What's Your Favorite Cuisine?

Vote, but also discuss, please. We all eat food (I hope) and so I think this should be a no brainer. By the same token, since we're going with great big general categories, it's probably a good idea to discuss what is best about a cuisine or regional variations.

I -almost- broke down and started doing regional variations, but then there'd be too many choices and I sort of wanted to keep this poll simple.

I realize that the methodology may not be the greatest here for deciding what goes up in the categories, so if I'm missing a choice, let me know.

I happen to be a BIG fan of Japanese food. There's a restaurant which I go to often which does great Japanese cuisine... however, it is rather expensive and the rest of my family aren't great fans of the type of thing they serve there, which means I don't often get to eat it. Which, I guess, makes me crave it more.

Chinese and Thai/Vietnamese come close behind in second and third place. I just find oriental food so interesting and flavorsome.

It was a tough choice between Mexican and Thai. Living in SoCal, mexican food is the easiest type of food to obtain, and there are many different variations of it depending on which restaurant you go to, and who the owners of the restaurant are. I eat mexican food all the time.

However, I love Thai food. There is this little restaurant down the street from where I live and I eat there - literally - twice a week. I am lactose intolerant and there is little to no dairy in their food - a big plus. It is a light meal and feels healthy but tastes great. It also helps that my son loves the food there as well.

So, while I definitely eat more mexican food, my absolute favorite is Thai.

Mattipus wrote:I happen to be a BIG fan of Japanese food. There's a restaurant which I go to often which does great Japanese cuisine... however, it is rather expensive and the rest of my family aren't great fans of the type of thing they serve there, which means I don't often get to eat it. Which, I guess, makes me crave it more.

Chinese and Thai/Vietnamese come close behind in second and third place. I just find oriental food so interesting and flavorsome.

There's a place on Mount Vernon, here in Baltimore, called "Minato's" which is as excellent as sushi place as I've ever been to. Ironically, the chef/owner is Vietnamese, and he also does really awesome mousses that have nothing to do with Asian cuisine but are worth going to the place for, as if the sushi weren't top quality in and of itself.

My ex-roommate from college keeps insisting there's this place that he likes as much in DC, but he's always begging to come up and visit and go to Minato's but never invites me down to try his place.

By the by, it's my preferred 'date' restaurant if the woman in question has no objection to sushi, as it is fabulous food and the price is actually very reasonable, even for à la carte eating.

Ryona Noel wrote:It was a tough choice between Mexican and Thai. Living in SoCal, mexican food is the easiest type of food to obtain, and there are many different variations of it depending on which restaurant you go to, and who the owners of the restaurant are. I eat mexican food all the time.

However, I love Thai food. There is this little restaurant down the street from where I live and I eat there - literally - twice a week. I am lactose intolerant and there is little to no dairy in their food - a big plus. It is a light meal and feels healthy but tastes great. It also helps that my son loves the food there as well.

So, while I definitely eat more mexican food, my absolute favorite is Thai.

I like the Thai food a lot, but I can't cook it for myself. I can do Mexican extremely well, which is a good thing because Tex-Mex is hard to come by in Baltimore, and I used to live in Texas where it was good (as was the BBQ.)

I love a big plate of pad Thai, but it's hard to find a good place for it. Last time I had it, regrettably, was with people who didn't know how to spot a good restaurant so I've stopped craving it -- a bad restaurant experience will do that to you. Some day, I'll go back and get some Thai at a good place and renew the romance.

Ah, well if it is cooking we are talking about I'm limited to frozen meals...
*puts on dunce hat and walks away*

Ryona Noel wrote:Ah, well if it is cooking we are talking about I'm limited to frozen meals...
*puts on dunce hat and walks away*

No, not at all. I'm just talking about the eating end. Well, I can cook, but I also like to eat out. I mean, yeah.

Uh, question, what the heck category would foods like chicken go into? .-.

However, I have had Mexican food once...it was quite good, surprisingly, far better then my favorite food altogether, chicken, so my vote goes towards Mexican.

Ragter the junior greeter wrote:Uh, question, what the heck category would foods like chicken go into? .-.

However, I have had Mexican food once...it was quite good, surprisingly, far better then my favorite food altogether, chicken, so my vote goes towards Mexican.

I categorize by culinary tradition rather than ingredients...there are a lot of nice chicken dishes out there, from a traditional roast chicken with a little herb and butter basting to coq au vin to the various Italian style dishes. I have this one Northern Italian dish where you bread the chicken then you bake it in a dish with a little broth, some garlic and sliced tomato. You can also bake it on top of rice, which I think is more of a straight Spanish thing.

You can do a lot with chicken.

Mexican's winning!!

I'd pick oriental food second, comprising Chinese, Japanese and Thai.

Kalon Ordona II wrote:Mexican's winning!!

I'd pick oriental food second, comprising Chinese, Japanese and Thai.

I'm a little shocked. I'd thought Italian would win easily. But then, that's my preference, not everyone else's.

I should have added Mediterranean fare along the lines of the Egyptians, Greeks and Lebanese, but it's sort of esoteric and I doubt many of us have had enough of it to really compare to the rest.

I just threw in my vote for Japanese, so now it's a tie between Japanese and Mexican. I was a little torn between voting for Japanese or Italian, but Japanese has fewer carbs so I feel a little less guilty when it eat it XP.

Mine's probably Chinese. I could eat Chinese everyday. I love sushi though (which is Japanese?), but Japanese food typically has too much weird fishy stuff in it for me (like eel, squid, and other random body parts of marine life xD).

