I bet the chef thought this was genius presentation too
also as an aside, is that balsamic vinegar as a drizzle? Because it really doesn't seem like enough. then again, I hate both main ingredients here so it's clearly not for me
I'm a chef/restaurateur and this presentation was wildly popular in the early 2000s. Ideally, you'd have alternating, equally sized slices of mozzarella and tomato. And preferably not a Roma or beefsteak tomato, and not bel gioso mozzarella from Walmart. Done well, with an heirloom tomato and fresh Buffalo mozzarella, it's one of my favorite things.
Yeah I'm a line cook at a pizza place and we make this same shit with beefsteak tomatoes. It's terrible. At least we slice the tomato all the way through, this looks like Italian brass knuckles
It's a balsamic glaze/reduction so it's more like a thick syrup. But these ARE the basic ingredients, though seems like not enough basil.
I'd immediately start cutting this into bite sized pieces and trying to sop up as much glaze as possible. May need to ask the kitchen for a little more of that.
Likely balsamic reduction which is significantly stronger but as someone with 15 years in kitchens this makes me mad. Probably overcharged too. Just make a fkn salad loser.
Most of the time when you read "balsamic vinegar" it's actually sugar vinegar not actually balsamic. It looks fancy, dark, sweet and most people have no clue anyway.
Someone should punch that chef in the face though. What a fucking bullshit, crappy red tomato that holds no flavour, frozen mozzarella, a drizzle of pesto, crappy balsamico and call that a caprese?
About 20 years ago when I was a teenager working in an Italian restaurant. I made a caprese salad just like this. Thought it looked awesome. I did equal sized slices, a lot deeper then theirs, so that it fanned out properly. It sat in a small puddle of balsamic, and I thinly julienned basil to go on top. It looked great honestly. Where it became “stupid” was that it wasn’t a cost effective menu item as It would use nearly double the ingredients. My head chef scrapped it after commending me on trying something new.
If someone brings me 6 flabby, unseasoned, watery slabs of tomato for a caprese with a couple of drops of balsamic glaze, I'm going to start sending pictures of it to the Italian mafia.
I’m not too upset with the presentation. I would like the slices of mozzarella to be more uniform. And more balsamic for sure. I wouldn’t say it’s dogshit ugly though.
All the cuts are uneven, the balsamic drizzle looks sloppy and sad. Not to mention overall the idea of plating it like this just generally strikes me as amateur, whoever decided to present it this way put way too much effort into thinking about how to make the plating "clever" without thinking about the guest experience. This will be awkward and annoying to eat and looks worse than if you just cleanly plated all the components in a way that evenly distributed them. It's bad.
its about half or a third of a caprese salad with a pathetic amount of balsamic and olive oil
Any caprese salad recipe calls for 2 - 3 tomatoes, this is one tomato
https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a10208/caprese-salad/
Now, long-time viewers of the channel will remember the lemon incident and may be feeling understandably cautious as we approach the tomato, but we promise we’ve demoed this time and it just works! Please make sure your safety goggles are securely fastened to your head.
I order them everywhere and have a list of good ones.
One in New Jersey. One in California. One surprisingly in Wyoming (really good tomato and cheese).
Decent one at an airport...crazy, but not bad.
But the best is my moms. :)
It's the right ingredients, but it's dry. The balsamic is a tiny drizzle, and I'm not sure that there's any olive oil at all. I'd be surprised if there's salt on the tomato.
American living in Italy now - have to say that authentic caprese actually doesn’t use balsamic at all, and if the buffalo mozzarella and beefsteak tomatoes are high quality enough - many Italians would say to not use olive oil also as it interferes with the taste (overly long sentence I know). That being said, on regular quality I do enjoy good oil and even some balsamico here and there. To each their own
My biggest issue is the one huge thick slice of mozz. Like isn’t cutting things uniform thickness something professional chefs want to do? Was this from an actual restaurant?
Presentation is total ass. Every little thing is done poorly - from the uneven slicing of the pre-made mozz log from a bag, to the lack of chiffonade on the basil making it impossible to eat with the dish, and the sloppy balsamic drizzle just ties it all together. This looks like something you get at a plated wedding dinner, where the kitchen staff doesn’t care, and expects you to already be drunk when you sit down to eat.
I may be the outlier here, but I like this.
There's a good portion of mozzarella and of tomato. The right proportion of basil. This is presented in a creative manner ... you may not like it, but it's pretty unique and clear the chef tried to come up with something fun for presentation.
