It's true. There are lots of good, gourmet restaurants out there. In fact, I've been to quite a few and the food tastes delicious…and it's not fat-saturated, greasy, or filled with all sorts of bad chemicals.

There is restaurant here that my parent go to on special occasions and it's called Buffalo Dreamer. Talk about real, authentic, gourmet food! The lamb is so good!

purpleinopp said: If the place where you went is using that stuff, it's not a real bakery. There must be a real bakery or two in such a big city as Boston. I would never bake with stuff like that. If a recipe requires whipped cream, I would whip real cream. Most of the cooking I've been around in peoples homes over my lifetime has been the same way. Otherwise, if you want junk, just go to a chain restaurant where the SYSCO truck pulls up to unload the processed garbage.


Anything in a package like that is just junk. Not really food. Please don't compare packages of crud like this to actual food made with unadulterated ingredients.


I believe your opinion must be based on fast-food chains or there's something wrong in Boston. There are fine restaurants all over the country with excellent food made from the finest, freshest ingredients. I hope you have an opportunity to visit some of them soon. Don't bother going to any that you have heard of before, go to places where there is real, inspired & unique cooking going on. Just because a restaurant is in US doesn't mean the recipes are. I would think Boston would have very authentic restaurants with cooking being done by people from all over the globe, in the traditions of their lands of origin. Your complaints sound like they are from 20 yrs ago. There are so many farm-to-table restaurants out there lately, raw food restaurants, strictly organic, anything you can think of. So much more than what you describe.

I totally agree with you that restaurants of any type in the US, as a trend, most but not all, use too much salt. If you know this ahead of time, you could order your dish without extra salt. Send it back if it is too salty. Ask your server if people complain about saltiness for the dishes you are considering. Be proactive, seek & ask for what you want. Reduced salt is a very popular option/menu designation.

I do not recall talking about restaurants at all. I will have to go back and read what I wrote.

Edited to add: I went back. No talk of restaurants. I am not sure where all this is coming from.

True, you didn't. But you should try some really good, organic ingredient bakeries that MIGHT change your mind on cakes. Although I doubt it will. I know a girl who hates sweets too, even though she's tried some good ones.

I think it is genetics. 23andMe has a predictor based on your genetic code whether you will prefer salty or sweet. They got me good.

I do think organics is a fad though. I still fondly remember a friend of mine paying more for organic lettuce to then be horrified it was crawling with so many bugs. "Well, what did you expect?!" I said, laughing my head off.
Also, in many double-blind taste-tests people were unable to distinguish between organic-grown and regular-grown foods. Plus the actual farming definition of "organic" allows for a lot of things we consumers would not consider to be organic.

But I am all for reduction of chemicals currently put into processed foods.

Ok, we DO NOT buy organic food because of how expensive it is. I meant natural ingredients without anything unnecessary being added to them.

plasko20 said: Dark chocolate is also known to lower blood pressure.

Ok goodie! Another good reason to eat chocolate!

That would mean using flour that has not been bleached.
There are very few bakeries out there using real un-bleached flour.
We switched to making our own bread because the pre-made bread here tastes like bleach, and for some reason they throw in high fructose corn syrup (into bread!?).
Sweet and bleachy. Mmm...mmmm.

plasko20 said: All American recipes use a ton of salt in them, even for desserts!

Sorry, this sounded like a comment about restaurants to me. Agree, you didn't mention restaurants. Was it all about bakeries? I hope there aren't that many bad bakeries in Boston that after visiting so many, you feel like you've developed an accurate generalization for all US bakeries.

As for organic, I think it's sad that organic certification is necessary. Until just the past few decades, all food was organic.

I say Lobstah, when I was in Boston years ago, I had one lobster practically every week. When I go on vacation now, it's my favorite food for lunch and dinner for 7 days or more, haha. Indulgence means once in a while treat, not when you're in New England.

I'm still waiting to try some lobster…I really want to try making it.

Merlot and 90%cacao dark chocolate...my taste buds say YUMMY. I've been enjoying 90% now for so long it almost tastes sweet to me.😏🤔😏

I enjoy lobster, but have to turn it away so those beady wee eyes are not staring me down. Attack from the rear, so to speak. Also enjoy crab, especially in cioppino.

