for people who liked adding their salt!
I feel it's a little pretentious for Western chefs to act like
they've been pierced through the heart if someone wants to add
salt, hot sauce or even ketchup to their divine creations.
People have different tastes, and they should be glad the
customer didn't give them an itemized list before cooking of all
the seasonings that were mandatory or prohibited.
#Post#: 15276--------------------------------------------------
Re: How In-salt-ing
DIR By: Lula
Date: October 3, 2018, 3:06 pm
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You keep doing what you're doing. The complainers are the ones
being judgemental and rude. I wouldn't even reward them with a
response.
#Post#: 15279--------------------------------------------------
Re: How In-salt-ing
DIR By: gramma dishes
Date: October 3, 2018, 4:33 pm
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I honestly don't think I have ever eaten in any price level
restaurant from super inexpensive to hoity toity that doesn't
have salt and pepper shakers (at the minimum) on the table!
Many have those and additional condiments as well. Even fast
food places like Wendy's have salt packets readily available.
You don't have to beg for them, they're just right there in
plain sight. I can't even imagine needing ever to request salt
from my server.
#Post#: 15281--------------------------------------------------
Re: How In-salt-ing
DIR By: chigger
Date: October 3, 2018, 4:56 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: lmyrs link ---
>
> Salting your food before tasting it is rude. I don't think a
lot of people care, but some people do.
>
> That said, you have your reasons for knowing that you will
want salt. To do it politely, take a quick taste, and ask for
salt. They may still get PA, but that's not your problem to
solve or care about. No explanation needed. If it's problematic
at a particular place and you don't want to deal with it, go
somewhere else. Explanations aren't going to make a difference.
>
--- End Quote ---
No, no it is not rude! When you are paying for your food in a
restaurant, you get to season it however you choose!
#Post#: 15283--------------------------------------------------
Re: How In-salt-ing
DIR By: chigger
Date: October 3, 2018, 5:00 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Mary Sunshine Rain link ---
>
> [quote author=lmyrs link=topic=720.msg15268#msg15268
date=1538592636]
> I never said it was rude to salt your food. I said it was
technically rude to salt your food before you tasted it. I
almost always salt my food.
>
--- End Quote ---
And the only thing people didn't agree with you on was you
applying that "rule" to someone eating in a restaurant.
If you truly don't care, then why are you posting here at all?
[/quote]
Yep!
#Post#: 15285--------------------------------------------------
Re: How In-salt-ing
DIR By: Violet Bandit
Date: October 3, 2018, 5:20 pm
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I always need salt and I always ask for it in a restaurant if
there isn’t any on the table. No server has ever ever lectured
me about asking for salt. Maybe that’s because 90% of the time
I eat out it’s at a chain restaurant or a very casual one. I
doubt very much if any of their cooks ever knows or cares who
puts salt on what.
But... in the past few years I’ve had servers tell me that the
restaurant doesn’t have salt shakers. They told me this at
Chipotle, although they did bring out a container with about a
quarter of a cup of salt in it when I told them I couldn’t eat
the food without salt.
I have also had servers/counter help tell they don’t have any
salt(!) I’ve been told this when buying popcorn at the zoo and
at a major league ball park (where they also told they didn’t
have straws because “people throw them at the players.”). A
local pizza place denied having any salt in the restaurant. I
ended up buying a bag of potato chips to crumble over my pizza
so I could eat it.
Now I always carry a couple of salt packets in my purse, along
with a paper straw, which I promise not to throw at anyone.
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