# Worst national cuisine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134 "2015-08-06T05:49:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [August 7, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/81 "2015-08-07T15:49:01Z")
Nepali. Basically mushy legume glop. and they want you to eat it with your hands! When in Nepal, always eat Indian, or Chinese, even Italian! I’ve had good Italian food in Kathmandu. But Nepali? Blech! ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/82 "2015-08-07T18:17:05Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > I’m pretty sure you were adopted by a German family then and not genetically from there. You can probably only carry 6 mugs of beer at a time. > > 😃 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/83 "2015-08-07T18:41:31Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > A saying you may like: food should be cooked in the same water that was used to raise it. You mean pee? :dubious: I ain’t eating no pee burger. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/84 "2015-08-07T19:39:30Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Italian is hard to say. I’ve never been to Italy, but the Italian restaurants outside the USA seems to be consistly the same in being very different than the Italian immigrant adjusted fare that we call “Italian” in the USA. Interestingly enough, I think I read somewhere, or saw on TV that a lot of Italian-American dishes are adaptations of classical Italian dishes that weren’t so much adapted for differing ingredients, but rather an abundance of ingredients that were formerly expensive in Italy. So you might get a lot of meats and sausage and cheese in the American immigrant version, because that stuff was expensive in Italy, and cheap in the US. Or, where a dish might use a relatively small amount of rock lobster meat in Italy, the immigrants would load it up with New England lobster, because it’s cheaper in the US. So over time, “Italian” food in the us really meant the distinct Italian-American cuisine, and not actual authentic Italian food. It’s pretty much exactly the division between what gets called “Mexican Food” in most of the US; it’s really Tex-Mex, which is a sort of Northern Mexican/Anglo food syncretism, with actual Mexican food being a different beast entirely. And, for the record, the best Italian food I’ve ever had was in Budapest, Hungary, not in Florence, Rome, Siena or Milan, although they all had dishes that were close seconds. ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/85 "2015-08-07T19:56:56Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Absolute hands down worst cuisine for me was Cuban. Now, I realise there has been a long standing blockade which hampers their choices, but the local cuisine consists entirely of: > > Scrawny friend chicken > Random fried fish > black beans > rice > boiled potatoes, > > and lobster. Lots of lobster. > > But not a herb or spice or variation in site. It will literally bore you to death. Did you eat in anyone’s home, or did you always eat at restaurants ? I had very few good meals at restaurants in Cuba, but the meals I ate in people’s homes were very good. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/86 "2015-08-07T20:06:47Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I do adore a good corned beef on rye and rugula is a treat from the gods, but I stand by my statement. I have always been put off by the look and smell of the vast majority of Jewish cuisine I have encountered (I’m Jewish so I’m allowed to take potshots 😛 ). I agree with this. We have a number of Jewish friends, and I know that when we eat at their houses, it’s going be a bland meal in desperate need of salt and pepper. Good deli, on the other hand, is terrific. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2015, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/87 "2015-08-08T09:55:38Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I do adore a good corned beef on rye and rugula is a treat from the gods, but I stand by my statement. I have always been put off by the look and smell of the vast majority of Jewish cuisine I have encountered (I’m Jewish so I’m allowed to take potshots 😛 ). Yeah, there’s a reason Israelis mostly avoid Ashkenazi food. We prefer Tunisian Jewish food, or Greek Jewish food, or Iraqi Jewish food… even classic European food like Shnitzel, we eat in a pita, with hummus. Except for matza ball soup. That, we eat. (And Deli food - corned beef sandwiches and the like - is \*American \*food. It was, after all, invented in New York). ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/88 "2015-08-08T12:33:13Z")
I think my least favorite was Mali. West African good at its best can be quite good- delicious grilled meats, fresh fish, fritters and donuts of all types, tropical fruits, warm baguettes, peanut sauces, scotch bonnet relish and stewed greens washed down with sweet red hibiscus tea. But at its worst, it’s really not great- massive quantities of bland starch with a thin smear of oily sauce and the occasional tiny cube of gristly mystery meat, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mali, sadly, seems to be firmly on the “not great” side (which I’m sure is largely a reflection of the depth of poverty there). What really got me is that their beans, which are usually a great idea when you want to avoid the mystery meat, were terrible. Bland, dirt flavored cowpeas. Yech. My other votes go to Guatemala and Nepal. Guatemalan food is fatty and bland, Nepali food is just bland and bland. Both probably suffer from being _this close_ to neighbors with much better cuisine. Mongolian isn’t great either- lots of fatty lamb and warm milk. Tibetan food was better than I expected, but then I like the butter tea. Dumplings, a delicious sour noodle soup, breads…not a lot of veggies, but otherwise hearty and delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/89 "2015-08-08T14:36:51Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Absolute hands down worst cuisine for me was Cuban. Now, I realise there has been a long standing blockade which hampers their choices… Just to clarify, there is no blockade upon Cuba. Since the end of the missile crisis, the country has always been free to import from any other nation except the United States. Any problems with ingredient quality there arise simply from domestic poverty. