I voted Indian food. Unless you go somewhere particularly special in the UK, Italian food is basically pizza OR pasta, which is nice enough I guess. I mean, I ADORE pizza, it's amazing, but Indian food is so much more flavoursome and varied when you go to a restaurant, and everyone's got a favourite and you can really tell the difference between restaurants etc.
but surely you can say "Unless you go somewhere particularly special in the UK, Indian food is basically gooey slop with rice OR bread"
― Gary Numan, or Gary Fletcher (ken c), Monday, 7 November 2011 11:17 (twelve years ago) link
jesus, really?
I live in a town of maybe 7k people and we've got two pretty good italian places
― blind pele (darraghmac), Monday, 7 November 2011 11:17 (twelve years ago) link
I mean, I ADORE vindaloo, it's amazing, but Italian food is so much more flavoursome and varied when you go to a restaurant, and everyone's got a favourite and you can really tell the difference between restaurants etc.
but i mean the eu basically covers us for these little luxuries tbf
― blind pele (darraghmac), Monday, 7 November 2011 11:18 (twelve years ago) link
I guess it's different in London. We have maybe five Italians and 5 Indian restaurants in our town. The Italian restaurants are mostly chains: Prezzo, Pizza Express, Strada etc. I can't really tell the difference other than minor changes in decor. The Indian restaurants are all independently run, offer very different menus, have their own style in general.
― Glo-Vember (dog latin), Monday, 7 November 2011 11:28 (twelve years ago) link
but even prezzo offers more than just pizzas and pasta...
http://www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk/menus
― Gary Numan, or Gary Fletcher (ken c), Monday, 7 November 2011 11:32 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, but only wiseacres buy that.
― Glo-Vember (dog latin), Monday, 7 November 2011 11:35 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.strada.co.uk/menus/hitchin/main-menu
mmmmmmmmmmmm!!!
― Gary Numan, or Gary Fletcher (ken c), Monday, 7 November 2011 11:36 (twelve years ago) link
I'm not slagging off Italian food in the UK - it's nice, I can't fault it - but for me, Indian food is just more interesting.
― Glo-Vember (dog latin), Monday, 7 November 2011 11:37 (twelve years ago) link
And yeah, stuff like that is great, Ken.
― Glo-Vember (dog latin), Monday, 7 November 2011 11:38 (twelve years ago) link
Hmm, I have to say almost all Italian Food in England is mediocre, bog standard pasta and sauces you could easily whip up at home. No enough places have a wood-fired oven for pizzas either, so just investing in a pizza stone will allow you to make a better pizza than most places.
― Chewshabadoo, Monday, 7 November 2011 13:03 (twelve years ago) link
I can imagine Indian food being to 'Merkins what Mexican food is to Britishers.
i live in the suburbs where good restaurants of any sort are at a premium and there are at least two decent indian restaurants (and a couple of take-out places) within driving distance. and no decent mexican joints. this country's just too big, and the immigrant population so diverse depending on which region you're in, to break it down like that.
― strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Monday, 7 November 2011 14:50 (twelve years ago) link
more variety in Indian food imho (wider geographic area, wider variety of local ingredients, much bigger range of cultural diversity) so I'm goin with that
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 November 2011 17:25 (twelve years ago) link
otoh I've never been to Italy (been to India twice)
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 November 2011 17:26 (twelve years ago) link
voted italian just because i've been eating curry for 4 days in a row and so now longing for a lasagne
― Gary Numan, or Gary Fletcher (ken c), Monday, 7 November 2011 17:34 (twelve years ago) link
or a fritto misto (rather than onion bhaji)
― Gary Numan, or Gary Fletcher (ken c), Monday, 7 November 2011 17:36 (twelve years ago) link
Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia fuck yes
― Gary Numan, or Gary Fletcher (ken c), Monday, 7 November 2011 17:39 (twelve years ago) link
these are hands-down my two favorite cuisines (and yes i know neither is a monolith) but i feel a bit biased towards italian because i just made a huge batch of marinara sauce yesterday and it is delicious so that
― vitameatawalloginavegamin (donna rouge), Monday, 7 November 2011 17:46 (twelve years ago) link
Is indian pizza indian or italian? This is an important question to resolve, because indian pizza is a thing of beauty.
― quincie, Monday, 7 November 2011 17:48 (twelve years ago) link
Going to eat my leftovers of that butter/garlic/tomato/pasta combination. Can't wait!
― WE DO NOT HAVE "SECRET" "MEETINGS." I DO NOT HAVE A SECOND (Laurel), Monday, 7 November 2011 17:49 (twelve years ago) link
so sad when people don't believe me about this
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 November 2011 17:50 (twelve years ago) link
I feel Chinese should have been an option in this polldown.
xpost Shakey Mo, it is on your recommendation that I experienced the glory!!!
