What is your opinions about different cuisines?
Posted by SkirtProfessional845@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 188 comments
I mean we have a lot of restaurants with many different cuisines, including American cuisine too (cheeseburgers, Mac ‘n Cheese, Hotdog or Bacon)
But I’ve been always curious what is your favorite dish from other cuisines and how do you find other cuisines?
Like from German, Italian, Greek, French, Turkish, Romanian or Indian cuisine.
The0wl0ne@reddit
I love gyro. Never had lamb before trying this Greek place down the street, turns out I love it.
Starbucksplasticcups@reddit
Americans, generally speaking, like food. Our food, your food, his food, her food. We like it. However, we (generally speaking), don’t like bugs.
Subject_Stand_7901@reddit
A good Pad Thai is always a welcome sight.
Confetticandi@reddit
It pains me that this is what other countries think of as “American cuisine.”
If you live in a major US city, you get access to basically every cuisine from around the world. I’m Japanese-American so I’m picky about Japanese food in restaurants. My favorite foreign cuisine to get in the US is probably Vietnamese. I order it most often. I love Vietnamese bun bowls and goi cuon summer rolls.
icyDinosaur@reddit
But there is a difference between what you can get and what is American cuisine, no? I'm always looking forward to eating in the Netherlands because they have good Surinamese food there, but I would not call that Dutch cuisine.
Confetticandi@reddit
No, foreigners don’t realize that we do have our own completely homegrown cuisines here:
Louisiana Creole Cuisine
Cajun Cuisine
Soul Food Cuisine
American BBQ which has all kinds of regional styles varying in the types of rubs, sauces, cuts of meat, and wood chips that are used to cook it.
American Jewish cuisine
Then Tex Mex cuisine is not borrowed Mexican food. It’s the original cuisine from people in the parts of the US that used to be part of Mexico.
Not to mention all the indigenous cuisines and dishes
And then you have various Anglo American dishes like:
Regional varieties of clam chowder (red, white, and clear)
New England Clambake
Crabcakes
Eggs Benedict
American Meatloaf
Corn bread, corn pudding, corn on the cob, corn muffins…
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Key Lime Pie
American cuisine is not just hamburgers and hot dogs, guys. Those are just the only things that got culturally exported somehow…
velociraptorfarmer@reddit
Not to mention, technically the chimichanga was invented in the US as well.
icyDinosaur@reddit
No thats very fair, I just found it sort of funny to read a comment that said there is more to American cuisine and then named two cuisines labelled after another country.
I'm very willing to believe (and sort of knew, although not about all the things you mentioned) that there's more than burgers, I just found those examples in the comment I responded to kinda funny.
Curmudgy@reddit
You’re running into the linguistic problem that there various cuisines of American, but “American Cuisine” traditionally refers to a specific subset cuisine that mostly is separate from ethnic or regional cuisines. It doesn’t help that there's also New American Cuisine, which is yet another, different cuisine that involves fusion, farm to table, and lighter styles of cooking.
And as you might see from some of the discussions, some people interpret “American cuisine” as referring to any cuisine that evolved in America, notwithstanding distinctive ethnic characteristics. I don’t know if that’s a younger generation thing or people just don’t accept or aren’t aware of “American Cuisine” as a specific named cuisine instead of a description.
hiketheworld2@reddit
This is a great list - there are also lots of holiday side dishes (turkey stuffing) and regional foods that might perpetuate that story of awful American food but are locally iconic (a “hot dish” or a Minnesota salad).
And American pancakes are awesome!!!
shelwood46@reddit
I just got back from the Detroit area, which has it's own food plus lots of Midwestern favorites, then traveled back and got a Roast Port sandwich from Primo on my way home to Eastern PA, then spent the weekend in NJ which has it's own foods (often influenced by their own immigrant groups). Yeah, it's weird how they express our cuisine in Europe. They think we eat only hot dogs (I haven't had one since I was 5) and such.
Sarollas@reddit
I mean Soul Food, Barbeque (and all it's sub types), Gumbo, Clam Chowder, Crab Cakes, Cincinnati Chili, and a bunch more is all American cuisine, it's not just burgers and Mac and Cheese.
Granted there is some regional dishes that have takes on that, like a Juicy Lucy from Minnesota, I wouldn't reduce American cuisine to burgers just like a wouldn't reduce Dutch Cuisine to Rookwurst and Rye bread.
NormalDudeNotWeirdo@reddit
Most of those initial examples are also regional cuisines. For example I would wager that gumbo is a bit hard to find in Vermont.
tu-vens-tu-vens@reddit
That’s the whole point, most great cuisines aren’t full of regional specialties that don’t appear across the whole country. Beijing and Chongqing eat different things, as do Sicily and Milan.
Sarollas@reddit
That's true of literally any cuisine, Southern vs Northern Italian food is quite different but people don't say it's not both Italian food.
China is another good example where Northern Chinese and Southern Chinese food is quite different but people view it as a holistic cuisine.
That is not really any different from the US, different regions have different dishes and ingredients, that doesn't make it not an "American Cuisine"
KikiCorwin@reddit
Assorted types of fried chicken as well.
Curmudgy@reddit
I kind of agree, but I think it gets tricky with respect to regional or subculture food. Creole is a clearly separate cuisine (in the sense that people seek out specialty Creole cuisine), so where does that put gumbo? It’s especially tricky these days when many bars and diners, generally known and identified as serving American cuisine, add occasional ethnic or regional dishes to their menus.
barff@reddit
Well, to be fair, Dutch cuisine doesn’t go much further than rookworst en roggebrood (and stroopwafels). Maybe a little, but not much :p. Thank god we have Indonesian cuisine here.
devnullopinions@reddit
Not really? Most restaurants are businesses competing for your business. They can and will adapt foreign cuisine for the local populace’s tastes. Those adaptations become their own thing distinct from the foreign food it was inspired by.
For example, many “American” offerings in Europe are not foods actual Americans are eating. Those dishes are simply inspired by American dishes adapted for European tastes. I’d argue at that point it’s something unique to the country that is adapting that food.
For example, if you go to an American Chinese restaurant the food options are not really going to be the same thing you’d see on any menu in China. So it’s inspired by Chinese cuisine but if China isn’t making that food and it’s unique to the US can you really claim it’s not American food at that point?
boldjoy0050@reddit
Chinese food has got to be one of the most "played with" in the world. I have seen Frenchified, Germanified, and Americanified Chinese food. None of it beats real authentic Chinese food, however.
Curmudgy@reddit
There’s a difference between calling something American food and calling it American cuisine.
devnullopinions@reddit
I’d call something like general tsos American Chinese cuisine, not Chinese cuisine.
Curmudgy@reddit
I can live with that, as long as you don’t call it American Cuisine (but can call it a cuisine of America). Think of American Cuisine as a proper noun naming a cuisines, not an adjective modifying the word “cuisine”.
shelwood46@reddit
American Chinese can even vary regionally, the selections at a Chinese restaurant on the East Coast might not be the same as one in California or Michigan.
lpbdc@reddit
I'd argue you want Dutch food in a Surinamese style. "Chinese food" in the US is not food from China, but American food in a "Chinese" style. General Tso's chicken, crab rangoon, chop suey, and fortune cookies, are not authentic to China but were invented in the United States. The same applies to chimichangas (AZ), California rolls (CA), spicy tuna rolls (Seattle).
