"merryb" > wrote in message
...
On Oct 10, 12:41 pm, Bob Terwilliger >
wrote:
> I've contended in the past that some foods are better when prepared at
> home than when you get them in a restaurant. Risotto is an example
> I've cited in particular, because restaurants take shortcuts which
> detract from the quality of the risotto. Paella is a similar story,
> and it pains me to note that many restaurants don't even bother to use
> anything *close* to the right kind of rice for paella, assuming that
> their customers are too ignorant to recognize the difference.
>
> On the other hand, bouillabaise would be better in a restaurant,
> because in order to make a "proper" bouillabaise you need to make
> enough for more than a dozen people. (Well, maybe it would be
> practical for Ranee to make at *her* home, but not for most of us.)
>
> Grilled steak is a tossup: If you're in charge of cooking your own
> steak, you can make it *exactly* the way you want it, but that's
> balanced by the fact that restaurants often can get a better quality
> of meat than what is available to consumers, and in many cases
> restaurants have equipment which can create a heating surface much
> hotter than what you can get at home.
>
> What do you think are other foods which are better at home? What is
> better to order in a restaurant?
>
> Bob

Our local Chinese rest (Harbor Monsoon) is one of the only ones I will
go to- we get family style, so there are 4-5 dishes. Too many
ingredients and prep time for me to want to bother with, plus their
food is really good.

Seafood as an answer on both sides. My gumbo is lots grander than any
restaurant ever serves. Lots. OTOH, I like to order a seafood platter when
we're out. They have access to fresh seafood and they deal with the prep
and clean-up. I've learned to bypass their notion of tartar sauce to go
with. That concoction is fragile, spoils easily and is rarely safely
maintained. IMHO of course. Polly