# What's a well known (at least fairly well known) type of food or style of cuisine you've never, or only recently, tried? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 17, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931 "2022-01-17T14:45:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/41 "2022-01-17T22:38:50Z")
I’ve never had sushi. I had a bout of hepatitis A when I was young, and that sort of put me off the idea of raw fish. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/42 "2022-01-17T22:39:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The key, though, is to have good crusty bread to go with it to sop up some of that sauce. Ah. I didn’t know you were supposed to have bread with it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/43 "2022-01-17T22:47:52Z")
Yeah, it’s pretty saucy, so you want something for that. That said, every time I have eggs, I need some carbs to go with them. One of my ex-girlfriends absolutely refused to eat eggs if bread (or a tortilla or other suitable starch – potatoes was probably okay) was not involved. I’m not entirely sure I’ve ever seen my wife eat eggs without some sort of bread involved. She was getting crabby today when she asked me to make her some over easy eggs and it looked like there was no suitable bread in the house – but we had a couple of English muffins left, so all was good. Me? I’ll have a protein-full omelet and nothing else, but, I admit, some carbs would be nice with it. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/44 "2022-01-17T22:56:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve never had any Nepali other than daal bhat, but from what I understand, that’s about 90% of Nepali cuisine. My brother spent almost a year in Nepal and one of his few complaints was the sameness of meal after meal. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Frankly, I don’t see what the fuss is about. It tastes a bit like poached eggs in spaghetti sauce. I agree. It just doesn’t rise beyond the sum of its parts. You can also probably cross eggs in purgatory off your list: it is almost the same dish with some changes to the seasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/45 "2022-01-17T22:57:29Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > I’ve never had sushi. I had a bout of hepatitis A when I was young, and that sort of put me off the idea of raw fish. You can get Hep A from any food contaminated with feces containing Hepatitis A. Unpeeled/uncooked fruits and vegetables are common conduits for the infection, as are shellfish, ice, and water. It’s also possible to have raw or cooked finned fish be a vector, and this does happen, but less often than the aforementioned items. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/46 "2022-01-17T22:58:35Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I agree. It just doesn’t rise beyond the sum of its parts. You can also probably cross eggs in purgatory off your list: it is almost the same dish with some changes to the seasoning. I disagree. I like mine _very spicy_, and **puly** is right - there has to be crusty bread with it. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/47 "2022-01-17T23:06:19Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > [@jaycat](#): > > > > I’ve never had sushi. I had a bout of hepatitis A when I was young, and that sort of put me off the idea of raw fish. > > You can get Hep A from any food contaminated with feces containing Hepatitis A. Unpeeled/uncooked fruits and vegetables are common conduits for the infection, as are shellfish, ice, and water. It also should be noted that sushi doesn’t necessarily have to include raw fish. Although frequently paired with sushi, strictly speaking uncooked fish is _sashimi_. The primary component of sushi is rice, and there are types of sushi that do not include sashimi, but instead include cooked seafood, or vegetables. That’s particularly true with Americanized styles of sushi, like the California roll. ETA: Oh, but the talk of raw fish reminded me that I have never tried poke (pronounced po-kay), the Hawaiian dish that seems to be becoming increasingly popular on the mainland. Because I too am kind of put off by the idea of eating raw fish, although I did try both sushi and sashimi at least once. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/48 "2022-01-17T23:18:19Z")
Try Cahill Bistro in Edina for Ecuadorian deliciousness. It’s tucked away in a neighborhood strip mall (like most fabulous ethnic restaurants) and the food is delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/49 "2022-01-17T23:24:08Z")
“Sushi” is analogous to “sandwich”. Typically, an American sandwich consists of thin-sliced meat and cheese in between two slices of bread, but one wouldn’t say that thin-sliced meat is “sandwich”. Almost anything between two slices of bread is a sandwich, even if it’s not a typical one. Similarly, sushi is sticky rice wrapped in seaweed and topped with something. Typically, the topping is raw fish, but it can be anything. You could have a raw-fish sandwich, or peanut butter and jelly sushi (though neither one would be typical of any particular cuisine). ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/50 "2022-01-17T23:32:31Z")