What's More the foods you list as "American" are simply an Americanization of food from elsewhere. Mac and cheese is French (or Italian depending on the history you read) and has evolved for American tastes, Hotdogs are German, as are Hamburgers. And bacon is a fairly universal food in Europe. It is speck in Germany, bauchspeck in Switzerland, the major difference is preparation.
PacSan300@reddit
Orange chicken is American-Chinese as well.
Another popular Dutch-style foreign cuisine in the Netherlands is Indonesian (in fact, it might be the most popular Asian-inspired food in NL).
clearliquidclearjar@reddit
Once it gets here through immigration, dishes from other countries get modified due to what is available and what the locals like. You can get authentic Chinese food, but a basic Chinese restaurant will mostly serve American Chinese food, which can legitimately be described as American cuisine.
Curmudgy@reddit
Agreed.
Disagree. American Cuisine is a distinctive cuisine of America and does not refer to every cuisine available or evolved in the US.
It can be tricky to define because on the one hand, chefs, restaurateurs, food critics, cookbook authors, etc. aren’t lawyers or scientists who are adept with precise definitions and on the other hand they can be quite creative, coming up with dishes that cross boundaries.
But there is some consensus. A restaurant serving primarily Chinese-American food isn’t going to be described as serving American cuisine. It’s going to show up in Yelp and elsewhere as a Chinese restaurant (or rarely and pedantically as a Chinese-American restaurant). You even said Chinese restaurant.
clearliquidclearjar@reddit
Yes, a Chinese restaurant serving American Chinese dishes is serving American cuisine.
Curmudgy@reddit
No one calls it an American cuisine restaurant, and most Americans asking for American cuisine restaurants would object to including a Chinese restaurant.
clearliquidclearjar@reddit
In the rest of the world, they think hamburgers and fried bacon are American cuisine. That can be safely ignored.
Curmudgy@reddit
I’m not talking about the rest of the world. I’m talking about how Americans describe the cuisines of various restaurants and cooking styles. If you don’t accept things like Yelp’s categories as being a starting point for characterizing cuisines, then I give up trying to explain the difference between “American Cuisine” and “cuisines of America”. (The capitalization is deliberate.)
clearliquidclearjar@reddit
Oh good, you should definitely give up on this one.
Complete_Aerie_6908@reddit
It’s hilarious that you say that because I can’t tell you the number of people who want an “American” cheeseburger when they visit the states.
Imateepeeimawigwam@reddit
They are the best. I've eaten cheeseburgers on every continent, and US cheeseburgers are the best (possible exception to Canada, which actually has some decent burgers, too.).
royalhawk345@reddit
The problem with Canada is that, legally, every burger has to be overcooked.
boldjoy0050@reddit
I've had some delicious restaurant burgers abroad. Like super high quality beef, non-processed cheese, and handmade bun. But sometimes you want a thin patty drive-in style burger and these aren't as common abroad.
Complete_Aerie_6908@reddit
Love it!! I sample burgers when I’m traveling!
Trinx_@reddit
We don't do cheeseburgers in my family - usually just meat and ketchup for me, but others will do pickles and mustard as well. Out at restaurants, I'll add mushrooms and cooked onions. But never cheese.
runnergirl3333@reddit
As an American I can’t remember the last time I had mac & cheese, a hotdog or bacon. Had a hamburger a couple of weeks ago…
RoutineCranberry3622@reddit
From the colonial era onward, America had a reputation for boiled food. While food rituals and ceremony developed here and there, the daily reality was frontier grit: food as fuel. Elaborate preparation was dismissed as needless pomp, something impractical for hard living. This attitude itself was inherited from Europe’s peasantry, where survival took precedence over flourish. But when American colonists embraced it as a choice, outsiders were baffled. Over time, this plain style hardened into a stereotype: that American food was little more than peasant fare dressed up poorly, unhealthy and unsophisticated. In the modern imagination it’s evolved into caricature of Americans eating like perpetually broke and stoned college kids, scraping meals from a spaghetti-stained Cool Whip tub in a trailer park while children play with guns outside.
TalkativeRedPanda@reddit
The first time I made my husband a meal, I made a meal for St. Patrick's day. It was always my favorite part of the year growing up in an Irish-American (yes, I know the Irish don't eat it, the immigrants to America did) Catholic family, but he had never had it.
I made corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. I as proud having made several different dishes. He was less than impressed, pointing out that all I did was boil things.
Cheap_Coffee@reddit
Do you still cook for him after that?
TalkativeRedPanda@reddit
Sometimes, but honestly, I still just mostly boil. Cooking is not one of my interests, and I'd happily eat cereal or spaghetti 7 days a week.
He is the cook in the family. I feed the kids once a week, usually when he is not around for dinner.
TalkativeRedPanda@reddit
Those are picnic foods. That is not everyday food.
To answer the OP's question- we greatly enjoy going out for Thai food; my husband gets something different everytime, I like Pad Mama or Pad Kee Mao. Indian is my second favorite thing to go out for, again, my husband gets somthing different everytime, but I like to vegetable Malai curry, and of course an appetizer platter with pakora, samosa, bhajiya, and Aloo chat. I'll sometimes get a Thali to try new things, but I love the Malai so much it is hard to get something else. Our next door neighbor's are from India, so sometimes we just eat at their house. We also regularly go for sushi (or have sushi night's at home). There is also a great empanada restaurant in our town.
Because we live in a university town, most restaurants are owned by former students from other countries who stayed, or the family of those students who have moved here. We have a lot of options, though some come and go- over the years there has been great Hot Pot, Ethiopian, Greek, Colombian, but they usually only last a few years.
I also love Mexican food (not Tex Mex, which I grew up with and made me think I disliked mexican food), but we don't eat it out much, because my husband is a wonderful cook (especially his homemade tortillas) and when we eat out it tends to be things we can't make as easily at home.
When tourists come we sometimes go to the German restaurants, because we have a german-amish settlement near us.
SouthernCancel6117@reddit
I had a hotdog yesterday for Labor Day. But aside from large family get togethers a couple times a year, I never eat them.
jub-jub-bird@reddit
Why? These are a prominent part of American cuisine and national rather than regional and so long as it's not a shitty fast food version of the above it's great stuff.
huhwhat90@reddit
Birmingham Alabama might not be one of them high falutin big cities, but I've got access to Greek, Persian, Israeli, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, Indo-Pakistani, Salvadoran and Ethiopian restaurants. And these are the places that I know of. I'm sure there are more.
imadethisjusttosub@reddit
The ease of access to cuisine from around the world and the various fusions found in almost any major American city are some of the best things about this country, imho. Collectively, we basically like it all.