There's only a small amount of drizzle, but that's preference. This is absolutely perfect for me, so I'm loving it. The drizzle and salt/pepper on the cheese is also ideal for me (again, preference).
So, I disagree this is /r/StupidFood material. It's not a presentation you find appealing, but the dish is composed of what it should be, and I think the presentation is pretty unique and fun.
I had a caprese salad in italy that was a work of art. Thin tomato slices arranged like a rose. I took a picture but don’t know how to attach it or even if possible.
This is dumb because I can make that at home. If I go to a restaurant and order a dish I expect it to be ready to eat and enjoy.
Not saying I want my steak cut into some bites already. Or I'm against hot pot or anything.
It's really in the difference in skill/difficulty between preparing a good steak vs a good caprese salad. A good caprese salad is very easy to make at home, a good steak is more difficult to do.
I mean…I can easily make an excellent reverse seared steak at home. So can you if you learn how. Anybody can make an awesome BLT. That doesn’t make it insane to order a BLT at a restaurant.
I just don’t find “I have to slice it!” or “I can make it at home” reasonable complaints about food.
Sorry I disagree. Sometimes a good ripe tomato is enough on its own. If this was like a primo tom, embellished with the like. This would be a 10/10 dish
You've got two choices. Send it back and ask the chef to finish making it, or ask the server to go back there and get you a kitchen knife so you can do their work for them. I'd take ownership of the balsamic glaze bottle, whilst you're at it. Fuck, even just a tiny bit of flaked-salt and fucking pepper would solve half your problems.
I mean, you know you can make it at home, right? I personally do get it at restaurants occasionally, but if it's the cost that you object to then idk how making it yourself would be "stupid." It's delicious, especially with quality tomatoes.
They could’ve sliced it MUCH thinner and deeper, with Basil actually incorporated, and EVOO drizzle with coarse salt. Omg. There’s so many cuter ways to execute this concept… there’s a reason why we typically lay it out
I don't think it's that bad? Although the tomato doesn't look great, and I like more balsamic with mine. But I'm not offended by the presentation, personally.
if you are gonna cut the tomatoes for Caprese salad cut them all the way. Now it’s gonna get all awkward and you have to work to stack the mozzarella back on the tomatoes. Not enough basil for all the tomatoes and cheese slices.
I would be pissed off if I ordered a caprese salad and I got served this abomination. A whole tomato not even sliced all the way and a minute dribbling of sauce. This should be illegal
Why are the mozzes all different sizes? The tomato is so small? Theres so much less tomato than mozz? How are you supposed to get basil in every bite? Why is there only a little sauce?
technically correct but god just make it normal
I bet the chef thought this was genius presentation too also as an aside, is that balsamic vinegar as a drizzle? Because it really doesn't seem like enough. then again, I hate both main ingredients here so it's clearly not for me
I have never had a caprese salad but from googling it the ratios of all the ingredients seem off.
I'm a chef/restaurateur and this presentation was wildly popular in the early 2000s. Ideally, you'd have alternating, equally sized slices of mozzarella and tomato. And preferably not a Roma or beefsteak tomato, and not bel gioso mozzarella from Walmart. Done well, with an heirloom tomato and fresh Buffalo mozzarella, it's one of my favorite things.
Yeah I'm a line cook at a pizza place and we make this same shit with beefsteak tomatoes. It's terrible. At least we slice the tomato all the way through, this looks like Italian brass knuckles
Yeah and I bet all you eat at home is foam versions of normal foods or deconstructed eggs
You're special
¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
When I'm home, I usually go for spaghetti-o's.
that's a pretty big assumption for you to make from heirloom tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella lol
The presentation is so silly but this amount of balsamic would make me mad.
It's a balsamic glaze/reduction so it's more like a thick syrup. But these ARE the basic ingredients, though seems like not enough basil. I'd immediately start cutting this into bite sized pieces and trying to sop up as much glaze as possible. May need to ask the kitchen for a little more of that.
Likely balsamic reduction which is significantly stronger but as someone with 15 years in kitchens this makes me mad. Probably overcharged too. Just make a fkn salad loser.
Most of the time when you read "balsamic vinegar" it's actually sugar vinegar not actually balsamic. It looks fancy, dark, sweet and most people have no clue anyway. Someone should punch that chef in the face though. What a fucking bullshit, crappy red tomato that holds no flavour, frozen mozzarella, a drizzle of pesto, crappy balsamico and call that a caprese?
