"Jean B." wrote:
>
> MtnTraveler wrote:
> > Omelet wrote:
> >> Cuban. Hands down. At a rather fancy place in Miami Florida.
> >> It was compliments of Coulter Electronics when I was there for a
> >> training seminar. It got bad reviews by our entire class so they
> >> decided to not use that place any more.
> >>
> >> The service was fantastic but the food was awful...
> >
> > I must offer two as I can not choose between them.
> > Tied for worst would be South African and Burmese. Evey meal I ate
> > (three times a day in restaurants supposedly of good quality) of local
> > dishes was worse than the dishes before it. At least in South Africa
> > there were other cuisines readily available. In Myanmar I could only
> > find eatable meals (Western, Chinese, Thai, etc.,) in large business
> > hotels.
> >
> BUT there are nice foods in both places. Mohinga springs to mind
> as far as Burma/Myanmar goes.
>
> This gets back to restaurants. What does "of good quality" mean?
> That someone thinks this is what a foreigner wants to eat?
>
> --
> Jean B.

That's the crux of the matter. Food that has been dumbed down for the
forners isn't going to be very good.

It's also a matter of differentiating between bad food and one's
particular tastes. Someone who hates Asian fish sauces/pastes full stop
isn't likely to enjoy anything made with them. Same with someone who
hates 'curry'. What sort of curry? There are thousands and the curry
hater can't have eaten them all.

Kris wrote:
>
> On Aug 20, 10:48 am, "ViLco" > wrote:
> > Kris wrote:
> > > When I was in Amsterdam, I went to some good places. Italian and
> > > seafood in particular, IIRC.
> >
> > > Of course, I think I ate some greasy after-bar food too!!
> >
> > Mmmmmmm.... what were those spots called? Febo, maybe?
> > And do you remember those lunatic "automatic restaurants", usually operated
> > by surinamese or indonesian staff, where a wall of small glass-shielded
> > boxes stays between you and the kitchen and you just insert the coins near
> > the box whose content you want to get? The box opens and you can grab your
> > item. Almost everything in those boxes is breaded and fried, and in those
> > breading shells there's almost everything: spring roll filling, strangely
> > dressed noodles, seafood with veggies, minced meat with spicy potato
> > puree... LOL, those are way too strange to forget'em.
> > --
> > Vilco
>
>
> No! I WISH I had seen them - definitely a travel memory in the
> making!!
>
> Wonder what food safety issue they had...
>
> Kris

None really. Properly deep-fried food doesn't readily spoil and the
turnover is quick. Nice to get a quick portion of 'kroketten' while
waiting for a train.

The automatic restaurants are a bit like an old US automat. Put money
in, take food out. Horn and Hardart's comes to mind. Don't know if there
were any others. Was fortunate enough to eat at one just before it
closed shop. Beautiful polished 'dolphin' brass coffee dispenser, and
the food was on plates.

"Jean B." wrote:
>
> Omelet wrote:
> > Cuban. Hands down. At a rather fancy place in Miami Florida.
> > It was compliments of Coulter Electronics when I was there for a
> > training seminar. It got bad reviews by our entire class so they
> > decided to not use that place any more.
> >
> > The service was fantastic but the food was awful...
>
> But is that indicative of the cuisine, or is it just that
> restaurant (fancy doesn't necessarily mean good)--or the choices
> made there?
>
> The worst food I have had was Bangladeshi, but I think that was
> the restaurant's fault. They were probably catering to what they
> perceive as American tastes, since it was excruciatingly bland.
>
> --
> Jean B.

LOL They most certainly did dumb that down then. The local Bengali caffs
in my neighbourhood served some very spicy curries. Plates of finely
chopped tiny green chiles were a common condiment for those who didn't
think it was hot enough. But not all Bengali dishes are that hot; they
run the gamut.

ChattyCathy wrote:
>
>
> Dunno what "mtn" deems restaurants of 'good quality' in South Africa -
> maybe he tried KFC and/or McD's -

LOL! I think we have a different opinion about what restaurants are
'good quality.' I was speaking of local restaurants that were
recommended to me by local residents. I simply didn't care for the foods
I ate in them. The international foods I ate in hotels was more to my
liking. This is hardly a condemnation of the country.

