Best food in the world

[The Larch]

Isn't there that map of Mongol invasions spreading dumpling culture all over Eurasia (if so - their greatest achievement)?

This one?

[crazy canuck]

I thank the Mongels for perogies

[Sheilbh]

On the one hand continent wide conquest and looting followed by the Black Death, on the other - dumplings.

So it's basically a wash for the Mongols.

[Eddie Teach]

I don't think it's fair to blame them for the Plague. 

[FunkMonk]

Georgian food is delicious. Tbilisi is wonderful

But yeah Italy wins the contest 

[Sheilbh]

Georgian food is incredible

It's just an amazing country all round. Psellus was right all along

[FunkMonk]

Spent a month there total with my wife while she worked there for a year. Wonderful people and incredible food all around the country. And the wine too

[Gups]

The knock against Indian food for me though is that it's like Chinese food - every single place is working off the same basic menu.  Like every single indian restaurant will have vindaloo and chicken tikka masala - and that's in Edmonton with a massive Indian/punjabi population.  (after hockey in south-east Edmonton I went into a nearby grocery store to get a couple things - realized I was the only white guy in there, everyone else was Indian - and this wasn't a specialty indian grocery store).

You're forgetting the House Special Curry. 

That stuff you mention is irrelevant to me.  When the menu has 40 items that's enough variety for me.  And I'm not a foodie so I don't need to experience the chef's personal take on anything.

It's not that I want the chef's personal take, but rather walking into an Indian restaurant is like walking into a "European" restaurant that serves all the greatest hits from around europe: a menu of French Onion Soup, spaghetti bolognese, viener schnitzel, beef wellington, swedish meatballs and pyrogies. (and I spent no time coming up with this list so don't roast me on it).

What you are actually getting isn't even a greatest hits of Indian cuisine. It's the standard menu introduced into the UK by Bengali immigrants in the 1960s. You won't find tikka masala or Madras in India. Vindaloo is a dish but completely different in Goa. In the last 10 years we've had a lot more variety offered with regional, more authentic restaurants.

Nothing wrong with any of them but hopefully like Brits you will soon get the chance to try dosas, thalis and sambas

[Barrister]

What you are actually getting isn't even a greatest hits of Indian cuisine. It's the standard menu introduced into the UK by Bengali immigrants in the 1960s. You won't find tikka masala or Madras in India. Vindaloo is a dish but completely different in Goa. In the last 10 years we've had a lot more variety offered with regional, more authentic restaurants.

Nothing wrong with any of them but hopefully like Brits you will soon get the chance to try dosas, thalis and sambas

I'm sure that'll happen at some point - I mean it's started happening to Chinese restaurants, with some specializing in Cantonese or Sichuan cuisine, and we have fewer Chinese-Canadians locally than we do Indian-Canadians (they're up to around 10% of the population of Edmonton).

But yeah - I have no idea what any of those three foods are.

Like you said though - nothing wrong with the classic Indian restaurant dishes though.

[Admiral Yi]

Any fans of Ethiopian?  I used to eat it all the time in DC.

[Sheilbh]

Any fans of Ethiopian?  I used to eat it all the time in DC.

Love it - went with friends to an Ethiopian round the corner at the weekend.

Also - at least here - I have never been to a bad Ethiopian restaurant. Every place I've been to has been good.

[garbon]

Any fans of Ethiopian?  I used to eat it all the time in DC.

I don't like that bread.

[Josquius]

Ethiopian is pretty good yeah. Though I've only ever had the one dish (well, normal and vegan version of it),the big hat buffet thing.


As to Indian all being the same... This is the case with standard places yes, but pretty common to find Parsi and South Indian.

[crazy canuck]

I am not sure what is meant by Indian food being all the same.  The variety is huge.  Add to that variety, levels of spicing you can select for each dish, and you end up with a the opposite of sameness.

[garbon]

I am not sure what is meant by Indian food being all the same.  The variety is huge.  Add to that variety, levels of spicing you can select for each dish, and you end up with a the opposite of sameness.

Don't play coy.