I didn't want to further derail Gatagordo's excellent Texas bbq thread, so thought I'd start this one.

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
Pho Bay Restaurant
3933 N. Central Expressway #100
Plano

http://www.phobayrestaurant.com/

The young lady in charge is phenomenal. Food and service excellent. The food is not spicy, but you will be given the proper additional ingredients to build your own bomb.

If going for lunch try to not get there right at 12:00. The line will be out the door. Give it another thirty minutes.

The Pho Bay recommendation came to me from Mary at Fairview Nails & Spa. All the girls are Vietnamese there. They swear by Pho Bay.

My favorite food when I go out is Vietnamese. I dated a Vietnamese woman for about a year and I still miss the food (the woman was pretty great, too but she was pushing to get married so...).

One thing she made and that I've found in only 2 restaurants so far is Goi Ngo Sen - Lotus Root Salad: http://www.theravenouscouple.c...lad-goi-ngo-sen.html

So many great flavors in Vietnamese food and it's always so fresh.

AFA heat, I ate at a new Thai place last week and they have mild, medium, hot, extra hot and "top of the line". I went for top of the line and could only get 3/4 way through the dish before I tapped out. But the guy next to me didn't make it to his third fork-full.

So, what's your favorite?

For Tex-Mex we prefer Abuelo's http://www.abuelos.com/

Thai - http://www.thaisthumbz.com/ BYOB

Vietnamese - Pho Bay http://www.phobayrestaurant.com/

Indian - http://kebabnkurry.us/ BYOB

South American - La Duni http://laduni.com/fairview-village/

Central American - Gloria's http://www.gloriascuisine.com/

Italian - Mio Nonno http://www.miononnorestaurant.com/

French - Gregory's Bistro http://www.gregorysbistro.org/

Turkish - Café Istanbul http://www.cafe-istanbul.net/

Chinese - P. F. Chang's https://www.pfchangs.com/texas/9825-allen

We eat more "foreign" food than we do American.

All these are in Dallas. While I might get to try one or two at DSC, it's otherwise not much use in Houston.

Have good Cajun, Mexican, South American, Indian, Thai, French, and Italian restaurants in Houston. There is a South African restaurant I want to try.

Would like to find a good Vietnamese restaurant and Ethiopian.

ยำปลาดุกฟู (Yam Pla Duk Fu)- Thai Crispy Fried Catfish Salad

This is my favorite dish - period! The catfish gets fried until it turns into a shredded crispy mass. Peanuts or cashews are added and it gets covered with sweet Nam Pla (fish sauce).

Basque.

MacDonalds
Wendy's
Burger King

They are all foreign outside of the USA...

For real food I like Thai , Cambodian , some Indian

About anything from Cuba or Germany/Austria.
Nothing from England or any kind of pickled fish.

Houston has some amazing ethnic food. I look forward to going to Houston to eat ethnic food.

Korean food in NYC is amazing. Only ethnic food in NYC I found lacking was Mexican.

Orlando - Vietnamese and some good thai.

I eat mainly ethnic food and American food (steaks, burgers, ect) - I never eat anything european. But I like spicy food.

Mike

Has to be Japanese food for me.

quote:

Originally posted by pagosawingnut:
Has to be Japanese food for me.

+1

quote:

Originally posted by pagosawingnut:
Has to be Japanese food for me.

What you rich people eat Rick. By the time I filled up on sushi my bill is three figures

Mike

Escargo. I have not had any worthy of the name in years(stateside).When done correctly with the butter/garlic sauce then Heaven is assured.

An interesting topic. I never really think of my favorite foods by country, but rather the food itself and the style of cooking.

I guess that, forced to choose a cuisine, I'd pick Cajun because of their emphasis on seafood and the great use of spices.

That said, my list of individual dishes or general categories would be fairly long.

Day in, day out, I'd take a great dry aged rib eye cooked just past raw, nearly burnt outside (takes a really hot grill), as my likely first choice.

