# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Ice\_Cream\_Conquest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@Ice\_Cream\_Conquest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Cream_Conquest)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/61 "2008-10-11T13:25:56Z")
Utah restaurants don’t have anything particularly local or abominable in general. The only local thing you’ll find frequently is fry sauce – a blend of mayo, ketchup and spices for dipping French fries, which I like. To really sample the abominable local cuisine you’ll have to go to a pot-luck or a funeral lunch. The covered dish or casserole has a long and venerable tradition which has been absolutely destroyed. Here’s a sample recipe that is nearly ubiquitous: TATER TOT CASSEROLE 1 (32-ounce) package frozen potato rounds 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup 1 (6 ounce) can French-fried onions Now, for those few of you that are thinking that it doesn’t look half bad, the current Utah mom looks at that recipe and thinks, “Too fattening!” and then substitutes fat free sour cream and low fat cheddar cheese. After the casseroles, the next abomination you’ll find is the jello salad. I like gelatin. I like jello, but the things these people do! Ever had shredded carrots in green jello? It’s like the state dish. Celery is not unheard of. Mixing in a carton of cottage cheese is common. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/62 "2008-10-11T14:31:01Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > This is true of most gefilte fish, but there are some frozen kinds that are actually good. I never knew about them until recently. As for the jarred kind, I’ll tolerate it once a year at the seder as long as it has plenty of horseradish. Gefelte fish is really not “jellied”. It’s more of a ground fish poached in a broth that gels when cooled. It’s like saying that chicken soup is jellied chicken, because fresh stock will gel at refrigerator temps. My mother’s is made from fresh whole fish which she grinds herself, and gently simmered in a stock with carrots and onions. We eat it warm with a little broth covering it. You can also make it in a terrine, and serve cold as slices. If you get the jar stuff, pour it into a sauce pan, add sliced carrots and onions, some fresh parley and maybe a touch of dill and simmer gently. It improves the taste immensely. Don’t forget the horseradish! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/63 "2008-10-11T14:45:38Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > When I had durian, it was neither as awful smelling or delicious tasting as people told me. I’ll try it again, maybe it’ll be stinkier and taste better next time. Let me tell you about durian. Back when the wife and I were first married, we lived in a small studio apartment in Bangkok for a couple of years. My in-laws were still alive then, and we went over for a visit one day. Unbeknownst to me, my mother-in-law gave the wife some durian to take home. She had wrapped it in aluminum foil and sealed it in a Tupperware container. When we got home, the wife placed the container inside our fridge. So the durian is wrapped in foil, sealed in Tupperware and inside a refrigerator. And I still don’t know it’s there. We start watching a video. During the course of the video, I start noticing an awful smell. I think it’s me, because I’ve not showered yet after being out in steamy Bangkok all day. The smell grows worse as the movie progresses, and I’m thinking: “Man, I don’t remember ever smelling this bad before. The wife may actually divorce me over this. What gives?” After the movie, I apologize for the smell and head off to take a shower. That’s when the wife tells me it must be the durian. Sure enough, opening the refrigerator door, this sickening stench rolled out in a big wave. And it tastes as good as it smells. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/64 "2008-10-11T14:45:58Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Here we have it because the place was started by Cubans (sort of like why you have so much Mexican food out there). It’s pretty damned good, and doesn’t match what you are saying. That’s my point. In order to have a successful restaurant serving “Cuban cuisine,” you have to serve food that is nothing like what 97% of Cubans actually eat. (It doesn’t matter if the cooks are actually Cuban or not.) The only kind of place you’ll find food like that in Cuba is in the Hotel Nacional in Habana, where mostly foreigners eat. > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I’ve had good Cuban food at several Houston restaurants. And pretty good Jamaican, too. > > Of course, real Cubans & real Jamaicans did the cooking. > [@cowgirl](#): > > 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). > [@Cerowyn](#): > > 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. > I’m not sure why you specify North America here, since Cuba is a very popular vacation destination for Canadians. > [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > You do know that Miami has a large Cuban population, and since Miami is itself a popular destination for Americans, many people develop a taste for that cuisine? Of course I know that. :rolleyes: Notice that all of these testimonies are about “Caribbean” food being sold **in the U.S. and Canada** –so it’s not really “local cuisine,” which is the title of the OP. Obviously they have to serve something that people will come back to, and urbanites in the U.S. and Canada would not find the food that is typically served in the Caribbean worth coming back to. It’s like the Chinese food you find in the U.S.: not what the majority of Chinese people eat. I lived on the Caribbean coast of Colombia for almost two years, and the only food that had flavor was Arabic, cooked by my girlfriend’s mom, who is from a Syrian family. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/65 "2008-10-11T15:02:37Z")
