Comments on: Diner: no one warned me how to eat artichoke leaves

By: MF

MF — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 01:25:40 +0000

How about the person who is given a finger bowl in order to wash one’s hands? To the uninformed (which might very well have been me), one might have thought it was a soup to be consumed. I know that if I don’t know what something is, I’m certainly going to ask before I eat it!

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:15:45 +0000

A couple of weeks ago on “The Next Iron Chef”, the judges were upset that a banana peel was not meant to be eaten. If food critics and master chefs don’t know that a banana peel isn’t edible, then I think there’s a lot of attitude in this comment thread that isn’t really warranted. I’m upset he’s even allowed to bring a lawsuit like this, and I wish it would cost him lots of money as a punishment. But one chef on the show indicated that putting inedible things on a place went out in 1985, and so it was understandable that a food critic would bite into a banana peel without realizing it shouldn’t be eaten. If those snobs can be clueless about how to eat food…

By: David Schwartz

David Schwartz — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:33:26 +0000

Bob Lipton: Think about it from the point of view of someone who had no idea how to eat a grilled artichoke. You might not even notice the small, soft portion at the inside, bottom of each leaf. That would leave you to conclude that either the entire leaf portion was inedible or that the entire leaf portion was edible.

By: Bill Alexander

Bill Alexander — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:45:24 +0000

“When is that last time any of us asked “How do you eat this”?”

That would be about 6 months ago when a new Vietnamese restaurant opened locally. Even if it is obvious that the item is all edible (such as all liquid) it may be meant as a garnishment or as a separate item.

By: Jay

Jay — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:03:14 +0000

@Frank: I ask “How do I eat this?” whenever I run into an unfamiliar food that either looks like it might require a bit more handling than “insert in mouth and chew” or if it’s been confirmed when I try to eat something that looks straightforward. I’ve never been served crab legs or lobster, for example, and would have no problem asking the proper method to eat them. I think the last time I specifically asked was at a crawfish boil.

The bottom line for me is that years of eating has taught me that it’s not worth struggling with an unchewable piece of food. If it’s a part that should clearly be chewable, I’ll send it back if I’m not the one that prepared it wrong in the first place.

By: Frank

Frank — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:55:19 +0000

Yes to all of the sophisticates herer, it seems the fellow is a rube and seemingly a dolt.

I showed the story to a friend and he stated that he wouldn’t know how to eat an artichoke nor that certain parts were inedible.

Do we assume that a vegetable is inedible, indeed dangerous because parts of it are tough and chewy?

I’m not saying the restaurant should be liable, just that the diner shouldn’t be seen as somehow stupid because he picked up and ate prepared food that was served to him.

When is that last time any of us asked “How do you eat this”?

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:10:41 +0000

So do I eat the shells of my clams casino, or not?

By: bob lipton

bob lipton — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 21:16:12 +0000

Dave Schwartz,

Well, i’ve noticed that aou artichoke leaves. I just can’t imagine anyone not. “Gosh, this feels like chewing wood. I guess I’ll just swallow”.

Huh?

Bob

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 17:46:43 +0000

Wait! You mean fish have bones? OMG!

By: kimsch

kimsch — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 04:19:44 +0000

He didn’t notice that it was really hard to chew the tough portion? He didn’t notice the sharp little “tooth” at the tip of the leaves? He still swallowed all that?

If I come across woody asparagus, that part that’s hard to chew comes out and is placed on the plate, just like bones would be if they were found in fish.