Then, mostly in order of what I've had the least of lately, not necessarily in order of favoritism would be:

Really good raw oysters in season. I could name varieties but I'll take good US or European anyday over almost anything. Raw clams would be a distant second, but are often really good as well.

Fresh boiled Maine Lobster, preferably in Maine.

Great Sushi. It's not the most desired or expensive, but I LOVE great hamachi and uni, not together, of course.

Great Mexican food of any of the numerous styles they have. Quality chips and great salsa are a necessity.

Generally good Chinese of most of the non-Cantonese styles would trip my trigger. Peking Duck would be near top of list. Vastly superior to Vietnamese IMO, although I certainly admire good VN and other SE Asian cuisines. I like Thai food for the styles and heat. Grenadier's Crispy Catfish dish sounds wonderful. I've never had it, YET.

Church's Fried Chicken when fresh and cooked in clean oil. Add gizzards and livers as a possibility.

Great Fried Catfish, preferably fiddlers.

Of course, Texas style barbecue, with a beef rib from Pecan Lodge leading the list.

Boiled Shrimp, or shrimp boiled in butter ala Frank Davis's recipe.

Well grilled venison backstrap, or chicken fried venison or beef tenderized round steak by my wife.

A great Spanish Paella.

Any well cooked grilled fish.

Ceviche. Any of numerous country styles.

Great Ice Cream.

Well prepared cabrito.

Argentine parillada.

Fine Chili made with quality ingredients.

Fresh hot bread of almost any style, slathered in butter (did some medically oriented soul mention cholesterol, I didn't think so).

I mean, I guess I'm going to stop unless something else of great import to me comes to mind. You've made me hungry.

no pix???

Mexican.
Not Tex-Mex but the kind you find in a little place in New Mexico with a name that Okies can't pronounce.

Gato,

I'm surprised you said Church's Fried Chicken. Next time you're in Dallas, try Bubba's right by SMU. The same owners also have a number of Babe's family style restaurants. You can only order fried chicken or CFS, with unlimited sides.

There is a Mexican Restaurant in Southbury CT, run by two brothers from Mexico City. Nice, with now-and-then mariachis.
The best Italian restaurant in the area is in Woodbury, run by a Greek grandmother.

Here Marisco's is pretty good, the chili colorado burrito didn't use to be on the menu but they'd always make one up in response to a polite request.

Argentine food might be my favorite. I seem to come back much fluffier each time. South African eland steaks ain't shabby, though.

quote:

Originally posted by Ole Miss Guy:

Nothing from England .

I don't know. I have not tried meat better than steak cooked in any English pub . And fuller's Pride of London - the best beer, without "probably". Although accepted to blame fried cod with chips - they are quite edible, if eaten in Brighton (in England; don't know how it is in America). Although, of course - it's not the best fish in my life.
Also a great thing - steak in Florence, where it is called "bistecca Fiorentina". Where they get these bulls? Judging by the size, it's the tyrannosaurs.

Escargo in France w/ the heavy butter. YUM.

My problem is I like everything but brussel sprouts

Vegas

kinda Fusion - https://www.roysrestaurant.com...tions/nv/las%20vegas

French - http://www.pamplemousserestaurant.com/

Steak chain place, Texas Roadhouse in Middletown,ny

Seafood Tuna Tartar - London Lennie's in Queens,ny

Dam I was just in Middletown NY today.

Vietnamese,Hands down. Got a couple of top restaurants around her. Tex Mex ? Only so many ways to serve beans and rice.

Grizz

One of my favorite "foreign" foods is a big bowl of Texas Chili on a cold day. I claim it is "foreign" because you can't seem to find it in North Texas restaurants any more.

You can find chicken "chili", red "chili", Ghost Pepper "Chili", turkey "chili", white bean "chili", "chili" topped with an egg, and Frito "Chili" Pie.

