# Abominable local cuisine **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2008, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322 "2008-10-10T14:28:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/21 "2008-10-10T17:07:34Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > That sounds fantastic. I love chips and curry sauce, but a whole portion can get a bit stodgy. The addition of rice is genius! (Incidentally, why is chicken curry from Chinese restaurants always so good? And what are those little meat-like “bits” (soya?) in chip-shop curry sauce? And does all chip-shop curry sauce come out of one centralised vat somewhere in the Midlands? It’s always exactly identical in both colour and flavour, and served in a polystyrene cup… so many questions!) It might well be on the menu in your local Chinese takeaway. You could always ask them to make it up even if it’s not on the menu. I know some people in Scotland eat them but they’re not as common. How about curry and cheese chips? Apparently that delicacy is well liked beyond the Pale. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/22 "2008-10-10T17:16:15Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > That actually sounds good. Do they toast the bun first? I wouldn’t know. I seriously avoided trying one. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/23 "2008-10-10T17:18:57Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Hmm, chili on a hot dog sounds pretty normal to me. I’ve never seen cole slaw on a hot dog, but it is a common hamburger condiment, so that’s not too much of a stretch. (Then again, I’ve never understood all the hate for people who put ketchup on a hot dog, so I’m certainly not an expert on the things.) I’m one of those elitist bastards who hates people who put ketchup on hot dogs. (Why do they hate America so much?) My favorite dog place has all sort of interesting dog toppings. The one I order most is called a shaggy dog. It’s topped with BBQ sauce and cole slaw. It’s yum times a million. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/24 "2008-10-10T17:29:16Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > While not exclusively local, I’ve always been mildly disgusted by the amount of stuff in the South that’s deep fried. You’re often left with a small pool of oil on your plate, and if you encounter a location that doesn’t understand the concept of seasoning, each bite is a greasy mouthful of bland nothing. And there are often interesting digestive side-effects too, in my experience. I noticed that as well. Not every place though, but a lot of them. However, this is balanced out by the beauty that is Southern Style Iced Tea. It has to be the water because anywhere else, it doesn’t taste like it does down South. For those of us whose bodies can’t tolerate too much greasy crap, it IS interesting afterwards to see what your GI tract is going to surprise you with :eek: ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/25 "2008-10-10T17:42:04Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Again, DC area/Mid-Atlantic. > > Scrapple. It’s the stuff too nasty for use in pet food that they scrape off the slaughterhouse floor. > > And I’m a Southerner who is not the least bit squeamish… Scrapple is for people too cowardly to eat chorizo. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/26 "2008-10-10T17:47:34Z")
Fried food that is that greasy is improperly done. It’s either overbattered or fried at too low heat, or both. Also, if cheapo oil is used, it will taste of ass. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/27 "2008-10-10T18:19:28Z")
Bhutan supposedly has the world’s most disgusting local cuisine. Scotland probably comes in second. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/28 "2008-10-10T18:56:34Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > A local Chinese place in the suburbs has sold chow mein sandwiches for years. Basically, it’s just chow mein on a white hamburger bun. They wrap them in paper and sell them by the dozens out of a drive-up window. They are so ubiquitous in that town that locals are surprised that it’s not standard fare at all Chinese restaurants. This sounds absolutely horrific. You’re near Boston, aren’t you? Which suburb should I be avoiding so as to never come near this abomination? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/29 "2008-10-10T19:05:52Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Bhutan supposedly has the world’s most disgusting local cuisine. Scotland probably comes in second. That’s a pretty out-of-date stereotype, at least in my experience. No cuisine that has a good half-dozen named varieties of cream can be all bad. The worst meal I ever had in my life was in Beijing. Non-Americanized Chinese food is, well, let’s just call it “different” to avoid value judgments. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/30 "2008-10-10T19:16:14Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Bhutan supposedly has the world’s most disgusting local cuisine. Scotland probably comes in second. > [@Smeghead](#): > > That’s a pretty out-of-date stereotype, at least in my experience. No cuisine that has a good half-dozen named varieties of cream can be all bad. Which one **Smeghead**? My sense of national self-worth is at stake! ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/31 "2008-10-10T19:24:41Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Scrapple is for people too cowardly to eat chorizo. I love chorizo–especially good lymph-and-pancreas chorizo–but I don’t care for the local semi-scrapple around here: goetta. > **[Goetta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goetta)** > > Goetta (/ˈɡɛtə/ GHET-ə) is a meat-and-grain sausage or mush of German inspiration that is popular in Metro Cincinnati. It is primarily composed of ground meat (pork, or sausage and beef), steel-cut oats and spices. It was originally a dish meant to stretch out servings of meat over several meals to conserve money, and is a similar dish to scrapple and livermush, both also developed by German immigrants. > The dish probably originated with German settlers from the northwestern regions of Oldenburg,... But it’s not the local abomination. For that, I refer you to Cincinnati-style “chili”. I can at least finish the goetta. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/32 "2008-10-10T19:28:43Z")
