What is your favorite food culture?

[pikachu]

I wasn't sure what to call this (ethnic food or whatever) but what is your favorite food culture?

When I was growing up, Mexican food was my favorite hands down. I liked pretty much everything I ordered at Mexican restaurants, except for soft tacos. I didn't like Chinese or Italian food very much.

Now that I'm older and have a more sophisticated palette, I don't really have a favorite international cuisine. I love Mexican, Chinese, Italian, German, Irish, Japanese, and so many other cuisines. I like to go to local food festivals since they offer a chance to sample foods from different regions. We have an Italian festival coming up this month.

There are many more types of food I want to try but I haven't gotten the courage to take the first step. For one thing, my city isn't big enough to have a lot of culinary diversity so we have some of the main ones but not some of the lesser ethnic foods. We only have two Thai restaurants, one of which is a buffet. We have only one Brazilian restaurant. The other problem is I'd rather go with someone to a new restaurant when I'm in an exploratory mood, especially if the other person has some knowledge of that cuisine and can help me choose dishes that will appeal to me. My friends, family, and co-workers are pretty fuddy-duddy and rarely venture outside the box to get something other than a burger for lunch.

I've been wanting to try Indian food for a while but I'm afraid I'll choose a dish I don't like and won't want to try it again. One of these days, when I'm in the right mood, I'll do it. I came very close to going to an Indian restaurant last night and trying Chicken Tiki Masala but chickened out and went to my favorite restaurant (Miller Ale House) instead. They were having a two lobster tail special and I love seafood!

[Eastcoastmom]

Living in the suburbs but not too far from the Big Apple, there are so many choices available. I have to say, though, that I am not the adventurous sort and stick with the tried and true. I would probably say that my favorite cuisine is Italian, but it veers more toward the Italian-American way of cooking as that is how I was reared. Probably not as authentic as true Italian cuisine. I love shellfish but am not crazy about regular fish. My husband won't go near Mexican food as he got food poisoning on our honeymoon and was so sick he missed 2 weeks of work! I've been to Spain a few times and like Spanish food as well. Can't stand the smell of curry and won't even go near Indian food. The idea of sushi nauseates me. I do enjoy a good steak and like to cook roasts, stews, and soups during the cold winter months. So, stick a heaping plate of pasta in front of me and I am a happy camper. Like I said, not an adventurous sort.

[Ellen]

I really can't say that I have a favorite. I live in SoCal, so I'm fortunate to have multiple choices of pretty much everything (i.e.: there isn't only one Thai place, or Persian place, or Ethiopian place, or Indian place, or Korean place, or [fill in the blank] place.) My "favorite" changes weekly. What I don't like nor patronize? Fast food and big chains. Boring!

[pikachu]

You two are lucky to live in a big city with more choices. My city is growing so little by little we're getting more diversity.

I'm waiting for the day when we get a Cheesecake Factory here. I've visited them in other states and I'd love to have one in my area! I also wish we had a Columbia restaurant. I've been to them in South Florida but the closest one to me now is St. Augustine, a few hours away.

I hate going to fast food or chain restaurants when I'm on vacation. If I'm in a different city, I want to try food I can't get in my area. My family, on the other hand, prefers to stick with what they know. So boring!

[nennie]

My boss every year took us to Cheesecake Factory for our Christmas party and now that I am laid off I am glad I don't have to go there anymore. I do not like the place but I know there are others who love it. We have an Italian place called Zio's that I really like. I love their salad and spaghetti half and half. The loaves of bread are great to.

I am not much on eating out since I really like home cooked food. We have mexican place we go to and I like the chips and dip probably as well as I like the food. They have a white dip and a salsa one to.

I would like to one day try Tandori chicken. I like all kinds of food but my husband doesn't so we usually eat more american dishes.

[M_shelll]

I don't think I could pick a favorite type of food, I seem to have a favorite food from each type tho lol! I love butter chicken SO much, it might be one of my all time favorite foods. I live in a pretty big City now so I have a lot of options, I recently went on an 'Around the World in 35 stops' tour of one of the areas here and it was really cool to try so many different kinds of food without feeling the pressure to order something I'd like when I have NO clue what it even is. I would suggest trying something like that if you like to try new foods and just don't know where to start. I can definitely say that I'm not a picky eater and will try anything ...gross as it looks I want to know if I'll like it. My boyfriend doesn't like to try new food either and is pretty picky with what he'll eat ...a lot of Italian, so I just have to ditch him here and there to get my fix!

I LOVE the white chocolate raspberry cheese cake at Cheese Cake Factory, don't think I've ever eaten there tho, I stop by and grab cheese cake to go once in a while so yummy!

[Eastcoastmom]

M_shell, what is 'butter chicken?' Even though I am not the most adventurous eater, I will try different things but my husband absolutely refuses to try different cuisines. I just know that if it's spicy, it probably won't appeal to me. Certain Mexican foods I like but I won't try anything with hot peppers. I like certain Latin foods, black beans, tamales, enchiladas. We have a Cheesecake factory here and it is always mobbed. I only ate there once. It was okay but the cheesecake was to die for.

[nennie]

The strawberry cheesecake there is wonderful but I find their food soso. This past Christmas I ordered this chicken and linguine dish and it has so much olive oil in it that I got sick when I got home and I am not crazy about capers. I can say that you get your monies worth there as they give big portions and I always have to get a to go box.

[Rattus]

M_shell, what is 'butter chicken?'

It's Indian food for white people. Don't blame me - that's what my co-worker tells me. Personally I love butter chicken (chunks of chicken in a mild tomato curry sauce) dumped on a pile of vegetable biryani with sides of aloo gobi, daal, a naan and a couple of samosas. Luckily I live around the corner from what I consider to be the best Indian restaurant in the city. And now I have a hankering.

I also love a good goat roti, French food (excepting anything made with glands, organs or anything contained in the cranium), Quebecois food (sort of peasant French), Mexican (though not central American), Vietnamese curry (milder than Indian), and a lot of middle Eastern foods (baba ghanouj, hummus, falafals, etc.). And, of course, Italian. I don't think there are many people who don't like at least one Italian dish.

I truly dislike most east-Asian food. I intend to give sushi a try once more because in all fairness the one time I had it I had purchased it from a street vendor at Taste of the Danforth when it was about 38 degrees out under a scorching sun - not the best way to try raw fish. Really, really hate the taste of wasabe though, so won't be trying that again. And Thai food that I was told by its fans was really good was far too oily as far as I'm concerned.

[JohnnyK]

Japanese and Mexican, I guess. I like others too though.