> He's the
> first person I've come across that hasn't enjoyed South African food.

It is possible that I'm the only person in the world who doesn't care
for it, which explains the proliferation of South African restaurants
all over the world.

> And yes, there is a great mingling of the cuisines you mentioned, (and a
> few more) and we have some fabulous restaurants that cater for a wide
> variety of tastes.

Very true. In my post I thought I was clear in saying it was 'local
cuisine' that I didn't care for. I enjoyed the international dishes.

"Gregory Morrow" > wrote in
m:

> And bad Chinese really does suck, in my Chicawgo nabe there are still
> a plethora of old - fashioned chop suey take - out joints, all with
> terrible food. Don't know how they stay in business, there are lots
> of Thai, etc., options around now...

Some people have no taste.

We were sitting at our favourite Chinese (cheap) joint one night many years
ago, four guys came in and sat down at the next table. They couldn't
recognize anything on the menu. So they asked a lot of questions and we
gave them some tips. But they were really lost, like they had walked in a
resturant where everyone spoke Chinese.

--

Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest
of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest
good of everyone. - John Maynard Keynes

Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> MtnTraveler wrote:

> I'm rather surprised by the South African comment. I was under the
> impression that South Africa might be something like Australia has
> become, a nation which freely mingles the cuisines of the inhabitants to
> good effect. In Australia, you can see culinary fusion influenced by
> British, Indonesian, Greek, Italian, German, and Chinese cuisines, as
> well as its own "bush tucker." I would *hope* that culinary fusion could
> occur between the English, Dutch, Portuguese, Cape Malay, Indian, and
> indigenous cuisines in South Africa. I'm a bit saddened and puzzled to
> hear otherwise.

This fusion does exist, and it has a positive effect on the foods served
there. In my post I was speaking strictly of 'local cuisine,' not fusion
foods. I have found very tasty foods everywhere, but they are not always
local dishes. The original poster was asking about specific cuisines
rather than fusion dishes.

If we don't care for whale blubber muktuk or seal stuffed with auk
(feathers and all,) buried for six months and eaten cold, we might not
care for the 'local' cuisine of the Inuit. Fortunately, we can get a
good pizza or steak in Kuujjuaq as there are quite a few Inuit who
prefer other dishes! )

Gregory Morrow wrote:
>
> Phillipino can be pretty bad...cheap, greezy, tasteless, everything larded
> with palm oil...

Yes, the difference between lumpia and egg rolls
is that lumpia is open at the ends so that the
frying fat saturates the filling. Filipino cooking
seems to be the only Asian cuisine that has embraced
deep-fry to such an extent. That guy who was ranting
about Paris might have been happier in Manila.

> And bad Chinese really does suck, in my Chicawgo nabe there are still a
> plethora of old - fashioned chop suey take - out joints, all with terrible
> food. Don't know how they stay in business, there are lots of Thai, etc.,
> options around now...

There used to be a Chinese restaurant near me which
apparently served a rustic version of Chinese cuisine.
If you ordered something with chicken in it, they'd
just hack it up, bones and all. You'd have to pick
out the bone pieces while eating. I've also been
to a Filipino restaurant that did it that way.

I guess that's how they do it in small towns in Asia.

Bobo Bonobo® wrote:

> Some cultures' food just *are* really bland.

Very! Try (or don't for better taste) the local dishes of the western
Caroline Islands. Tapioca, without much variation, is served with most
meals. Very few spices or herbs used in the main dishes which are mostly
boiled or grilled fish.

I really can't say there is one cuisine that was the worst. I'm pretty open
to try anything.

But the worst dish I ever had was Lutefisk. I tried it three times when I
lived in Wisconsin... prepared by three different people.

After the third try, I had to go eat the ass out of a skunk just to get the
taste out of my mouth.

George L

Arri London wrote:
>
> "Jean B." wrote:
>
>> BUT there are nice foods in both places. Mohinga springs to mind
>> as far as Burma/Myanmar goes.
>>
>> This gets back to restaurants. What does "of good quality" mean?
>> That someone thinks this is what a foreigner wants to eat?
>>
>> --
>> Jean B.
>
> That's the crux of the matter. Food that has been dumbed down for the
> forners isn't going to be very good.