Stunning-Artist-5388@reddit
Yeah, after having spent a lot of time overseas, I think the US is the best in terms of food. We have tons of options, and a lot of it is very good.
boldjoy0050@reddit
The US is excellent, but it gets really slim pickings when you get outside of bigger cities. And of course things are very regional also. I expect good Mexican food in Albuquerque but not good Italian food. Whereas in Maine I expect good seafood but not good Argentinian food.
tu-vens-tu-vens@reddit
Nah, by this point mid-sized and smaller cities have food that’s just as good as what you’re likely to find in big cities. You can find Thai, Vietnamese, Peruvian, Ethiopian, etc. in lots of places. Yeah you can only find Ukrainian or Afghani food in places like NYC but there’s a reason why those cuisines aren’t as popular as Thai so I don’t consider that a huge advantage for other cities.
And when you live in a place, the good food is easier to find. I’ve had better Peruvian, Thai, French, and Szechuan food in Birmingham than I ever have in New York, to name a few. Yeah NYC probably has places that are better than the Birmingham ones, but it’s hard to separate what’s exceptional from what’s merely good when you have thousands of places to choose from. In a smaller city, recommendations usually converge on the places that stand out, whereas that’s harder when there are too many restaurants for people to try.
velociraptorfarmer@reddit
My hometown of 100k people in the midwest has a Brazilian steakhouse, a Thai place, a couple good sushi places, a seafood restaurant where they air-freight in fresh fish every morning from the PNW, Hibachi, etc.
Stunning-Artist-5388@reddit
I think that is becoming quite a bit less true over time. I've had great sushi in El Paso (like, seriously, some of the freshest tasting and best prepared japanese food anywhere). I've had some of the best Italian in a small town along I40 in Oklahoma. Reno NV blew me away with how good a game they've got on seafood.
As for "argentinian" -- we can certainly get into small subtypes of food that aren't widely available everywhere in the US. But, it's not like that would be any more true elsewhere in the world. Heck, in smaller towns in Spain, it can get dang hard to even find a decent (if at all) French or Italian restaurant.
OkMasterpiece2194@reddit
We have more variety but I think the quality of the fresh ingredients is lower. I've been travelling to Europe and tropical, developing countries for many years and when I do I always have a nice feeling inside. I always thought it was the sunshine or adventure or friendly people but I started buying all of my food from an Amish guy and it's the food. Now I don't even like to travel anymore.
Derangedberger@reddit
In terms of options, the US is best in the world for food. You can find anything from imported european cheese to doner kebab from a street cart to pho made by first generation vietnamese immigrants.
In terms of raw quality, US is pretty good, like 7-8/10 on average, but the best across the board food quality I've experienced is Italy. They have much fewer options but they excel at their own cuisine, as you would expect.
SomeBroOnTheInternet@reddit
Exactly this. Meals for the week tend to be a tour around the world, and rarely from the same place twice. I'd also point out with so many options there's usually "the _ place we like" or "the bad ___ restaurant" in every town. Usually when we first move to a different area, it becomes a side quest to find the new favorite/best restaurant for each and every type of food. Idk if thats typical in other countries or not.
GrumpyFishMonger@reddit
I like so many different cuisines and I don’t judge. I’m just as happy eating carefully prepares sushi as I am eating a greasy cheeseburger. All foods can be delicious. I live in a diverse area of the US so there is a lot of people from all over the world and they have brought their food with them, it’s amazing.
Salty-Ambition9733@reddit
I love other cuisines!
Favorites include: Afghan (especially kaddo), Middle Eastern (muhammara and Halawet el-jibn), and anything super spicy (Indian, Thai, Mexican - I ask for the spiciest level, enough to bring tears to my eyes, lol).
DifferentWindow1436@reddit
Thin-Quiet-2283@reddit
I love food from all cultures- favorites are Thai, Belgian and Spanish.
Xistential0ne@reddit
Californian: Mexican don’t count since this was Spain before it was Mex and now it’s US. But we love Mexican, Thai, Indian, Middke Eastern (mostly with an Armenian flare) All kinds of Asian, French & Italian. British only at pubs, German we reserve for our enemies
voteblue18@reddit
I love the diversity available to us, at least in more urban areas. I’m in North New Jersey and I have Manhattan right there but also tons of options nearby. Basically I can find any type of cuisine within a 10-30 minute drive.
I’ve been really into Turkish food lately.
I recently was fortunate enough to get a small summer place on a lake in the country (upstate New York). While beautiful and peaceful what I miss most of all is the diversity of food options available. It’s worth it though.
lemonprincess23@reddit
I don’t think I’ve come across a country that didn’t have a food I liked
FishrNC@reddit
For the most part, the majority of cultural restaurants are chains of Italian, Asian, and Mexican.
green_rog@reddit
I don't know what you are talking about. There is only American cuisine here. It includes Teriyaki, musubi, gyros, lasagne, tacos, burritos, any fusion curry, naan, pho, etc, ad nauseum, but I usually don't. YUM!
foozballhead@reddit
Within an hour’s drive i can find food from nearly every continent, including multiple different South American countries, plus some great fission places (like Korean bbq and slaw in burritos and tacos). There’s no way to choose just one favorite.
Saltpork545@reddit
Hi, I'm a food nerd and I kinda need to explain something here.
While we will distinguish other cultural cuisines most of them that are here hybridize and evolve inside the US. They become American German or American Greek and so on.
The people this seems to annoy the most is Italians, but there is little denying that Italian American food is a direct evolution from Italian cuisine.
This is normal and happens to food of whatever country you're in OP. This happens all the time basically everywhere.
America, more than most countries, has huge waves of immigration that add to our culinary fabric and have for about 150 years effectively non-stop. 1 in 7 Americans today was not born in the United States. That is not new.
So our favorite dishes might be something that is authentic to the country of origin, hybridized to this country based on the availability of ingredients or the tastes of those who live here.
An example: Carbonara is an Italian dish from Rome from about 1950. It uses a cut of meat called guanciale, or spiced cured pork jaw/jowel. In America, if you want to get this, you can seek it out in my places of 100k or more but it is also entirely acceptable here to use American style thick cut bacon. It's similar enough to work for most people who aren't trying to do 'authentic' Italian carbonara.
This causes all kinds of arguing on the Internet, but it's the evolutionary branch. Guanciale isn't universally available here, so people adapt. Think about 150 or 200 years ago when this was extremely difficult. That's most food evolution.
Also, American food isn't just hot dogs, hamburgers and mac and cheese. We have legion of unique foods that can be explored. Ever heard of Burgoo? Beef Manhattan? St Louis style pizza? Funeral potatoes? Tater tots? Three sisters? Hooverville stew? America is a big place with a lot of food cultures over time specific to us. If you want to rabbit hole on it that is very possible.
As for what I like the most tends to be cheap Thai, Chinese hotpot, Vietnamese, and all kinds of Mexican/TexMex/CaliMex/SW food. I'm not picky.
skyduster88@reddit
Also, as a Greek person, I can tell you American "Greek" is 90% bullshit that people in Greece don't recognize. Most of us first learn about hummus and falafel when we travel to the US or UK, and it's shoved down our throats as "Greek". We also don't traditionally eat flatbreads. All of that is Levantine stuff that's promoted as "Greek" for some reason. And then Americans are shocked to learn that like >45% of our cuisine is actually pasta, or we have a lot of French-like stews.
