# Which country has the best cuisine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535 "2011-03-30T18:12:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/21 "2011-03-30T23:18:22Z")
France. You can’t get bad food in France (or in Montreal, which follows similar traditions). ---
**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:** [March 30, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/22 "2011-03-30T23:21:49Z")
Sure you can. You can get bad food anywhere. There are just as many bad restaurants in Paris as there are in New York. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/23 "2011-03-30T23:40:51Z")
For me, it would be a toss-up between Indian, Mexican, Thai and Korean. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/24 "2011-03-31T01:16:35Z")
Konkani. Because it’s a combo of north and south Indian, and uses awesome spices like kokum, watamba and triphal/teppala. Kerala coming in close second, but that’s pure South and then Mumbai street food. Or you could just say “food found in Bombay” to get everything you wanted 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/25 "2011-03-31T01:31:47Z")
I don’t know. I used to think I could happily eat Indian food for the rest of my life, but then I spent two and a half months in India (in Andhra Pradesh, **NiceGuyJack** ) and did eventually get bored with it. And I started craving things that were hard to get, like…apples. (Did eventually find them in a Western-style supermarket, but they were EXPENSIVE.) ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/26 "2011-03-31T01:47:19Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > France. You can’t get bad food in France (or in Montreal, which follows similar traditions). I’ve had plenty of bad French food in France. Don’t get me wrong - I love French food, and done well it’s amazing. But what got me after spending 3 weeks touring around France is how uniform it is. Most towns in the US - especially towns that tourist visit - will have a choice of cuisines. French, Italian, Chinese, etc. In France, outside of Paris, every single restaurant was French food. A lot of very good French food, delicious French food, but man, at the end of 3 weeks, we got back to Paris, and spent our last 4 days in France eating Japanese and Italian. I was even sick of pate and croissants, which are pretty much my absolutely favorite two types of food. We ate breakfast at fookin’ McDonalds one day, if you can believe it, because I couldn’t get my head around yet another French pastry. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2011, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/27 "2011-03-31T05:37:57Z")
Oddly enough, even though it’s not quite my favorite cuisine, France is the one place I’ve been to (several times) where pretty much every single meal I had there was better than adequate. In fact, the awakening I had and what impelled my passion for food was staying a night at a cheap hotel, where a Continental style breakfast was included in the price. In other words, just bread, butter, jams, jellys, and maybe some cold cuts. Who the fuck gets excited about a Continental breakfast? Anyhow, I woke up groggy in the morning, cut open a baguette, spread some butter on it, and mechanically placed it in my mouth and began to chew. I just wanted early morning calories. But holy shit. Honestly, up until that moment, I had no idea how good bread and butter could taste. To this day, I remember that moment as the one where I truly learned that cooking is all about the quality of the ingredients–that some of the best food in the world is simply prepared–but just requires the best of ingredients. But, as to the OP, if I had to pick one cuisine, it would probably be Thai. ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/28 "2011-03-31T05:58:16Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > OK, new rule, “Indian” or “Chinese” don’t count, because that’s the equivalent of saying “European”. You’ve got to narrow that down. I prefer Indo-European. ---
**Author:** ![NiceGuyJack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/niceguyjack/32/3069_2.png) [@NiceGuyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NiceGuyJack)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/29 "2011-03-31T06:35:03Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I don’t know. I used to think I could happily eat Indian food for the rest of my life, but then I spent two and a half months in India (in Andhra Pradesh, **NiceGuyJack** ) and did eventually get bored with it. And I started craving things that were hard to get, like…apples. (Did eventually find them in a Western-style supermarket, but they were EXPENSIVE.) You have a good point. If you are in one place too long, you do tend to get bored with the local food. Whenever I go to India, I start craving beef. It’s the oddest thing. As soon as I step foot in India, my brain screams for beef. Even though the Indian food is fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/30 "2011-03-31T09:19:59Z")
> [@NiceGuyJack](#): > > You have a good point. If you are in one place too long, you do tend to get bored with the local food. Whenever I go to India, I start craving beef. It’s the oddest thing. As soon as I step foot in India, my brain screams for beef. Even though the Indian food is fantastic. … then go to Kerala! Kerala Beef Fry is nothing short of amazing. Indian it is! ---
**Author:** ![NiceGuyJack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/niceguyjack/32/3069_2.png) [@NiceGuyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NiceGuyJack)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/31 "2011-03-31T09:52:59Z")
> [@Panurge](#): > > … then go to Kerala! Kerala Beef Fry is nothing short of amazing. > > Indian it is! I’d love to spend some time traveling around India, but my trips there are business related and I usually only have three stops. Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. There is a Goan restaurant in Mumbai which I try to visit every time I go there. It’s called Goa Portuguesa. Not as spicy as Andhra food, and a lot more meaty, but the flavors are fantastic. Beef is served in Goan cuisine as Goa is mainly Christian so cows aren’t treated as holy. I’m surprised about Kerala though. Not very Christian unless you are in Pondicherry, so beef wouldn’t be a usual ingredient. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/32 "2011-03-31T10:04:28Z")