The restaurants we ate in while in Myanmar were local restaurants rather
than tourist restaurants. Actually, unless you're in Yangon, Mandalay,
or Began, there are relatively few 'tourist' restaurants (although they
do exist. You do have to search for them though.) When spending a few
months there one is forced to eat where the locals eat. However, people
are so poor in Myanmar that the restaurants also use very few
ingredients for their dishes, probably to keep prices affordable to the
locals.

On 2009-08-21, George Leppla > wrote:

> After the third try, I had to go eat the ass out of a skunk just to get the
> taste out of my mouth.

You shoulda tried a cheap after shave.

nb

In article >,
Steve Y > wrote:

> If by cuisine, you mean "style" of cooking, then I would have to for
> Pasta and Dim Sum, neither of which do anything for me at all
>
> Steve
>
Wow, both of those are generally pretty popular!
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein


Subscribe:

In article
>,
"Bent Attorney Esq." > wrote:

> On Aug 20, 3:36*am, "Giusi" > wrote:
> > "Omelet" ha scritto nel messaggio
> >
> > > Cuban. Hands down. At a rather fancy place in Miami Florida> The service
> > > was fantastic but the food was awful...
> >
> > Bad *restaurant, because Cuban food is very good.

Heh! I see I'm going to have to look up recipes on line now.

> >
> > My worst was specific to the highest part of Ecuadorean Andes. *It's a poor
> > area, mostly goats and cactus, and all they sell to eat is a strange form of
> > hominy that resembles wet popcorn and cubes of fried pork coated in lard to
> > keep it from spoiling without refrigeration. *I lived on Scotch and
> > cholcolate until we went down the mountain.
>
> I had some kind of lizard in Belize. It was tough. It wasn't at a
> restaurant; rather someone wanted me to try their cuisine. Not very
> appetizing. In some parts of the world they eat spiders. I think
> that would be much worse.

<laughs> Other than water bugs, (crustaceans), you are not going to get
me to eat insects. I'd have to be half dead from starvation...
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein


Subscribe:

In article
>,
"Bent Attorney Esq." > wrote:

> On Aug 20, 3:50*pm, George Shirley > wrote:
> > Omelet wrote:
> > > In article >,
> > > *"brooklyn1" > wrote:
> >
> > >> If I had to choose the absolute worst cousine I don't need to think
> > >> about
> > >> it, the worst I've ever eaten is Indian food... and I've tried quite a
> > >> few
> > >> highly touted restaurants thinking it was poor luck of the draw, NOT!,
> > >> they
> > >> all serve food that is literally greasy shit, it stinks like shit to
> > >> boot.
> >
> > > I have yet to have good Indian food. And I've tried it more than once.
> >
> > Hear, hear! I have yet to understand the fascination with the stuff. DIL
> > took us to an Indian restaurant in Houston, raved about the food, etc.
> > It totally sucked!
>
> When I make a curry, I toss out the recipe and make it to what I want
> it to taste like. If it's chicken curry, I end up with a Hungarian
> Paprikash deal; except with a good quality curry paste. Yes I add
> cream and sour cream. It's not authentic, but it warms you up. This
> curry would make any authentic curry look like an antique.

I actually like the flavor of curry, providing it's not overly HOT.
I like to taste my food, not burn my tastebuds. I have a nice container
of Farmer Brothers Curry that I'm slowly working my way thru, and it's
very fragrant.

Hmmm.... I need to use up my current collection of shrimp shells to
make freezer space here soon so I need to make stock. I use most shrimp
stock to make rice.

Gives me an idea for the weekend. Curried shrimp rice, and I have some
more shrimp in the freezer to serve it with. ;-) I just need to check
the pantry for peas now.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein


Subscribe:

On Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:03:55 -0700, sf > fired up
random neurons and synapses to opine:
>
>I haven't been there yet, but people I know who have visited Greece
>consistently comment to me that they hated the food. One friend even
>went so far as to add that the best Greek food is found in Astoria.
>Can't prove anything by me, I'm just the reporter.

