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Friday Fun Thread for June 7, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I find that quality is orthogonal to cuisine. I've had really good and really bad versions of different cuisines.

American cuisine excels at producing and finding uses for preservable sauces and seasonings (S&S). Ketchup, Mustard, BBQ, Mayonaise, Hot Sauces, Old Bay, etc. And it is best at adopting foreign S&S into the cuisine, like Sriracha, Chipotle, Soy, etc. Certain "Americanized" foods like Chinese takeout is basically just heavily sauced versions of easily found American food General Tso's / Orange Chicken / Sweet and Sour / etc. If you don't enjoy the major S&S you won't generally enjoy American cuisine. Just like its hard to enjoy Indian food if you don't like curry.

I think British cuisine is often maligned too for the wrong reasons (I see you @fartVader). Its meant to be had at a pub with beer on a rainy shitty day. Much of it is very dense and thus good at holding in heat as you slowly eat it to warm up while drinking your beer at the same time. The flavor should be coming from the beer, which is why everyone calls most British food flavorless. But its like taking the curry out of Indian food and deciding that its all bland as a result. The food is meant to be bland, because its a vehicle for flavor from another source!

Italian and Parisian food often get lauded as the best food, but I think that is because both of those food traditions are meant to be served in restaurants with fine wines. The word restaurant is French! (also I say Parisian food instead of French food quite intentionally. Paris is a mega city with its own culture and food, and mostly that is what has been exported around the world.)

Street food from various cuisines you should look for foodtrucks that serve them. I've mostly never enjoyed Kabob, but I do usually enjoy it from a food truck. Took me some time before I figured that one out, specifically going to the foodtruck and brick and mortar versions of the same local brand of kabob and realizing that only the food truck one was good.

Asian Hot Pot should be eaten out of a hot pot.

Low and slow smoke or pit BBQ needs to be overseen by a pit master. If they use automated technology it turns to crap for some reason.

Things like a philly cheesesteak should be had at a sports game or during a lunchbreak when you've been doing physical labor.

Sushi should be eaten freshly made.

Korean BBQ should be grilled in front of you and eaten with KPop blaring in the background.


TL;DR: Cuisine has cultural and situational context, and some cuisines really fall apart when you take them out of that context. I think if you don't enjoy "Western" food you possibly just don't like the cultural or situational context necessary to enjoy them.