There are some exotic foods we tend to take for granted exist. Almost every city for example has a Chinese restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, and maybe an Outback Steakhouse. But this isn't universal for some reason. Someone asked me if I wanted to go to an Egyptian restaurant and I was like "wait, they have restaurants?"
A question for all those who would say they consider themselves ethnically fluent. What are all the cultural categories of food you've had?
I'm european, is Whataburger and a Shiner Boch exotic? Or brisket at golden coral with authentic Galvestonian
chlorinewater to drink?KFC is a specific recipe credited to one guy, so I wouldn't say in a strict sense, but the case can be made.
We looked at taco bell as an exotic American restaurant when one opened here.
Anything associated enough with another country/culture to pair it with that group of people.
I've had buffalo wings, and American barbecue. Also I've been to American Thanksgiving meals with weird things like sweet potatoes with marshmallows on. So I've had some American ethnic food for one thing.
I don't know how to answer "exotic". "Exotic" can easily slip into xenophobic territory.
Maybe I answer with a restaurant from a specific culture that I had never been exposed to before? In which case, Himalayan/Tibetan/Nepalese. I could eat momos every day. But I say that about every savory-wrapped-in-dough thing. Dumplings, empanadas, bierocks, meat pies, xian bing, piroshki, is there a culture that doesn't have some variation of that? And it's always good. If ever there is need for a flag to represent Humanity, it should be of a savory pie.
Okay I won't hold it against you because I grew up Midwestern and to us Mexican and Chinese were considered "ethnic", but do realize that that is a very weird thing to just say. Now that I'm on the coast should I call tuna casserole or taco/breakfast food ethnic? Sounds weird right?
Next time you think ethnic food may be instead think of it like non-american food. To us, green bean casserole is a "normal" thing, to other people having a noodle dish is an appropriate normal holiday dish. "Normal" and "different" are all just from our point of view.
That's why you're being downvote, because you're on a world stage here, and when you're talking to someone and calling their food "ethnic" it demeans their culture, and that is a bit insulting. I am guessing it's just ignorance, but hey now you know.
That being said, have fun exploring your pallette! I've lost count of the different cuisines I've tried, but every one is a bit different! There's a Moroccan place that I really love going to, and I have had some really good Ethiopian. Sushi is always my go to favorite! Never be afraid of trying new things!
(And if you decide to post again I'm sure it will do better vote wise, because it is a really interesting question ;)
I say "ethnic" as in "ethnicity", and as in "of or belonging to a population group or subgroup made up of people who share a common cultural background or descent", which is what the dictionary says. If that's offensive, it's the first time I've heard that before, having seen it used by official sources. As I explain, I'm grateful for whatever verbal successes I do have because English is not my first language, but I see the land of ten thousand instances which believes in things in terms of a world stage won't even accommodate.
My favourite cuisines I've had which were not common ones you can just find on any high street here were mostly found during the height of covid when I was working quite a way from home but the hotel's restaurant was closed so I had to order delivery each night.
- Nigerian: Ordered this a few times, peppersoup, moin moin, draw soup, eba amongst the things I had. Soon after a West African section opened in my local supermarket so I could at least get some of the main ingredients to cook some at home.
- Ethiopian: Amazing, not tried cooking any yet, some ingredients seem hard to come by
- Afghan: Had a bunch of times as there was a restaurant in my town
- Sri Lankan: Love it, superficially similar to Indian food but I was surprised just how different it was and has become one of my favourites that I cook at home with regularity.
Wait, you thought Egyptian restaurants don’t exist? Especially for a melting pot like the US, I assume the opposite, that there is always a food place that serves a particular cuisine from somewhere in the world.
But to answer your question, and assuming by exotic, you mean anything that isn’t your standard fare American, European, Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese, or Japanese food, then I’ve had:
- Ethiopian
- Thai
- Singaporean
- Filipino
- Taiwanese
- Iraqi
- Afghan
- Indian
I have eaten Romanian food , Polish food , Guatemalan food , Salvadorian food , most of the Latin American countries.
Romanian was very homemade feel like , and Polish was okay not great. I am from Latin America where our food has so many spices and very tasteful
Chinese Japanese Thai Vietnamese Korean Mongolian Cambodia Indian Pakistani Nepalese.... Those are just the Asian ones off the top of my head.
I've made a bunch international friends throughout my life and anyways get them to cook or to take me to the most authentic place they know.
I've had my fun around here and lately found more unusual ones... Here's stuff I remember off the top of my head that aren't the "local" around here (Lisboa, PT), append restaurant to the following:
Indian Nepalese Tibetan Cantonese Chinese Cantonese dimsun Japanese Several Fusion sushi, ramen, udon, tempura etc Spanish tapas Mexican Peruan Peruan cheviche Argentinian grilk Brazilian rodízio Brazilian(Paulista) pizza, Indian pizza, Israeli pizza, local pizza, actual Italian pizza Italian Greek Greek pita Levantine Morrocan Thematic medieval American American diner American grill Mozambican Angolan Cape verdian Ethiopian German sausage Vietnamese Indonesian Australian grill Belgian fries Canadian fries
Whenever I added something to the nationality the place focused on a dish rather than a broader cuisine. I'm surprised I never visited a self entitled French restaurant over here... The Swiss and French have all those tartar and grilled tiny chicken that could make success in a thematic restaurant.
Edit: might also add, I'm sure all of these are adapted to the local taste. We don't handle spice like most of Asia and Mexico for example. Friends who ate in Shanghai described a very different experience to what we get in a Chinese restaurant here, even if the dishes are the same.
