Food ratings by country

[kumquat]

Anything with spice.

1) Indian
2) Vietnamese/Thai
3) Other Asian
4) Tex-Mex

Worst:
1) Great Britain
2) France
3) Japan
4) North American Indian (or Canadian version thereof)

[vicente solano]

Thank you Friar and Fire! if it weren´t for you....

[unclemick]

What nationality is pizza now a days? I lean toward thin crust.

heh heh heh - BUT no sliced fresh cucumber on top like I got in Finland in July. .

[megacorp-firee]

1) southern France
2) japan for small ma and pa stands/cafe like places that specialize on some specific dish (like yakatori, noodles, octopus balls)
3) taiwan - night market foods and the food courts in the bottom of department stores
4 a) Big cities in China - Beijing (duck of course), Shanghai for dumplings
4 b) smaller cities (less than 2 milliion people ) for local cusines
5) Hong Kong - dim sum, seafood, noodles ... nuff said
6) Mexico - various regional and street foods
7) New York City - ethnic foods in the neighborhoods
8) Chicago - see above and Chicago style pizza
9) San Francisco - seafood, bistros, cafes
10) Boston - North end italian, seafood chowders, ...etc., great bars
11) North Carolina - BBQ pork sausages, beef briskets
12) Texas - chicken fried steak, BBQ
13) Las Vegas - local Mexican and Chinese food, strip hotel high end dining
14) Toronto - ethnic foods

I have not been (yet), but looking forward to trying different regional foods in southwestern and western China, Singaporean hawker market foods, and Thailand street food.

ooooh almost forgot - Indian food in London ... go figure
New Orleans - no further comment required

[Gumby]

1. Italian
2. French
3. Indian
.
.
169. Traditional English

[CuppaJoe]

OP, food in Italy is out of this world.

I'm surprised how many here mention Vietnamese; my list:

1. Vietnamese from the uncrowded place down the street.

2. Thai where I actually eat often because they are open for lunch.

153. Vietnamese from the place with a six month wait for reservations--their to-go food is similar to #1 but the atmosphere is too high tech stainless steel.

3,678. Vietnamese in Vancouver, B.C. Pretty bad.

Absolutely last on my list: Vietnamese in Quebec City where they don't know the meaning of "spicy."

[unclemick]

She used to drag me shopping for spices and sauces - 'Vietnamese Villiage' eastern New Orleans - the home district of the one and only Vietnamese American elected to Congress(he beat money in the freezer Jefferson).

Combined with classic New Orleans/north Georgia/her DIL's New Orleans style Italian - I went 30 lbs overweight on dishes with 'no name'.

Only in America.

heh heh heh - diplomacy says it's because I quit smoking three years ago.

[tuixiu]

One that's mentioned often that didn't do it for me is India, although I've only spent time in the North. I quickly grew tired of the excessive bread type stuff and the any type of meat in sauce curry/masala just didn't compare to Thai. I did have some good food there, it just didn't overwhelm me like when in Thailand or Vietnam where everytime I'm like "cool I'm hungry!' kinda deal.

Hell I was in heaven enjoying the serene environment of Pushkar until the no beer no meat started getting to me. Weird asking around for boiled eggs and a nice tall Kingfisher lager on the down low.


Regional BBQ variations would be an interesting thread on it's own. Some people are amazingly passionate about KC vs. Carolina vs. Texas vs. St Louis etc. styles, scoffing at whatever ketchupy or too dry or mustardy or vinerarish tilt isn't in their favorite.

[tuixiu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclemick She used to drag me shopping for spices and sauces - 'Vietnamese Villiage' eastern New Orleans - the home district of the one and only Vietnamese American elected to Congress(he beat money in the freezer Jefferson).

Heh the Cajun restaurant I frequent here in Arizona is run by a Vietnamese family.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiuxiu Heh the Cajun restaurant I frequent here in Arizona is run by a Vietnamese family.

Most Cajun food outside of Louisiana isn't really Cajun, though. I don't know why but I haven't ever had decent Cajun food outside the state. Perhaps Louisiana should export chefs to other states as a charitable action.

A few years ago I had a bowl of gumbo in another Gulf Coast state that literally, honestly, tasted like fish soup made with dishwater (ugh).

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiuxiu Heh the Cajun restaurant I frequent here in Arizona is run by a Vietnamese family.

Yep, the Chinese/Thai restaurant we frequent is run by a Vietnamese family. And one of the best Italian restaurants around is run by two brothers exiled from Iran when the Shah fell.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Most Cajun food outside of Louisiana isn't really Cajun, though. I don't know why but I haven't ever had decent Cajun food outside the state.

What will you eat in MO?

[Orchidflower]

tiuxiu, there are entire books on the regional difference in BBQ out there. Now cooking BBQ is really a competitive sport, which you will see if you watch some of the cooking shows.

Could someone please explain what is good about Japanese foods? My son loves it, and worked for 6 months as a cook in a Japanese restaurant; but I just don't get the raw fish thing at all. I don't seem to even like their bean ice cream (ice cream, for gosh sakes!) and wasabi. Only their fried fresh veggies seem ok to me, but too fried and unhealthy to me. The only thing I really like is Japanese beer it seems.

