The Ethnic Restaurant Paradox

[Cena's Little Helper]

The other day, I went to this Chinese restaurant I always pass by because I always notice that, without fail, there are always a bunch of Chinese people coming in and out of it. However, the food there was horrible, and it made the food from the Chinese restaurant I order take-out from every other month or so seem like manna from Heaven. I told some of my co-workers about my experience, and every one of them told me to never go to an ethnic restaurant that a lot of people of the ethnicity in question patronize, as the food will taste terrible. Intuitively, I would think that, for example, a lot of Indians patronizing an Indian restaurant would signal that this is a good place to eat due to (what I perceive to be) authenticity. But, I guess I am mistaken. Have you ever had a similar experience?

 

[Jane]

What does patronize mean?

 

[Eternal Dragon]

If Indian people are saying a resturant sucks, trust them.

Flames Out
Dragon

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

What does patronize mean?

Giving their business to.

 

[klunderbunker]

In this case it means frequent that restaurant.

 

[Jane]

Thanks

 

[Gelgarin]

I would imagine that your typical Chinese, Thai or Indian restaurant takes pains to limit the usage of some of the more potent ingredients in the food. Simply because they're acquired tastes, and few people over here are going to take the time to acquire them, just for one restaurant.

Conversely, if a takeaway if frequently frequented by people who are used to the taste, then they're going to serve a more traditional recipe.

Alternately, they're all extreme racial activists and that funny taste was the arsenic they were spiking your meal with. Although in hindsight, that's probably not true.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I go to Mexican restaurants that are full of Hispanic people, and that is not by mistake.

Mexican food>All other food

 

[Tastycles]

I went to school with a lot of people from Hong Kong, and they said that the food in Chinese restaurants didn't taste anything like the food in China.

I imagine that restaurants that are frequented by the ethnicity of their cooking are more authentic generally, and therefore don't taste like the Western interpretation of ethnic food. Clearly, you find actual chinese cooking to be inferior to American Chinese cooking.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

So if I recommended, say, a Fish and Chips restaurant you wouldn't like it?

Probably not. Something tells me that your taste in food sucks.

I went to school with a lot of people from Hong Kong, and they said that the food in Chinese restaurants didn't taste anything like the food in China.

I imagine that restaurants that are frequented by the ethnicity of their cooking are more authentic generally, and therefore don't taste like the Western interpretation of ethnic food. Clearly, you find actual chinese cooking to be inferior to American Chinese cooking.

Hey man, let's not go throwing around ethnocentric hot words here. I found it to be horrible, not inferior. If it was inferior, then there would not have been so many Chinese people at the restaurant I went to. I guess, as you say, I am just used to the Western interpretation of ethnic foods.

 

[Father:_Polley]

Akbar's in Leeds... a lot of Indian/Pakistani people in it when I went. Awesome food. Now where's Becca to back me up on this