In other words have you ever taken a person to a restuarant that corresponds to their ethnicity, but doesn’t really serve what is thought of as authentic food? What did they think of it?
I’ve been to Taco Bell with some Mexicans and they seemed to enjoy it. They don’t really care that it’s not authentic, they just like it for what it is, which is cheap, tasty fast food.
Have you ever taken an Italian to Olive Garden, Mexican to Taco Bell, Chinese to Asian buffet, etc.?
My ancestry is Italian, and the Olive Garden annoys me, because they’re trying to play it off as authentic Italian. Right. :rolleyes: I haven’t been back since 1993, and I’ve found their food to be bland and pedestrian (especially compared with my grandmother’s cooking).
As for Taco Bell, it’s fast food, and I’ve never gotten the impression they’re trying to pass themselves off as authentic Mexican cuisine. It’s its own thing, and they know it. And I eat there all the time.
No, but I have eaten KFC in Kentucky, Boston Market in Boston, and California Pizza Kitchen in the Golden State.
Not that I know of, but back in the way back, when I worked at Taco Bell, Mexican guys would come in and order tacos all the time. Fast food is fast food - no one expects it to be some sort of heritage-affirming, authentically home-like meal.
My Chinese husband likes Panda Express, and we were on a buffet-kick for a while there. He’s American-born, if that matters. We basically regard it as you do: cheap, tasty fast food. If we couldn’t get actual Chinese food elsewhere when we wanted it, though, that might be a different story.
I took my Irish cousin to an Irish pub in NY once. He looked up from the menu and asked “What’s this *‘Corned beef’ *then?”.
We were slayed; SLAYED I tell you! Laying down on the table helpless with laughter while poor Declan was left striving to guess what he’d said to set us off. He thought we were just laughing at his accent, or something that had happened behind him.
It turns out that on Holidays it was traditional for Irish-Americans to make a special purchase of some beef from Ireland. (the modern correlary would be Argentinian beef or maybe Kobe). But having no refrigerated freighters they would necessarily have been ordering brined or pickled beef - preserved to survive the journey. Thus “Corned” beef (preserved in the Cornish manner) is considered Irish in America, but un-heard of in Ireland.
He finally identified it as “spiced beef”, which he had seen before; and I think he ordered the fried chicken.
I’m Chinese-American, and I love “Asian buffet” style food (although not as much as I love the real stuff). The trick is to mentally dissociate them - Americanized Chinese food is its own thing, just as Shanghai food is distinct from Cantonese food or Sichuan food. Granted, the traditional cuisines are likely to be far healthier, but that’s like bashing ice cream for being fatty. Americanized Chinese food is what it is - sugary, fat-laden lumps of greasy unidentifiables. And sometimes you’re just in the mood for that.
I’ve gone with Indian friends to Indian restaurants before. They generally liked it, although they were amused at what we consider “spicy”.
I don’t think your etymology is correct. “Corned” refers to the small kernels (corns) of salt used in the brining process. They’ve been exporting that stuff out of Ireland for a long time.
To the OP, no. But we often get food delivered for office parties, and that sometimes includes Chinese. My office mate, who was born in China, likes it, but to her it’s just another type of American food. Like pizza.
Yes! This is an awsome question. I have had the privelege of teaching a group of Chinese nationals how to use x-ray orientation for the purpose of slicing man made crystal quartz boules. I would take them each day for lunch to the local chinese take-out and they were loving life! The owners and them would shoot the shit and eat all kinds of things that were not on the menu. I saw them eating stuff that I would never, ever eat! once again, great question. Oh, they would not go anywhere else than chinese take-out.
I used to work with a lot of Indians. We’d often order in when we had long projects. When we debated over what kind of food to get, one guy (last name Punjabi) would say “I do not like Indian food.” The cognitive dissonance was hilarious.
I’m Indian and I regularly go to Indian restaurants. Being run by mostly Indians, Afghanis, Pakistanis, and the like, and not being fast food, they are pretty authentic.
I am amused by what some people call spicy. I have met all kinds, from those who simply cannot handle a radish, to people who eat vindaloo. I don’t eat vindaloo. And there is a big difference between “spicy” and “full of spices”, or well-seasoned. All Indian food is well-seasoned…most of it is moderately hot.
We don’t really do subtle tastes. No light salt and pepper and a little butter here! nope, it’s got to be cumin, coriander, turmeric, garlic, etc…I suppose when they cut all those out we’ll have more “Americanized” Indian food.
I’ve taken my (Australian) family to Outback Steakhouse. But it isn’t really Australian cuisine: it would go down well in Australia as a “Texas steakhouse”. My youngest son likes it a lot, but then he likes a lot of U.S. food – McDonalds, KFC, etc.
When we are looking for a degree of amusement value, a group of us English-in-exile will sometimes go to the Elephant and Castle. The only thing that is credibly British about it is the unbelievably shite service.
But it is close to the office when I need to sneak out to watch the footy, and they don’t, unlike the Goddamned ESPN Zone, have the effrontery to charge an hourly minimum rate for their tables.
I saw something on Food Network a couple of years ago. There is an Indian restaurant (in New York, maybe?) where you can custom order the spiciness on a scale of 1 to 10. The owner said that what Americans typically call spicy as hell is what they class as a 3. The only people to order a 10 were usually Indians. When it’s cooked, the chefs have to wear respiration masks.
Hell I couldn’t take a 10, either. My dad eats chili peppers straight. So does my brother. I watch them in horror.
But I mean people who scream over a radish.
What Tanbarkie said. I’m Japanese-American and I can happily eat Americanized Asian eateries’ foods, but it’s American food in my head, not whatever ethnicity it’s supposed to be. The food can satisfy a generic craving, but if it’s actual, authentic food you want, those places just don’t cut it.
My Mexican SO cannot stand Taco Bell. It’s always been my favorite place for fast cheap food but I haven’t been in a long time.
My German-born and raised ex-boss tells me that when he and his wife first hit the States, they were delighted to find a Der Wienerschnitzel just down the road.
Their delight didn’t last very long, alas.