# You only get to eat one ethnicity's food for the rest of your life... which one? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285 "2011-05-09T15:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/61 "2011-05-10T02:40:42Z")
Vietnamese, followed by Thai. I love Italian but I just couldn’t do that to myself. Nothing but Italian for the rest of my life? You’d have to burry me in a piano case. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/62 "2011-05-10T03:27:48Z")
Mexican, followed by Italian, French, and Chinese (in that order). Italian is the hardest to part with. I’m part Italian and actually know how to make a very good pizza. I love pasta and lasagna. I love gelato but haven’t found a cheap way to get it here. French has the edge for breakfast. Awesome bread, omelettes, crepes, French toast, croissants. Probably has the best desserts and the best cheese (but at a cost). Chinese could be affordable and varied once I put some time into learning it, but first of all I’m lazy, and second I don’t like it quite as much as the above. Indian I don’t know enough about. I would be worried about breakfast, preparation difficulty, and wanting to eat it every meal of the day. Japanese is out of the question. Even stronger breakfast concerns, plus the price tag. Kobe beef and quality sushi may be heavenly, but unless I win the lottery that isn’t what I would be getting. Mexican I already have more than anything else and never get bored. Great variety of flavors. The best salsa. Tastes great at any price point. Easy to make, easy to find. Mexican style hot chocolate. Al pastor tacos and carne en su jugo have been mentioned. Tortillas, salsa, cheese, peppers, onions + steak/chicken/beans/fish/pork/shrimp = easy, tastes great, and can have many times a week. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/63 "2011-05-10T03:34:44Z")
Mexican, but only because Pizza is not an ethnicity. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/64 "2011-05-10T04:24:15Z")
Indian. Hands down. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Eel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/977dab/32.png) [@Old\_Eel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Eel)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/65 "2011-05-10T04:29:52Z")
Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean. Surprise me. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/66 "2011-05-10T04:38:34Z")
Mexican, por favor. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/67 "2011-05-10T07:27:43Z")
There seems to be a sliding scale of cuisine running from hummus & kebabs over by the Mediterranean to curries & naan in India. Indian has too much flair for me to want it for every meal, but the Mediterranean foods are too simple. Somewhere around Iran would probably be the right mix of both styles. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/68 "2011-05-10T09:46:12Z")
If money isn’t a problem, Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/69 "2011-05-10T11:52:19Z")
> [@Raskolnikov](#): > > German Surely it’s the worst? ---
**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:** [May 11, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/70 "2011-05-11T00:52:31Z")
> [@Raskolnikov](#): > > German > [@Sevastopol](#): > > Surely it’s the worst? Not at all. There are some very nice German restaurants over here. As I’ve voted elsewhere, worst would be Nepali. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/71 "2011-05-11T00:59:09Z")
> [@Sevastopol](#): > > Surely it’s the worst? Yeah, liverworst and bratworst. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/72 "2011-05-11T01:00:31Z")
> [@Sevastopol](#): > > Surely it’s the worst? I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/73 "2011-05-11T01:05:04Z")
> [@Sevastopol](#): > > Surely it’s the worst? Americanized German food is terrible, but real German food is incredibly good. I lived in Germany for 3.5 years, and I have to say, my biggest surprise was the food. In America, you go to a German restaurant and you basically have a choice of (bad) schnitzel, some sort of sausage, and sauerkraut. In Germany, the menu is a lot more varied, and there are a LOT of great German restaurants (I did not get to have any real homemade German food as I was there with my wife, and so we lived on our own…but went out to eat a fair amount) A finely made schnitzel is fantastic, but no one over here seems to make it well…I’m partial to Jägerschnitzel myself (mushroom sauce over it). Also, a great pepper steak with potatoes and veggies. Mmmmmm…And Spätzel. Mmm…Spätzel. 🙂 Braised pork medallions, etc, etc… Yummy. While I love good German food, if I could only have one (aside from American), I’d choose Italian. Good Italian food is hard to beat, and there’s quite a bit of variety…light stuff, heavy stuff. Good food. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/74 "2011-05-11T01:06:21Z")
> [@Sevastopol](#): > > Surely it’s the worst? > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I see what you did there. D’oh! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Anna\_Nimity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Anna\_Nimity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anna_Nimity)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/75 "2011-05-11T02:06:26Z")
Japanese or Indian. I love them both so much I can’t decide. I want to put Indian first, but I can’t imagine never eating sushi again. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/76 "2011-05-11T02:39:35Z")
Lebanese, with Greek as the fall back ---
**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:** [May 11, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/77 "2011-05-11T06:27:26Z")
Honestly, I’d probably be fine with most any cuisine. But, to pick a few specific favorites: Northern Thai, Sichuan, and either Oaxacan or Yucatecan. ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/78 "2011-05-11T07:08:33Z")
When it comes down to food, it’s all about living and dying in Tokyo. Japanese food all the wayyyy. It is not that expensive at all. When I eat out here, I get way better quality stuff than for the same price range eating in the US. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/79 "2011-05-11T07:18:07Z")
why am i the only one who put “french” above other? hmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285/80 "2011-05-11T17:50:57Z")
Thai. If I had a great metabolism, I might choose “Jewish”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-only-get-to-eat-one-ethnicitys-food-for-the-rest-of-your-life-which-one/581285.md?page=5)