What Cuisine Do You Just Not Care For?

With the exception of beer, pretzels and brats: German food.

I assume you’re talking about what we more commonly call Sichuan peppercorns here in English. Yeah, the first time I tried one (on its own) I thought I was having an allergic reaction. But once I figured out that’s how it’s supposed to taste, I loved it paired with the spiciness of Sichuan cuisine. For people who are unaware of Sichiuan peppercorns, they are not spicy. When China Guy says “numb,” he means numb as in licodaine/novocaine numb, not numbing heat. It physically does make your mouth tingle and go slightly numb. Its flavor is (in my opinion) nice, tangy, a bit citrussy and herbal at the same time.

To the OP, there’s no cuisine I won’t eat or get a hankering for from time to time, but I generally don’t get cravings for Greek food (which is weird, as I enjoy Turkish and other Mediterranean food a lot), and Filipino food minus a couple dishes (pancit, lechon, adobo) I don’t really much care for.

As for Thai being bland unless it’s ordered spicy–that’s a new one on me. It’s one of the least bland cuisines I could think of, whether loaded with chili peppers or not. I tend to prefer it on the blazing hot side but some dishes, like Massaman curry, I like on the mild side to enjoy all the delicious herbs and spices. I understand the perfume-y comments though. I don’t really think of perfume, but it is fragrant with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves and galangal especially (and basil, cilantro, sometimes mint, etc.), then with the funk of fish sauce. It’s definitely an aromatic cuisine.

I was just thinking: “Where the heck does the OP get his southern food from?” Because what he described is nothing like the southern food I’ve had.

Also, pretty sure it was Southerner’s who came up with the idea of sweet cornbread.
Anyway, my thing is sea food. I may crave it once in a blue moon but most of the time I’ll pass.

Southern US.
Too much fat, grease and sugar. None of those three things really agrees with my GI tract.

I’m not sure who came up with the idea, but sweet vs savory cornbread is most definitely a North vs South thing. https://knitstamatic.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/cornbread-sweet-or-savory/

It’s the opposite with iced tea. Sweet tea for South, lemony for North.

I don’t know. I think there’s some truth to what the OP wrote. Southern cooking does involve a lot of batter frying. Greens do get boiled. Cornbread is often unsweetened. Grits and biscuits are fairly bland if you eat them plain.

That said, these aren’t necessarily bad things. I like southern cooking. And you shouldn’t talk about southern cooking without mentioning barbecue. And the pies.

But there’s plenty of Southern food that is none of these things, as well. It’s comparable to dismissing Japanese food because sushi doesn’t do it for you.

Yeah, that person doesn’t know what he’s talking about. If there is a divide, it would be between white and black folks. (Or wealthy vs poor)

Link

A feature not a bug. Sichuan is my favorite cuisine from China because of the Sichuan peppercorn, not in spite of it (though it’s generally hard to find good Sichuan here in Atlanta… most places are Cantonese).

I’ll also disagree with the OP. I’m originally from New Jersey, which has fantastic Italian food (not just pizza, even though the pizza is amazing), and when I moved down South I was shocked by how good the food is down here - and how can you not like fried chicken? (don’t forget the barbeque) And who eats greens, biscuits, or grits plain? They are supposed to be seasoned (I didn’t realize this about greens originally and didn’t like 'em, now they are my favorite side dish).

As for the OP’s question - I recently tried Nepalese food and was not a fan. It’s North Indian without the spice and added sweetness, blegh.

I’m going to have to assume that you are not intimately acquainted with German food, which is rich and varied. I lived there for three years and enjoyed it very much.

As for the OP, I have two words for you: Cajun and Creole.

I don’t think that there is a complete cuisine that I dislike, just some parts of it, which is normal for most people. I don’t like raw fish, but Japanese food is just fine. I can’t eat the blistering dishes that are part of some Indian food, but love it in general. The only food I really can’t eat is mutton, which is everywhere in north Africa.

