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Vox presents an article about restaurant noise levels and why they've risen over the years.
When the Line Hotel opened in Washington, DC, last December, the cocktail bars, gourmet coffee shops, and restaurants that fill its cavernous lobby drew a lot of buzz. Housed in a century-old church, the space was also reputedly beautiful.
My first visit in February confirmed that the Line was indeed as sleek as my friends and restaurant critics had suggested. There was just one problem: I wanted to leave almost as soon as I walked in. My ears were invaded by a deafening din.
[...] In reckoning with this underappreciated health threat, I’ve been wondering how we got here and why any well-meaning restaurateur would inflict this pain on his or her patrons and staff. I learned that there are a number of reasons — and they mostly have to do with restaurant design trends. In exposing them, I hope restaurateurs will take note: You may be deafening your staff and patrons.
(Score: 3, Informative) by AthanasiusKircher on Friday April 20 2018, @12:50PM (4 children)
My understanding is that gristle is actually a common thing in Vietnamese (and other Southeast Asian) cuisines sometimes. Westerners tend to trim it out in most dishes. I've been to several pho restaurants over the years that actually advertise "gristle" as something deliberately added to the soup (e.g., a list of "rare beef, tendon, tripe, gristle,..." etc.). I may be imagining this, but I feel like that inclusion has lessened over the past decade or more as pho has spread and become more popular in the U.S. -- and pho tries more to conform to Western expectations.
Still, places that offer it usually tend to have soup versions that would definitely not have it. And if you ordered a version that was just "lean beef," it's typically trimmed out. But there is not only an "excuse" for gristle; it's a typical part of the textural experience of pho (which originated in its modern form as cheap street food to deal with the less desirable cuts of beef at a time when the French demanded more beef but mostly consumed the better cuts).
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Friday April 20 2018, @12:57PM (1 child)
Also (and this is really off-topic, I know, but I can't help)... If you go back and order the meatballs, note that many pho places seem to deliberately include hunks of gristle (and tendon) in their meatball mix. I can't figure out how it would happen otherwise, given the fine grind I've seen with many meatballs -- they must deliberately chop gristle more coarsely to put it in and give texture and flavor.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 21 2018, @11:34AM
Meatballs with gristle is an actual product type not a flaw. Google for recipes and videos.
I actually prefer that type in most cases, more interesting texture (doesn't normally add flavor).
If you don't like gristle maybe tell them you don't want those, or eat at a place where they have gristle free alternatives. Same for the meat choices and cuts.
Don't be like someone who orders a t-bone steak and complains there's a bone ;).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @06:03PM (1 child)
Original AC here. I had a feeling that I might have something
to learn about Pho, so I'm not going to two-star this place.
It was packed for a reason. Maybe I'll just have to admit that
I don't like *authentic* Pho.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday April 20 2018, @07:36PM
Don't *currently* like authentic pho. There was probably a time you didn't like coffee either - if you like pho , it's quite possibly worth acquiring a taste for "authentic" pho as well, if only to increase the range of dishes you can really enjoy. I'm not a big fan of pho myself, but I can say that once you get used to the unusual texture of gristle it has a lot to offer in many dishes. Fat too - though I much prefer it grilled or smoked to boiled.