> [@cowgirl](#): > > My nomination for abominable local cuisine is the unidentifiable meat parts that come with a standard [Phở](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho): I love pho. Not true local pho I guess cause I’ve only had it in Korea, but the place just gives you what you order (brisket, flank, seafood, chicken etc) sans unidentifiable extras, and you add hot peppers, cilantro, onion etc to taste. Really really good. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/66 "2008-10-11T15:13:33Z")
> [@Cerowyn](#): > > I’m not sure why you specify North America here, since Cuba is a very popular vacation destination for Canadians. I doubt you can find even one Canadian who goes to Cuba for the food. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/67 "2008-10-11T15:42:25Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Notice that all of these testimonies are about “Caribbean” food being sold **in the U.S. and Canada** –so it’s not really “local cuisine,” which is the title of the OP. Obviously they have to serve something that people will come back to, and urbanites in the U.S. and Canada would not find the food that is typically served in the Caribbean worth coming back to. It’s like the Chinese food you find in the U.S.: not what the majority of Chinese people eat. > > I lived on the Caribbean coast of Colombia for almost two years, and the only food that had flavor was Arabic, cooked by my girlfriend’s mom, who is from a Syrian family. Well you point was certainly lost on me. :rolleyes: Especially since the OP, himself, used Chinese food in Ireland as the example. So the thread was a bout what cuisine, in your locale, is gross. As in yucky, not merely inauthentic. That’s my take at least… ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/68 "2008-10-11T15:45:05Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Gefelte fish is really not “jellied”. It’s more of a ground fish poached in a broth that gels when cooled. It’s like saying that chicken soup is jellied chicken, because fresh stock will gel at refrigerator temps. > > My mother’s is made from fresh whole fish which she grinds herself, and gently simmered in a stock with carrots and onions. We eat it warm with a little broth covering it. You can also make it in a terrine, and serve cold as slices. > > If you get the jar stuff, pour it into a sauce pan, add sliced carrots and onions, some fresh parley and maybe a touch of dill and simmer gently. It improves the taste immensely. > > Don’t forget the horseradish! The worst is when you get a jar of gefilte fish, eat a couple, put the rest in the refrigerator, and try to eat more later. That’s when it really starts to congeal. It’s like eating snot. ---
**Author:** ![MadPansy64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@MadPansy64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPansy64)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/69 "2008-10-11T15:47:55Z")
> [@Ice\_Cream\_Conquest](#): > > TATER TOT CASSEROLE > > 1 (32-ounce) package frozen potato rounds > 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream > 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese > 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup > 1 (6 ounce) can French-fried onions Add another can of soup, and substitute a small can of tuna in oil for the sour cream to turn it into Hot Dish. ☹ The absolute worst thing about living in Minot, North Dakota. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/70 "2008-10-11T16:28:03Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > I had a similar dish in Zambia. I was told it was made from maize, although I couldn’t be sure. It was the color of paste (completely white) but had a slightly courser texture. It had no taste whatsoever. . Yeah, cous cous (or fufu or whatever) is a pretty universal staple. It can be made from manioc (cassava), maize, millet, sorghum or even rice. With a good sauce it can be edible. With leaves, peanut butter and rotting dried fish it is stomach turning. I learned there is a reason why we don’t have too many sub-sarharan African restaurants in the US. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/71 "2008-10-11T16:41:21Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Well you point was certainly lost on me. :rolleyes: > > Especially since the OP, himself, used Chinese food in Ireland as the example. So the thread was a bout what cuisine, in your locale, is gross. As in yucky, not merely inauthentic. > > That’s my take at least… Okay, I see that. But the word “local” seems to imply that it is only in that place. Is this food bad because it’s in my locale, or is it bad because that’s its indigenous quality? ---