Now I understand French food is supposedly the gold standard, but I still am trying to figure out why? The flavors are subtle..maybe too subtle at times. I just don't get all the big whoopla over French food. Call me stupid?

Can some foodie on this board explain the love of those two types of food?

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo What will you eat in MO?

Not Cajun food in restaurants! LOL There are several such restaurants in Springfield but no thanks. I will probably occasionally do some cooking, but since I don't like to cook probably I will have to make do with American chain restaurant food like Macaroni Grill or TGIFridays.

The difference in foods has been a huge concern for Frank and me, believe it or not. We plan to wean ourselves off of New Orleans food and meanwhile maybe his sister can send us some care packages.

New Orleans style Sicilian/Creole is what we will miss most. There is one Sicilian restaurant in Springfield, but after visiting twice we will probably never go there again. The dishes have the same names, but they just don't GET it. I have the URL of a decent New Orleans Italian(Sicilian)/Creole restaurant down here that ships their red sauce in jars and it is better than my homemade sauce. So, that's a start, even though jarred red sauce is nearly a prosecutable offense down here.

Actually, worse food could help in my continual weight loss efforts.

Edited to add: When I moved from Hawaii to Meridian, Mississippi in 1975 to marry my ex, I had the same problem. Eventually you get used to the local food and forget what once was daily fare. It's an adjustment, though.

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchidflower tiuxiu, there are entire books on the regional difference in BBQ out there. Now cooking BBQ is really a competitive sport, which you will see if you watch some of the cooking shows. Could someone please explain what is good about Japanese foods? My son loves it, and worked for 6 months as a cook in a Japanese restaurant; but I just don't get the raw fish thing at all. I don't seem to even like their bean ice cream (ice cream, for gosh sakes!) and wasabi. Only their fried fresh veggies seem ok to me, but too fried and unhealthy to me. The only thing I really like is Japanese beer it seems. Now I understand French food is supposedly the gold standard, but I still am trying to figure out why? The flavors are subtle..maybe too subtle at times. I just don't get all the big whoopla over French food. Call me stupid? Can some foodie on this board explain the love of those two types of food?

There is really nothing to explain and nothing to understand. As people, we each have a set of unique likes and dislikes. There is really no point in justifying them. Have you ever tried melon-flavored Mongolian cheese? I cannot understand how someone could love that stuff, yet many people do. They could try to explain to me what it is they like about it, but the chances that it will make me change my mind about melon-flavored Mongolian cheese are at best extremely low.

[unclemick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo What will you eat in MO?

Zatarain's outta da box man - plus a little experimentation.



heh heh heh - alternated with BBQ of course. I smoked turkey breast last Thanksgiving - barrel Cajun II smoker using apple chips/apple juice in the water pan. Not competition quality yet - but I'm getting there.

[unclemick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREdreamer There is really nothing to explain and nothing to understand. As people, we each have a set of unique likes and dislikes. There is really no point in justifying them. Have you ever tried melon-flavored Mongolian cheese? I cannot understand how someone could love that stuff, yet many people do. They could try to explain to me what it is they like about it, but the chances that it will make me change my mind about melon-flavored Mongolian cheese are at best extremely low.

Scrapple and Lebanon baloney - I had an SO (from Philly) who used to get care packages in New Orleans. Yech!

I persuaded my parents that I could live(after leaving Washington State) without smoked salmon, smoked smelt and Applets and Cotlets candy at Christmas -although it took years.

heh heh heh - still like the candy.

[CuppaJoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchidflower Could someone please explain what is good about Japanese foods?....I just don't get the raw fish thing at all. I don't seem to even like their bean ice cream (ice cream, for gosh sakes!) and wasabi. Only their fried fresh veggies seem ok to me, but too fried and unhealthy to me. The only thing I really like is Japanese beer it seems....

Liking the beer is a start. I'd stick to tuna or salmon sashimi for the raw fish to see if you can stomach it and go slow on the wasabi, it is an acquired taste. You could always order something like teriyaki chicken or salmon with rice and salad and skip the raw fish, wasabi, and ice cream. I love the cold noodles but go easy on the dipping sauces which tend to be very salty.

[Orchidflower]

You should see my son just stuff that raw fish and sushi in and gobble down the wasabi, which he thinks is the best thing ever...barf. The cooked stuff is okay, but to me the raw....no way. He acts like I'm a peasant for not liking this stuff, but he can have it all as far as I'm concerned.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclemick Zatarain's outta da box man - plus a little experimentation. heh heh heh - alternated with BBQ of course. I smoked turkey breast last Thanksgiving - barrel Cajun II smoker using apple chips/apple juice in the water pan. Not competition quality yet - but I'm getting there.

Hey, you know Zatarain's has frozen microwaveable stuff, too. Haven't tried it but lots of different meals. I will be looking for those up north, and maybe there will be some frozen gumbos of various brands up there that are passable.

For some reason, I am not crazy about BBQ. It's OK - - I'll eat it - - but I wouldn't cross the street to get the best BBQ in the world.