21schmoe@reddit
I grew up in a neighborhood with lots of European immigrants and 2nd generation, in particular Italian, Greek, Polish, German, and Austrian, so I can tell you that most of these are highly misrepresented BS in the United States.
"Italian" is not really that Italian, and is based on mostly on a handful of Italian-American stereotypes, unless you go to the odd pricier restaurant that will have real things from Italy, either regional or contemporary Italian cuisine.
"Greek" is 95% not Greek; it's mostly Lebanese things actual Greeks don't recognize. Many of these restaurants are run be Lebanese or Syrian immigrants that sell their own cuisine as "Greek". A person from Greece will not recognize the vast majority of the menu, unless you go to certain enclaves like Astoria NY or Greektown Chicago.
"German" is not as common, but when you do find it, it's along the lines of "Italian:" basically stereotypes that have been shaped after generations of German-American cuisine. For example, there are several types of bratwurst, but there's only one American "bratwurst".
"Turkish" is very rare in the US. So, I would imagine the very few Turkish restaurants that exist are actually real, and not based on inaccuracies; but I can't say for sure. Ditto with "Romanian," it's extremely rare to find, so I would imagine that the few that do exist are actually run by actual Romanians.
"French" kind of a mix. There's a handful of real French dishes that are played over and over again. And then a lot of fancy made-up things that wouldn't be recognizable to the average French person thrown into the mix.
"Indian" I don't know enough to say, but from what I understand, it's mostly Indian-inspired dishes, some of which were created outside India.
SteampunkExplorer@reddit
That's all American food, but it's not really representative of American cuisine. Hamburgers and hot dogs are fast food or party food. Macaroni and cheese is one of many side dishes. Bacon is, of course, perfect in every way. But there's a LOT of other American food out there, including whole regional cuisines. 🙂
...But that wasn't your question! Personally, I have a soft spot for Italian, but I'm pretty sure what I'm eating is the American version of Italian food. The only authentically foreign food I've had in my boring little hometown was Japanese, and it was excellent.
I've had German food in Germany, but I didn't enjoy most of it. The flavors and textures were just too unfamiliar to me. 🥲
MuppetusMaximusV2@reddit
The Top 3 "Foreign" cuisines are (in no order):
Indian
Thai
Mexican
The Top 3 American Cuisines are:
Cajun/Creole
Soul Food
BBQ (any style, really. Fight amongst yourselves for superiority. I'm a Northerner and will not be held to your grandpappy's standards)
count_busoni@reddit
Surely Italian has got to be more popular in the US than Indian
SteampunkExplorer@reddit
Yeah, I would put Italian and Mexican duking it out at the top, and Chinese right below that.
Avg_Sun_Enjoyer69@reddit
I eat more Italian than Indian, because Indian restaurants are more expensive. There's no fast casual Indian food, not that I know of.
PacSan300@reddit
Check out Curry-Up Now for Indian fast casual.
PacSan300@reddit
Yeah, I would put the top three as Mexican, Italian, and Chinese.
IL_green_blue@reddit
It’s very region dependent. In the town I went to college in (CA), there were 5 Indian restaurants and no dedicated Italian restaurants. I just moved from Upstate NY and you couldn’t swing a car there without hitting a half dozen Italian restaurants.
count_busoni@reddit
lol I'm in upstate ny rn
ZozicGaming@reddit
I would say that depends on the context. Like for home cooking spaghetti, baked ziti, etc are standard American fare. But for restaurants with the expectation of pizza things for far more hit or miss. Since outside the northeast regular Italian is far less common. For most of the country Italian restaurant is basically synonymous with chains like mediocre Olive Garden. Since that is all they have available to them.
GrizznessOnly@reddit
It's just their opinion. Indian and Thai have definitely gotten more popular in recent years but Italian and Chinese are way more popular just pure statistics wise.
Korean has made a big impact in the last decade or so too.
count_busoni@reddit
Yea i made a mistake. I thought it was asking for the most popular, not our opinions. My apologies
Working-Office-7215@reddit
I also think a lot of Italian-American food has morphed into generic American food at this point- things like baked ziti, chicken parm, American pizza styles, spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccine alfredo - they are much more American than "Italian." I appreciate both Italian and Italian-American cuisine but I think they are two separate entities, which maybe changes the math.
MuppetusMaximusV2@reddit
It's not about popularity, it's about what's best
count_busoni@reddit
Oh true, I think misunderstood the OP
Cheap_Coffee@reddit
I've never actually seen a Soul Food restaurant.
SouthernCancel6117@reddit
I’d swap Indian for Italian, but I’m 100% with you on the American cuisines. But being in the south I’m definitely gonna be a little pickier about bbq.
Weightmonster@reddit
I am sad to say I’ve never had Romanian cuisine.
Freedum4Murika@reddit
I scrolled the whole feed, and no one had mentioned the Ruben sandwich. Our finest native sandwich.
I find that other culture's people introduce food to America, they do it with pride and the quality is very high even if - hell, especially if - it's a rougher restraunt with not a lot of $ put into it. Strip mall, Grade C sanitation score, slightly greasy floors, in a part of town I don't go to without my .357 - that's going to be some absolute fire forgien food.
The reverse is seldom true - I find that when I travel abroad, the American food is dramatically worse- either by lack of preparation technique or someone sneaking in a local spice like curry where it doesn't belong.
Like, an American factory farmed hamburger from a has no business being better than one in Japan.
The "Royale w Cheese" effect - something about our style just doesn't translate.
rawbface@reddit
This is concession stand food. Not American cuisine. It's the type of food you get at a baseball game to eat in the bleachers. That is not representative of our restaurant fare at all.
zeviea@reddit
What are the most popular culturally American dishes?
easy_Money@reddit
That entirely depends on region and which specific culture.
zeviea@reddit
What about Midwest, Pacific Northwest, New England?
I know of chowder in NE and chicago deepdish pizza in MW but not much else off the top of my head
cjsv7657@reddit
Hamburgers. Basically every restaurant will have a burger on its menu, it's also the most common fast food. But most people aren't eating them very often.
boldjoy0050@reddit
I think we really underestimate how often Americans eat burgers. I see burgers as a cheap working class meal that's readily available at every fast food place and easy to cook at home.
"On average, each American consumes about 3 hamburgers per week"
https://wellwisp.com/how-many-hamburgers-are-eaten-in-a-year/
Kellaniax@reddit
German: not a fan
Italian: love it
Greek: pretty good
French: french restaurants are pretty rare but I’ve found some good ones. A lot of French foods like French fries, baguettes, and steak frites are popular in the US.
Turkish: never had it
Romanian: never had it
Indian: I’ve had it a few times, I wouldn’t consider Indian food something I eat a lot, but it’s pretty good!
Freedum4Murika@reddit
I expect a Euro would be shocked by how rare French cooking is here, even in historically French places like New Orleans
cans-of-swine@reddit
I could live off nothing but Mexican and Indian food.
