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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,037,872 times
Reputation: 11862
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Quote:
Originally Posted by annie_himself
You had two dishes that can vary greatly from cook to cook and write off the entire cuisine? Creole food isn't the only food in NOLA. You could have had authentic Italian, West African, Kosher, or French cuisine as well. New Orleans is not one dimensional, never has been. It's immigrant background is diverse.
Well my fellow travellers were going on about how delicious it was...while I didn't find the food disgusting, it was just bland. I'm generally open minded when it comes to most cuisines, and loved most of the regional cuisines in the US (Philly cheese-steak, grits, country-fried chicken, cornbread, barbeque, NY pizza, clam chowder and haddock pie). I'd had the same dish in Disneyland, of all places, and to be perfectly honest the food at this famous New Orleans restaurant (I forgot the name, but the place was packed and there was a long line out front) didn't taste too different. The service was impeccable, however, as was the setting, but the food just wasn't all that tasty and didn't do anything for my tastebuds. It was like a bland soup/porridge thing with a slight spicy/tomato taste, that's about it.
Well my fellow travellers were going on about how delicious it was...while I didn't find the food disgusting, it was just bland. I'm generally open minded when it comes to most cuisines, and loved most of the regional cuisines in the US (Philly cheese-steak, grits, country-fried chicken, cornbread, barbeque, NY pizza, clam chowder and haddock pie). I'd had the same dish in Disneyland, of all places, and to be perfectly honest the food at this famous New Orleans restaurant (I forgot the name, but the place was packed and there was a long line out front) didn't taste too different. The service was impeccable, however, as was the setting, but the food just wasn't all that tasty and didn't do anything for my tastebuds. It was like a bland soup/porridge thing with a slight spicy/tomato taste, that's about it.
Is that all you ate? Were you at Galatoires in the Quarter?
You're acting like those foods are soooooo hard to find outside of California. They're not. You could always argue that California has more Asian or Mexican food, but as I've stated above, more doesn't always mean better, especially if we're talking about restaurants. I doubt there's an appreciable difference between a Los Angeles Vietnamese restaurant and a New Orleans Vietnamese restaurant. But I bet you there's a hell of a difference between the crawfish served in a Burbank restaurant and the crawfish served in a Metairie restaurant.
New Orleans has a food culture. The people there, as well as many of the people who travel there, are very enthusiastic about food. People go to restaurants there for the food, not because Paris Hilton tweeted about it. I would actually buy a ticket and go to New Orleans simply for the food...can't say I'd do the same for LA. Why would I go to LA for the food when I can get Indian, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese food all in DC? I'd just be going for a slightly better version of the same foods. In New Orleans, on the other hand, I'd be going for an entirely different and unique culinary experience.
I stopped reading here--wish I had stopped much earlier though.
Los Angeles always stumbles on food, one of the many flaws of that fine city.
You'll likely find the best Mexican/Japanese/Thai/Vietnamese/Central American/Armenian/Korean food in the U.S...here. Plus some of the best Chinese food. Even our delis are world class:
LA has a massive food scene. Of course! Its the second largest city in the US, in the state that produces the most and best fruits/veggies of all kinds, has great livestock, seafood, and tons of ethnic diversity. New Orleans is a regional food treasure, but LA just dwarfs it in terms of variety.....
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,037,872 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by annie_himself
Is that all you ate? Were you at Galatoires in the Quarter?
Yes, that's all I had. I forgot the name of the place, there was a nice courtyard in the middle with some plants. I actually have a photo of the courtyard.
Yes, that's all I had. I forgot the name of the place, there was a nice courtyard in the middle with some plants. I actually have a photo of the courtyard.
Do you realize that's like me going to a single restaurant in LA and writing off everything as imitation cultured food if I happened to not like the only thing I ate?
You're acting like those foods are soooooo hard to find outside of California. They're not. You could always argue that California has more Asian or Mexican food, but as I've stated above, more doesn't always mean better, especially if we're talking about restaurants. I doubt there's an appreciable difference between a Los Angeles Vietnamese restaurant and a New Orleans Vietnamese restaurant. But I bet you there's a hell of a difference between the crawfish served in a Burbank restaurant and the crawfish served in a Metairie restaurant.
New Orleans has a food culture. The people there, as well as many of the people who travel there, are very enthusiastic about food. People go to restaurants there for the food, not because Paris Hilton tweeted about it. I would actually buy a ticket and go to New Orleans simply for the food...can't say I'd do the same for LA. Why would I go to LA for the food when I can get Indian, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese food all in DC? I'd just be going for a slightly better version of the same foods. In New Orleans, on the other hand, I'd be going for an entirely different and unique culinary experience.
There's a large difference between Asian and Latin American food in other parts of the country in comparison to that of Los Angeles. It's certainly possible that there are great and authentic Vietnamese/Japanese/Thai/Mexican (which is a very diverse set of options)/Guatemalan/etc. food in other parts of the country with small populations for those ethnicities, but it's unlikely. The fact that there is a large population living in Los Angeles who want the closest approximations to the food of their home countries is nota trivial thing. The large population of people from whatever cuisine we're talking about means that there is a larger demand for what's available at home and it creates a space where restaurants are able to try to be authentic without trying to alter their foods in order to suit the population which is unfamiliar to the population at large. It also means a lot more restaurants go to bat instead of trying for a few that may or may not hit that sweet spot in terms of authenticity and profitability. The Korean and Vietnamese food in Los Angeles is more or less unrivaled in the US in terms of its diversity (and of course, we as a whole think of their cuisines as one monolithic one, but they are actually internally diverse depending on the different regions)--this is absolutely true.
On the other hand, New Orleans-style food is going to be better in New Orleans than in Los Angeles unless there is a huge population of people familiar with New Orleans's cuisine in Los Angeles (which is not true). Los Angeles is simply the better food city if you are interested in a diversity of cuisine all around the world and has a smattering of home grown efforts. It doesn't sound like something that can argued against. What is arguable is which city has contributed more to the global repertoire of dishes and for that I can definitely see a solid argument for New Orleans.
It's creole. There is a historical and social difference between Cajuns and Creole. They might sound the same and be related in their ancestry, but they are certainly not the same.
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