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seaglass

(8,173 posts)
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 10:13 AM Dec 2016

Some humor - You Are What You Eat - Trump Grill Could Be the Worst Restaurant in America

I know Trump is tweeting his anger at VF to distract, but I think we can have a few minutes time out to just appreciate this masterpiece.

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/12/trump-grill-review

Halfway through a recent late lunch at the Trump Grill—the clubby steakhouse in the lobby of Trump Tower that has recently become famous through the incessant media coverage of its namesake landlord, and the many dignitaries traipsing through its marbled hall to kiss his ring—I sensed the initial symptoms of a Trump overdose. Thanks to an unprecedented influx of diners, we were sitting at a wobbly overflow table outside the restaurant, in the middle of a crush of tourists, some of whom were proposing to their partners, or waiting to buy Trump-branded merchandise, or sprinting to the bathroom.

As my companions and I contemplated the most painless way to eat our flaccid, gray Szechuan dumplings with their flaccid, gray innards, as a campy version of “Jingle Bells” jackhammered in the background, a giant gold box tied with red ribbon toppled onto us. Trump, it seemed, was already fighting against the War on Christmas.

...

The allure of Trump’s restaurant, like the candidate, is that it seems like a cheap version of rich. The inconsistent menus—literally, my menu was missing dishes that I found on my dining partners’—were chock-full of steakhouse classics doused with unnecessarily high-end ingredients. The dumplings, for instance, come with soy sauce topped with truffle oil, and the crostini is served with both hummus and ricotta, two exotic ingredients that should still never be combined. The menu itself would like to impress diners with how important it is, randomly capitalizing fancy words like “Prosciutto” and “Julienned” (and, strangely, ”House Salad”).

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Some humor - You Are What You Eat - Trump Grill Could Be the Worst Restaurant in America (Original Post) seaglass Dec 2016 OP
That's hilarious! Arkansas Granny Dec 2016 #1
They are. He is so easily baited :-) n/t seaglass Dec 2016 #2
I especially loved this quote: Donald Trump is a poor persons idea of a rich person, Arkansas Granny Dec 2016 #10
Worse. maddiemom Dec 2016 #22
I've been to some bad ones so I doubt it's the worst but Renew Deal Dec 2016 #3
sad thing is DonCoquixote Dec 2016 #36
Flaccid Trump Dumplings? Blue Owl Dec 2016 #4
Oh gawd! Please don't! Arkansas Granny Dec 2016 #11
That may be my favorite scathing restaurant review ever. Pacifist Patriot Dec 2016 #5
For the win..... Tanuki Dec 2016 #6
I liked: yallerdawg Dec 2016 #21
That was my favorite, lol. metroins Dec 2016 #26
"how can someone mess up fries" mic drop GusBob Dec 2016 #31
Bwahahaha. Excellent! progressoid Dec 2016 #7
Have Michelin and Zagat weighed in on the controversy? Mc Mike Dec 2016 #8
lol @ the pics of the "food" arithia Dec 2016 #9
No kidding Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Dec 2016 #13
Ikr? arithia Dec 2016 #18
No toilet paper??!!! LOCK HIM UP!!!! JoeOtterbein Dec 2016 #12
I can see the Tweet now: Initech Dec 2016 #14
This was his actual tweet hahaha :-) seaglass Dec 2016 #15
I love the Fake Trump Tweet generator. Initech Dec 2016 #16
Especially if you can replicate the way he communicates. Lol n/t seaglass Dec 2016 #17
Well Trump does speak like he Tweets. Initech Dec 2016 #20
Message auto-removed Name removed Jan 2020 #43
Does any Trump fan even read Vanity Fair? maddiemom Dec 2016 #25
Tat was freakin' brilliant... 3catwoman3 Dec 2016 #19
Donald Trump is a poor persons idea of a rich person, niyad Dec 2016 #23
that was brilliant!! niyad Dec 2016 #24
It sounds as cheesy and tacky as the decor in his apartment. Vinca Dec 2016 #27
Tee hee! Vanity Fair's publisher Graydon Carter. . . DinahMoeHum Dec 2016 #28
I believe Carter started the "tiny hands" meme. kwassa Dec 2016 #29
SPY Magazine also coined the "short-fingered vulgarian" meme. DinahMoeHum Dec 2016 #30
And here on DU we mock the Olive Garden. hunter Dec 2016 #32
The restaurant is a perfect reflection of Donnie himself. Dark n Stormy Knight Dec 2016 #33
Here are today's specials KamaAina Dec 2016 #34
Imagien if Michelin reviewed this place DonCoquixote Dec 2016 #35
Michelin Sgent Dec 2016 #37
The Michelin review of this place jmowreader Dec 2016 #38
are you serious? DonCoquixote Dec 2016 #39
I'm kidding, but only slightly jmowreader Dec 2016 #40
This article BigDemVoter Dec 2016 #41
For more shits and giggles, here are the Yelp reviews. . . DinahMoeHum Dec 2016 #42

Renew Deal

(81,900 posts)
3. I've been to some bad ones so I doubt it's the worst but
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 10:39 AM
Dec 2016

It's like a casino restaurant and that's what Trump knows. Trump tower was a bit of a tourist trap. The restaurant needs to up its game to fit in with the neighborhood and Trumps new status. Make it at least as great as a Panera.