ChutneyRiggins@reddit
Both cuisines are so varied that you would never get bored.
GOTaSMALL1@reddit
So I’m sure we don’t get the best representation of Indian food here in not Salt Lake City UT but Indian Food to me is pretty much just orange goop. I mean… it’s good orange goop to be fair.
What are some “not orange goop” things I could try that my local Indian place might have?
cjsv7657@reddit
A lot of Indian food in the US isn't really Indian. Like the most common dish chicken tikka masala is thought to have originated in Britain.
PacSan300@reddit
Masala dosa is a great option.
LionLucy@reddit
Ooh I love Indian food but I hate goop, I basically don’t like anything with sauce (don’t hate me!), so I can answer this. Samosas, onion bajis, tandoori chicken, biryani… lots of non goopy options that I’d imagine you can get in most places
boldjoy0050@reddit
Indian food is delicious but most of it is so similar to each other. Predominantly what I saw in India was just vegetables with a sauce base. So cooked lentils, cooked chick peas, and cooked potatoes all with different sauces.
Don't get me wrong, I love Indian food, but it's not something I could eat all the time.
Ms-Metal@reddit
I'm not really sure what you mean by how we find other cuisines. We simply go to restaurants that have it. Most cities of any size will have many different Cuisines available at restaurants. Also, if there's a predominant ethnic group in a particular area, there will likely be food from that ethnicity even available at the grocery stores in that area. So I mean you don't have to work to find it, it's right there. The difficulty comes in if you live in a smaller City or a more rural area, than your options tend to be more limited. They still exist as far as the basics, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, but that might be all. Those three are pretty much available even in small cities. The bigger the city, the more options you'll have.
farson135@reddit
I live near a relatively small town in Texas. There's Chinese, Mexican, German, Italian, Korean, Thai, Japanese, and probably a few others I'm forgetting within reasonable driving distance. On top of that is actual American food, like southern, Texas BBQ, and Cajun. And if I drive into Austin, you can get basically anything.
Personally, the only food I ever tried that I didn't care for at all (individual dishes are a different matter) was Ethiopian. But that was my first and only time, so I might have picked the wrong food or the wrong place.
DevilPixelation@reddit
I think a blend of different cuisines helps give way to better cultural diffusion and a bigger sense of community among different groups. Two of my favorite foods, fettuccine alfredo and braised pork, come from two completely different areas of the world, yet they’re both delicious. If it tastes good, then it shouldn’t matter where it’s from.
Afromolukker_98@reddit
Here in LA my top 5 include:
If I am seeking food outside. These are the main foreign cuisines I choose to eat.
At home the food I mainly cook include Indonesian, "Italian" like pastas, and simple "American?" Foods like brussle sprouts, eggs, different meat dishes, microgreens/collard and turnip greens, and some Hispanic groceries like yucca, plantains, marinated Mexican meats, pozole.
I feel the food I eat and make are very very diverse.
Imateepeeimawigwam@reddit
Indonesia is my number 1 too. Especially from the Padang/SumBar region, but all their food. Enak sekali.
Afromolukker_98@reddit
They need to open up a Padang restaurant here hahaha... that'd be amazing
Hot_Car6476@reddit
So, are you asking me to list every possible cuisine and then tell you my favorite dish for each one?
PacSan300@reddit
In NYC, I found it very cool to commonly come across cuisines that I have rarely, if ever, come across even in my diverse area of California, such as Dominican, Colombian, and Jamaican/Caribbean.
Gallahadion@reddit
I like Japanese, Thai, Korean, Indian, Mexican, and Middle Eastern food, though I eat a good amount of Americanized Chinese and Italian food as well.
As for specific foods in those cuisines, there are too many to list here, but some of my favorites are Pad Kee Mao, japchae, Kitsune Udon, Inarizushi, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, biryani, pakora, samosa chaat, migas, fatayers, and manakish.
Texas43647@reddit
I’m partial to Mexican food generally over something like Italian or German, personally
Prize_Consequence568@reddit
"What is your opinions about different cuisines"
Fine.
shelwood46@reddit
I like food.
kjb76@reddit
I live in the NYC suburbs and we have access to some amazing ethics foods. You name it we have it and if we don’t, the city is less than an hour away.
Lovebeingadad54321@reddit
Even the KKK loves Mexican food, Chinese food, etc they just don’t like the people who make the food….
blipsman@reddit
Italian cuisine is so prevalent it's hardly even considered foreign cuisine... pasta, pizza, etc. are incredibly common.
After that, Mexican is very popular/common, in large part due to the large immigrant communities across the US.
Asian cuisines like Thai, Japanese, Chinese are also very popular. Chinese used to be incredibly popular but seems to have faded in popularity as Japanese/sushi, Thai and other Asian cuisines have flourished over past 25 years.
Indian, Middle Eastern (Lebanese, Persian, Turkish) are also increasingly popular.
European cuisines have their niche but have become less and less common with the rise of all the other cuisines. Fewer and fewer German restaurants, even in big cities with historically large German ancestry like Chicago and Milwaukee. French bistros are a niche that's not going anywhere, but also not considered very interesting or exotic. Greek is around, but even here in Chicago which used to have a very vibrant Greektown with many Greek restaurants there are only a couple left, and many of the ones that used to dot the suburbs have faded away (especially as many of the Middle Eastern spots add gyros to their menus). But Greeks are also very heavily represented in owning diners, hot dog stands and the like so (at least here in Chicago) there's a bit of Greek influences here and there even on non-Greek menus.
Curmudgy@reddit
I’m fond of Indian because it’s generally reliable for vegetarian food, with a variety of vegetables available. Mideastern is usually reliable, but it can be limited to falafel, hummus, and baba ganoush.
Mexican (including variants such as TexMex) is tricky because lard is sometimes used in tortillas or beans. But there are some Mexican restaurants that I trust. I avoid Italian because it’s usually limited to just pasta or eggplant parmigiana, and while I like the latter when prepared well, it’s boring (and bad for leftovers). I’ll sometimes do Chinese but I don’t trust many Vietnamese places to not use shrimp in their sauces.
Interesting that you mention Romanian. A good Romanian steak is wonderful, but alas, I don’t know of any kosher restaurants in New England where it can be found. Nor mamaliga, but occasionally I’ll find an Italian or New American Cuisine restaurant with an interesting polenta, and I don’t know enough to differentiate polenta and mamliga.
Imateepeeimawigwam@reddit
Top 5 places for food that I have visited. Ive been to about half the countries in the Americas, almost all of Europe, almost a quarter of Africa, and many Asian countries. And of course, this is just my opinion, and tastes vary. I excluded the US, as that's my 'home' food.
Honorable mentions to Peru, China, Serbia, Turkey, Laos.
The_Menu_Guy@reddit
I really enjoy German Jaeger Schnitzel with a mushroom cream sauce. I love most Belgian food but especially their Moules and frites, plus Vlaanse Carbonade. I enjoy most French food, and I love Turkish food and Greek food and most Middle Eastern dishes as well. I cook a lot of Italian food and love it. Japanese food is excellent. My favorite is the grilled kushiyaki with thin pork wrapped around vegetables -delicious. Thai food is excellent and so is all the Vietnamese food I have tried, especially Pho and Banh Mi and the Bun dishes. Yum! Indian food is delicious too.