@Fate: Yeah, sushi is Japanese. I also love sushi, but I'm like you in that I tend to avoid the oddball fishy stuff. But there's a really good Japanese restaurant near my college that serves all kinds of sushi and other Japanese dishes like hibachi, tempura, and stuff like that.

Dangit, now I'm getting hungry again...

Mine would be Japanese. MMMMM I can't wait for Friday, I'm going to Miyako's- a Japanese steakhouse. It'll be so good!!!!

Fate Foretold wrote:...Japanese food typically has too much weird fishy stuff in it for me (like eel, squid, and other random body parts of marine life xD).

But Fate, they're the best bits!

Nah, I can see where you're coming from, actually... there are certain dishes I tend to avoid. But it doesn't put me off, really. I guess I don't have Japanese food frequently enough to get bored of the stuff I do like. *Shrug*.

However, I do rather like squid. Chewy, but delicious.

SilvanArrow wrote:@Fate: Yeah, sushi is Japanese. I also love sushi, but I'm like you in that I tend to avoid the oddball fishy stuff. But there's a really good Japanese restaurant near my college that serves all kinds of sushi and other Japanese dishes like hibachi, tempura, and stuff like that.

Dangit, now I'm getting hungry again...

Oh, yeah, those are really good! Mmmm. Hibachis are excellent.

Sushi for me. I love sushi... making it is half the fun. ^_^ The guys and I used to have sushi making 'parties' once a month when I worked for the Snohomish Fire Department. It was just an excuse to get together, be goofs, watch the games and brag about fishing rights since we caught our own fish. Ahhh, the good old days... But we've got a nice sushi revolution bar here in Tacoma that's... pretty damn tasty. The roomy and I went there the day I got back from Alaska, since we don't have the stuff to make our own. Though, other than that, I haven't had much Japanese food.

I LOVE Italian! Seriously, I grew up on it, for a good while it was all I would eat, especially pasta (since I didn't eat meat when I was little). I would die if someone told me I could enver have Italian food again.

I'm a huge fan of Japanese and Italian foodstuffs. I'm not a huge fan of cooked fish but I will eat sushi and sashimi almost everday (among other Japanese food). Also, I grew up on Italian food. My family has its own special tomato sauce recipe.

I voted Italian, though it was a really tough choice. The fact is, I grew up on my grandfather's cooking which is, strangely, heavily influenced by Italian cuisine, despite that his heritage is pretty much all but. I have yet to perfect his spaghetti recipe, and I would challenge any chef in the world to produce a sauce more mouth-watering than his.

Alfredo, in any of its forms, is definitely at the top of my list for delicious food choices, and I've been experimenting in an effort to find the best recipe for a homemade sauce. Though all four of my attempts thus far have been at least tasty, none have really topped out on the delect-o-meter.

Generally speaking, I just love pasta, as well as fresh breads. They are undoubtedly my favorite food categories.

On the other hand, Mexican, Japanese and Chinese are all up there pretty high. Japanese and Chinese are trailing behind among the top four when it comes to overall ratings, but some of the recipes I've tried for authentic Japanese foods (since we don't have any worthwhile restaurants around here that are affordable enough to frequent) were absolutely fantastic.

Okonomiyaki, for instance, is quite a treat, since it's just what the name states; a "Whatever You Want" Pancake. Takoyaki is also a nice treat. Oh, and let's not forget the classic: ramen. The instant stuff we have in spades over here is nothing compared to a piping hot bowl of real authentic ramen, which I sadly confess I have only been treated with once in my entire life. Ever since that day I have wanted so badly to have another bowl.

Undoubtedly, Japanese food has some wonderful treats, but when it comes to the full scale menu, it can't quite measure up to Mexican and Italian.

Chinese is right there with Japanese. The sheer scope of foods available in the Chinese repertoire prevents me from claiming to enjoy 100% of their menu (and some of the ingredients prevent about 30% of it...), but because of just how absolutely fantastic the things that I can eat are, I don't mind scoring them really high on the favorites list. Now, I have yet to master even the most basic recipes, like fried rice and the such (though I'm getting really good at it), but fortunately there's no lack of both authentic and Americanized Chinese places around here. I have to say that I honestly prefer the latter, but regardless, my love for the more savory Chinese dishes is boundless.

My favorites would have to be chow mein (chao mian; stir-fried noodles), wantons and good old fried rice. There are countless other dishes, both authentic and Americanized, that I enjoy greatly, but my mind is drawing a blank, at the moment; probably because I really, really want some chow mein.

Mexican food is undoubtedly my guilty pleasure. Usually I try to eat healthy, but my God, I can't get enough when I go out to the Mexican places around here. Taco Bell is well and good, but if you bite into a real quesadilla or an overstuffed enchillada, you'll be singing praises. The reason Mexican food is right up under Italian is because there are so few things in the Mexican menu that I don't like. Everything down to the side dishes of Mexican rice and frijoles con queso (whether or not that last one is actually a "Mexican" item) is absolutely wonderful.

The truth is, I just love food, but when it boils right down to the absolute favorites, Italian, Mexican, Japanese and Chinese cuisines top the charts for flavor.

xD Now I have another thing to add to the List of Things to Do When All the FOGers Get Together.

COOK! Oyeah!!
Forget BRINGING things for each other to eat, like a normal potluck. We should all take over a commercial kitchen, cook our own food, and then sit in a circle of laptops as we eat and role-play to our hearts' content!!

My favorite cuisine is whatever I cook, bake, broil, boil, steam, grill or... eventually smoke.

Oh! and fry.

I fry a mean fried chicken and consistently grill steak of any thickness to the most wonderfullest medium rare. Among other things.

Tough, but I'd go with Japanese just because I'm a huge huge sushi fiend.