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/90 "2015-08-08T17:16:27Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I think my least favorite was Mali. West African good at its best can be quite good- delicious grilled meats, fresh fish, fritters and donuts of all types, tropical fruits, warm baguettes, peanut sauces, scotch bonnet relish and stewed greens washed down with sweet red hibiscus tea. > > But at its worst, it’s really not great- massive quantities of bland starch with a thin smear of oily sauce and the occasional tiny cube of gristly mystery meat, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mali, sadly, seems to be firmly on the “not great” side (which I’m sure is largely a reflection of the depth of poverty there). What really got me is that their beans, which are usually a great idea when you want to avoid the mystery meat, were terrible. Bland, dirt flavored cowpeas. Yech. > > My other votes go to Guatemala and Nepal. Guatemalan food is fatty and bland, Nepali food is just bland and bland. Both probably suffer from being _this close_ to neighbors with much better cuisine. Mongolian isn’t great either- lots of fatty lamb and warm milk. > > Tibetan food was better than I expected, but then I like the butter tea. Dumplings, a delicious sour noodle soup, breads…not a lot of veggies, but otherwise hearty and delicious. I agree to some extent. Mutton is the mainstay in West Africa, and to me it’s inedible. Some dishes that originate there translate well to Western ingredients, however. We make a chicken and peanut stew that gets raves. We just avoided Malian restaurants, as you were never sure what the hell was on your plate. Portugal has some food problems. For a nation of fishermen, they sure know how to ruin fish. Bacalhao (salted cod) is the national dish and it’s simply not edible to me in most of its incarnations. And don’t get me started on _cozido_ or _caldo verde_. That the Portuguese cling to a form of preservation that no longer serves a purpose speaks volumes about the national obsession with the past. I didn’t have a memorable meal in a Portuguese restaurant in the two years we lived there. The best food there is cheese, bread and red wine, which is not necessarily a bad thing. After a year, we took a two week vacation to Italy, just to remind ourselves what good food tasted like. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/91 "2015-08-08T17:28:06Z")
This thread speaks much more about the posters than any of the given cuisines. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/92 "2015-08-08T18:40:36Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > This thread speaks much more about the posters than any of the given cuisines. How patronizing of you. Everyone has personal preferences. Sometimes people speak out of ignorance, but most of these seem to be based on personal experience and personal likes/dislikes. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/93 "2015-08-08T19:14:36Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Yeah, there’s a reason Israelis mostly avoid Ashkenazi food. (Tunisian Jewish) friend of mine once quipped that Ashkenazi staples were the kind of stuff that leant credence to the neo-nazi notion that East Europeans Jews marched into the concentration camps - 'cause demonstrably these people deliberately seek out misery and suffering on a daily basis :D. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/94 "2015-08-08T23:46:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > How patronizing of you. Everyone has personal preferences. Sometimes people speak out of ignorance, but most of these seem to be based on personal experience and personal likes/dislikes. _toasts Chefguy_ Nearly every post has come from someone who’s had some exposure to the cuisine, usually more than a one-time meal. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/95 "2015-08-09T02:54:30Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > How patronizing of you. Everyone has personal preferences. Sometimes people speak out of ignorance, but most of these seem to be based on personal experience and personal likes/dislikes. > [@D\_Odds](#): > > _toasts Chefguy_ > > Nearly every post has come from someone who’s had some exposure to the cuisine, usually more than a one-time meal. You read way, way too much into what I said. I was only noticing how much one’s personal history, upbringing and places of residence shape one’s tastes, and even one’s perceptions about what constitutes a cuisine. It’s fascinating to observe. We may not be able to agree on the “worst” cuisine, but it’s just as interesting to read about all the different perspectives, and experiences. Relax. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/96 "2015-08-09T03:26:09Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > My other votes go to Guatemala and Nepal. Guatemalan food is fatty and bland, Nepali food is just bland and bland. Both probably suffer from being _this close_ to neighbors with much better cuisine. IME, via expatriates, Nepalese food (“Nepali” is the people and language, I’m told) is much akin to its neighbor (both ways, really, but especially India), and anything but bland. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/97 "2015-08-09T03:29:30Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Yeah, there’s a reason Israelis mostly avoid Ashkenazi food. We prefer Tunisian Jewish food, or Greek Jewish food, or Iraqi Jewish food… even classic European food like Shnitzel, we eat in a pita, with hummus. > > Except for matza ball soup. That, we eat. > > (And Deli food - corned beef sandwiches and the like - is \*American \*food. It was, after all, invented in New York). Presumably that doesn’t make it less Jewish than the Jewish food invented in Tunisia, Greece, et al.? ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/98 "2015-08-09T03:38:19Z")
Burmese food. Just odd textures and flavours. A Burmese friend gave me some glass noodles and something. Flavouring involved fish sauce. My good manners kicked in and I said thank you and that is interesting, but I didn’t ask for seconds. > [@Ponch8](#): > > I went to a Filipino restaurant in suburban DC several years ago, and it was quite terrible. I wasn’t sure if it was Filipino cuisine in general that sucked, or just that one restaurant. Now I know not to bother trying any others. Other than lumpia, I can’t think of a single Filipino food that I ever want to eat. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/99 "2015-08-09T03:49:51Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > IME, via expatriates, Nepalese food (“Nepali” is the people and language, I’m told) … That’s just a matter of style. I’ve familiar with both Nepali and Nepalese being used for any- and everything connected with the country. > [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Other than lumpia, I can’t think of a single Filipino food that I ever want to eat. Not even balut? ---
**Author:** ![camille](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@camille](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/camille)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/100 "2015-08-09T05:07:11Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > A saying you may like: food should be cooked in the same water that was used to raise it. Thanks. That says it. > [@Peremensoe](#): > > Presumably that doesn’t make it less Jewish than the Jewish food invented in Tunisia, Greece, et al.? It’s all about what was locally available. Eastern Europe had a lot of cabbage and root vegetables, slow cooking tenderizes tough cuts of meat, and when you were lucky enough to get a chicken, you used every bit of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134.md?page=6)