The Food Draft

[Straight Shooter]

1. Mexican-With my first pick I choose Mexican cuisine. Maybe I'm biased since I'm Mexican but I think it's far and away the best. I say that for three reasons: variety, simplicity and affordability. There's so much variety when it comes to Mexican, both flavor wise and regionally, and most of the dishes are simple ingredient wise and often quick to make. And most importantly if you know where to go it's cheap as fuck

2. American-Some might say this is a reach at no.2 but I think I think American is too often overlooked and is highly underrated. Soul Food, Southern BBQ, Tex-Mex, Creole, classic American(hamburgers, hot dogs, etc) are all very solid. I'll take a diner cheeseburger with french fries and a milkshake any day of the week

3. Italian-Italian is 3rd Iceman? Yep. IMO Italian is overrated. When you really think about it Italian is mostly pasta,cheese and some kind of sauce, whether it's tomato based, wine based, etc. Just not enough variety for me.

4. Chinese-Similar to Mexican in it's variety, simplicity and affordability

5. Middle Eastern-Hummus, falafel, Mezze, kebab :drool2: Great if you want to go vegetarian

List your top 5 picks

 

[Jagger69]

American, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, German.

 

[Jagger69]

Ooops! The edit police won't let me change my answer so kindly allow me a mulligan on this one.

American, Cuban, Mexican, Italian, Chinese with an extra 6th round German pick. I LOVE Cuban cuisine!

 

[sean miguel]

with the exception of one, my experience with these are going to be "Americanized" versions for the most part.


1. Chinese - and it's not even close. There is no more delicious food on this earth as far as I'm concerned.

2. American - it's such a broad category, but everything from burgers and dogs, pizza, southern cooking (my staple), MFN KFC. Philly Cheese Steaks. And a good steak and eggs. It doesn't get more American than that.

3. Filipino - this one is gonna be authentic. Thanks mom!

4. Mexican - there's this local place that's really good. They make this epic burrito. I like spanish rice and enchiladas also.

5. Mediterranean - I've been eating a lot of this of late, especially the salads. You can taste the health benefits.

 

[Jagger69]

2. American - it's such a broad category, but everything from burgers and dogs, pizza, southern cooking (my staple), MFN KFC. Philly Cheese Steaks. And a good steak and eggs. It doesn't get more American than that.

Actually, when I say "American", southern-style food is what I am referring to. I was raised on it and will love it until my dying day. Gimme some ham and beans, fried okra, chicken and dumplings, cornbread, grits, fried catfish, biscuits with cream or sawmill gravy, chicken fried steak, brisket, pork chops, any type of BBQ, chick peas, Brunswick stew, fried corn or corn on the cob, any type of greens (although I prefer collard greens), black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, bacon and/or ham, fresh sliced tomatoes, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, yams, pulled pork with coleslaw, summer squash, hot sauce out the wazoo, pecan or rhubarb pie, homemade ice cream.....damn, I'm getting hungry just thinking about this!

 

[Ace Boobtoucher]

I have mastered several French dishes and for overall character, technique and flavor, I would have to rank it number one on my board.

Italian food is easier technically but nothing beats a good braciole.

I love churrasco so Brazilian would be my third pick.

I love deep fried tacos but that's more like a Brazilian pastel.

 

[Straight Shooter]

Just finished off a bowl of pozole :drool2:

 

[ApolloBalboa]

2. American-Some might say this is a reach at no.2 but I think I think American is too often overlooked and is highly underrated. Soul Food, Southern BBQ, Tex-Mex, Creole, classic American(hamburgers, hot dogs, etc) are all very solid. I'll take a diner cheeseburger with french fries and a milkshake any day of the week

3. Italian-Italian is 3rd Iceman? Yep. IMO Italian is overrated. When you really think about it Italian is mostly pasta,cheese and some kind of sauce, whether it's tomato based, wine based, etc. Just not enough variety for me.

I think (and this goes out to all who listed American) that it's hard to place what dishes are solely "American". I think Jagger came close, but if you look at something liked fried chicken (which most would consider a dish characteristic of the US, or the South to be specific), it has roots in Europe and Africa. The same could be said of any number of dishes crossing over any number of cuisines, but I think, in the great melting pot that is America, it's hard to pinpoint what plates may have originated entirely from us, and us alone.

Also, Italian is anything but plates of pasta, cheese, and some kind of sauce. I've been lucky enough to have traveled and lived there for about 6 months (albeit a few months at a time), and depending where you go in the country (much like here), you can find foods that rely more on meats, more on plants and herbs, more on grains, etc. In no way trying to sound pretentious (but most likely failing at it), Italian food is so much more than what most people think it to be, which usually begins and ends at plates of pasta with tomato sauce.

Anyways....my favorites (in no particular order):

Ethiopian
Filipino
European (there tend to be a number of similar dishes between some countries and cultures there, so I'm not going to say "Polish" or "Romanian" when both have stuffed cabbage rolls and Russian and Romanian cuisines both have grain puddings, etc.)
Indian
Thai

 

[BCT]

1.Mexican
2.Italian
3.Chinese
4.Greek
5.American

 

[xfire]

Cajun/Creole
Mexican/Tex-Mex
Greek
Chinese
Italian

I really don't consider Cajun/Creole or Mexican/Tex-Mex either American or distinctly different enough to count as different styles.

 

[LunaMo]

I have a love hate relationship with Chinese, it's my favorite food but it makes me fat within weeks

 

[Straight Shooter]

Cajun/Creole
Mexican/Tex-Mex
Greek
Chinese
Italian

I really don't consider Cajun/Creole or Mexican/Tex-Mex either American or distinctly different enough to count as different styles.

Mexican and Tex-Mex are two different things. Tex-Mex is a blend of Tejano(Texan) and Mexican food and is considered part of American cuisine. Like Taco Bell. That's in contrast to authentic Mexican cuisine

 

[Chopper3000]

Indian
Italian
British
French
American-Tex-Mex.. etc (the UK seems to be awash with fucking pulled pork right now).

 

[Jagger69]

Mexican and Tex-Mex are two different things. Tex-Mex is a blend of Tejano(Texan) and Mexican food and is considered part of American cuisine. Like Taco Bell. That's in contrast to authentic Mexican cuisine

Unquestionably. Tex-Mex is definitely NOT authentic Mexican cuisine.

 

[MMMariah]

Japanese
Mexican
Vietnamese
Korean
Indian
French

 

[xfire]

Mexican and Tex-Mex are two different things. Tex-Mex is a blend of Tejano(Texan) and Mexican food and is considered part of American cuisine. Like Taco Bell. That's in contrast to authentic Mexican cuisine

It's not the same thing, but it's not distinctly different enough to differentiate. My experience has been that only stuck-up Mexicans really give a damn. New Mexican-Mex, Cali-Mex, etc., etc., YES, they're not authentic Mexican food, but they're close enough not to care, and they're all pretty fucking good.

 

[Straight Shooter]

It's not the same thing, but it's not distinctly different enough to differentiate. My experience has been that only stuck-up Mexicans really give a damn. New Mexican-Mex, Cali-Mex, etc., etc., YES, they're not authentic Mexican food, but they're close enough not to care, and they're all pretty fucking good.

Of which I am. I'm not knocking Tex-Mex, but I'm not a fan. It's just it's own cuisine separate from authentic Mexican. But you're right that only Mexicanos know the difference or even care.

 

[xfire]

And it's funny how many Mexicans you see at Taco Bell. Particularly the Taco Bell in Lufkin, Texas, which is right across Timberland Drive from an authentic Mexican placed called Lindo Mexico. I went through a phase where I wouldn't eat "gringo tacos", but I realized that food snobbery was just making me miss out on a lot of good eats.

 

[Harley Spencer]

I am incredibly picky and don't give much of a shit about variety, so...

1. Italian
2. Mexican
3. American? Burgers, hot dogs, stuff like that.
4. Chinese
5. No idea.

Of course, when I say I like those particular types, it's mainly the Americanized or stereotypical versions. For example, my favorite Italian dishes tend to be pasta. For Mexican, I like Taco Bell style with the seasoned meat, hot sauce, and cheese. Chinese, chicken and broccoli, rice, those really thin noodles. Pretty sure I'd run far, far away from most of the authentic versions from each area.

Maybe my taste in food is boring, but I don't care. I like what I like.

 

[xfire]

1. Mexican-With my first pick I choose Mexican cuisine. Maybe I'm biased since I'm Mexican but I think it's far and away the best. I say that for three reasons: variety, simplicity and affordability. There's so much variety when it comes to Mexican, both flavor wise and regionally, and most of the dishes are simple ingredient wise and often quick to make. And most importantly if you know where to go it's cheap as fuck

2. American-Some might say this is a reach at no.2 but I think I think American is too often overlooked and is highly underrated. Soul Food, Southern BBQ, Tex-Mex, Creole, classic American(hamburgers, hot dogs, etc) are all very solid. I'll take a diner cheeseburger with french fries and a milkshake any day of the week

3. Italian-Italian is 3rd Iceman? Yep. IMO Italian is overrated. When you really think about it Italian is mostly pasta,cheese and some kind of sauce, whether it's tomato based, wine based, etc. Just not enough variety for me.

4. Chinese-Similar to Mexican in it's variety, simplicity and affordability

5. Middle Eastern-Hummus, falafel, Mezze, kebab :drool2: Great if you want to go vegetarian

List your top 5 picks

How about your top five pics in each category? That would be instructive, I'll go first-

Cajun/Creole- 1. Crawfish Etouffee 2. Boudain (East Texas spelling) 3. Dirty Rice 4. Mufaletta 5. Bourbon Bread Pudding
Mexican/Tex-Mex- 1. Cheese Enchiladas 2. Guacamole 3. Pozole 4. Tacos or Burritos al Pastor 5. Chilaquiles
Greek- 1. Spanakopita 2. Dolmathes 3. Moussaka 4. Lamb Souvlaki 5. Bougatsa
Chinese- 1. Egg Rolls 2. Lo Mein 3. Pot Stickers 4. Garlic Chicken 5. Pepper Steak
Italian- 1. Pizza 2. Antipasto 3. Lasagna 4. Eggplant/Chicken Parmesan 5. Tiramisu