The HACCP system is mandated by law here too since the '90s.
(four letters is all a de-la-Tourette's needs)
Recipes from Chef Rick Bayless: Recipes - Rick Bayless | Frontera
Good resource, a Chicago guy who knows his stuff.
Agreed about Indian- it's so hard to find real regional cuisine, it's just the same recycled dishes from restaurant to restaurant.
thanks SY! should be fun, will get some cocktails together too, like I need an excuse
We had a nice Goan joint here for a while, but it didnt get the patronage, I guess people would call and ask if they had butter chicken, or some other equally insipid, culturally neutered dish and go elsewhere when they didnt recognize the menu.
Detroit also has a substantial Mexican population and some good restaurants. A few years ago when the Canadian dollar was trading around US$0.85, on Monday nights the Mexican places in Detroit would take Canadian money at par, so a lot of traffic headed north on the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor, Ont. (yes, Windsor is south of Detroit!) on Monday evenings, and those Mexican joints were full of Canucks swilling cheap drinks and eating very good, very cheap food. (A lot of Canadians are descended from Scots and know a bargain when they see one.)
qusp -
We had a few Aussies come through here when we sold off a portion of our company to a Melbourne company.
It was common to invite them for some barbecue. If they happened to return to Austin, the first thing they wanted to do (after morning business) was to head to a Texas barbecue joint for lunch.
Yes, plenty of stew type dishes in Mexico.
We had a few Aussies come through here when we sold off a portion of our company to a Melbourne company.
It was common to invite them for some barbecue. If they happened to return to Austin, the first thing they wanted to do (after morning business) was to head to a Texas barbecue joint for lunch.
Yes, plenty of stew type dishes in Mexico.
Austin starts it's day with breakfast tacos. There are enough types of breakfast tacos to satisfy the meat lover and the vegetarian. SY knows all about the breakfast taco here.
But as much as we think this love for the taco would be universal, the company where I work had a meeting with some executives who wanted to work out a big money business deal with us. They flew in from Pennsylvania and we proudly served up breakfast tacos for the morning conference.
That breakfast nearly ruined the whole deal. I was not invited to the meeting but for those who were there, they quickly reported that our guests were highly insulted by the offering and they nearly left in disgust. No one touched any of the food and after the meeting adjourned, it was the talk of the office. It literally was the worst meeting we've had here.
But as much as we think this love for the taco would be universal, the company where I work had a meeting with some executives who wanted to work out a big money business deal with us. They flew in from Pennsylvania and we proudly served up breakfast tacos for the morning conference.
That breakfast nearly ruined the whole deal. I was not invited to the meeting but for those who were there, they quickly reported that our guests were highly insulted by the offering and they nearly left in disgust. No one touched any of the food and after the meeting adjourned, it was the talk of the office. It literally was the worst meeting we've had here.
its not a lack of them, indian and mexican joints are everywhere, just about every region will have them or several. its the fact that for the most part, without having been to a place, or heard anything about it, you can pretty much guess the menu and how it will all taste.
there will be obligatory meals, predominantly curries that all taste, smell and look roughly similar. heavily loaded with cumin and the variations are mild, medium, or hot, nothing complex or regional about it, no depth of flavor, no surprise. the same dry, but simultaneously falling apart meat (quite a feat) cooked to within an inch of its life. there are not much by way of interesting condiments, breads or rice dishes etc. pretty Anglicized/bastardized 'Indian' food.
this is not wholesale, at least in the capitals if you know people you can find the odd surprise, but mostly its all pretty predictable. its not that we dont have a significant Indian population, but it seems that a lot of these family run businesses are started, not because they enjoy or are particularly good at cooking traditional cuisine, just that they are Indian and when they moved somewhere, there just happened to not be a pre-existing Indian place, so they open one, it was that or buy a Taxi. perhaps for a perceived lack of other skills, prejudice, whatever. those attitudes have certainly changed quite a lot and now Indians fill all sorts of positions, but most of these restaurants have been Indian places going back decades
again, this is a generalization, but I get the feeling you may have a similar situation, there will be a few quite good p[laces, but the vast majority of the rest are carbon copies and not in any way remarkable.
wow that was a long post.
there will be obligatory meals, predominantly curries that all taste, smell and look roughly similar. heavily loaded with cumin and the variations are mild, medium, or hot, nothing complex or regional about it, no depth of flavor, no surprise. the same dry, but simultaneously falling apart meat (quite a feat) cooked to within an inch of its life. there are not much by way of interesting condiments, breads or rice dishes etc. pretty Anglicized/bastardized 'Indian' food.
