# Which country has the worst cuisine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821 "2011-03-24T07:16:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/161 "2011-03-25T16:12:54Z")
It’s really not smart to bring in fast food to a discussion of cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/162 "2011-03-25T16:21:04Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > _WANT_ > > [http://www.stjohnrestaurant.com/menu/supper/](http://www.stjohnrestaurant.com/menu/supper/) Love St Johns! I work round the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/163 "2011-03-25T17:06:49Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > Canadian cuisine is next to non-existent, and given this permanent inferiority complex my fellow countrymen have with regards to US and A, that deserves an HM. Such a lack of variety. The only things I could think of are: > > -Back bacon > -Poutine (Thick fries with gravy and white cheese curds) > -Sweet sauce donairs > -Whatever Inuit people eat If that’s all the Canadian cuisine you can think of, you haven’t tried hard enough. 😛 Just off the top of my head I can think of meat pies, and pig’s legs and meatball stews as traditional Canadian cuisine. At least that’s the kind of dishes my family makes or used to make near Christmas and I’ve been wanting to try making them for some time. In the winter I usually make pumpkin pie and pumpkin soup; you may not think of them as especially Canadian dishes, but pumpkins do grow here and pumpkin pie at least I think is quite traditional. Oh, and we shouldn’t forget the whole sugar shack menu; it’s that time of the year after all. To this we can add the regional cuisines of other parts of Canada, which I suppose may be influenced by different European and American cuisines. And if you want to include what the Inuit eat, you might as well include traditional Indian cuisines (dried and smoked meats, perhaps?) No, there is no lack of Canadian cuisine(s). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/164 "2011-03-25T17:10:48Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Nobody has mentioned it yet, but Polynesian “Cuisine” has to be the world’s worst: > -“poi” (the pounded and softened taro root)-awful stuff-wallpaper paste tastes better! > -pork (cooked on hot rocks)-never browns, bland and fatty > -baked bananas (bland) > -baked breadfruit-tastes like mashed potatoes-without any flavor > And, to top it off, a nice bowl of kava (the mashed root of the pepper plant, mixed with human saliva)-gross! > Many Chinese-American restarants advertise “Polynesian” cuisine-thank God what they serve is actually NOTHING like the real thing. We have a number of Hawaiian fast food places around here. Now, they are fast food, but they make the product of McDonalds look like it was cooked by Alice Waters. My exposure to Filipino food consists of what was available at a mom and pop grocery in Oakland, but I wouldn’t exclude it from the running. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/165 "2011-03-25T17:15:43Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Well I can only consider it is something of a regional anomaly (or this was sometime in the past) Because that is totally the opposite to my experience. > > I’ve travelled for work and business extensively in SW Germany and Austria over the past 15 years and I always like to scout the supermarkets and I’m very fussy about fresh fruit and veg. When my daughter was living in Tubingen, she complained about the absence of fresh food in the grocery. But from the perspective of a Californian even the selection in Pennsylvania in the winter is awful. Good cuisine means doing the best with what you have, not how closely you mimic food available in another region. Even if the produce situation is not as good as you say, I can’t knock German food for not including fresh pineapple. I kind of liked it, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/166 "2011-03-25T20:11:50Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > When my daughter was living in Tubingen, she complained about the absence of fresh food in the grocery. But from the perspective of a Californian even the selection in Pennsylvania in the winter is awful. Good cuisine means doing the best with what you have, not how closely you mimic food available in another region. Even if the produce situation is not as good as you say, I can’t knock German food for not including fresh pineapple. I kind of liked it, myself. I went to Tubingen when I was 15 years old, fell in love with the area and the beer. It is a very nice part of the world. And I agree with your definition of good cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/167 "2011-03-25T20:23:04Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > So let me get this straight – you’ve nominated a cuisine you know little to nothing about, and then invented a characteristic in order to justify your choice? > > I hope you don’t mind me saying that I find that an odd way of going about things. > > And Dandelion and Burdock knocks Coca Cola into a cocked hat, kicks it into touch, and stamps on it. > > So there. > > No-one’s disputing the general utility of vinegar in cookery. The claim was that the British put vinegar on _everything,_ which isn’t even a gross exaggeration. It’s just pointlessly untrue. +1 Damndest thing. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/168 "2011-03-25T20:52:16Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Good lord- where did I say they didn’t??? All I said was compared to Austria I like that my country has more fruit available. Fruit and vegetables, actually. And my point is that most likely you didn’t know where to go. Like, for example, the farmers markets. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/169 "2011-03-25T21:02:37Z")
> [@Mycroft\_Holmes](#): > > I’m surprised no one has mentioned Dutch yet, or did I miss it? I don’t think there is actually such a thing as a Dutch restaurant anywhere outside of the Netherlands. There might be a Pannenkoekenhuis or some place selling “Stroopwafels”, but I don’t think a restaurant would make much money if they had stuff like [Hutspot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutspot), [Stamppot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamppot), or [Boerenkool](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boerenkool) met [Rookworst](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rookworst) on the menu. I’d go…but then I am Dutch, of course. I do want to say with respect to the above point, as well as as the rest of the thread that we seem to be talking about two different things here: 1. The national cuisine. See above examples for Dutch, shepherd’s pie, fish and chips etc for English, bacon and cabbage for Irish and so forth. and 1. How well can you eat in a certain country? For example, many people have said that you can find Chinese in Irish country villages, good curries in England. In which case I’d say The Netherlands have quite a good choice of restaurants, particularly the Indonesian dishes which have infiltrated The Netherlands in the same way curry has Britain: Bami, Gado Gado, Nasi Goreng. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/170 "2011-03-25T22:23:27Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > 1. How well can you eat in a certain country? > > For example, many people have said that you can find Chinese in Irish country villages, good curries in England. In which case I’d say The Netherlands have quite a good choice of restaurants, particularly the Indonesian dishes which have infiltrated The Netherlands in the same way curry has Britain: Bami, Gado Gado, Nasi Goreng. Yum! This is a distinction worth making, I’ve spent several holidays in the beachside town of Wassenaar in the Netherlands. It is only a modest little place but again the quality of the ingredients (particularly fish and fresh vegetables) and the supermarket (C1000) is quite stunning. I can’t make any real comment on traditional Dutch cuisine as we mostly make things from scratch but certainly the indonesian [Rijsttafel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rijsttafel) is a widely available, cheap and particularly delicious ethnic alternative. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/171 "2011-03-26T01:03:37Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I’m late to the party, but when I saw the title, Filipino food was my first thought. It didn’t hurt that I had to try yet another Filipino restaurant this weekend. Of the ~half dozen southeast Asian cuisines I’ve tried, Filipino is bland and overcooked. Theirs is a cuisine that likes to drown things in vinegar - I suspect more because it kills all the bad things than for the flavor it adds. I think their whole cuisine is based around making food safe to eat. Hey, what’s that one Filipino “delicacy”? The almost-developed bird embryo? I would definitely pass on that. There’s been some slagging of yak butter. I don’t know if I’ve tried that – I think I may have, added to some Tibetan tea – but I do like yak cheese. I stock up on it in Kathmandu. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/172 "2011-03-26T01:27:11Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > I have heard that the cuisine of Bhutan is really bad. The two most famous dishes are strong tea with yak butter.. I can attest to it tasting like warm greasy sea water. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/173 "2011-03-26T04:38:30Z")
> [@SpartanDC](#): > > I had Eritrean food once - it’s very, very similar to Ethiopian food, but don’t tell them that. Anyway, it gave me the most wicked case of the runs I’ve ever experienced. Though it didn’t taste too bad. > > As said above, barbeque (in its many varieties) forever exempts America from this list. And we’ve done things with a patty of hamburger meat that can be mind-blowing. > > USA! USA! USA! > > I will say that I have Filipino friends who will readily admit that their food is an acquired taste. As a child, I went to the birthday party of a Filipino friend and when I got home, my mom ordered me into the shower because of the smell. Also, none of it looked too good, but that was through the eyes of a 9-year-old. > > My wife also doesn’t have much good to say about _real_ Chinese food based on the year she spent there - this was in Kunming in southwest China. Everything was so spicy that it overwhelmed any other flavors, and she often found things like chicken feet in her soup. Re: Filipino: I only go to filipino weddings for the pansit. 🙂 God help you if you don’t have real limes. :mad: > [@amanset](#): > > so I’m not sure why the UK is being singled out… > > I’ve always maintained that British food’s reputation is purely down to the British sense of humour. > > Yet these people routinely tell me that my own country’s food is shit? > > And why the “especially Americans” bit? Sorry about that. 