I really love mussels, steamed in a butter and garlic broth. New Zealand green-lipped mussels are the best, but hard to find in the US, so I usually buy black mussels from Canada.

I went to New Zealand on my honeymoon, this is before New Zealand was cool, the mussels there were the best.
I only like Dungeness crabs fresh off the boat from Half Moon Bay but haven't had them since I came down here, I really miss them.

Blue Crab is the 'official' favorite food for Maryland, but yeah, don't look at the eyes!!
Yes please, red wine and dark chocolate! @gingin

I'm trying to not buy field grown lettuce - there is a company with huge hydroponic greenhouses in a few location around me, so with a tightly controlled environment it is bugfree, very crisp and stays fresh a long time, 'relatively' local. But I can't imagine lettuce being anyone's indulgence food so.. sorry to digress.

I had a delicious bowl of mussels here- then that place closed not long after. . It's not on the menu at many around here, or I just don't go for it first.

I like kettle style potato chips, I call them an indulge because is there really a good reason to eat potato chips every day?

purpleinopp said: Sorry, this sounded like a comment about restaurants to me. Agree, you didn't mention restaurants. Was it all about bakeries? I hope there aren't that many bad bakeries in Boston that after visiting so many, you feel like you've developed an accurate generalization for all US bakeries.

As for organic, I think it's sad that organic certification is necessary. Until just the past few decades, all food was organic.

You perhaps assume I have never been out of Boston.
Let me assure you that I have. I have been all over the US, and beyond. People in the 21st century are no longer trapped in small communities.

But the recipes I spoke of were for home baking. Which was evident when I mentioned that I use 1/10th of the salt from said recipes. As far as I know no local bakeries (or any bakeries) supply recipes to make their wares. Unless perhaps they are selling a cookbook? But to be at that stage would make them probably a chain branch rather than a little local place.

I am reminded of a time I went into a store to buy cookies. Emblazoned on the front of the pack of the chocolate-chip cookies were the words "Made with real chocolate chips!". I do remember thinking "what the heck else would chocolate chips be made of?!" which worried me for some time since. That company was actually so proud they used a real ingredient they pasted that slogan about it. Bizarre, yes?

Now, this was no bakery. They were pre-packed cookies in a regular store. But it seems the food regulation laws here are very very lax.
I know the EU has much stricter laws about what goes into a persons body.

plasko20 said: You perhaps assume I have never been out of Boston.
Let me assure you that I have. I have been all over the US, and beyond. People in the 21st century are no longer trapped in small communities.

But the recipes I spoke of were for home baking. Which was evident when I mentioned that I use 1/10th of the salt from said recipes. As far as I know no local bakeries (or any bakeries) supply recipes to make their wares. Unless perhaps they are selling a cookbook? But to be at that stage would make them probably a chain branch rather than a little local place.

I am reminded of a time I went into a store to buy cookies. Emblazoned on the front of the pack of the chocolate-chip cookies were the words "Made with real chocolate chips!". I do remember thinking "what the heck else would chocolate chips be made of?!" which worried me for some time since. That company was actually so proud they used a real ingredient they pasted that slogan about it. Bizarre, yes?

Now, this was no bakery. They were pre-packed cookies in a regular store. But it seems the food regulation laws here are very very lax.
I know the EU has much stricter laws about what goes into a persons body.

That is a little weird. "Real chocolate chips"…I would hope so!

Oreos & ChipAhoy are not real food, just junk. People are free to choose these things, or to not choose them.

The whole point here…I like all sorts of junk food and that's why I call it my indulgence food.

Very true, Tiffany.
But my chocolate ice-cream is just junk, also (zero nutritional value).
As are fries (questionable nutritional value). Or any desserts at all, come to think of it. Unless you count eating a banana as a dessert? Maybe. Lots of nice potassium and fiber in there.
I doubt I would consider any healthy food as an indulgence, though. More like a chore.

Edited to add: Well, perhaps salads. In the past couple of years I have come to the conclusion that the only difference between a salad and a stir-fry is the temperature they are served at. To test this I have made many salads and microwaved them. They then taste absolutely delicious. The equivalent cold salad was not as nice tasting. The only difference was the temperature. I guess we can call that a food-hack.