That seems strange. Around here even the typical ordinary grocery store will have frozen pierogies, amd my favourite decidedly non-ethnic WASP-ish deli always has fresh prepared pierogies and also cabbage rolls. These traditionally Slavic dishes have pretty much become mainstream. Pierogies are excellent when browned on a skillet in butter with onions and served with sour cream. Alas, the pierogies from even the fine local deli are not the same as Mom used to make, but at least their cabbage rolls are very good!
Not here in the Pacific Northwest they aren’t. There’s exactly one brand of frozen cheese & potato pierogies in the grocery stores here. We’ve got exactly one restaurant in the county that serves pelmeni and that’s the closest thing I can think of that’s equivalent.
Definitely the case here in western Canada. Pierogies are a popular appetizer in sports bars, and frozen ones are easily available at the supermarket. But a lot of western Canada was settled by Ukranians, and while those early settlers are gone now, their descendants grew up on pierogies. So it makes sense.
I don’t mind them. They’re not something I’d typically order, but if a friend who does order them at the sports bar says, “Have one,” I won’t turn it down.
If you meet him again point him to this video.
My first taco was in Los Angeles, in 1980. It was from a taco truck. It was delicious and exotic; we had nothing like it back in Toronto.
That trip was a real eye-opener, food-wise. My first experience with real American barbecue, at Stern’s on West Washington Boulevard, in Culver City. I’ve written about Stern’s before. You mean barbecue is more than grilling steaks and hamburgers? Apparently so, and I really enjoyed Stern’s. And other American BBQ in trips to the US since.
Correct. I was the guest of a couple, who were my friends, in Coventry, UK, back in the 1980s. And oh-my-gosh, could she ever produce some tasty food. Everything was typically British, and was it ever tasty. Her roast beef was particularly memorable, as it was better than the roast beef that I had had back in Toronto, at fancy restaurants (And he made sure that I got a good sampling of the local beers). And plenty of fresh veg—I remember going on a trip to the greengrocer, and to the butcher shop with them. I came back with all kinds of cooking tips for my Mom, which perked up our bland white-people meals.
Back in the 60s the availability of food beyond standard diner fare was limited in a lot of places, like Upstate NY. I was in college before I had pizza or Chinese food and even then I first had them while visiting Boston. The first Indian place (started by a guy name Raj, and called the Raj Mahal) started in the 1970s. No spicy food was on the regular menu. I was taken totally by surprise when much later a more authentic place opened and the first bite took the roof off my mouth.
Would people please, when they say things like this, specify where “around here” is?
I’ve mentioned it often enough that I figured most regulars would know – southern Ontario, a small town but within commuting distance of Toronto.
No, we don’t magically remember that you live in Ontario, that other person lives in Ohio, while he lives in Queensland and she is in Wales.
Some of us do remember lots of who’s where.
But it works LOTS better if most everyone includes their location in their profile.
See here for more on that crusade. It’s taking longer than I / we thought.
Even better than putting your location in your profile; you could include your location in the actual post, especially when you say something like “around here.”
yes, it is tasty, and also some of most un-healthy, with deep-frying EVERYTHING
Yes, if you include your location in the very few posts where it is relevant, that makes life easier for everyone else.
I agree with you, but I am South African, Zimbabwean and British, so I instinctively mention to which country to which I refer, because the cultural differences are fairly wide.
I worry somewhat that I am being pedantic.
To return to topic:
I found British food in general somewhat bland. I mean, the most exciting thing I ate there was a pizza with duck on it. My experience as a minimum wage worker obviously precluded fancy restaurants, but I do share the rumoured distain the French have for English cuisine.
On the other hand the Scottish invented “deep fried Mars bar”, and I managed to locate on the Waitrose website “vegan haggis” so they are still fairly experimental.
This is a widely held misconception. If you could afford spices during the Middle Ages, you were not worried about how fresh your meat was because you were very high up on the social ladder and rich. At that time spices were held in their own specialty, bejeweled lock boxes. Even plain old black pepper was beyond the means of peasants and more than a days pay for tradesmen for a pound of it.
From what I can see about English cuisine, it really looks like the two world wars fucked them up. Considering how long they had to make due, they’re not that bad. And boy did they jump on the spice wagon when Indians (both the India and West varieties) began migrating in large numbers.
Luckily for me around here where I grew up, there ain’t nothing but variety!
What? You don’t follow my life like it’s a messageboard reality show? Considering I’m from NYC, the greatest place on Earth according to us New Yorkers, I’m surprised even people from boards I don’t frequent don’t know about it.
Or maybe some US county fair invented it. I have had vegetarian haggis. Not bad. Not great either.
It’s enlightening to read this thread, and it challenges some of my own biases. I’m Asian, and have lived in California my entire life, almost exclusively in the Central Valley. I have never seen a real pierogi. I think the first time I saw a picture of one, I thought, “That gyoza seems to have a really thick wrapper.” IMO, ‘ethnic food’ has always meant ‘food of non-European immigrants’, eg Mexican or from various Asian countries. So to answer the OP, White People Food has always been synonymous with bland in my mind. And I’m fully aware that the crap I eat is considered exotic to a lot of people.
Absolutely! When Southern Pride comes up, I’m always, “Hell yes! Buttermilk biscuits, and cheese grits, and pimento cheese, and fried chicken, and fried catfish with hot sauce, and slow-smoked pulled pork with vinegar sauce, and banana pudding, and peach pie? You bet I’m proud!” The food might not be as heavily spiced as restaurant-style Indian or Thai food, but goddamn it’s delicious.
Sure–but the nice thing about Mac n cheese (and cheese grits) is that they’re welcoming to any spice you want to add. I recommend a mix of smoked paprika, garam masala, garlic powder, and cayenne, but you do you: find a combination and see how it is!
Curry has been known and popular in the UK since the 18th century.
As a side note, the Japanese navy picked it up from the Royal navy, put it over rice and it became a staple. Even today JNSDF ships each have their own recipe. From the navy it leaked out to civilians and curry rice is one of the main comfort foods there. After being filtered through two cultures though, your typical Indian would be hard to recognize it as curry.
The term bland is used by some who don’t appreciate the subtleties of a food’s flavor. And of course in our current “more is better” culture, small portions of foods with subtle flavors are not highly valued by many people. So some call white-people food “bland” because they think that non-whites can’t appreciate subtle flavors or are into conspicuous consumption.
But note that ketchup is a Chinese import from Southeast Asia.
Growing up poor and rural really limits one’s options. My family basically never went out to eat. It was just too expensive. And no “foreign” restaurants came to the area until after I’d already moved out.