Dunno about Greece, but I recall Cyprus as the place that put me off
olives for *years* afterward.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

--

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "meatloaf" with "cox"

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> On Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:03:55 -0700, sf > fired up
> random neurons and synapses to opine:
>> I haven't been there yet, but people I know who have visited Greece
>> consistently comment to me that they hated the food. One friend even
>> went so far as to add that the best Greek food is found in Astoria.
>> Can't prove anything by me, I'm just the reporter.
>
> Dunno about Greece, but I recall Cyprus as the place that put me off
> olives for *years* afterward.
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
>
> --
>
> "If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
> old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
> waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."
>
> - Duncan Hines
>
> To reply, replace "meatloaf" with "cox"
>
>
>
>
Yes, but the quail hunting in the mountains there is very nice and the
local food wasn't bad.

One thing you have to remember about Mediterranean and Middle Eastern
food. That whole area was held by the Ottoman Empire for about 400 years
so the cuisine is basically Turkish, flavored by local meats, seafood,
and herb use. I've eaten so many varieties of such foods in the years we
traveled throughout the region that it has all sort of run together in
my mind. Certain dishes I still like, others I've tried outside of that
region just don't taste right. All in all, it's what you get used to and
like to eat, no matter where you are.

John Kane wrote:
> On Aug 20, 1:03 pm, sf > wrote:

>> I haven't been there yet, but people I know who have visited Greece
>> consistently comment to me that they hated the food. One friend even
>> went so far as to add that the best Greek food is found in Astoria.
>> Can't prove anything by me, I'm just the reporter.
>
> The one time I was there the food was pretty good but spanikopita for
> breakfast seemed a bit much.

>


IMO you can never have too much spanikopita.

gloria p

Zeppo wrote:

>
> I've had really good Indian food many times, and have a very good place down
> the street from work. Unfortunately, I'm not knowledgeable enough in the
> cuisine to have an idea what constitutes really excellent Indian food.
>
> Jon
>
>

Did it taste good? That's a start.

I like all the Indian food I've tasted.

gloria p

"Gloria P" > wrote in message
...
> John Kane wrote:
>> On Aug 20, 1:03 pm, sf > wrote:
>
>>> I haven't been there yet, but people I know who have visited Greece
>>> consistently comment to me that they hated the food. One friend even
>>> went so far as to add that the best Greek food is found in Astoria.
>>> Can't prove anything by me, I'm just the reporter.
>>
>> The one time I was there the food was pretty good but spanikopita for
>> breakfast seemed a bit much.
>
> >
>
>
> IMO you can never have too much spanikopita.
>
It's true. Great stuff.

notbob wrote:

>
> Do they have Viet places the sell Banh Mi in Denver. I'd kill for a
> Banh Mi.
>
> nb


I'm not sure, because we go with friends who immigrated from Vietnam so
we never order for ourselves.

Federal Blvd. (runs north and south west of Broncos' stadium) has a
couple of miles of Vietnamese restaurants, shops, grocery stores, you
name it and it's there.

gloria p

George wrote:

>>> If I had to choose the absolute worst cousine I don't need to think
>>> about it, the worst I've ever eaten is Indian food... and I've tried
>>> quite a few highly touted restaurants thinking it was poor luck of the
>>> draw, NOT!, they all serve food that is literally greasy shit, it stinks
>>> like shit to boot.
>>
>> Try a vegetarian South Indian place, quite different and very tasty.
>> Regular Indian places can be somewhat variable, and sadly most Indian
>> food isn't very photogenic, even if it is tasty.
>
> There is also nothing intrinsically wrong with northern Indian cooking. We
> only have two Indian restaurants in the area and one is superb and one is
> average. Both serve northern Indian cuisine. I was in Edison, NJ a couple
> weeks ago and asked about neighborhood restaurants. One guy suggested an
> Indian place a few blocks away and the quality was superb. I also frequent
> a place over in a part of Philly called University city that serves
> northern Indian. I like food flavored with complex aromatic spices. I also
> patronize the vegetarian southern Indian places too for something
> different.

