Vegetables, no respect?

Hey I really want to get some feedback from everyone, I am really aggrevated. Last night I went to one of the best restaurants and for the most part everything was great. I had vennison which was done perfectly, but the vegetables that were served with the dish were not cooked properly. Why is it that vegetables are always an after thought for most chefs? I mean really, don't you find that for most part, the vegetables are an after thought for many chefs?

I agree with you 100%. I think that vegetables should received the same attention that the main entree does.

I have been to a number of restaurants where the vegetables are done with artistry and passion. They are not left to the side nor do they merit less importance than the main item. You really have to ask yourself, if the restaurant is not looking at the entire dish (just the main item) then maybe they are in the wrong business.

BINGO SAUCE MAN!!!! The one thing I press on all my staff at service and staff meetings is that the restaurant experience doesn't begin and end at the table. It starts from when a guest pulls into the parking lot, to when they walk past the bar, when they eat and doesn't end until they're back in the car heading home.
Sometimes when I go for dinner it really makes me wonder why some people are in the industry.

[Jim]

I think as the public gravitates towards expecting good food, not just passable, everywhere, the accompaniments will also hold center stage. Nothing compliments the protein aspect of the dish more than delicately cooked vegetables with purpose... not just to fill the plate or to be the requisite 'starch and veg.'

I think the problem is that alot of Chefs throw less experienced cooks & apprentices on to the entremetier station. The attention to detail, flavouring and knowledge just isn't there yet.

I don't understand why this is. To me your starch and veggies are 70% of the entire experience.

I think that most places don't know how to prepare of pair veggies, or even startch, with the main item that they are serving. I think that they just have a "startch and veg du jour" and pile it on everything!! To me veg should have more of an impression than the main item. Everyone does venison, fish, steak things like that, but chefs can really set themselves, as well as the restaurant, apart with the veggies they serve.