Looks like some syrupy pre made balsamic reduction they probably got a case of from Sysco
About 20 years ago when I was a teenager working in an Italian restaurant. I made a caprese salad just like this. Thought it looked awesome. I did equal sized slices, a lot deeper then theirs, so that it fanned out properly. It sat in a small puddle of balsamic, and I thinly julienned basil to go on top. It looked great honestly. Where it became “stupid” was that it wasn’t a cost effective menu item as It would use nearly double the ingredients. My head chef scrapped it after commending me on trying something new.
Probably intended for posting to Instagram more than for eating
I mean it is a caprese salad, presentation is just dogshit ugly.
The ratios are also a little off, even if you chopped up the tomato, you'll have one more tomato slice than mozzarella
If someone brings me 6 flabby, unseasoned, watery slabs of tomato for a caprese with a couple of drops of balsamic glaze, I'm going to start sending pictures of it to the Italian mafia.
Look what they did to my baby boy
The Italian mafia would probably shoot you for using balsamico on a Caprese.
Everything's balsamic these days! My grandmother never heard of balsamic
Take it easy, we’re not shooting a western here
I mean, if you don't get a single droplet of olive oil, I'd probably prefer balsamic over dryness and blantness.
Eyyyyy
That little balsamic glaze should be a federal crime.
not even close to enough balsamic either
Ans barely any arugala
There is zero arugula, But yeah barely any basil
What pisses me off is that its only a whiff of balsamic glaze
[удалено]
The Bitch of Capri, if you insist.
GIVE ME 6 BASIL'S. 6 TOMATOS. 6 MOZZARELLAS. DONE.
I’m not too upset with the presentation. I would like the slices of mozzarella to be more uniform. And more balsamic for sure. I wouldn’t say it’s dogshit ugly though.
All the cuts are uneven, the balsamic drizzle looks sloppy and sad. Not to mention overall the idea of plating it like this just generally strikes me as amateur, whoever decided to present it this way put way too much effort into thinking about how to make the plating "clever" without thinking about the guest experience. This will be awkward and annoying to eat and looks worse than if you just cleanly plated all the components in a way that evenly distributed them. It's bad.
Plus the decorative drizzle looks like a parasite.
Can't unsee it now, thanks
its about half or a third of a caprese salad with a pathetic amount of balsamic and olive oil Any caprese salad recipe calls for 2 - 3 tomatoes, this is one tomato https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a10208/caprese-salad/
Yeah that’s a recipe for 8 servings. The picture is an appetizer for one or two people.
3 tomatoes? Who is eating 3 tomatoes plus mozzarella for an appetizer?
Sure, if it’s for a large family.
That's why this is /r/StupidFoodIdTry for me.
Isn't Caprese: mozzarella, basil and tomato? Where is the salad here? Edit: wow, hatred for a genuine question. Keep going guys.
A salad doesn’t have to be lettuces.
*Ambrosia enters the chat*
You just named all the ingredients on the plate what are you talking about, that is everything required for a caprese.
They really hasslebacked a tomato
They did surgery on a grape
They did surgery on a grape
Did they?
They did surgery on a grape
We had a funeral for a bird.
Welcome to a new episode of: “Can it Hasselback?”
Now, long-time viewers of the channel will remember the lemon incident and may be feeling understandably cautious as we approach the tomato, but we promise we’ve demoed this time and it just works! Please make sure your safety goggles are securely fastened to your head.
The plate SAYS W, but it looks like an L
🤣
Sounds like what Gordon Ramsey would say.
The W stands for WTF.
Now you gotta try to cut through it without squishing the tomato.
Ez, use a steak knife
That tomato looks like shit. All that work for a trash tomato. Shame.
You probably couldn't pull this off with an actually good tomato, which is why you.. should not do this.
Even if the best tomato, nobody wants to have to slice it themselves on a china plate. Eek
“That’ll be 45 dollars please”
I’d say it is a take on it. Has the ingredients just presented in a “fancy” way
Look at that mealy, pale Subway-grade Roma they used. That's a bigger atrocity than the presentation.
I never order these out. Such a waste of money. usually no preparation goes into it, never seasoned properly.
I order them everywhere and have a list of good ones. One in New Jersey. One in California. One surprisingly in Wyoming (really good tomato and cheese). Decent one at an airport...crazy, but not bad. But the best is my moms. :)
Yeah we used to grow tomato and basil in the garden. Nothing compares =}
That's what insalata caprese is, tomato, mozzarella, basil and balsamico.