😃 Imho, the best threads at IMDB are when some country or race reacts to stereotypes and/or gets defensive. I purposely tried to start a fight between USA and UK just to make an interesting thread. > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Lotsa good food in the USA > > And I’m proud of my good teeth and daily shower, too. USA! USA! USA! > [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > One thing I love about American cuisine is the availability and expectation of fresh produce if you want it. And, this is somehow different in other countries? > [@Alessan](#): > > Really? Because I’ve always found U.S. fruits and vegetables to be decidedly mediocre. They’re all big, pretty and tasteless. I quoted you just because I think IMDB’ers like to think their thoughts actually mattered to somebody else. What I quoted simply shows how empty the idea you have is. > [@MLS](#): > > My vote goes to eastern European, based on the horror that was my Ukrainian mother-in-law’s cooking. BACON! > [@Aeris](#): > > Woah I felt exactly the same way in Germany! I was there for two weeks and I think I ate two veggies and maybe one piece of fruit. BACON! > [@TruCelt](#): > > Without a doubt the Masai Nation wins it: > > [http://www.congocookbook.com/other\_recipes/cow\_blood.html](http://www.congocookbook.com/other_recipes/cow_blood.html) BACON! > [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > There are no good restaurants in the Principality of Sealand, and the indigenous flora and fauna are inedible. BACON! ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/174 "2011-03-26T04:43:44Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Re: Filipino: I only go to filipino weddings for the pansit. 🙂 > > God help you if you don’t have real limes. :mad: > > Sorry about that. 😃 > > Imho, the best threads at IMDB are when some country or race reacts to stereotypes and/or gets defensive. I purposely tried to start a fight between USA and UK just to make an interesting thread. > > USA! USA! USA! > > And, this is somehow different in other countries? > > I quoted you just because I think IMDB’ers like to think their thoughts actually mattered to somebody else. What I quoted simply shows how empty the idea you have is. > > BACON! > > BACON! > > BACON! > > BACON! Are you drunk? ---
**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 26, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/175 "2011-03-26T04:45:54Z")
BACON! z ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/176 "2011-03-26T05:08:53Z")
> [@kyla](#): > > are you drunk? bacon! ---
**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 26, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/177 "2011-03-26T12:17:14Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Given that there are quite a lot of Nigerian people in London, it’s amazing how few Nigerian restaurants there are. They exist, but in tiny numbers compared to other cuisines. This leads me to wonder if their food is really terrible. > > British food is delicious, but then so is American - it’s one of my favourite cuisines, esp. Cajun food. > > I’d count curry as British, btw; curry certainly counts, since it’s been a regular in home cookery books since the 1700s, in forms which were markedly different to the ones in India, and surely 300 years is long enough for a dish to be considered native. Having lived in both Nigeria and England in my teen years, I must say these two countries are in contest for the title. Traditional Nigerian food (more the southern variety than the northern one) is …well… none too good… This being increased by the fact that most Nigerian cooks’ knowledge of Western cuisine is based on English cuisine. So you got a choice between some really unsavory local cuisine completed by some horrible English cuisine. The expat families there were always trying to get cooks from Benin (French trained, and usually really good cooks, restaurant-level for a good deal of those) over any Nigerian one. I can assure you when your only comfort during the rain season is some mean looking _sponge_ cake, you get to the point where you really wonder if life is worth all the trouble. I do miss pub cooking though, it’s been a while since I had the opportunity to eat a good kidney pie. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/178 "2011-03-26T12:24:38Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Funny… I was going to say American. You guys deep-fry everything, you think cheese is bright yellow and comes wrapped in cellophane, and high-class seasoning means chucking a load of bacon salt on everything. > > The largest fast-food firms are all American - Subway, McDonalds, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, KFC and Pizza Hut… that’s America’s contribution to world cuisine. > > Y’all must be very proud 🙂 As an American I’m not proud of all of the horrible crap you mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/179 "2011-03-26T12:36:09Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Given that there are quite a lot of Nigerian people in London, it’s amazing how few Nigerian restaurants there are. They exist, but in tiny numbers compared to other cuisines. This leads me to wonder if their food is really terrible. I think they’re just concentrated in certain areas. Leytonstone, Leyton, and Stratford are full of Nigerian restaurants. Sometimes there are several of them within a few doors of each other on the same street. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/180 "2011-03-26T12:55:06Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > I do miss pub cooking though, it’s been a while since I had the opportunity to eat a good kidney pie. Is that a Nigerian dish? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821.md?page=10)