I think the Chili scene is a disaster in Texas. True Chili is almost extinct. (Stampede 66 in Dallas serves their signature "chili" straight from a can. Sounds like Wolf Brand. Costs $3.00. Charge me $12.00).

The last great bowl of Texas chili I had was at Abilene Country Club in 1973.

Now chili is an afterthought, an appetizer, a burger topping, or an ingredient.

If anyone knows of a great bowl of Texas chili in the Dallas / McKinney corridor, let me know. (If it has beans in it as filler, it's not chili. If it comes with cornbread instead of crackers, it's probably not chili, but I would give it a try.)

We ate at Pho Bay yesterday. Very good. Will likely go back, but it reiterated my belief that VN food is not even close to good Chinese. To each his own. We were right by Hutchins in Mckinney, when I said, "Let's try this new VN place I've heard about." Nice for a change, but Hutchins would have been better.

Glad you enjoyed it. We are headed there tonight.

Next week we're going back to Gregory's Bistro at their new location in Adriatic Village in McKinney. Gregory's is an impress-your-best-girl type place for dinner. It's a slam-dunk for a birthday or anniversary.

http://www.gregorysbistro.org/#!menu/naa9u

Those prices are not out of line for a good up-scale restaurant, but they're more than I want to pay normally. I guess I'll have to enjoy this one vicariously with your report.

Of course, I took a friend/business assoc. to Papas Steak House, had a 1/2 bottle of one of their more reasonably priced wines (Montepulciano) and with tip, dinner was a smooth $250. But, for an occasional splurge, it was worth it.

Looks like I'm going to have to put a hold on Gregory's also. They apparently haven't opened their new place yet. They are still saying "January".

Try "Smoke". I haven't been there yet, but want to go.

German, no contest.

Still, much depends on the execution. I'm in one place always took beer cheese sticks (cheese, fried in batter) and chicken wings. Ordered the same thing in another place - sucks.

In General, a good national cuisine - Georgian. If you're in Moscow, then to the right of the exit from the station Mendeleyevskaya there is a restaurant "Batono". Soup "kharcho" (a soup with fried veal ribs with rice, walnuts and over 10 spices), khachapuri (it's like pizza with cheese, but much tastier than any pizza), rack of lamb, red wine "Saperavi". Village salad - everything seems simple. Cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs - coriander and Basil - but the secret is in zaprice, some sort of aromatic oil with vinegar, moderately sharp.

"Foreign" is a relative term, but I'll give the menu of one of my favorite meals.

Starter: Buffalo tongue with a Kili or three by the fire.

[shower]

Soup: Eland tail soup from yesterday's eland. Done like ox-tail soup, only eland. (Ox-tail soup from buffalo -- nearly as good).

Salad: A cucumber/tomato/onion salad.

Main Course: Medium rare tenderloin steaks -- Eland, sable, kudu, buffalo or even an impala, Grants or tommy.

Desert: While a pie or cake is usually served, I prefer fruit.

Followed by a single malt and/or a couple more Kili's.

Now that's good "foreign" food.

Ditto Lavaca. I must add that the eland steaks are better than anything we get here stateside.

Springbok, Kudu, Oryx, Eland, Impala in that order. Basically my diet for the past month.

I envy you Americans. And I have all the moose yeah moose. Yesterday the wife says "at least buy a chicken, or something"

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Springbok, Kudu, Oryx, Eland, Impala in that order. Basically my diet for the past month.

Yes, the variety of exotic game in Texas is nothing short of amazing.

Close but more like Namibia...

Hamburgers, with a side serving of those thin American style deep fried potato fingers.

We like Polish food for a change of pace.

The nearby city of New Britain, CT has some Polish restaurants and groceries.

The Staropolska is one of my favorites.

Brazilian Churrascaria

http://www.texasdebrazil.com/ and costco sells gift cards which knock 20% off.