Oh, I like “the food of the South”–it’s my favorite thing about traveling in that part of the country. I have a friend who grew up in New England and now lives well below the Mason Dixon line. Though there are things he misses about the Northeast, he’s delighted with the cuisine of his current home state. “It’s so nice to have something other than cardboard to eat,” he likes to say, “and the fact that this stuff is so good is merely a bonus.”

For me the one to bypass is Indian food, or at least the “Indian food” that typically gets served in US “Indian restaurants.” I’m sure the actual cuisine of such an enormous and ethnically diverse place is quite a bit more diverse and interesting than the restaurants I’ve been to indicate. But in these restaurants–and I’ve been to more than a few, in various parts of the US–there just seems like a certain sameness to the dishes that I find unappealing. It’s also fair to say that I don’t much like the flavor of curry…

Some years ago, I joined a group of about 20 foodies for a meal at an Ethiopean restaurant here in Chicago. We shared the majority of the menu items and, I think, a few off-menu specialties. I came to the conclusion that I’m simply not a fan of this cuisine. That I don’t care for the Ethiopean staple starch injera got things off to a poor start. I’d try it again but no hurry.

My brother spent a little under a year in Nepal and had many nice thing to say about the country. The food was not among them. Bland and completely unseasoned, per his account.

Lebanese and similar middle eastern. My mother’s favorite restaurant is Lebanese, and she always tries to convince me to love it too. But every time I give in and go with her, I have the same reaction: I just don’t care for it.

Japanese. I’ve eaten a fairly wide range of Japanese cuisine and I really haven’t liked 98% of it. Too much emphasis on seafood, of course, and I really don’t like the flavor profile they tend to prefer.

Which is slightly puzzling, since I absolutely adore all other eastern Asian cuisines I’ve tried: Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, most Chinese (not really a fan of Cantonese), Filipino, etc.

Southern cooking, OTOH, is the food they serve in Heaven. You are really going to be surprised when you get to the Pearly Gates and St. Peter says “Hop in the back of the pickup truck. We’re headed on up to the Big House.” :wink:

You mean that Green Tea Ice Cream doesn’t do it for you? Japanese food does tend to be subtle…

I like most cuisines I’ve tried. Much Texas food is “Southern”–but with Creole & Cajun touches. And that damn sweet tea is a recent import.

And I like Mexican and Tex-Mex; Tex-Mex made in Texas by Mexican-Americans (or less documented folks) is not the same as Yankee Tex-Mex. (We have Taco Bell if you get homesick.)

I cook enough sort-of-Italian food that pasta isn’t my first pack at, say, a big buffet. But do take me out for some nice Italian food! I wish there was more French in this city. A new German place is opening near my nieghborhood–I’m hoping to explore Beyond The Wurst. Not much Slavic here–unless you count kolaches.

We’ve got lots of Asian places all over this sprawling city. Need to go exploring…

Try Yum Neau, beef salad (on rice).

Avoid the sweet dishes and the pad thai. Try the bean thread crystal noodles. Try the Spicy bamboo dishes.

It’s like Chinese without the MSG, fat and sugar. I would say that for many it has taken the place of Chinese food, around here anyway.

Nobody has mentioned Korean yet??

It’s the only one I can say: “Just, no…” about.

Tom Kha or Tom Yum soup, Larb of all sorts, Massaman curry, Pad Kee Mow, Kao Pad Kra Pow (Thai spicy!) - these are a few of my favorite things. :stuck_out_tongue:

Back in the day, I used to gross the hell out of my room mates. We lived next door to a Korean grocery that had an awesome (to me) deli in it.

I’d bring home all sorts of stuff and throw it in the fridge. My room mates were always like “WTF is this shit?!”

Hell, I didn’t even know what half that stuff was. I would just point at it and the guy behind the counter would fill a container full of it.

Good stuff… To me anyways.

Me, too. I love Korean food. Kimchi is great at repelling mosquitoes (and anything else, too!)