― quincie, Monday, 7 November 2011 17:51 (twelve years ago) link
…and presumably every other world cuisine?
― Chewshabadoo, Monday, 7 November 2011 17:55 (twelve years ago) link
Chinese is at least as well represented in the US as Indian and Italian; do not know about UK.
― quincie, Monday, 7 November 2011 17:56 (twelve years ago) link
i once had doner kebab pizza in the south of france -- it was not very amazing except as a concept
many many chinese takeaways in the uk, maybe even more than indian, i don't know (probably varies regionally) -- i remember the first chinese restaurant opening in shrewsbury in the 60s, the chanticleer, it was fancy! it had a dance band and a dance floor -- and my whole family went as a special very unusual treat
― mark s, Monday, 7 November 2011 18:05 (twelve years ago) link
this reminds me, I should get around to doing the ILX world cuisine knockout poll
― ASPIE Rocky (dayo), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:07 (twelve years ago) link
fyi according to dayo american chinese is a pale imitation and we basically have no access to the true wonder of chinese food. ;_;
― horseshoe, Monday, 7 November 2011 18:07 (twelve years ago) link
xp!
― horseshoe, Monday, 7 November 2011 18:08 (twelve years ago) link
I'm part Italian, I can eat Italian any time I want. Yes, it's great. It's really filling though and gets tiresome every day. That is true about the variety in Indian food...and the SPICE. I love SPICY FOOD. So, Indian then....
― โตเกียวเหมียวเหมียว aka Don Nots (Mount Cleaners), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:12 (twelve years ago) link
rustic italian flatbread vs. garlic naan
― moo-town slackers (Pillbox), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:18 (twelve years ago) link
"turkish pizza" is good. U roll it into a tube.
― max, Monday, 7 November 2011 18:18 (twelve years ago) link
Need to try pide at some point.
Is Indian pizza significantly different from Italian?
― Mohombi Khush Hua (ShariVari), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:27 (twelve years ago) link
the one time i took my mom out for indian food, the only thing she liked was the "pizza bread"
― Youth Ya Goon (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:29 (twelve years ago) link
xp yeah, pide. its great! and its so cheap and easy it kind of amazes me that it hasnt been exported to other countries as a late-night drunk food the way doner/schawarma has been
― max, Monday, 7 November 2011 18:32 (twelve years ago) link
or maybe im thinking of lahmacun
― max, Monday, 7 November 2011 18:35 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.tablehopper.com/newsletter/061205/zantes_large.jpg
for all not in the know... above is a pic of Zante's Indian Pizza in San Francisco. I have seen this ripped off by other local pizzerias, but I have never seen it replicated anywhere else in the US or in India. It differs significantly from Italian pizza - there is no marinara sauce, afaict they kind of use a saag-based sauce. and then there's cheese obviously, but the other toppings are usually tandoori chicken or lamb, cauliflower, onions etc It does not taste remotely Italian.
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:35 (twelve years ago) link
I think spicy food elevates your mood. When I down a huge Italian meal, I fall asleep.
― โตเกียวเหมียวเหมียว aka Don Nots (Mount Cleaners), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:36 (twelve years ago) link
meat version = Topped with Spinach, Egg Plant, Cauliflower, Ginger, Garlic, Green Onions, Cilantro, Lamb, Tandoori Chicken & Prawns
xp
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:37 (twelve years ago) link
afghani pizza rules, shaped like a football
― the 500 gats of bartholomew thuggins (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:38 (twelve years ago) link
go long
― ASPIE Rocky (dayo), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:38 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-grandmother-tries-indian-food,2472/
― enchilada sauce (get bent), Monday, 7 November 2011 18:47 (twelve years ago) link
real life versus chinese takeaway
Indian or Chinese?
American Chinese food
(there are several more)
― mark s, Monday, 7 November 2011 19:06 (twelve years ago) link
we need a "european/mediterranean vs asian-including-indian" food poll
― max, Monday, 7 November 2011 19:09 (twelve years ago) link
blood sausage versus the world
― mark s, Monday, 7 November 2011 19:12 (twelve years ago) link
why has british cuisine sucked for so long, is my question
― ASPIE Rocky (dayo), Monday, 7 November 2011 19:14 (twelve years ago) link
I think I kind of like British food but I might just be perverse.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 7 November 2011 19:15 (twelve years ago) link
i like scones
― horseshoe, Monday, 7 November 2011 19:15 (twelve years ago) link
english breakfast!
i mean englands got nothing on italy or france or india but i think its been underrated for a long time now.
― max, Monday, 7 November 2011 19:16 (twelve years ago) link
I actually kind of enjoy stuff like steak and kidney pie and haggis (the one time I had each of them). Big on ginger marmalade too.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 7 November 2011 19:16 (twelve years ago) link