[Actually 20 % of the population in Kerala is Christian.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Kerala) Kerala is, after all, the place where the apostle Thomas went to spread the gospel (according to local traditions, at least). There used to be a Jewish community as well. The Malabar coast was visited extensively by European trade ships - that might have had something to do with the (relative) prevalence of eating beef. Also: Pondicherry is not in Kerala but on the east coast. It is actually a Union Territory on its own. (the food there is amazing as well, btw. French/Indian seafood FTW!) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/33 "2011-03-31T10:08:59Z")
I agree, there is so much _good_ food in the world that it is hard to pick. I love watching Tony Bourdain surfing around the world getting to eat the incredible food. I would love to win a lottery and hire him to ‘cooks tour’ me around the world for about 4 months _burp_ Then I would have to check into a hospital somewhere for a gastic bypass … and a liposuction @\_@ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/34 "2011-03-31T10:34:26Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > There are just as many bad restaurants in Paris as there are in New York. Bad example. I lived in Manhattan for two years and I don’t remember eating in a bad restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/35 "2011-03-31T11:51:17Z")
Damn all of you. I don’t even eat breakfast and I’m craving vindaloo. First thought was Italian, but the mention of spice made me realize it’s Indian. Vietnamese is a close second since it has Thai type flavors but also that lovely French influence. Third, Mexican. I don’t think many Americans understand the variety there. Spicy little street tacos, Mexico City haute cuisine, and Yucatecan turkey and achitote. And I’m entirely forgetting Veracruz seafood. Damn you all! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/36 "2011-03-31T12:05:04Z")
For me its Hawaiian food. Mmmmm…can’t get enough of that poi. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/37 "2011-03-31T12:39:56Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > . . . pretty much every single meal I had there was better than adequate. Damning with faint praise? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/38 "2011-03-31T13:30:53Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Damn all of you. I don’t even eat breakfast and I’m craving vindaloo. > > First thought was Italian, but the mention of spice made me realize it’s Indian. Vietnamese is a close second since it has Thai type flavors but also that lovely French influence. Third, Mexican. I don’t think many Americans understand the variety there. Spicy little street tacos, Mexico City haute cuisine, and Yucatecan turkey and achitote. And I’m entirely forgetting Veracruz seafood. > > Damn you all! [Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/elisabeth-lambert-ortiz-730469.html) wrote about Mexican cuisine before Diana Kennedy. Living in Mexico City with her diplomat husband, she was determined to learn how to cook even before she learned Spanish. After he was posted to Thailand, she tested many of her recipes on the locals; they loved the rich & spicy tastes! We get quite a bit of regional Mexican food in Houston. From the haute [Hugo’s](http://www.hugosrestaurant.net/) to the unassuming place Houston food writer Robb Wash took [a visiting celebrity](http://www.houstonpress.com/2002-03-21/restaurants/houston-one-plate-at-a-time/): > [@](#): > > “Look at that!” Rick Bayless says in amazement. “Geez, I wish I had my camera!” The trilingual sign he’s pointing to, on a breakfast joint at the corner of Wirt and Long Point, reads: “Kolaches, Donuts, Pan Dulce.” Bayless sounds like a kid on his first trip to Epcot Center as we drive along this gritty stretch of Long Point. “Look at that, a Korean barbecue, right next to a taqueria! Hey, that sign over there is in Thai!” Sometimes we take Houston’s mutated multiculturalism for granted; it’s nice when visitors remind us how unique we really are. > > Our destination is a little Mexican restaurant called El Hidalguense (6917 Long Point). Bayless and I have had several discussions over the years about the food of recent Mexican immigrants and its inevitable Americanization. I figure El Hidalguense, with a menu that ranges from nachos to _barbacoa estilo de Hidalgo_ is a good place to observe the process firsthand – besides, I like their lamb. The owners don’t speak much English, but they recognize Bayless the second we walk in the front door. That’s why they keep sending us tequila shots, which we are far too polite to decline… Bayless wanted to include a chapter on Tex-Mex in his first book; good Tex-Mex (& other US variants) can be excellent. But his publisher wouldn’t allow it. So, yes, Mexican food from both sides of The Border can be wonderful. (There’s no excuse for Taco Bell.) But with a world full of food, how can you limit yourself? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/39 "2011-03-31T14:33:02Z")
For me, who _loooooves_ all kind of food, if I only had to choose one, I’d choose Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535/40 "2011-03-31T14:52:13Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I’ve had plenty of bad French food in France. > > Don’t get me wrong - I love French food, and done well it’s amazing. But what got me after spending 3 weeks touring around France is how uniform it is. Most towns in the US - especially towns that tourist visit - will have a choice of cuisines. French, Italian, Chinese, etc. In France, outside of Paris, every single restaurant was French food. A lot of very good French food, delicious French food, but man, at the end of 3 weeks, we got back to Paris, and spent our last 4 days in France eating Japanese and Italian. I was even sick of pate and croissants, which are pretty much my absolutely favorite two types of food. We ate breakfast at fookin’ McDonalds one day, if you can believe it, because I couldn’t get my head around yet another French pastry. I’m sorry, but that doesnt mean anything. If French food is so highly praised it is precisely because every village, every region kind of developped its own dishes. So if you move across France, you wont find “only French food”, you will find the local specialties, that you probably wont get elsewhere. I understand that, as a tourist, you may have missed that, but it’s the principle on which relies French cuisine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-best-cuisine/576535.md?page=3)