Not necessarily the best meals (or places), but the meals (or places) that best represent your culture.

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[–] 19 points 2 years ago (4 children)

I mean if you've never eaten Pupusas, I don't know what life you're living.

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  • [–] 17 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)

    Currywurst. Chopped fried or grilled sausage with ketchup and curry spice sprinkled on top. Often served with fries.

    You can get it almost everywhere in Germany, especially at street festivals. Simple, absolutely unhealthy and delicious.

    Edit: I would also have said the Döner Kebab. Veil or chicken grilled on a vertical spitroast, sliced into thin strands of meat, loaded into a slightly toasted flatbread along with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onions and depending on the region and restaurant white or red cabbage in vinegar and oil, together with a yogurt sauce.

    But you could argue that Döner is Turkish because it was invented by a Turkish immigrant and is usually prepared by Turkish descendants (or those who look Turkish). But then again I heard that restaurants in Turkey started offering German Döner because that's what tourists expected to get.

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

    Pa amb tomàquet, bread with tomato. No, really.

    You take some slices of bread, or something like a baguette or ciabatta sliced longitudinally to make a sandwich. Good bread, mind, not that spongy stuff you get in the U.S. Something with some crust, with a bit of a crunch. Slightly toasted (but not burnt) is good, and easier, but not necessary. You can eat this hot or cold, it's good either way.

    Anyway, as I was saying you take some bread, and you take some tomatoes. Red, juicy, the tastiest the better. Slice one in half, take half, rub the sliced part on one side of the bread (on the crumb, obviously, not the crust), until the bread has soaked a good amount of the tomato's juice (you could do both sides if you wanted to, but it'd probably be a bit of a mess). It's not a problem if some small bits of the tomato's meat also end up in the bread, but you don't want big chunks (unless you want tomato as a topping, though that'd be a bit redundant). You don't want the bread to get too soft, don't ruin that crunch. If the tomato is juicy enough you can reuse it for the next slice, until it runs out of juice or you're just left with the skin.

    Once you've got all your slices done, sprinkle some salt over them. Don't go overboard, you want to be able to taste the bread, and the tomato.

    Finally, dribble some good virgin olive oil on them. Again, don't go overboard, don't drown them. Once you're done you can take one of the slices and use it to help spread the oil and salt on the other ones by tapping the crumbs against each other.

    You can now eat the slices as they are, toast them if you want, accompany them with cured meats (cured ham is fantastic with this) or cheeses, as a side or as toppings, or as the filling of a sandwich (seriously, unless you're making a hot dog, or a cheese melt, or a hamburger, or something like that this is the way to make a sandwich; once you've tried it you won't be going back to plain or buttered bread).

    Experiment, have fun, try different kinds of bread, more or less tomato, oil, or salt, toasted or untoasted, different toppings (anything you'd put in a sandwich will almost certainly work), oil from different types of olives, maybe rub some garlic on the bread before the tomato, if it's hard enough to take it... there are infinite possibilities and combinations, and unless you go overboard with the toppings they're just five minutes away as long as you've got some bread, some tomatoes, some olive oil, and some salt.

    (Also, if you've got really good bread and really good oil, but would rather skip the tomatoes, pa amb oli, bread with oil — and a sprinkle of salt — can also be an excellent snack to eat by itself before a meal, though pa amb tomàquet is better if you want to eat it with toppings, or as a sandwich.)

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Found the Italian?

    If you don't live in Italy and you're naughty, rub a little bit of garlic on the bread before the tomato :-).

    Italy has so good food it's crazy (and I'm living in France!) but it seems impossible to get that bread, those tomatoes etc elsewhere (there is surely some magic to it too). It's like oranges from Naples. You just don't make them anywhere else.

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago

    Boston cream pie... more like a cake. Very delicious. If you're ever in Boston, you can visit where it started at the Parker House Hotel (Omni).

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago* (1 child)
    • BBQ, from any/all regions
    • Cajun food -- very important one!
    • Fried chicken and waffles -- I tried explaining this umami to a handful of people in Japan, and they didn't understand.
    • Casseroles of all kinds
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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    Good point on the BBQ. The differences between regions is substantial, and although you may not like one region’s BBQ, you may very well love another region’s. I for one am not a fan of the vinegar based BBQ, but a good dry rub, or mustard base, I am all there.