this is not wholesale, at least in the capitals if you know people you can find the odd surprise, but mostly its all pretty predictable. its not that we dont have a significant Indian population, but it seems that a lot of these family run businesses are started, not because they enjoy or are particularly good at cooking traditional cuisine, just that they are Indian and when they moved somewhere, there just happened to not be a pre-existing Indian place, so they open one, it was that or buy a Taxi. perhaps for a perceived lack of other skills, prejudice, whatever. those attitudes have certainly changed quite a lot and now Indians fill all sorts of positions, but most of these restaurants have been Indian places going back decades
again, this is a generalization, but I get the feeling you may have a similar situation, there will be a few quite good p[laces, but the vast majority of the rest are carbon copies and not in any way remarkable.
wow that was a long post.
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Maybe, I don't know, I haven't been to India but we have a huge Indian population here. I'll let you guys decide. Here is a menu from a regular place within walking distance from my home. You will see at least a few white people but mostly Indians in the restaurant. We also have a lot of conventions and other assorted get togethers that are either catered or the food is cooked personally by the old Indian women.
Taste Of Punjab
Taste Of Punjab
Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, French, Lebonese and Modern Australian, which pulls from all of these, no problem, plenty of good food around, but Indian, Mexican and to some degree Chinese places can suffer from this horrible sameness, that may be as much about the clientele having a preconceived notion of what these cultures have to offer, particularly at the cheaper end of town and takeaway.
Dumbasses. This is great food the way it's done in Austin. The nice part of travel is trying what the locals eat and (sometimes) discovering something great. Austin is the Ur for breakfast tacos.
qusp -
We had a few Aussies come through here when we sold off a portion of our company to a Melbourne company.
It was common to invite them for some barbecue. If they happened to return to Austin, the first thing they wanted to do (after morning business) was to head to a Texas barbecue joint for lunch.
Yes, plenty of stew type dishes in Mexico.
I reckon i'd be doing the same, loving the sound of the brekky tacos (soft I presume?) sounds delish! insulting? how odd, I guess they had something more posh in mind? eggs benny with smoke salmon and hollandaise or something probably. I mean thats cool and all, but hey as SY said, when in Rome, i'll take the locals recommendation every time; its part of traveling.
yep, same old same old, identical to here. essentially the same 5-10 sauces in every section, with the only variation being the type of protein.
There's large Indian populations in London (England) and Toronto, yet the restaurant food is generic there as well. One reason may be that they get the "real thing" at home, and the restaurants serve the same function as (say) Olive Garden- cheap, easy, convenient, predictable, unexciting but unlikely to poison.
yep, best Indian food ive ever had has been served to me by Indians at their home, or things ive made, but there is an excellent Goan/Northern Indian place in Byron Bay. fragrant fish curry with fresh coconut flesh and fresh coconut cream. it had a base that was a bit similar to some of the Malay curries. I cant remember the name. it was actually a cafe and they had some Nepalese items too.
I almost didnt have to look at the menu for 'the taste of Punjab' the stereotypical name is in the same style as here, there must be a 'taste of Punjab' in every city. there is a 'Flavors of Punjab' about 10kM away ...
it is strange that they would seem to not even provide good places to eat for their own local population, perhaps they prefer Thai
I almost didnt have to look at the menu for 'the taste of Punjab' the stereotypical name is in the same style as here, there must be a 'taste of Punjab' in every city. there is a 'Flavors of Punjab' about 10kM away ...
it is strange that they would seem to not even provide good places to eat for their own local population, perhaps they prefer Thai
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Dumbasses, indeed! qusp, you hit it on the head. Yes, one of the visitors said he had expected lox and bagels, a real breakfast. Another stated he was vegetarian, and when it was pointed out that we had provided for that, he was angered and asked our team how we could expect him to eat it when he didn't know what was in it. Someone on their team proclaimed that it was not a real breakfast. Wow!
But yes, warm soft tacos, not crispy. Choice of corn or flour tortilla. Think of variations with egg, melting cheese, and various breakfast meats. For vegetarians, eggs, cheese, or with beans, avocado, sauteed mushrooms, etc. Top the taco with some fresh homemade salsa with some bite to it, and a nice hot cup of coffee, and it gets you going pretty quickly in the morning.
But yes, warm soft tacos, not crispy. Choice of corn or flour tortilla. Think of variations with egg, melting cheese, and various breakfast meats. For vegetarians, eggs, cheese, or with beans, avocado, sauteed mushrooms, etc. Top the taco with some fresh homemade salsa with some bite to it, and a nice hot cup of coffee, and it gets you going pretty quickly in the morning.