@Mel_Hill thought of this topic in the Not Worth It thread, and I think its worthy of its own thread.
Mel nominated scallops & steaks. On a whim I added raw oysters to his list.
So, let’s hear it! What foods or dishes do you eat only or primarily when you’ve grown, cooked, or prepared them at home?
I agreed with Mel on steaks because, in my experience, most restaurants screw-up the cookery. I agreed on scallops because they’re easy to do at home and overpriced at restaurants.
I added raw oysters because I can shuck my own oysters and make my own mignonette quite easily. Oysters I buy are of equal quality of what I would get in a good restaurant, and at 15% - 20% of the price. No brainer.
and I’ll add the following:
breakfast pancakes (I have my grandma’s recipe memorized, and have made a slight modification per my preferences. Not even interested in any others)
German sweet chocolate cake (unless it was baked by my mom, not interested)
Pecan pie {see German sweet chocolate cake comment}
Cooked Salmon. Aside from raw preparations and sushi, no restaurant can make a piece of crispy skin salmon better than I can. Also rarely order a pork chop out for this same reason.
I don’t disagree on salmon, but I travel so much for work, and eat in many mediocre restaurants where seared salmon is the only relatively healthy option.
BBQ ribs. There’s a thread or three about disappointing sauces and/or ribs, even from restaurants in towns “known” for their BBQ. I love my sauce recipe and it works very well on ribs done on the Weber.
Never is a strong word. Sometimes convenience / lack of alternatives I like has me order something even when I make it pretty well. (And if the restaurant preparation is different, that doesn’t count , I may order out if interest ). Another variable is the restaurant Risotto is a case in point In a serious restaurant with a real chef , I love risotto. But I rarely order it in run of the mill restaurants,
So, I rarely order, because I make at home often and / or pretty well
Steak
Roast chicken
Cottage pie
Fish cakes ( but I often order crab cakes as I seldom have crab at home)
Salmon on plank or most baked preparations
Baked potatoes (often under cooked and soggy skin)
Shrimp cocktail (unless I know the shrimp are top quality and there is none of that red horseradish goop*)
Scampi Provençal unless in an excellent French restaurant
Syllabub
I think the more interesting thread might be things one orders because one seldom makes at home. (Lack of time, practice, or key ingredients; fish is an issue where we live). Top of that list for me would be
Bouillabaisse
Cassoulet
Duck, Game
Soufflé
Whole fish eg sea bass
* I should confess that I do like my pink goop, so I should maybe dial back the snark Mayonnaise, tomato Ketchup, Dijon, Cognac, tarragon and a dash of lemon juice
Good thread topic. As I said in the other one, I’m very reluctant to order eggs, unless it’s a very high-level restaurant, as commercial scale and costs make it difficult for them to match the eggs I get hours/days from the chicken in the farmers market.
Also, I almost never order pasta, unless I can be sure that it’s extremely special.
Let’s say VERY rarely order:
Steak or any cut of beef I can grill (flap meat for carne asada, for example)
Salmon
Chicken
Caprese or something similar. Tomatoes and basil I get from friends and/or the farmers market are generally superior. Easy enough to get ovaline-shaped mozzarella at a local market, domestic or Italian.
Mayonnaise, tomato Ketchup, Dijon, Cognac, tarragon and a dash of lemon juice