Ethnic foods

It is possible that today, if things break right, Karen and I will get to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, a Lebanese restaurant outside a major U.S. city.  The food is ridiculously good and its abundance is almost shameful.  I even asked the waitress how the restaurant made any money considering how much food one receives for the cost.

I like to eat, perhaps too much so.  I wish I had the metabolism of some people who can eat all day long and not gain an ounce.  I see food and I gain weight.  I'm not morbidly obese but I am overweight.  Still, I don't eat that unhealthily (do not expect me to write I eat unhealthy; that's just not going to happen).  Typically I don't snack after meals, I don't eat a lot of candy or cakes and I'm not a huge drinker.

Over the years, I've eaten many different kinds of food.  I think by now, I know what I like and like what I know.  This, then, is my list of favorite and disliked kinds of food.

I absolutely love Italian, Spanish and Greek foods.  The Mediterranean tastes appeal to me as none other.  When I lived in Spain I got hooked on Spanish food, and the Greek and Italian food I've eaten mostly in U.S. restaurants I absolutely crave.

I used to like Mexican food.  But the more I've eaten it, the more I've come to realize that it's essentially very bland.  At the same time, I find Tex-Mex food to be much more to my liking, since it's very, very spicy without being inedibly hot.

I like Chinese food in moderation.  I don't like much of what Asians eat.   It's like something I'd expect a contestant to eat on Fear Factor.

French food is too frou-frou.  German food is too heavy.  Same for Scandinavian food.

South American food does something that I just can't abide:  It loves to mix fruits with meats. Slathering a perfectly fine piece of beef with mango chutney is heresy to me.  It loves things like yuca which I find to be almost tasteless, then fancies it up with any number of exotic fruits.  Taken individually, I like the elements, but I don't like the combinations.  One exception to this broad rule may very well be Argentian food, but I haven't tried it yet.

Canadian food I can't identify as being very original except for one vomit-inducing dish called poutine.  Consisting of french fries, cheese curds and brown gravy, it seems like a perfect way to ruin otherwise fine french fries.  When I finally make it to Canada, that's one dish I will not be trying.

Speaking of nasty combinations, there are things people do differently with foods that sound interesting and that I might try.  I know some people eat french fries with mustard instead of ketchup.  In Chicago, it's against the unwritten laws to eat hot dogs with ketchup.  I've tried the fries that way; they're not bad.  Notwithstanding the parochial pride, I prefer hot dogs with mustard. Some people put salt on apples and watermelon.  I've eaten pickled corn (it's all right) but I'll never try pickled eggs because I hate eggs.

I'm just learning about Middle Eastern food, but Moroccan and Lebanese food appeal to me.  Like Italian, Greek and Spanish food, there's an elegance in the simplicity of the cuisines.

I'm not terribly adventurous when it comes to food.  I know what I like and like what I know.  If something piques my curiosity, I may try it, but the odds are against it.

(c) 2013 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles