Food and drink

[Montegriffo]

Most of the curry we eat is British, I thought.

Like Kung Pao Chicken is American, I thought most of these curry dishes are British.

The word curry is British and is a corruption of the Indian word Kari meaning sauce or "gravy". There are many authentic Indian restaurants though and the "curry" has been developed in Britain but by Indian immigrants. Our cultural love of Indian food goes back at least 3 centuries.
Curry is more of a catch all term describing Indian food than a specific dish.
Many "Indian" dishes such as tikka marsala and Balti are purely British Asian dishes and not known at all in India but genuine Indian food is also available

[SuburbanFarmer]

I'm spoiled because I had excellent Spanish food in Texas and Florida. These people have no idea what that even looks like.

[Speaker to Animals]

What do Mexican restaurants serve then if not dishes flavoured with chillies? Some sort of bland Americanised food covered in cheese?

It depends on the Mexican restaurant. Some of them cater mostly to anglos and don't serve food so hot. Where I live, there are Mexican restaurants that primarily cater to Mexicans and their food is very different.

The same is true of Asian food. When I was a kid I worked for a while at a Chinese restaurant. They would make a big meal for everybody after closing time. The food those people eat is NOTHING like what they serve from the menu, and when Chinese people order food, they often order stuff that is not on the menu.

[Montegriffo]

Are Mexican style chillies not universally eaten across the US? They are often far hotter than many curry dishes.

The peppers themselves originated in Mexico and were unknown to the old world or to Asia--do you mean the meat dish?

I'm aware of that and yes I was referring to the meat dish.

And yes I'm aware that chilli con carne is more of a Tex/Mex dish and not eaten in Mexico where it is more likely to be eaten with just beans. It was the spiciness of food rather than the authenticity of food we were discussing.

[Montegriffo]

What do Mexican restaurants serve then if not dishes flavoured with chillies? Some sort of bland Americanised food covered in cheese?

It depends on the Mexican restaurant. Some of them cater mostly to anglos and don't serve food so hot. Where I live, there are Mexican restaurants that primarily cater to Mexicans and their food is very different.

The same is true of Asian food. When I was a kid I worked for a while at a Chinese restaurant. They would make a big meal for everybody after closing time. The food those people eat is NOTHING like what they serve from the menu, and when Chinese people order food, they often order stuff that is not on the menu.

That used to happen a lot in British curry houses but they are much more likely to serve authentic dishes as well now. The thing is a lot of Indian food had to be re-invented to include meat as most Indians are vegetarian due to their Hindu faith.

[Ex-California]

The only thing you are getting from a taco truck in shitty Calitopia is e coli.

I must be immune at this point then as I've been eating off of trucks for most of my life

[Alexander PhiAlipson]

What do Mexican restaurants serve then if not dishes flavoured with chillies? Some sort of bland Americanised food covered in cheese?

It depends on where you're at. If you're in a state that was part of Mexico before the Treaty of Guadalupe HIldago, you're safe. The further away you get from those areas the shittier the Mexican food is.

And don't believe anything you read about "gourmet" Mexican food in NY or Chicago. All of it is crap compared to what you can get from a taco truck or sketchy taqueria in California

That's not really true--there are four basic types of Mexican food in the US: there's your strictly commercial Taco Bell type; California fish taco type; Tex-Mex, which is closest to traditional Mexican food, but with the addition of beef, cheese and rice, which weren't available to pre-Columbian Americans; lastly, there's corn, potato, beans and chilli based stuff, with little or no conquistador introduced elements.
I've eaten "Mexican" food in Austin, Guadalajara, LA, NYC and London (among other places), and it seems "Mexican" better describes the decour and the music than anything on the menu.
Let's talk about Italian Marinara, French Fries, and General Tsao's Chicken now, shall we?

[Speaker to Animals]

General Tsao was a culinary genius.

[Alexander PhiAlipson]

The thing is a lot of Indian food had to be re-invented to include meat as most Indians are vegetarian due to their Hindu faith.

Yeah, that's not true. Many Indians are vegetarians but not most.

[Alexander PhiAlipson]

General Tsao was a culinary genius.

And he never lost a single battle!