> [@Struan](#): > > Which one **Smeghead**? My sense of national self-worth is at stake! Oh, shit. Bhutan. I thought that said Britain. Well, let’s say I was referring to Scotland, then. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/33 "2008-10-10T19:32:56Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Pupusas are all over L.A., and it’s easy to get a bad one, but they can also be really good. A pupusa has to be fresh, and you have to know exactly what it’s filled with. > > One “local” cuisine that I find almost always bad is Caribbean food. As Naipal said, it mostly consists of “ground provisions” (starchy root-like things) and boiled meat, which nobody ever thinks to season. It’s bland and unmemorable. > > For this reason it always makes me laugh when someone in the States opens a restaurant with “Cuban cuisine.” It’s only because few North Americans ever go to Cuba and eat there that they can get people to patronize the place. They hope people will think the food is “exotic.” I’ve had good Cuban food at several Houston restaurants. And pretty good Jamaican, too. Of course, real Cubans & real Jamaicans did the cooking. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/34 "2008-10-10T19:36:35Z")
> [@Yossarian](#): > > But it’s not the local abomination. For that, I refer you to Cincinnati-style “chili”. I can at least finish the goetta. Hey, a properly made 5-way is a wonderful dish. Made at a Skyline, preferably. But mushy peas are the reason you folks lost your empire. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/35 "2008-10-10T20:25:32Z")
A massively popular local BBQ chain in my city sells loose meat sandwiches by the truckload - a couple of weeks ago, I found out how they make them. Cook a brisket. Cut off the top layer of fat. Slice the brisket and sell it buy the pound. Take the removed fat, throw it in some BBQ sause. Scoop fat and BBQ sause onto a bun, wrap it in foil, and sell. O.o I presume the final step involves watching your customers suffer massive MIs and call 911. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/36 "2008-10-10T20:26:43Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > One “local” cuisine that I find almost always bad is Caribbean food. As Naipal said, it mostly consists of “ground provisions” (starchy root-like things) and boiled meat, which nobody ever thinks to season. It’s bland and unmemorable. My experience (Toronto-based, perhaps I am getting inauthentic versions) is more mixed. It is one of my favourite kinds of vegetarian food. I could happily survive eating nothing but Trinidadian roti (lots of tumeric and chili-seasoned chick peas, spinach, cabbage, etc) and I could even get by on Guyanese roti (same but with more varied fillings). For the non-veg, a good goat roti or oxtail stew is to die for, and they’ve always got great rice and beans. And I’ve never had a bad [Jamaican patty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_patty). And my thesis supervisor made a mean [saltfish and ackee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackee_and_Saltfish). However, there have been only two occasions in my life in which I have obtained a take-out meal and then returned it to the place I got it because it was so abominable. Both of those were roti too - one was Jamaican (full of peas and corn and with no discernible flavour) and the other one was of undetermined heritage but it had enormous chunks of unseasoned [TVP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Soja_texturiert.jpg) in it. Ugh. If either of those had been my first foray into the world of West Indian cuisine I would have run screaming in the opposite direction as well. In England, I thought mushy peas were about as gross as it could get, until I encountered the jellied eels. My nomination for abominable local cuisine is the unidentifiable meat parts that come with a standard [Phở](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho): > [@](#): > > ‘With the lot’ (made with chicken broth and all or most of the shop’s chicken and cattle offering, including chicken hearts and livers and beef tripe and tendons) is generally rendered ‘tai pin lu’ and, in Anglophonic countries, often left translated. Blood jelly is sometimes included in tai pin lu and other varieties. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/37 "2008-10-10T20:38:57Z")
I like the tripe and tendons. Phở is good food. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/38 "2008-10-10T20:49:45Z")
> [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](#): > > This sounds absolutely horrific. You’re near Boston, aren’t you? Which suburb should I be avoiding so as to never come near this abomination? Taunton. I probably don’t have to worry about you stumbling through there. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/39 "2008-10-10T20:56:08Z")
Fried [eagle](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=3&chapter=11&verse=13&version=9&context=verse) with a side of [eel hash](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=3&chapter=11&verse=12&version=9&context=verse). ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/40 "2008-10-10T21:24:46Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > One “local” cuisine that I find almost always bad is Caribbean food. As Naipal said, it mostly consists of “ground provisions” (starchy root-like things) and boiled meat, which nobody ever thinks to season. It’s bland and unmemorable. I live a block from a [Jamaican](http://www.therealjerk.com/) restaurant (which is definitely Caribbean as far as I can tell), and I’d gladly eat there 3 or 4 times a week if I could justify it. There are handful of Jamaican restaurants near where I work as well, and I have yet to find one that disappointed. > [@guizot](#): > > For this reason it always makes me laugh when someone in the States opens a restaurant with “Cuban cuisine.” It’s only because few North Americans ever go to Cuba and eat there that they can get people to patronize the place. They hope people will think the food is “exotic.” I’m not sure why you specify North America here, since Cuba is a very popular vacation destination for Canadians. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322.md?page=3)