Settle a fierce debate between my wife and I

My wife spent 30 years in restaurants, mostly in leadership.  She is a complete foodie and one hell of a chef.  We got into a (fun) debate last night and I need input. 

I say foods normally served hot can still taste reasonably good eaten cold.  She says I'm out of my mind.  I'm not saying that they'd all be AS good as when hot, but still good.  Pizza is the most hotly...pun intended...debated of those foods, but I say most other foods can also taste good cold.  We're talking solid foods, not drinks.  

What say you?  What foods would you not eat cold?

pizza and chinese food are 100% yes, IMHO.  Everything else depends on how dunk and/or high I am, haha.  

Anything with a "healthy" fat layer.

Roast, pork belly, Prime rib, skin on chicken* 

Otherwise, I have no problem with it and actually prefer some things cold, lasagna being the biggest one. I judge pizza places on how their pizza is coming out of the fridge at midnight. 

*some fried chicken is amazing cold, some is soggy and disgusting, but I'm referring to like skin on drumsticks. 

Cold fried chicken with hot sauce is a delicacy. The biscuit should be heated back up though. 

I microwave my ice cream so I don't think I'll be of any help.

I'll agree on the cold fried chicken, but that's about it.  Pizza needs to be piping hot, with the cheese nearly a liquid.  Not-fried chicken should be served hot or with homemade mayo (or Dukes if you're stretched for time) as chicken salad.  Pork and beef, also hot.  Cooked veggies are just blah when they're cold, but raw veggies are fantastic.  Pies and cookies are okay served cold, but better warm - or in the case of fruit pies, scalding - from the oven.  Cheesepie is kind of gross warm and should be chilled, though.

Stampie said:

I microwave my ice cream so I don't think I'll be of any help.

I knew there was something funny about you when we met, I just couldn't put my finger on it....

Totally with the hive on the fried chicken.  It can be awesome cold.

What about pies?  I'm not a big pie eater, but the only way I'll eat apple pie is if it's fresh out of the fridge.  I think hot fruit is gross.

I agree with your wife, you're nuts. There are exceptions to the rule such as pizza, but generally the rule is a rule for a reason.

I would like to hear which types of food are acceptable cold for those weirdos that like that kind of thing.  Is it a texture thing? Something else?

I agree with your wife.

If it was cooked properly with correct spice package, etc.  I can enjoy eating almost anything cold out of the frig.

Pizza, pastas, cuban sandwiches, pies, chicken, black beans and rice, baked beans... all in the past week.

Pizza is definitely better hot. Room temp in a pinch but not out of the fridge for me. I would side with the Mrs. on this one.

Your wife is correct. 

Depends on the food but yes most warm/hot food is still good served cold the next day even spaghetti.

I ordered a spinach salad with grilled salmon and balsamic vinaigrette dressing from a French restaurant while on a road trip last weekend.

The salmon was served cold and it absolutely ruined everything...what should have been a delicious meal became "just scarf down some stupid calories and go."

The answer is a resounding... it depends.

I tend to prefer most things served hot to be reheated (poultry is an exception; I'll eat chicken or turkey either way).  DW won't eat reheated chicken of any kind - says it tastes funny - but will reheat some things.  DD#2 never reheats leftovers at all, no matter what.

Pizza should be warmed, and preferably in the oven rather than the microwave unless there is no other option.

Chinese food could be OK cold except I like it with the rice and there is no way you can eat leftover rice without warming it back up.  Cold previously-cooked vegetables are also pretty nasty.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Microwaving ruins food, and don't always have the time to reheat on a stove or in the toaster oven.

Some stuff is just less messy cold, which makes it better, like my lasagna example. Although lasagna and pizza are basically the same thing. 

Asian food, and Americanized Asian foods, are good hot and cold. Noodles get more flavory chilling in the fridge collecting sauces. Cold rice is gross though, the only way to reheat rice that doesn't suck is to turn it into fried rice.

Oh, fish.  Fish can be cold but only it it was never cooked or it's smoked.  Shellfish is okay cold sometimes - shrimp, crab in a salad or dip, that kind of thing.  Honestly, any kind of meat that's been saladized or made into a dip.  But not every dip.  Buffalo chicken dip and Skyline dip are pretty nasty when they get cold.  Oh, har har, you're going to do the fixed-it-for-you thing and reword that to say that they're just nasty.  But you're just factually incorrect, both of those dips are objectively awesome and your tastebuds are defective!

Tacos, burritos, potatoes of any sort except chips, burgers, sausage, eggs, pancakes: all hot.

Almost everything potatoes. They SUCK cold. Fries, tots, hashbrowns, baked.

Duke said:

Pizza should be warmed, and preferably in the oven rather than the microwave unless there is no other option.

 

100%, microwave pizza is gross IMO. I like to use the air fryer, 2 minutes and it is like fresh pizza. 

RevRico said:

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Microwaving ruins food, 

 

You and my wife will get along great.  She says the same thing and refuses to put pizza in the microwave.

Maybe I just have a highly unsophisticated palate, but I can eat pretty much anything cold and enjoy it.  Pizza or pretty much any protein (I don't eat fish).  Pasta.  Cake, cookies, pie.  I very much prefer potato products to be hot, especially fries, but cold isn't terrible.  In fact, cold mashed potatoes and cold gravy are pretty good.  Tacos.  Mac and cheese.  Cinnamon rolls.  Veggies.

I'm not saying I prefer them cold, because I don't.  Generally I like them hot.  But I have zero qualms about eating any of them cold.

If the only thing you have to eat is pizza and the only way to have to heat the pizza up is the microwave, then your best course of action is to just go ahead and starve to death. 

Agree with the air fryer suggestion - if you're not heating up much pizza, it is the best way to get it back to an edible temperature.  The only downside is that if you need to do a whole pizza you either have a very tiny pizza or your air fryer is giant-sized.

Mayo on chicken? I'm disappointed in y'all

Pizza taste better the second day barely warm. 

If you need to reheat pizza(like a heathen), toaster oven, Air fryer, or let me blow your mind here.

Put your pizza in a frying pan cheese side down, then turn the burner into medium. When you start to see the grease leak out around the sides about 3 minutes depending on if it's real or chain pizza and toppings, flip it for another minute. 

Microwave will just make it all soggy and gluey and gross. 

I agree with your wife.  Things meant to be "hot" should be served hot.  It ABSOLUTELY affects the taste when those foods are served cold.   Most are just gross when cold.  (as noted, pizza is a stand alone exception)

People don't know how to use microwaves.  If you dump 1-1.2kw directly into a pizza its going to get ugly real quick.

Put the microwave on 30% power and give it a minute or two and you'll have a much more tolerable outcome.  Not quite oven quality, but decent.

Signed, the guy who never uses full power on the microwave.

Reagrding cold pizza, the only reason I would eat pizza cold is:

1) there is nothing to heat it with AND

2) I failed in my duty to consume it all when it was first cooked