For me it’s Indian food, but then… what else? Ugh… what a question.

Bah. My mind is a whirling blank right here. I mean, freshly-prepared tiradito right off the boat is like… ffff, like tasting heaven.

I mean, I’ve never had *truly* fresh, truly authentic sushi, but I imagine it would be like tiradito? (note: it’s a form of ceviche, i.e. latino lime-cooked fish slices)

  • protist@mander.xyzEnglish
    24·
    9 days ago

    Mexican and Italian. Both have very rich regional traditions with a ton of variety. Of course, Mexican food is a blend of Native American and European traditions, and Italian food (often) depends heavily on New World crops like tomatoes and corn, so these strict delineations are not real

    • JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.socialOPEnglish
      6·
      9 days ago

      Italian food (often) depends heavily on New World crops like tomatoes and corn

      It’s so curious-- so what was late-stage Western Roman food like, anyway?

      Max Miller is a dang-ol’ genius at this stuff, but he always has to make a huge production about it, y’know…?

      • protist@mander.xyzEnglish
        5·
        9 days ago

        I can only assume they just drank gallons of garam!

        In all seriousness though, we have a very dedicated restaurant near us run by a couple from the Verona area in far-northern Italy, and they use no tomatoes or corn. Pretty much every dish they make would’ve been possible pre-Columbus. This includes many styles of pasta, sauces based in olive oil or butter, and other things like beef, shrimp, mushrooms, pistachios, peas, and a variety of cheeses.

        • JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.socialOPEnglish
          1·
          9 days ago

          Wow, that’s… yeah!

          So, hehe, I’ve been to Italia a grand total of <once>, when we visited my aunt in Firenza, many years ago. (One of the things I really loved about Italia is how it busted our mindset about ‘American expectations’)

          Eh, but they use no tomatoes or corn.

          Fair! But we also came up with potatoes, chiles, and quite a number of spicy meatballs, not just of the polpette piccanti variety, eh?

    • Rothe@piefed.socialEnglish
      11·
      9 days ago

      It seems to be a belief many Americans have, but usually they are mainly familiar with American Italian cuisine, which is quite different from mist actual Italian cuisine.

  • tuckerm@feddit.onlineEnglish
    22·
    9 days ago
    1. Indian
    2. Mexican

    I try to eat mostly vegetarian at home, and Indian recipes are my go-to for that. Indian food is the best tasting vegetarian food in my opinion. I was tempted to put Chinese here because I make tofu stir fry somewhat frequently, but I go with Indian recipes more often.

    Mexican for the second choice because that gives you huevos rancheros, Mexican rice and beans, and homemade corn tortilla chips with guacamole. And breakfast burritos from the place down the street from me.

  • mrmule@sh.itjust.works
    121·
    9 days ago

    A famous Anthony Bourdain quote about Japan states: “If I had to eat only in one city for the rest of my life, Tokyo would be it. Most chefs I know would agree with me”. He also famously described his first experience in Tokyo as being like “taking LSD for the first time,” a transformative experience that changed his perspective on the world.

    I agree, for me it would be Japanese food, it’s so diverse and so refined.

  • rustyfish@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    9 days ago

    I go with the two big Is.

    Italian - because you have never truly lived if you didn’t eat authentic Italian food. There is a reason Italians take their food serious and there is so much to explore beyond pizza and spaghetti.

    Indian UK - because sometimes you just want to shove that Chicken Tikka Masala in your face. Fun fact: The best Chicken Tikka I ever had was in fucking Perth, Scotland. Make of that what you will.

    Edit: Turns out what I call Indian food is British. So, at least one good thing came out of the Brits colonising half the world.

  • Pothetato@lemmy.world
    6·
    9 days ago

    Mexican and Indian.

    Or Mexican and Mediterranean.

    Or Mexican and something I haven’t discovered yet. I hear Thai is good.

  • MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    6·
    9 days ago

    For me it would be Indian and Italian with mexican as an honourable mention id sorely miss.

    All three are super easy to make on your own too and almost everything I make could be classed as imitations of either. Heck, I already make Christmas pizza every year instead of the usual Christmas dinner. A few years I’ve made Christmas enchiladas too which is why I’d miss mexican but I definitely have more curries than mexican over the course of any given year.