One of the James Beard nominees has a restaurant near my house that we tried three times and finally had to admit the food was horrible. It is supposed to be southern barbecue but the meat tastes stale and has no flavor. Same for all the sides. The coleslaw, in particularly, is stringy and takes like shredded iceberg lettuce.

Are we out of touch on new food trends? Do my taste buds have to adapt to mediocre food?