One problem that non-Indians have with Indian food is that Indians prize
fat: Authentic curries are often SWIMMING with fat, because that richness is
considered luxurious. But most Indian restaurants in the USA adapt their
recipes to suit the palates of their customers, which includes removing a
great deal of the fat. Unfortunately, in that same quest, they usually cut
out much of the heat and some of the spices which North Americans don't
usually like (such as asafetida). The obvious solution is to cook Indian
food at home.

Bob, currently close to a city with a large Sikh population

"cybercat" > wrote in message
...
>
> "sf" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:19:32 +0200, ChattyCathy
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>Indian food comes up here that often? Can't say I've noticed. Sure
>>>you're not confusing r.f.c. with another group?
>>
>> See? That's how much I don't like the topic. I notice every time
>> someone mentions it.
>>
>
> Strange. I love Indian food. Hate sushi. And nobody cares
>
> lol

Never met a curry I could like. Just a touch on the tongue and I've had too
much.

notbob wrote:
> On 2009-08-20, Gloria P > wrote:
>
>> I have to agree. Denver has a large enough Indian, Vietnamese, Korean,
>> and Chinese population to support neighborhoods of very good ethnic
>> restaurants.
>
> Glad you're back, Gloria. I missed you when you were outta town.
> Went through Denver back in July and tried to find Hong Konk Market
> and got hopelessly lost and finally gave up and headed home.
>


Hong Kong Market is on Federal Blvd. which runs parallel to I-25 just a
few blocks west of it.

gp

Kris wrote:

>> Ohhh noooooo. German. some kind of finely ground sausages that are long
>> and thick and white. More white than grey. Fatty and oozing grease from
>> the inside. Horrendous. In an authentic German restaurant, according to
>> my hosts.
>
> That sounds less than appetizing! I must have been lucky because I've
> always thoroughly enjoyed my German restaurant experiences.

Sounds like either bockwurst or weisswurst, both of which are veal/pork
sausages. Weisswurst and many bockwurst are not made with nitrates ("curing
salt") so they don't have that artificial pink color. Weisswurst are usually
kind of short and stubby, so maybe bockwurst is being described above.

Either one is great with beer, chewy bread, and pickles. Weisswurst was
traditionally eaten for breakfast because it's so perishable due to the lack
of nitrates.

I've found that if you are small-minded enough to get hung up on the
appearance of food, you miss out on a lot of great food experiences. The
most obvious example is raw oysters. Aguillas are another.

Bob

On Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:01:06 -0500, Omelet > wrote:

-->In article
>,
--> "Bent Attorney Esq." > wrote:
-->
-->> On Aug 20, 3:36*am, "Giusi" > wrote:
-->> > "Omelet" ha scritto nel messaggio
-->> >
-->> > > Cuban. Hands down. At a rather fancy place in Miami Florida> The service
-->> > > was fantastic but the food was awful...
-->> >
-->> > Bad *restaurant, because Cuban food is very good.
-->
-->Heh! I see I'm going to have to look up recipes on line now.
-->
-

* Exported from MasterCook *

Ajiaco Criollo Cuban Stew

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Meat Taste
Tvfn

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
-----FOR THE BROTH-----
1/2 lb Tasajo (jerked beef) -- cut in
-2-inch chunks
1 lb Pork meat -- cut in 2-inch
-chunks
1 lb Beef brisket -- cut in 2-inch
-chunks
1 Bay leaf
-----FOR THE SOFRITO-----
1/4 c Vegetable oil
2 lg Onions -- peeled & chopped
1 md Green bell pepper
-cored,seeded,chopped
3 Cloves garlic -- minced
1 t Freshly ground pepper
1/2 ts Ground cumin
1 c Tomatoes (canned are fine)
-crushed
-----TO COMPLETE STEW-----
1/2 lb (1 medium) yellow malanga
1 lb (2 medium) white malanga
1 lb (2 medium) boniato
1/2 lb (1/2 medium) name
1 lb (2 medium) yucca
1 lb (1/2 medium) calabaza
2 Ears corn -- husked
2 Green plantains
1/4 c Fresh lime juice
2 Semi-ripe (yellow) plantains
1 Ripe (almost black) plantain

Make the broth:

Cover the tasajo with cold water and soak it for at least 8 hours. (There
is no need to refrigerate it.) Change the water and continue soaking for
another hour. Drain again and rinse under cold running water. Put the
tasajo in a large, heavy pot and add about 6 quarts of water. Bring to a
boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 1 hour. Add the pork, beef
brisket, and bay leaf, and let the three meats cook together until tender.
Remove the pot from the heat and skim as much fat as possible from the
broth. (If you have time, the best way is to refrigerate the broth
overnight until the fat solidifies and then remove it.)