I'm not so keen on a lot of Chinese food as it it mostly too greasy for me, although I do really like the soup dumplings (Shao Long Bao) and their hot and sour soup.
TillPsychological351@reddit
Belgium is really underrated as a food destination. Most of the things they serve don't sound particularly interesting on paper, but the execution is almost always outstanding. The standards in the country's restaurant industry are extremely high.
I love German food too. For me, there's nothing quite like a well-prepared Schweinhaxe, served with Knudel and Rauchbier.
The_Menu_Guy@reddit
Agreed. I spend a fair amount of time in both countries for work, and I love it. the Belgian people are super nice, and the Germans have always been very kind to me.
garublador@reddit
We find them by going to restaurants that claim to serve authentic cuisine from those places and then assume they aren't lying. In some cases it's easy to tell they are lying (fast food Chinese is the obvious example), but in many cases we have to rely on anecdotal evidence that is rarely agreed upon. One "expert" may say a particular restaurant is very authentic, but another may say that it's not authentic at all.
So I do have favorites, but in many cases I have no idea if they are authentic or at all common in their supposed home counties. For example, I know I like the noodle bowls from Vietnamese places here, but I don't know if what I like is "American Vietnamese" or authentic. I can almost certainly find sources that claim either way.
WeDontKnowMuch@reddit
I like them.
KipMcSkipster@reddit
You almost have to go out of your way to avoid “non-American cuisine” in my area. I would be sad if I couldn’t regularly eat: banh mi, falafel (both chickpea and fava), ramen, tacos al pastor, empanadas (ideally, Venezuelan), iskender kebab, saag paneer, the list goes on.
DOMSdeluise@reddit
My favorite foreign cuisine is probably Japanese or French. I had sushi over the weekend (I prefer traditional fish and rice nigiri or maki rather than some of the funkier, more elaborate stuff you find here) and am eating ramen today.
Nightcoffee_365@reddit
If you tempt me with Indian, Greek, or Bavarian I’ll absolutely get in the van.
TillPsychological351@reddit
Hey you, I have some Weisswurst...
Nightcoffee_365@reddit
That means you know where the pretzels and mustard are! I surrender let’s go!
Not_an_okama@reddit
At chinese resturanta i get pepper steak, at mexican resturanta i get steak fajitas without tprtillas or beans. As a result, both meals are basically meat, onion, green pepper, rice and seasoning.
CaramelMacchiatoPlzz@reddit
I cannot think of a cuisine that does not have something I like.
Hij802@reddit
My favorite thing about New Jersey is we have literally every cuisine imaginable. And if not, NYC is right there.
cottoncandymandy@reddit
I live in Oklahoma, and my favorite food is indian. I can find literally any cuisine I want near me. I love trying new food so I just pick different places and go. Experiencing different cultures through food is fun. I've been craving Thai food lately, so that's probably what I'll do this weekend. Or maybe jerk chicken. I've been craving that also.
If im trying something completely new to me, I just do a little research so I know what's going on with the menu/food and go try it.
TacosNGuns@reddit
Where I live in Texas, my suburban street is like the UN. Neighbors include families from: S Korea, Tunisia, Argentina, India, Mexico, Vietnam, African Americans, Chinese Americans, Anglos etc. being a huge top four metro, you can find authentic restaurants serving basically any world cuisine imaginable.
jackjackj8ck@reddit
I live in San Diego, this is what my family (husband + 2 kids) eat on a regular basis, we cook at home most nights but will usually go out for 1 or 2 of the following per week:
Korean food (gim bap, broiled fish, assorted banchan, soups)
falafel, souvlaki, hummus, tzatziki, horiatiki salad
pizza, personally I’m a fan of this shrimp pesto one from a place by my house
spaghetti & meatballs, bolognese, lasagna, Alfredo
pho w fried spring rolls and all the veggies for wrapping them up
Thai yellow curry, drunken noodle, crab fried rice
Panda Express orange chicken (the kids are OBSESSED), eggplant tofu w rice
palak paneer, butter chicken, Chana masala, aloo gobi, rice, garlic naan, papadum w chutneys
McDonalds happy meals w chicken nuggets, personally I like a filet-o-fish
bean and cheese burrito w guacamole, quesadillas, tacos
sushi, tempura udon, teriyaki salmon
expeciallyheinous@reddit
Jamaican and Ethiopian are my favorite kinds of food
No-Profession422@reddit
My wife and I usually eat various Asian cuisines, restaurants, or homemade 4-5 times a week. Had a cheeseburger last weekend on a roadtrip. Haven't had a hot dog ot mac n cheese in ages.
Pinwurm@reddit
Personally...
Mexican - Anything with mole
Salvadoran - pupusas with cheese and loroco
Colombian - sancocho de res
Caribbean - Roti
Lithuanian - Cepelinai
British Isles - Scotch Egg
French - Escargot or Tartare
German - Berlin-style Doner Kebab Greek - Gyro
Italian - Lately, a good puttanesca
Russian/Ukrainian/Belarusian - Stuffed cabbages or olivye
Spanish - Tortilla espanola
Hungarian - Paprikash
Afghani - Kaddo or mantu
Levantine - shawarma
Turkish - Iskendar Kebabs. Love a good kafta too.
Chinese - So many varieties, but I'm a sucker for anything in a bao bun
Indian - Saag paneer. Japanese - okonomiyaki. Or a good udon.
Vietnamese - Bahn Mi
Korean - jeyook tofu kimchi
Napalese - momos
Uzbek - Plov Peruvian - Ceviche
Somali - maraq
Ethiopian - Doro wat
For American cuisines....
Few things are better than an old-school greasy spoon diner for breakfast. Corned beef hash & poached eggs for me.
BBQ or Soul Food is god-tier food when done right.
And I'm also a sucker for New England seafood shacks. Fried clam bellies and scallops, steamers, lobster rolls - served with onion rings. Good god.
CountChoculasGhost@reddit
I have almost any food I could want within like 15 minutes of me and it is great.
Indian, Thai, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Venezuelan, etc.
malibuklw@reddit
We eat mostly “non-American” food, at least based on what you listed.
Of the things we do most often: my family loves Indian food, and will eat pretty much anything that’s available. My husband and I order Thai a lot, he’ll generally get pad Thai and I’ll get pad won sen or a vegetable and tofu stirfry. We were big fans of Vietnamese before we moved, but the choices here aren’t as good. For Japanese, my husband loves sushi, I’ll get udon. Greek I generally have souvlaki or moussaka and my husband does cabbage rolls. In a nod to the English/Irish we occasionally do cottage pie (last night for dinner) and of course fish and chips. We like both authentic and non authentic versions of Mexican, tacos, fajitas, chicken in a sauce.