**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 11, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/72 "2008-10-11T16:55:24Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Okay, I see that. But the word “local” seems to imply that it is only in that place. Is this food bad because it’s in my locale, or is it bad because that’s its indigenous quality? The cuisine in the example I gave is ‘Chinese’, as in mainly sold in Chinese restaurants but it isn’t to the best of my knowledge a dish eaten in China or anywhere else except Ireland (and in certain instances in Scotland too). Maybe it’s more widely eaten than I imagine though. The example I gave is really really tasty, just really really bad for you and also not very aesthetically pleasing. Something akin to poutine (?) in Québec (putain de poutine!). So I’m looking for stuff that’s popular in your locale of any ostensible background that you find reprehensible on tastebuds, health, aesthetic or whatever other grounds. You might actually like the food 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/73 "2008-10-11T16:55:59Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Okay, I see that. But the word “local” seems to imply that it is only in that place. Is this food bad because it’s in my locale, or is it bad because that’s its indigenous quality? I’m guessing either. “What food is crappy around you?” might sum up the OP… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/74 "2008-10-11T17:19:24Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > 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. Are you deranged? Skyline chili is what I came here to condemn. Chili containing cinnamon, allspice, cloves and baking chocolate? It’s the very definition of abominable. The whole spaghetti thing is just adding insult to injury. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/75 "2008-10-11T17:22:21Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > So I’m looking for stuff that’s popular in your locale of any ostensible background that you find reprehensible on tastebuds, health, aesthetic or whatever other grounds. You might actually like the food 🙂 . I can find many examples of that, but they’re not necessarily limited to my locale, or any other. Cotton candy, American cheese, hot dogs… Bad Chinese take-out is everywhere. I thought the title was about tastes that are acquire in specific places. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/76 "2008-10-11T17:25:16Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Scrapple is for people too cowardly to eat chorizo. I’d have to be pretty damned hungry (or drunk) to eat either one! Chorizo is very popular here in New Mexico, however. It always amazes me that Taco Bell is popular in New Mexico. There are so many places to get authentic, delicious New Mexican cooking (cheap, too) and people go to Taco Bell! I know, some people actually _like_ Taco Bell, but drive one or two blocks around here and you can get the real thing! It boggles my mind that anyone would choose Taco Bell after sampling what’s available in this area. A breakfast burrito smothered in green chile sauce is pure heaven. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/77 "2008-10-11T17:39:45Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I can find many examples of that, but they’re not necessarily limited to my locale, or any other. Cotton candy, American cheese, hot dogs… Bad Chinese take-out is everywhere. > > I thought the title was about tastes that are acquire in specific places. > [@An\_Gadai](#): > > T So I’m looking for stuff that’s **popular in your locale** of any ostensible background that you find reprehensible on tastebuds, health, aesthetic or whatever other grounds. You might actually like the food 🙂 . I’m guessing regionally/locally popular. (I love multi quote) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/78 "2008-10-11T18:32:45Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I was once given a terribly translated English menu at a restaurant, and had to double check with someone else that “chicken heart” was not a translation mistake. It wasn’t. Blech. Chicken hearts aren’t that bad, actually. At least, I had some at a Brazilian BBQ place, and they were okay. Tasted like rubbery chicken. _shrugs_ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/79 "2008-10-11T18:44:13Z")
Jumbo Slice! (I think I win the thread.) How to explain Jumbo Slice? Let’s try this: You cannot get good pizza in Washington, DC. It doesn’t exist. (I’m told there’s a place near the new stadium that is passable, but the friend who told me this is wholly unreliable, and I don’t believe him.) Good pizza is wholly foreign to Washingtonian culture. However, we’re prodigious drinkers. The Adams Morgan neighborhood on a Saturday night will be filled with drunk college kids, interns, grad students and junior staffers. Drunk people want pizza. DC has no real pizza. What to do? Enter the Jumbo Slice. Three bucks will get you, from a number of hole-in-the-walls blaring bad music, a slice of “pizza” the size of half an entire conventional pizza. Seriously, you need two plates to hold these things. They’re also vile beyond description - greasy, odd-tasting things with a small that sort of _clings_ to you long after you’ve consumed them. Never, ever, ever eat a Jumbo Slice sober. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322/80 "2008-10-11T18:45:13Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > The everyday food in Northern Cameroon sucked. > > The staple was boiled millet paste called “cous cous” (not the same thing as what we call cous cous.) It had the same consistency as, uh, paste. This was served painfully hot in football sized portions. It’s extremely rude not the eat the whole thing. It just kind of sits there in your stomach, especially when it is 110 degrees out. > > Cous cous comes with sauce. We had a dazzling variety of sauces- all of which were some kind of green leaves cooked with peanut butter. Usually this was supplemented by whole tiny dried fish that you ate bones and all. If you were unlucky, you might end up with one of the slimier leaves in your sauce and it’d have a snot like consistancy. > > I cooked for myself. Maybe I’m crazy, but that doesn’t actually sound so bad to me. Maybe I have low standards? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abominable-local-cuisine/467322.md?page=5)