On 15 Aug 2006 06:45:15 -0700, "NYC XYZ" >
wrote:

>Well, I wouldn't mind too much an Arab version of it. Actually, I
>wonder why no one's ever tried this: a "food of the world" franchise!
>But authentic, not something that tastes like "regular American fare,"
>only with a dash of exoticism...there are enough "cross-over" dishes in
>any cuisine which can be totally authentic but still quite accessible
>to most any palate....

I agree completely with that. But I have friends who live in
the midwest (including Des Moines, as a matter of fact) and I often
find the parochialism they report they encounter when it comes to food
absolutely staggering!

These are people who came from these areas originally, moved
to NYC then moved back, or were born here and moved to the midwest for
other reasons. If they even manage to find the most prosaic foreign
stuff, like tofu, they're regarded as so weird they may as well be
eating dog food. Or injecting it.

When they get back to NY and I take them to the most common
sort of place here in Chinatown, for instance, they practically weep
with joy.

As for the erratic menu situations you've encountered in
Middle Eastern places here (what started this thread), well, sometimes
erratic is...just what it is. Maybe it's part of the "charm"(?)

DGI