LifesARiver@reddit
I like all Asian cuisines more than all western cuisines. Hard to pick a favorite single dish, but probably xao long bao or char siu bao
Pitiful_Lion7082@reddit
I love foods from a variety of places, I make benachin, eat Asian curries, bulgogi, misir wot, Hungarian goulash, papa rellena, and many other dishes. Food is such a fun way to learn about people.
dandle@reddit
I find other cuisines by going to the restaurant. I'm sure that's much harder in some parts of the country than here in the Northeast.
I'm currently on a Ghanaian and Nigerian food kick. Because their cuisines directly influenced American soul food and Southern food as a result of the Transatlantic slave trade, the flavors are immediately recognizable but different. Highly recommend.
EvaisAchu@reddit
Korean is by far my favorite, Kimchi-jjigae specifically. My weekly meal rotation is typically Mexican, German, Greek, Indian or Korean with some random Italian every once in a while.
AramaticFire@reddit
I eat all sorts of food all the time. Some more than others but I have access to so much I feel like I never have to worry about not having options.
Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Thai, Indian, Korean, Italian, French, Armenian, Greek, Georgian, Mexican, Peruvian, Cuban, Jamaican, Moroccan, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, etc.
People living in smaller towns as opposed to more of the major cultural melting pot cities are going to have fewer options but they will still have some sort of option.
MuppetManiac@reddit
I eat Tex-Mex at least once a week, but at this point I don’t really think of it as foreign.
I’m also a big fan of German inspired Texas cuisine, but I also don’t consider that foreign.
I’m a big fan of Italian food but most of the dishes I eat are things invented in America by Italian immigrants so I guess that’s not foreign either.
I like sushi, but most of the rolls I eat are American in origin by my understanding.
I like gyros. Those are solidly Greek, I think.
Americans have an uncanny ability to turn foreign food into American food.
daffodil0127@reddit
I enjoy trying various cuisines and have my favorites from each. I guess the most common is Italian food in my area, but I think it’s more Italian American than Italian. The nicer Italian restaurants have more authentic dishes than the pizza place up the street does, but both have delicious food. Same with the Chinese restaurants—it’s more American Chinese than authentic Chinese in most of them. The Middle Eastern restaurants usually also serve American food like chicken tenders and burgers, but they have great falafels and kabobs too.
It’s kind of hard to choose a favorite dish from all the different kinds of restaurants. I love tacos from the taco trucks, pierogi, spanakopita, and too many other things to list.
Used_Return9095@reddit
i like malaysian satay but that’s just cuz i’m malay lol
Thalassinon@reddit
I like quite a bit of Greek stuff. Gyros, Feta cheese, Kalamata olives...I also like some Middle-Eastern stuff, like Kibbe.
bloodectomy@reddit
My guy you need to look into American BBQ because it is not in your list of examples and that's a crime.
bopguerta@reddit
In NYC you can find the cuisine of practically any ethnicity you can think of. But as someone who was raised in a Greek neighborhood I am personally biased towards Greek cuisine. I love me some spanakopita
Syndromia@reddit
You need to stop because now I want Greek food and Im not going to drive all the way downtown to get it.
thatoneguyfromva@reddit
Now I’m craving moussaka & loukoumades
Syndromia@reddit
When we were kids and would travel to a bigger city Mom would research the restaurants and every trip we'd try to find a place from a country or people on a new letter of the alphabet. I didnt like all of it but it gave me a wide range of foods to try and I liked that.
Indian or Thai is probably my favorite of the common options. For the not as common, Uzbek is to DIE for. Their samsas are what heaven tastes like. Uyghur food (a Muslim Chinese group) is not to my taste but is growing in popularity. The one Haitian restaurant we found to try was under siege for...reasons last year and tasted like it. I dont think that was a fair representation of the restaurant or the cuisine as a whole but I confess, I can't bring myself to try again.
CadenVanV@reddit
Cheeseburgers, hotdogs, Mac and cheese, and bacon aren’t our whole cuisine. Every region has its own cuisine, like the South and all of its barbecue dishes and sides, the Deep South and Creole and Cajun food, the southwest with Tex-Mex, the northeast and seafood, etc. The fast food we export are the dregs of our cuisine, and you haven’t lived until you’ve tasted a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and homemade Mac and cheese from a small place on the side of the highway.
But also yeah we love other cuisines, that’s the benefit of a melting pot culture. You can find most any cuisine in a major city, including the obvious European foods but also more obscure stuff like Ethiopian food. Most Americans can tell you their favorite restaurant for any given cuisine in their home city off the top of their mind.
Danibear285@reddit
thumbs up
andmewithoutmytowel@reddit
We cook a lot of Italian, Mexican, Indian, Chinese etc., in our house. The kids are fans of just about everything Italian, they also love chicken shawarma, my daughter LOVES tzatziki sauce.
My wife and I love Indian, my kids aren’t as big of fans, but we still make Korma regularly.
Now that it’s cooling off and the kids are in school and activities, we’re going to make a lot of slow cooker meals, which tend to be soups and stews. Ham and bean soup, 15-bean soup, zuppa Toscana, Pasta Fagioli, tortellini stew, Italian wedding soup, pesto chicken stew, chili, etc.
We don’t cook much German or Eastern European foods-I have no idea what Romanian cuisine is like.
We love trying food from around the world, Ethiopian is one of my favorites, but it’s so involved, I’d rather order it than attempt on my own.
Individualchaotin@reddit
Frankfurter Schnitzel (Hessian)
Döner (German)
Mantı (Turkish)
ALoungerAtTheClubs@reddit
It's worth noting that a lot of Italian food in the U.S. is Italian American, which is a distinct cuisine based on the ingredients that immigrants could get here.
ZygothamDarkKnight@reddit
Italian, Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Indian, Mexican and Turkish are my favorite cuisines, if exclude American cuisine.
For American cuisine itself, soul food and BBQ are my favorites.
Luffy3331@reddit
In Los Angeles, over 30% of our population is foreign born, so we have so many dishes that have been brought over from their home countries.
Chinese: Here in the San Gabriel Valley region it is a majority Asian population, mainly Chinese diaspora. Many provinces in China are represented here in their cuisine, with my favorites being Shanghainese and HK style cooking.
Mexican : We have the largest population of Mexicans in a city outside Mexico, with essentially every Mexican state maintaining representation in the dining scene. Street tacos and Mexican seafood are amongst the most popular here.
Japanese: LA has the largest population of Japanese in the US outside of Hawaii. There are many japanese owned restaurants that serve authentic dishes difficult to find in the US. Sushi chefs that immigrated to the US from Japan give us the edge in having some of the best sushi in the country.
Floater439@reddit
We eat everything. It’s actually pretty great. Some of my favorite cuisines are Lebanese, Greek, Indian, Polish (specifically the delight known as pierogi), Thai, Korean, Italian…you’d be hard pressed to find an ethnic cuisine that doesn’t have something I like. Then you have the regional “American” foods…the pizza type specific to a city, the dessert situation at a wedding, the side dishes at the barbecue, even what soft drinks we like. It’s allllll good! You can happily tour the world by eating your way across America.
Shout out to the indigenous foods that have become part of regional cuisines, too, like cornbread, roast turkey, blueberries and cranberries.
