OT- Favorite Ethnic foods

I love food from all over the world, and there is always one or two from each place that are my go-to whenever available. Some of them are even DS friendly, and I am so grateful that I'm now able to have and enjoy them.

We're going to Portland for some shopping this weekend, where there is more restaurant variety than in this town, and I want to know what your go tos are ethnic or not, and from where, cuz I might need to try somthin new.

Some of my faves are;

Mexico - pollo a la crema (with tortilla now, skipped that part early out)
India - chicken tikka masala, or butter chicken (with naan and rice now, skipped those early out)
Phillipines - lumpia
Japan - sushi
Italian - fettuccini alla carbonara
Korean - beef bulgogi
US - Hawaiin kalua pork and anything BBQ
Thai - tom kha soup

Being half Greek, I can't pass up a good Gyro. You can usually get a Gyro platter which means the meat is not stuffed into a pita. If done right, man oh man is it good. There is a restaurant in town here in Naples (not known for its Mediterranean food, let me tell you) where the chef makes the absolute best Gyro meat I have ever had. He is from Egypt and his Falafel's are fabulous as well. He used to be the head chef at the Regency hotel here in Naples, an expensive hotel that is every bit as high end as the Ritz so this guy knows how to cook. If anybody reading this ever comes to Naples, check out the Falafel Grill. They serve other Mediterranean favorites besides Gyro's and Falafel's.  I found this blog site that discusses this restaurant (and their recently opened second location.)

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/654990

I live near Berkeley/Oakland where there is a huge Ethiopian population. I've loved their food for years and I tolerate all of it very well. They have a lot of meat dishes. I like the very rare chopped beef with butter and spices. The food is eaten with a spongy sour dough crepe-like bread called injera. It is made from an African grain that doesn't bother my digestion.  I always get the combo platter that is served to share. You eat with your hands using the injera bread to pinch up to foods.
I love all ethnic foods and anything that I can't cook myself. You made a good list. Another good one is Brasilian fejoada. Black beans with all kinds of meats stewed with them. Papusas from central america are yummy. They are soft cornmeal patties stuffed with cheese and fried then topped with a spicey cole slaw. In Chinatown, I like to get the whole tea smoked duck. I am lucky to live in an area that probably offers the greatest variety of Ethnic foods in the world. YUM

My ABSOLUTE favorite place (locally in SF Bay) is called Kabul, it's Afghan Cuisine and mmmmmm, My favorite dish is something called Lawang, it's a chicken dish with the most luscious spices, It's got a creamy base, there is also a pumpkin dish called Kadu that is to die for.

I'm SO not adventurous when it comes to ethnic foods (beyond Mexican, Chinese) but this is YUMMY. Not sure if I'd be able to eat there POST DS but you can bet I will be trying it when my time comes. It will probably be my "last supper" meal, before prepping for surgery.

http://kabulrestaurant.net/entree.htm

www.portlandphoenix.com/food/dining/documents/03435586.asp

Best of Luck in your quest,
S~

Our local Costco is now carrying some Afgani cusine. Unfortunatly I don't think it is DS friendly. I think it is called boranni with sauces. They are like stuffed four tortillas (spinch, squash, lental, etc.) The various sauces are yummy, yogurt, eggplant, cilantro,etc.) Because of your post I did a search to see what I could find closer to me and found three places that I will be trying soon.

I'm not particularly adventurous either, which is probably why when I've gotten something I like so well at any restaurant, I stick with it.

The chicken in a seasoned creamy sauce DOES sound like a post - DS food to me (very like tikka masala, butter chicken and polo ala crema) so I may have to track that down, despite being back in my own boring town.

Growing up in Tampa, our go-to foods were BBQ and Cuban.  I make Piccadillo, Black beans & Rice, and Garbanzo bean soup.  I even merged my BBQ with Garbanzo's in my "Soup Beans" that I make for the restaurant.  People are nuts over them with smoked pork instead of Chorizo. 

Japanese is my fave, I've been eating it regularly since early childhood. I've since outgrown the rice, and prefer sashimi (just the raw fish, hold the rice!)! I really love seafood, which the Japanese are masters at preparing both raw and cooked. My faves are ankimo (monkfish liver), ikura (salmon roe), fugu (they say the taste is worth dying for, nyuck nyuck, nyuck!), kobe, baby abalone, japanese freshwater crab (you eat them whole), butterfish and raw sardines! You can't go wrong with tonkatsu, chawan mushi, soba noodles have a special place in my heart, and if you ever have real ramen with hand-made noodles and broth there's nothing like it!

Korean is awesome, some of my faves is beef knee cartilage, kalbi tang, and kimchi pancakes.

I like Chinese food, but so much of it is americanized so it's hard to find the real thing. I love dim sum, shrimp stuffed eggplant, peking duck, clams in black bean sauce, mu shu, and I'm a sucker for a properly-made beef chow fun.

My favorite indian dishes are mushroom shaag, lamb korma, biryani, and how can you not love the nans and all the chutneys?

Slavic: beets and horseradish, kovbasa, Ukrainian christmas borscht, saurkraut and mushroom pierogies, fruit pierogies, kutya, porcini mushroom sauce, mushroom barley soup, smoked pork belly, veal sausage, blintzes, latkes, gulash.

French: charcuterie, roasted bone marrow, escargot, coq au rieslng, crepes, cheeses, bread, croisants, salted caramels, tarte tatin and creme brulee!

US: Shrimp and grits, biscuits and gravy, pecan pie, maple syrup, pumpkin pie, new england clam chowder, lobster roll, lobster boil, crawfish.

Greek: taremasalata, grilled octopus

Italian: squid ink tagliolini with squid

 
Thai beef salad ~ has lettuce, onions, lime juice, seasonings and lots of beef.  Just eat around the lettuce if need be (I do).

Middle Eastern ~  Most main dishes come with meat separate from the rice and vegetables, so you can decide how much of the other stuff to eat.  Yogurt is a frequent addition--more calcium!

Chicken Tikka Masala oh my!  Do you have a recipe or way to make it at home?

I helped prepare some for a dorm cafeteria -- tons of spices, oil, and heavy cream covering chicken.  DSer dream.  I had a double portion!