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I like peanut butter and have eaten many PB sandwiches. I like jelly and have eaten bread and jelly. The combination never seemed right to me. I keep telling myself it must be somewhat good and I should try it some day. I probably will but I’m not gonna go out of my way to do it! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/51 "2022-01-17T23:39:02Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Lumpia are really just snack food, though. One of my coworkers was always bummed that everyone wanted her to bring lumpia to our potlucks. Mainly because they’re so tedious to make. > [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Filipino food. A Filipino friend of mine recently started selling lumpia. Not only have I never had lumpia, but I don’t think I’ve ever had any sort of Filipino food. Lumpia isn’t snack food for me. When I make it, it’s dinner. Dipped in a sweet/hot chili sauce. . .to die for. I make them with pork and shrimp and have likely made 5,000 since learning how about 45 years ago, since they are a great dish to bring to parties. They’re not that difficult, just a bit time consuming, and once you get the hang of it, it’s easy. The hard part is finding lumpia wrappers. Eggroll rappers are not at all the same thing, nor are wonton wrappers. I also like adobo and pancit. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I haven’t had Inuit. No muktuk, no fermented seal flipper or seal of any kind, no seabirds. Born and raised in Alaska and neither have I. Nor do I wish to. And you left out _akutaq_, or “Eskimo ice cream”, which is usually reindeer fat or tallow, seal oil, freshly fallen snow or water, fresh berries, and sometimes ground fish. Other than that, I’ve had pretty much everything mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/52 "2022-01-17T23:46:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Similarly, sushi is sticky rice wrapped in seaweed Not a defining part of sushi in general. That is the seaweed. For nigiri sushi, most stuff is simply something (usually fish or roe) atop a lightly vinagared and sweetened rice. The egg nigiri (tomago) will have seaweed, as well. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/53 "2022-01-17T23:48:27Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I saw a ‘shakshuka starter’ (just add eggs) at Trader Joe’s. I’m eating it now. Frankly, I don’t see what the fuss is about. It tastes a bit like poached eggs in spaghetti sauce. I make shakshuka often. I tried that Trader Joe’s version a couple of month ago. It was indeed disappointingly bland and boring - if that was the only version I tried, I would have given up, too. The versions I’ve made are far, far better. NYTImes has a very good recipe (paywalled) which I base mine off of. I’m sure many other websites have good ones, too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/54 "2022-01-17T23:50:49Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I like peanut butter and have eaten many PB sandwiches. I like jelly and have eaten bread and jelly. > The combination never seemed right to me. I keep telling myself it must be somewhat good and I should try it some day. I probably will but I’m not gonna go out of my way to do it! Nuts & dried fruit is a pretty typical combination around the world, so it does make sense to me. (Though I’ve met many non-Americans who think of it as weird, as they consider peanut butter a purely savory food, not really meant to be mixed with sweet.) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/55 "2022-01-17T23:51:41Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Lumpia isn’t snack food for me. When I make it, it’s dinner. When I’ve gotten lumpia from a food truck, it’s been sold as a plate of like 10 lumpia, which is definately enough to be a meal. They probably sell it that way because they know people are going to their food truck for lunch, not a mere snack. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/56 "2022-01-17T23:52:33Z")
I’ve never had Chinese food that wasn’t geared to a Western palate. I’ll take the Kung Pao Chicken and leave the [Duck Blood With Pork Intestine](https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/full-key-restaurant-wheaton?select=jChZFYDrrjrC1-j1UJHKXg) for someone else. I’ve also never had omokase. I’ve had sushi countless times, but I’ve never spent extra to have the sushi chef decide what I was going to eat. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/57 "2022-01-17T23:54:29Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I tried that Trader Joe’s version a couple of month ago. The thought of pre-made shakshuka just never occurred to me. It’s one of those things that you wake up on a weekend morning and want something a bit more substantial for breakfast/brunch/lunch, and make with staples you have around the house (well, all the ingredients are pretty much staples around my house, though I may not have any bell peppers around, in which case I substitute some Turkish pepper paste I have or just skip it all together.) Really helps if you have some fresh green herb to finish it off with, as well. I like coriander, but parsley works, too, as well as even chopped up scallions (green part.) Just a little green accent of color and flavor at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/58 "2022-01-18T00:04:42Z")
I avoid carbs, though; so no bread. (I can’t imagine it would be good on Sara Lee ‘Delightful’.) I do make home-fried potatoes (or hashbrowns) once a week, and I put my eggs on top. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/59 "2022-01-18T00:15:50Z")
Way too many to mention. I need to get adventurous and try. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931/60 "2022-01-18T00:23:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The thought of pre-made shakshuka just never occurred to me. It’s one of those things that you wake up on a weekend morning and want something a bit more substantial for breakfast/brunch/lunch, and make with staples you have around the house (well, all the ingredients are pretty much staples around my house, though I may not have any bell peppers around, in which case I substitute some Turkish pepper paste I have or just skip it all together.) Really helps if you have some fresh green herb to finish it off with, as well. I like coriander, but parsley works, too, as well as even chopped up scallions (green part.) When I make it, I make a double batch of the sauce and freeze half for next time. Seems to work well. I use cilantro too, and add a lot of whatever middle-eastern spices I have on hand (ras al hanout/saffron/), some smoked paprika, etc. Usually some extra tomato paste, too. If I add cheese, I use chevre instead of feta. So many options! I found that if I crack the eggs from about 8 inches above the pan, they sink to the perfect depth without having to make indentations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-well-known-at-least-fairly-well-known-type-of-food-or-style-of-cuisine-youve-never-or-only-recently-tried/957931.md?page=4)