RevolutionaryRow1208@reddit
One of the best parts of living in a major city in the US is that you have access to cuisines from all over the world.
TK1129@reddit
Mom’s dad immigrated to New York from Sicily as a kid and loved to cook so Italian is up at the top for me. I’m a sucker for Mexican as well. I spent a few years working in Harlem and ate a lot of soul food. I work with a bunch of people with Dominican and Puerto Rican ancestry so I’ve been eating a lot of those cuisines. Basically what I’m saying is I’m fat
mst3k_42@reddit
My current favorite is Szechuan food, but I like a lot of stuff from other Asian countries as well. I’m currently eating bun bo hue. Yesterday I had Thai for lunch.
I’m also a big fan of authentic Mexican, Greek, Italian, French…
thatsad_guy@reddit
My grandparents were Greek, and the food at their house was always amazing.
Imaginary_Roof_5286@reddit
My brother’s best friend’s family was Greek, & my brother loved visiting their home because of the grandma’s cooking.
txlady100@reddit
Love international food! It helps that I lived in San Francisco and NYC.
Prairie_Crab@reddit
Oh gosh. Mexican, Thai, and Italian are probably what I eat most often, but I also love Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and German. Pretty much everything, if it’s not TOO hot! 😀
Crazy-Squash9008@reddit
My favorite cuisines is Romanian. They just eat cabbage and sour cream which are two of my favorite things!
Facts_matter83@reddit
The more different cuisines, the better. American cuisine is not really a cuisine. It's junk food.
SouthernCancel6117@reddit
I just don’t think that’s true about American cuisine. Stereotypical “hamburger, hot dogs” maybe aren’t the best for you to eat every day, but all across the country are local dishes that are so American. Shrimp and grits, etouffee, sawmill gravy, a Cuban sandwich, jambalaya, clam chowders, Philly cheesesteaks, not to mention lots and lots of different salads. You look for junk, you find junk. You look for good food, you won’t have to go very far to find all sorts of
AuggieNorth@reddit
Around the corner from my house there are 5 restaurants in a row on one block, first Nepali, then a Mexican taqueria, then a Haitian place, then a Moroccan bakery place that has halaal everything, then Pollo Royal, which is Chicken King in Spanish. Then up the street there's like 3 Brazilian places, Chinese, Italian, another Mexican place with a bar, and more. Lots of choices, though to be honest, if they don't have signs in English, I'm not going to try it.
Stunning-Artist-5388@reddit
Generally, I love Japanese food, all matter of Chinese food, Thai food, French food, italian food, american foods (cajun/bbq), tex mex food, mexican food, in that order.
I do not care for most Indian food (and i have had a lot of it, mostly from people from India that I work with), middle eastern food and other variations of 'Mediterranean food' (i.e. Greek), south american types of cuisine (other than their deserts), german food, or Caribbean food,
Lugbor@reddit
For health reasons, I have to avoid a lot of different spices, so my ability to eat certain cuisines is quite limited. I can generally do Italian, German, and most British foods, but anything else is basically a gamble.
davidm2232@reddit
75% of the time when I go out to eat, I am getting a hamburger. 25% of the time I get chicken wings. I don't like to experiment too much at restaurants. I will do some italian cooking at home with family recipes but that is about it.
GreenTravelBadger@reddit
Italian!! then I suppose Mexican and Asian. Found the best recipes while stumbling around in the library, believe it or not. The cookbooks there led me to try a few things I hadn't been exposed to growing up, and it was fun to make new (to me) dishes.
wiarumas@reddit
They are all good when in the mood. We do have a lot of options of foreign food here, especially near big cities.
German... bratwurst, pretzels, schnitzel, spaetzle, sauerkraut
Italian... pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, fettuccine alfredo, carbonara, ravioli, risotto, tiramisu
Greek... gyros, moussaka, spanakopita, baklava
French... beef bourguignon, crepes, croque monsieur, quiche, creme brulee
Turkish... kebab, baklava, hummus, falafel, pita
Romanian... not too sure but maybe stuffed cabbage and goulash?
Indian... chicken tikka masala, tandoori, vindaloo, biryani, naan, samosas
Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Spain, England, Irish, Ethiopian are also popular.
Able-Seaworthiness15@reddit
I live in Massachusetts and I can find basically every cuisine from anywhere in the world nearby. My late husband was a chef and was half Japanese (his mom was from Kyoto). He loved trying foods from different countries and I still do. Right now, we tend to eat a lot of Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean, Greek and Indian. It changes as we find new things to try. Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a great pizza or a burger and fries. As a matter of fact, tomorrow we're going to a fondue restaurant for my birthday. I've never had it and neither has my daughter. So I'm extremely excited to try it.
anneofgraygardens@reddit
I love lots of cuisines. My favorites are probably Mexican and Indian, but yeah, also love foods of the Eastern Mediterranean (Greek, Turkish, Levantine, etc). And Thai. And Vietnamese. I'm not a huge fan of Japanese food overall but I do love ramen and udon.
I'm a vegetarian so I'm biased toward cuisines that have a lot of meat-free dishes. Like I am not a huge fan of French food because in my experience (from going to France) it is very meat-centric and anything without meat is total afterthought.
MyUsername2459@reddit
The American diet is incredibly diverse, and literally everyone I know eats a wide variety of cuisines beyond traditional "American" food. Mexican restaurants are more common that traditional diners around here.
I haven't seen people who were seriously opposed to "foreign" foods since I was a child in 1980's rural Kentucky (when getting a pizza place in town upset the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter, because a few Italian-theater veterans of WWII felt that our town having a place that sold Italian food was an insult to their service), and I had a 1st grade teacher in the early 1980's that gave us lectures on how pizza was "junk food" to be avoided in favor of "healthy" food like hamburgers.
It's simply just a routine part of American life. I haven't seen any real opposition to it in almost 40 years at this point.
Now, of the cuisines you list. . .I don't know of any Turkish or Romanian places anywhere near where I live. Mexican is common, Italian and (Americanized Chinese) are pretty common. . .and there's a decent amount of Japanese, Indian, and Thai places. I know of a couple of Greek places, and a couple of Korean places, and one Peruvian and one Honduran place. We had a West African place, but they guy running it retired. There's a German place in our area too.
In terms of favorite foods? I'm always a fan of sushi, and could always go for a plate of lamb vindaloo and some naan. . .or some enchiladas verde, or some Thai red curry with chicken.
Blue387@reddit
I mostly eat Chinese, but not the Americanized slop. I do like an occasional pasttami on rye, pizza, burger and fries. I have had Indian food and I like Cuban sandwiches and the occasional gyro and falafel. I liked the Jamaican beef patties I had as a kid in school.
GhostOfJamesStrang@reddit
I have yet to find a cuisine in which I couldn't find something I like, deciding on a favorite would be impossible as my preference depends on my mood.
Asparagus9000@reddit
Americanized Asian food is my favorite.
wormbreath@reddit
I’m partial to Mexican 😋 but also love Greek and Chinese. Really I just love food. Lol
cbrooks97@reddit
I like them all. Somali spices take some getting used to, but it's still good. The more the merrier.