DonCoquixote

(13,616 posts)
36. sad thing is
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 07:47 PM
Dec 2016

Many casino restaurants are good, and they realize they have to keep prices low so that people blow more at the casino. If Trump ran his casino like his restaurant, no wonder the Taj Mahal fell.

Tanuki

(14,931 posts)
6. For the win.....
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 11:34 AM
Dec 2016

"Renowned butcher Pat LaFrieda once dared me to eat an eyeball that he himself popped out of the skull of a roasted pig. That eyeball tasted better than the Trump Grill’s (Grille’s) Gold Label Burger, a Pat LaFrieda–branded short-rib burger blend molded into a sad little meat thing, sitting in the center of a massive, rapidly staling brioche bun, hiding its shame under a slice of melted orange cheese. It came with overcooked woody batons called “fries”—how can someone mess up fries?—and ketchup masquerading as Heinz. If the cheeseburger is a quintessential part of America’s identity, Trump’s pledge to “make America great again” suddenly appeared not very promising. (Presumably, Trump’s Great America tastes like an M.S.G.-flavored kitchen sponge lodged between two other sponges.)"

yallerdawg

(16,104 posts)
21. I liked:
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 12:35 PM
Dec 2016

"The plate must have tilted during its journey from the kitchen to the table, as the steak slumped to the side over the potatoes like a dead body inside a T-boned minivan."

arithia

(455 posts)
9. lol @ the pics of the "food"
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 12:08 PM
Dec 2016

hummus and ricotta.... what episode of Kitchen Nightmares did they find the head chef on?

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(108,485 posts)
13. No kidding
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 12:22 PM
Dec 2016

What kind of presentation was that?

The steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli -the broccoli looked overcooked. The mashed potatoes looked like they were from a mix. The steak looked gristley and was set on the mashed potatoes.

Was that served in a bowl? I've seen a better steak at the Sizzler.

arithia

(455 posts)
18. Ikr?
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 12:33 PM
Dec 2016

I love how there was that steak juice puddle from the uncut meat all over the plate. Overcooked everything and mysteriously sweaty steak? That's the work of Chef Mic.

Just what you want from a pricey, high end meal. Microwaved f*cking food.

seaglass

(8,173 posts)
15. This was his actual tweet hahaha :-)
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 12:29 PM
Dec 2016

Donald J. Trump Verified account
‏@realDonaldTrump

Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!

Initech

(100,150 posts)
20. Well Trump does speak like he Tweets.
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 12:35 PM
Dec 2016

Which is in short sentences with simple language and lots of hyperbole. And the little that I know about method acting is that you need to get into the mindset of your character to replicate him or her.

Response to Initech (Reply #16)

niyad

(113,966 posts)
23. Donald Trump is a poor persons idea of a rich person,
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 12:51 PM
Dec 2016

Donald Trump is “a poor person’s idea of a rich person,” Fran Lebowitz recently observed at The Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit. “They see him. They think, ‘If I were rich, I’d have a fabulous tie like that.’” Nowhere, perhaps, does this reflection appear more accurate than at Trump Grill (which is occasionally spelled Grille on various pieces of signage). On one level, the Grill (or Grille), suggests the heights of plutocratic splendor—a steakhouse built into the basement of one’s own skyscraper.
. . . .

DinahMoeHum

(21,839 posts)
28. Tee hee! Vanity Fair's publisher Graydon Carter. . .
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 01:24 PM
Dec 2016

. . .can STILL stick a needle up Trump's rump.

After all, he and Kurt Andersen founded SPY Magazine way back in the late 1980s and
gave their blessing to Esquire Magazine's 1-month resurrection of SPY in October this year.


http://www.esquire.com/spy/

kwassa

(23,340 posts)
29. I believe Carter started the "tiny hands" meme.
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 01:30 PM
Dec 2016

I heard him interviewed about it. They continued it precisely because Trump got so upset about it.

hunter

(38,353 posts)
32. And here on DU we mock the Olive Garden.
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 01:45 PM
Dec 2016

For the employees of Trump's grill it sounds as if the Olive Garden would be a step up.

Somehow I'm certain the tips would be better too.