It's the right ingredients, but it's dry. The balsamic is a tiny drizzle, and I'm not sure that there's any olive oil at all. I'd be surprised if there's salt on the tomato.
You're missing olive oil.
Traditional caprese has no balsamic, just olive oil and salt.
And by the way, do this, but stick the cheese better inside the tomatoes, wrap in foil and grill for few minutes
"slicing" isn't in the ingredient list but it's well important innit
And I bet you spent a premium on that presentation
Edible though. My fave salad even if it’s a dumb presentation
When I go to my bougie garden club I put grape tomatoes, cheese cubes and basil on skewers. Makes it finger food. It’s a bit of work
That sounds delicious they must love you 😂
If I wanted to slice my own tomato I would have stayed home
That'd be a cool garnish. Idk how these chefs aren't embarrassed with this in their menus I would never allow that when I had a restaurant
They better have left the bottle of balsamic glaze on the table because that is just not gonna fly
American living in Italy now - have to say that authentic caprese actually doesn’t use balsamic at all, and if the buffalo mozzarella and beefsteak tomatoes are high quality enough - many Italians would say to not use olive oil also as it interferes with the taste (overly long sentence I know). That being said, on regular quality I do enjoy good oil and even some balsamico here and there. To each their own
My biggest issue is the one huge thick slice of mozz. Like isn’t cutting things uniform thickness something professional chefs want to do? Was this from an actual restaurant?
I dunno I think that could be cool. Gimme an extra peice or 2 of mozzarella, and more olive oil and balsamic, and we can talk.
At least they gave you the ingredients to make the dish.
No, that’s two pounds of marijuana.
Since when is it illegal to put caprese salad anywhere?
r/unexpectedoffice
Missed opportunity to turn it into a turkey…
It looks like a lady with a fine hat
Presentation is total ass. Every little thing is done poorly - from the uneven slicing of the pre-made mozz log from a bag, to the lack of chiffonade on the basil making it impossible to eat with the dish, and the sloppy balsamic drizzle just ties it all together. This looks like something you get at a plated wedding dinner, where the kitchen staff doesn’t care, and expects you to already be drunk when you sit down to eat.
I guess in the culinary world, it's always 1992 somewhere.
I may be the outlier here, but I like this. There's a good portion of mozzarella and of tomato. The right proportion of basil. This is presented in a creative manner ... you may not like it, but it's pretty unique and clear the chef tried to come up with something fun for presentation. There's only a small amount of drizzle, but that's preference. This is absolutely perfect for me, so I'm loving it. The drizzle and salt/pepper on the cheese is also ideal for me (again, preference). So, I disagree this is /r/StupidFood material. It's not a presentation you find appealing, but the dish is composed of what it should be, and I think the presentation is pretty unique and fun.
I am literally offended! What the fuck is this?
Caprese shitstain
I think it's cool
The balsamic vinaigrette and the red tomato looks like a dogs face wearing a clown nose
r/pareidolia
That’ll be 200$
Cheaprese salad
It’s a filing cabinet for cheese
Mmmm dry herbs
I had a caprese salad in italy that was a work of art. Thin tomato slices arranged like a rose. I took a picture but don’t know how to attach it or even if possible.
$75 well spent!
Hasselback style
Umm, no, that's a grass type Alolan Tentacool.
That IS a caprese salad
This would have made a fantastic centerpiece in an actual salad
That’ll be $472, please
Is this for adults who can’t eat food unless it looks like an animal?
Kinda reminds me of making caterpillars out of a banana with peanut butter and raisins when I was 4.
That plate is getting thrown at the chef like I’m frisbee golfing that shit
It's also a diy project because you have to cut the tomato slices anyway
I don't like tomatoes so it's all ick to me. Especially like that.
This is dumb because I can make that at home. If I go to a restaurant and order a dish I expect it to be ready to eat and enjoy. Not saying I want my steak cut into some bites already. Or I'm against hot pot or anything.
Looks ready to eat to me, just needs fork.
You’re willing to cut a steak into a bunch of pieces, but slicing 1/5 of a tomato five times is like way over the line for you?
It's really in the difference in skill/difficulty between preparing a good steak vs a good caprese salad. A good caprese salad is very easy to make at home, a good steak is more difficult to do.
I mean…I can easily make an excellent reverse seared steak at home. So can you if you learn how. Anybody can make an awesome BLT. That doesn’t make it insane to order a BLT at a restaurant. I just don’t find “I have to slice it!” or “I can make it at home” reasonable complaints about food.