Make the Sofrito:

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute the onions and green
pepper until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic
and cook 2 minutes more. Add the pepper, cumin, and tomatoes and cook for
another 2 minutes.

Add the sofrito to the broth and simmer, covered, while you prepare the
vegetables.

Complete the Dish:

Peel the malanga, boniato, name, yucca, and calabaza and cube them. Cut the
corn and green plantains&nbsp;into 1 1/2-inch pieces. With a knife slit the
skin of each piece of greenplantain by opening it away from the center as
if you were taking off a coat. Sprinkle the plantain pieces with the lime
juice. Slit the semi-ripe and ripe plantains lengthwise and slice them
crosswise into 1 1/2-inch rounds. Do not remove their skins or they will
disintegrate in the stew.

Add the green plantains to the simmering stew. After about 15 minutes, add
the semiripe plantains. After another 15 minutes, add the ripe plantains
and let them simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve hot in soup plates or, cocido-style, with the meats, vegetables, and
broth in separate dishes. ( Each diner removes the skin from the semi-ripe
and ripe plantains themselves.)

Source: TVFN






* Exported from MasterCook *

Ajiaco Del Restaurant Garcia

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Ethnic Kooknet
Poultry Vegetables

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 tb Butter
1 t Cayenne Pepper
1 c Unsalted Chicken Stock
4 Ears Yellow Corn, shucked,
Sliced into 1" wheels
3 lb Chicken Breasts, cut up
2 ts Sweet Paprika
1 c Onions, finely diced
3 c Milk
2 lg Yucca, peeled and diced
1 Lime, juiced

Melt the butter in a 6 qt. pot over medium heat. Cook chicken pieces in the
butter until no longer pink. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and place in
in a bowl. Put onion, garlic, cayenne, and paprika in pot and cook while
stirring, until onion is translucent and colored with the paprika. Add
stock, milk, yucca, corn, and chicken to the pot. Bring almost to a boil
then reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring every now and then, for about
1 hour, or until yucca is tender. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.
Serve with Cuban or French bread that has been sliced and broiled until
golden.

As an alternative frozen corn on the cob will work, as well as fresh frozen
kernels. The fresh corn cob seems to impart a nice flavor to this dish.

If you're wondering what to do with the wheels of corn, just pick 'em up
with your fingers and nibble 'round the rims.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 523 Calories; 52g Fat (88.1% calories
from fat); 7g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 149mg Cholesterol;
558mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 10 1/2 Fat.

ChattyCathy wrote:

> Indian food comes up here that often?

I like Indian food. I used to cook it three times a week or more, and I
still cook it occasionally, but since lentils are such a staple in Indian
cuisine, and Lin doesn't like lentils, I've cut back considerably.

Bob

John Kane > wrote:
>I only been to perhaps 2-3 but what they do to normally good
>chinese food can make you cry.
>Chinese food is not intended to be in a buffet. OTOH, Greek food seems
>made for buffets.

Why do you say that? I was amazed at a spicy pork dish I ate at a Korean-owned
Chinese buffet in southeast Missouri--of all places. I was really expecting
some greasy, overly sweet and bland slop. Instead, this pork was perfect. The
sauce was barely a glaze, not too sweet, very spicy and flavorful. I had about
three helpings and ignored most everything else in order to save room.