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago*

    New York pizza and hotdogs, Philly cheesesteaks, Vermont cheddar, and San Francisco sourdough clam chowder bowls. I'm sure every state has their specialty, so you'll have to visit every single one to try everything :p

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago* (1 child)
  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Bunny chow is so good. There’s a South African expat who runs a store/restaurant by my house here in Texas and makes what seems to be pretty authentic bunny chow and Vetkoek. Unfortunately, I found out that he and his wife are so aggressively MAGA that I legitimately wonder if he left S.A. because he was sad to see Apartheid go.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    A Bunnings Snag.

    If you visit Australia our main hardware store called Bunnings hosts charity bbq to fundraise. For a couple dollaroos you get a barbequed sausage on a piece of bread with your choice of onions and/or condiments.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    I can't read the word "dollaroos" without hearing it in an Australian accent. I hope Australians read the word "loonie" and think there's perhaps a slightly intoxicated Canadian involved.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    The first time I tried a sausage sizzle from Bunnings, I was a bit disappointed. Maybe it's because all my mates have been recommending giving it a try and hyping it up and whatnot, and I was really looking forward to it when I finally got around to it, but I didn't really find it all that after the fact.

    I mean, it's not bad. It's a couple of bucks, it's a great sausage on white bread, I'd get it again no worries. I kinda just expected more I guess.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (2 children)
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    [–] 7 points 2 years ago

    Apart from the obvious cheese and chocolate, i‘d reccomend some good ol rösti with a spiegelei

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    Just some pasta with tomatoes, cut in small pieces, with a bit of olive oil and some basil. It takes 10 minutes just of waiting for the pasta to be ready. As simple and quick as delicious.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    He he the Swedish kebab & bearnaisesås pizza (no one said it had to be good, and I didn't say surströmming which is something nobody eats after all). Very popular! You might never forget it except if the Italians finds out and declare war on Sweden and everyone dies.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    Cold smoked raindeer meat.

    Just amazing.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Poutine.

    Caesar.

    A&W burger family.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    Tacos, Enchiladas, Papusa’s, Gorditas, Tamales, etc. I’m very spoiled where Im at.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Poutine, but just the classic kind. Cheese curds and brown gravy over fries. Don't go to a poutinerie for the first time ever and order some stupid shit like buffalo chicken poutine. And don't order your first poutine from McDonald's either.

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    [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    on the east coast of Canada, in the French speaking region known as Acadie (not in Quebec), there is a dish known as Poutine Rapée. it is not the delicious "cheese fries and gravy" Poutine, oh no. This is a big fucking potato dumpling with seasoned pork and onion inside it. Making them is an art form. They are super delicious. Eat one of those for lunch and you'll go for hours.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    Irish breakfast roll

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    Going more state than country to narrow it down a bit: coney dog, hani, microbrews, walnut and cherry salad, pasties, Vernors float, native trout, apple pie/cider, cherry wine

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    None sadly. I have the distinction of being in a culinary-bland area in a large culinary-rich country with too many things to choose from if I step out. Even in ancient times, the highest level of culinary creativity you'd get is whatever grew in the fields slapped onto a dish. Not that I mind that much, I'm not huge on food.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    Where I’m from you can enjoy some pork with boiled cabbage and potatoes or some nice potato stew with cabbage and lard or cabbage stuffed with minced pork (with potatoes) or, if it’s late in winter, some pickled cabbage with salted pork. And potatoes.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)

    Moose steak.

    And lutefisk (lye fish) is not as scary as it sounds.

    EdIT: spleling

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    Fish and chips, the UK's national dish. Curry sauce or mushy peas optional. From a proper local chippy for the real experience.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    Pork and rice, with pickled vegetables and an egg on top.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I'm not usually much interested in "food experiences" but nonetheless I have an answer and it is the sugar shack pancake breakfast.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    Oh yeah, that is the best! They have one at the conservation area near me. You go there around March and slap on some cross-country skis to get to the shack. Then just as the cold is starting to set in a bit, you walk in there where they're boiling the sap and take in the aroma. Then you sit down at a long table and gorge yourself on pancakes with the syrup still hot and mixing with the butter. And then on the way back, if you have any bird seed in your pocket, you can just hold it out and chickadees will land on your hand. It's magical!

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    The Southwest of Germany has two really regional dishes that are worth a try. The one is Käsespätzle which is a special Swabian type of egg-noodles with cheese. The other is Maultaschen which are Swabian Ravioli.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    Tostone. Take a green unripe plantain (similar to a banana). peel it cut into 3 or 4 parts depending on size. Soak in salt water over night. Dry and fry 3 min. Remove from oil and smash it flat. Fry for another 3 min. Salt and serve with crushed garlic in olive oil.

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