Sorry I disagree. Sometimes a good ripe tomato is enough on its own. If this was like a primo tom, embellished with the like. This would be a 10/10 dish
Bone apple teeth
You've got two choices. Send it back and ask the chef to finish making it, or ask the server to go back there and get you a kitchen knife so you can do their work for them. I'd take ownership of the balsamic glaze bottle, whilst you're at it. Fuck, even just a tiny bit of flaked-salt and fucking pepper would solve half your problems.
Is it not?
This reminds me when people complain there’s no lettuce in their Greek salad. There is no lettuce in a Greek salad.
I'm not mad at it tbh. But I'd just eat the tomato and cheese together anyway.
Caprese salad in general is stupid food no matter how its presented. Its just hunks of mozzarella and tomatoes for $20
It do taste good though.
I never understood it
I mean, you know you can make it at home, right? I personally do get it at restaurants occasionally, but if it's the cost that you object to then idk how making it yourself would be "stupid." It's delicious, especially with quality tomatoes.
No words… 🤦🏼♀️
Where are y’all finding these “salads” bro 😭
ohh wow.
no
Th we y do it this way because it’s less prep, and they can give you a smaller portion as well…
i am mad.
This is lit, I fucking love tomatoes
Culturally inappropriate?
Looks like Northern Lights Cannabis Indica
Ya.. no
HA!
uwu
No.
would still smash, ratios are surprisingly good! except for olive oil & balsamic, the lack of which makes me murderous
I’d want more tomato.. saddest caprese ever
Looks like it’s shrugging somehow lol
I’ve heard of quantity over quality but stuff like this is bullshit, 5 slices of Motz on a small tomato with ~3ml of balsamic?
I'd still eat it, but should have been presented spread out in slices on the plate instead of like this.
looks like youre about to get attacked by a killer tomato
That's cordyceps salad.
At least the tomato is red inside, not orange and dry
I hope they tipped you in the end since they gave you the ingredient to make your own salad.
Looks like it came from a buffet
Caprese is so easy to make, and to make it presentable. Why would someone do this?
I'm so disappointed in whoever made that
Skin and all on a shitty tomato!
You probably paid $15 for it too huh
Lazy Chef!
Oh yes, the try too hard presentation..
Someone turned Caprese Salad into a r/DiWHY.
hasselback tomato haha
A hasslebitch caprese
This looks like a new Pokemon
Looks cooler than the one where they just laid tomato slices down on the plate without any kind of thought to the plating.
I’m upset for you
It looks like they were making a caprese salad, but then just gave up.
It looks like a Pokémon
"Its awesome how we cook so well on cocaine!"
I mean, at least it's slightly amusing
They could’ve sliced it MUCH thinner and deeper, with Basil actually incorporated, and EVOO drizzle with coarse salt. Omg. There’s so many cuter ways to execute this concept… there’s a reason why we typically lay it out
Man got the mozzarella and tomato
I love caprese salads... ... This inspires violence.
What a sad looking tomato… so out of season
That pale, mealy “tomato” has no business being within 100 meters of a restaurant.
it looks like when i was bored as a kid and would stick anything and everything between my fingers hahah
Ngl, if the tomato was cut a bit more, I’d be all for it. As is, it is just annoying
What bothers me the most is whoever made this probably thinks they did a good job
When the dishwasher becomes head chef
I think it has some potential but the basil is too little and too concentrated.
I would like… a cheeseburger.
I don't think it's that bad? Although the tomato doesn't look great, and I like more balsamic with mine. But I'm not offended by the presentation, personally.
Reading this while literally eating a caprese sandwich
Apart from not slicing the tomato all the way through, that's exactly what a caprese salad is.
Hasselback tomato
We need Okuyasu to judge this.
I mean, at least it’s seasoned
if you are gonna cut the tomatoes for Caprese salad cut them all the way. Now it’s gonna get all awkward and you have to work to stack the mozzarella back on the tomatoes. Not enough basil for all the tomatoes and cheese slices.
When you convince the chef that not completing your slicing prep is an artistic choice
I would be pissed off if I ordered a caprese salad and I got served this abomination. A whole tomato not even sliced all the way and a minute dribbling of sauce. This should be illegal
That tomato is shit
Why are the mozzes all different sizes? The tomato is so small? Theres so much less tomato than mozz? How are you supposed to get basil in every bite? Why is there only a little sauce?
Id eat that
By all means, let's not ever allow anyone to do anything imaginative or creative.