Orlando

sf wrote:

>>> That's another MCINL for the current survey. Indian food.
>>> Not interested in reading about it and certainly don't want to
>>> cook it.
>>
>> How can you blanket condemn the food of a subcontinent? There are many
>> distinct versions of Indian cooking and I venture to suggest that you've
>> hardly tried any of them. IMHO, there is no national cuisine that I would
>> despise.
>
> I'm not saying I despise it. I think it's a boring topic, even as
> part of a subthread. I may eat it in restaurants, but I'm not about
> to make it at home.

Can you put your finger on exactly what you dislike about the Indian food
you've had? And can you tell us what Indian food you've TRIED, so that we
can possibly suggest things you WOULD like?

There is HUGE variation within the umbrella of things called "Indian food."
Wikipedia identifies twenty-four distinct culinary regions within India
(although they somehow failed to mention Hyderabad), and I'd guess that at
least one of them (say, Goa, because of its Portuguese influence) would
satisfy your tastes.

Of course, this is just my way of saying, "I know you said you don't like
Indian food, but that's only because you haven't had it the way *I* make
it..." :-)

Bob

Omelet > wrote:
>One of our favorite local restaurants is a Chinese buffet.
>I need to post a pic series of it one of these years. ;-) Heavy on the
>garlic and ginger... and probably Oyster sauce.

I've been to many great Chinese buffets, some catering to Westerners, others
filled with Chinese and other Southeast Asians. I've been to buffets in
Chinatowns where people picked their own fish and had them steamed or fried. I
once went to a buffet in Flushing, Queens claiming to have a hundred hot and a
hundred cold dishes. But, I apparently got there between lunch and dinner and
would have had to wait two hours for dinner to begin. Instead, we tried this
excellent Sechuan place that had lots of frog dishes on the menu that I should
have tried.

Orlando

Jinx wrote:

> Really?? The best Greek food I've ever had was in Greece itself! The
> mainland, not so much the isles (which cater to the tourists). Then
> again, I ate mostly at little neighborhood mom and pop shops, not fancy
> tourist oriented restaurants. Of course, lots of tourists think Greek
> food is nothing more than gyros and shish kebab, which would account for
> being disappointed. Not saying your acquaintances are of that nature,
> but, a couple of the people I went with were.

I'm often fascinated by the Greek ingredients which pop up on Iron Chef
America every now and then. I'd never heard of halloumi cheese or mastic (as
an ingredient in food) before.

Bob

Bob Terwilliger > wrote:
>I've wondered about Burmese cuisine. I've looked over several dozen Burmese
>recipes, and none of them captured my attention as something I'd like to
>try, but hell! they've got some great *ingredients* at their disposal; how
>could they not be good at cooking? That's too bad.

We have an excellent bermese restaurant in our Chinatown. every thing there is
interestingly assembled, fragrant and intensely flavorful. The ginger salad,
spicy lentil cakes, thousand layer breads, chicken curry, kung pao chicken and
keema are outstanding. They make a tofu from mung bean whose texture is much
softer than soy, but whose flavor is more beany--if that makes any sense. They
make a coconut milk sauce for the same thousand layer paratha-like bread that's
dipped in chicken or potato curries. All in all, I find Bermese food an
intriguing mixture of Indian, Chinese, Indonesian and perhaps Thai ingredients
as well as cooking techniques. Everything is deeply flavorful. After going to
this restaurant half a dozen times, the waitress finally mentioned a hot sauce
they make right there. My life hasn't been the same since. I used two small
cups of that thick, spicy, garlicky ambrosia without sacrificing the taste of
each individual dish. You really ought to try Bermese food again, all the while
saying a prayer for Ahn Sahn Su Chi.

Orlando

sf > wrote:
>That's another MCINL for the current survey. Indian food. Not
>interested in reading about it and certainly don't want to cook it.

Have you already tried it? If so, what didn't you like? Do you not like the
spices or cooking techniques? Or, do you just have your mind made up that it
sucks?

Orlando

On 2009-08-21, Gloria P > wrote:

> Federal Blvd. (runs north and south west of Broncos' stadium) has a
> couple of miles of Vietnamese restaurants, shops, grocery stores, you
> name it and it's there.