Dark n Stormy Knight

(9,776 posts)
33. The restaurant is a perfect reflection of Donnie himself.
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 04:23 PM
Dec 2016

Classless, self-aggrandizing glitz in place of taste and quality.

DonCoquixote

(13,616 posts)
35. Imagien if Michelin reviewed this place
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 07:44 PM
Dec 2016

He would be Tweeting against them for not making his place four star. Sad thing is, if Le Pen wins next year, she will probably force Michelin to give his place four stars. Either that or some critics will get a special Radioactive cocktail courtesy of Czar Rasputin.

Sgent

(5,857 posts)
37. Michelin
Thu Dec 15, 2016, 08:35 PM
Dec 2016

only gives up to 3 stars. Even a 1 star Michelin restaurant is considered one of the best in the world.

jmowreader

(50,601 posts)
40. I'm kidding, but only slightly
Fri Dec 16, 2016, 12:51 AM
Dec 2016

From scanning his menu (which is as close as I intend to get to this place; not only does the restaurant belong to Donald Trump but it's really expensive) I find the following atrocities.

We shall start with his cocktail menu - fitting, because you'd have to be trashed to admit you went in this place.

He offers a "billionaire martini" for $20. In it you get "premium Chopin vodka" (which is reputed as a pleasant-tasting utility-grade vodka, not really "premium" at all), vermouth, an olive, an onion and a small French pickle called a cornichon. "Martinis" are, last I checked, supposed to be made from gin and not supposed to have onions in them (that drink is the Gibson); a "vodka martini" is also available but it'll be called that.

The "Boardroom" costs $17, and brings you what respectable saloons call a Rob Roy.

He serves a "5th Avenue" for $18. A cocktail called the 5th Avenue exists but it isn't this; Trump's version is better known as a Cosmopolitan.

His $18 "The Tower" bears an unsettling resemblance to a drink where the barkeep attempted to make a pina colada after running out of coconut cream. That may be best; coconut cream goes bad quickly.

And then there's the $15 Bloody Mary he calls "You're Fired."

He offers several "classic cocktails" such as gin martinis, Manhattans (of course) and mimosas; the prices are slightly more than outrageous to my mind, but then again I normally don't go to bars owned by teetotalers so who knows.

Moving on to the lunch menu, we find the infamous Trump Tower Taco Bowl, which costs eighteen freaking dollars.

He offers a "New England Lobster Roll" which proves more than anything that Trump hasn't actually been to New England. There are two basic variants to this rather proletarian dish: one has hot lobster with melted butter on it, the other has cold lobster mixed with mayo. The Orange Abomination's version is made with creme fraiche. It also says there are "herbs" on it. Now children, I can think of one "herb" that would help with the knowledge of Mr. Trump's planned maladministration...



I don't think that's the herb he puts on these, though.

For $23 you can get a "steak sandwich" containing "prime sirloin steak and crumbled bleu cheese served open face on toasted garlic bread. For $20 you can get a round-trip Megabus ticket to Philadelphia, where bleu cheese and steak sandwiches will never meet.

On the "you must be shitting me" list: he serves a "Gold Label Burger" for $19. Cheese and "toppings" are $1.15 per item extra.

He spelled "quesadilla" wrong. This particular abomination comes with "Dago's famous guacamole." Two problems here: "Dago" sounds like his guacamole-masher is Italian (because, of course, "Pedro's famous guacamole" would be WAY too obvious), and hasn't anyone told this testa de osso "dago" is an ethnic slur?

For twenty bucks you can get a "turkey BLT" that contains Russian dressing. Because why not, comrade?

The background picture is an especial joy: in the midst of Trump's overpriced, trying-too-hard eatery you see a plastic water bottle - naturally, one with The Donald's fat face on it - sitting right on the table. Donald, this is what carafes are for.

Let us move on to the Prix Fixe Menu. You have two choices. For $28, you can get your choice of salad or soup, pasta or a sandwich - one of which is his burger, and once again cheese is an upcharge - and either a brownie a la mode, ice cream or sorbet. For $17 extra you can upgrade to his 16-ounce sirloin steak, which hopefully is not a Trump Steak but rather something they just buy from a grocery store in Yonkers or something.

He offers a dessert menu, and on it is a very curious "New York style cheesecake." The price isn't bad - seven bucks seems to be the going rate for this dish in the city - but do they really need to point out it's "New York" cheesecake? Last I checked this restaurant is actually IN New York.

Here's where the shit gets weird: Mr. Trump offers a menu of seven "classic deli style sandwiches." Neither corned beef nor pastrami are offered. Perhaps this restaurant is not actually in New York.

This menu would get you an F in any community college's cooking school's Menu Design class.
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