I was trying to cross Federal (exit 206) from 25 south. Don't know
how, but missed it completely and ended up about 5 miles E of dwntwn
Denver before packing it in. Most embarrassing "I'm lost" episode of
mey life. I'd die if I were a sailor. No sense of direction
whatsoever!

nb

Mark wrote:

> There used to be a Chinese restaurant near me which
> apparently served a rustic version of Chinese cuisine.
> If you ordered something with chicken in it, they'd
> just hack it up, bones and all. You'd have to pick
> out the bone pieces while eating. I've also been
> to a Filipino restaurant that did it that way.
>
> I guess that's how they do it in small towns in Asia.

That's pretty authentic for most Asian cuisines. In fact, I can't think of a
single Asian cuisine which *does* consistently remove bones from poultry.

Bob

sf > wrote:
>I'm not saying I despise it. I think it's a boring topic, even as
>part of a subthread. I may eat it in restaurants, but I'm not about
>to make it at home.

What is it specifically about Indian food that makes its discussion boring to
you while you're willing to eat it in restaurants? Also, why wouldn't you make
it at home? If you're willing to boil beans, why not daal? If you're willing to
saute onions and garlic, why not add ginger and chiles for an all-purpose
tarka? If you're willing to grind coffee, why not grind spicy seeds? I imagine
you eat rice at least sometimes; why not make it basmati? Chapatis are nothing
but Indian flour tortillas, and there's even a Panjaabi corn roti that is only
slightly thicker than a corn tortilla.

Orlando

Sheldon got all racist again:

> Hmm... "Navy days, I had some senior enlisted Filipinos", call em what
> they really were... Pineapples.

These were dedicated, hard-working, extremely-knowledgeable Senior Chief
Petty Officers who were some of the top professionals in one of the most
technically-demanding naval engineering ratings (Gas Turbine Specialists). I
would *never* have called them by the racist slur you so enjoyed typing.

Bob
Main Propulsion Assistant 1991-1993
USS Kinkaid (DD-965)

Omelet > wrote:
>> Some sort of curry, unidentifiable meat, unknown, overcooked vegetables,
>> the whole shmear was terrible. Even the Indian couple next to us
>> complained of the food.
>Sounds like Indian food.

Where did you get this idea? Indian vegetables aren't always overcooked,
different curries taste very distinctive and there's very little sense of
mystery meat. If Indians eat meat at all, they want it to be readily visible,
which is why the majority of meat eating favors tandoori dishes.

Orlando

Jean B. > wrote:
>The worst food I have had was Bangladeshi, but I think that was
>the restaurant's fault. They were probably catering to what they
>perceive as American tastes, since it was excruciatingly bland.

The first Indian food I ever ate at a restaurant as a child was Bangladeshi; no
food has since compared with it in terms of spice and flavor. Earlier this
year, I did a fusion concert in NYC with a renowned American sitarist.
Afterwards, she insisted we head over to this hole-in-the-wall Bangladeshi
place catering to cab drivers. One bit of that amazing chicken stewed with hard
boiled eggs and I was hooked! To say nothing of the karela and other
vegetables.

Orlando

Jean B. > wrote:
>I had a Filipino neighbor and friend many years ago, and her food
>was quite good. By now my memory of her beef tongue has faded,
>but even much closer to the time, I never managed to re-create
>that. It was sublime.

I had a Philippina roommate who used to make the best arroz caldo ever! I was
so sad when she left for love. Regarding beef tongue, I think it's sublime no
matter how it's cooked or seasoned.

Orlando

George > wrote:
>I was in Edison, NJ
>a couple weeks ago and asked about neighborhood restaurants. One guy
>suggested an Indian place a few blocks away and the quality was superb.

When I used to go to Edison for tabla lessons, I tried a few places that served
superb food at astronomical prices. How affordable was the place you tried?

>I also frequent a place over in a part of Philly called University city
>that serves northern Indian.

That's where I live. But, none of the Indian food in my neighborhood has
amounted to anything special. When I moved here nine years ago, there was a
Pakistani place in Upper Darby that was worth death! Alas, it got bought out by
Latinos.

>I like food flavored with complex aromatic
>spices.

Such as?

>I also patronize the vegetarian southern Indian places too for
>something different.


You can only eat so many wada, idli and dosa.

Orlando