Small Town Dining -- Spare Me

[chappie]

Having just returned this instant from a $12 injection of carnitas, corn tortillas, beans, rice and tomatillo sauce, I must ammend my previous post to say that my town does at least offer cheap, plentiful and serviceable Mexican food.

[Fat Guy]

I'd like to see anyone try to get a Mexican meal that good in France.

In Paris, they don't have Mexican food really, just a cuisine they call "Tex Mex." On our first day in the city, we passed a restaurant called "Indiana" that served Tex Mex, which is a bit like calling a French restaurant "Bulgaria." --When in France, don't eat the fajitas, from the LA Times

[touaregsand]

I'd like to see anyone try to get a Mexican meal that good in France.

In Paris, they don't have Mexican food really, just a cuisine they call "Tex Mex." On our first day in the city, we passed a restaurant called "Indiana" that served Tex Mex, which is a bit like calling a French restaurant "Bulgaria." --When in France, don't eat the fajitas, from the LA Times

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I hear the French food in Tijuana is pretty bad. Sushi in Afghanistan, no way. Brazilian in Russia? Bah!

You can get some great North African food in Paris, as well as Vietnamese. Zeitoun can speak about the Lebanese food there.

EDIT: I did try Mexican in France. I couldn't help it, I broke down in the third month. The whole TexMex thing was a bit peculiar.

Edited July 7, 2005 by touaregsand (log)

[Busboy]

I never had Mexican food in France, but I did go to an upscale-ish place in Athens that offered Mexican, Indian and Chinese. Not that the Greeks are on par with French in terms of local quality -- though they are equal to the french in creating lovely places to dine and staffing them with talented professional -- but eating "ethnic" in Greece dramatized the difference between their ability to turn out good Greek food and anything that originated outside the Med.

We in the U.S. do do a greater variety of cusisine well here than anywhere in the world. As I noted upstream, red-sauce Italian has become a mainstay of my roadtrips. That being said, beware small-town Chinese.

And, in response to FG's earlier post, I respect the pizza craving, especially from a New yorker, but it's Thai that I crave coming home from abroad. Home cooking the second night -- unless I've been travelling alone and my wife is kind enough to put something together while I'm en route. But that first night back, I'm calling for Thai within moments of the cab dropping me off.

[Holly Moore]

Getting back to Lexington VA, Busboy, did you get a chance to hit the Pink Cadallac Diner? I'm concerned that no mention means it was disappointing.

[robyn]

I never had Mexican food in France, but I did go to an upscale-ish place in Athens that offered Mexican, Indian and Chinese.  Not that the Greeks are on par with French in terms of local quality -- though they are equal to the french in creating lovely places to dine and staffing them with talented professional -- but eating "ethnic" in Greece dramatized the difference between their ability to turn out good Greek food and anything that originated outside the Med.

We in the U.S. do do a greater variety of cusisine well here than anywhere in the world.  As I noted upstream, red-sauce Italian has become a mainstay of my roadtrips.  That being said, beware small-town Chinese.

And, in response to FG's earlier post, I respect the pizza craving, especially from a New yorker, but it's Thai that I crave coming home from abroad.  Home cooking the second night -- unless I've been travelling alone and my wife is kind enough to put something together while I'm en route.  But that first night back, I'm calling for Thai within moments of the cab dropping me off.

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Re Chinese restaurants. I don't exactly live in a small rural town (it's a metro area with 1 million+ people). But the Chinese food here was uniformly horrible until we got a decent size Asian population - and then a few "Chinese" buffet places which catered to the population (the food is actually kind of "Asian eclectic" - Chinese - some Japanese - some Filipino - some Korean etc.). You can make fun of the Chinese buffets - but - at least where I live - most of the clientele is Asian - and the dishes are pretty good. Plus - it's hard to argue with lunch for $5.99 on weekdays - and lunch for $9.99 on Sundays (including all the fresh Peking duck you can eat). And they have pizza and fried chicken too (guess the kids assimilate pretty fast ). So that's what it means to be American - fried chicken and chicken feet - all you can eat for $5.99 .

Also re Chinese restaurants. There was a funny article in the NYT a while back about a Chinese family from China that really hated NYC (try raising 2 kids in a 400 square foot apartment). So the family moved to rural northern Georgia - bought a house on a couple of acres where they could raise a family - and chickens and pigs. They bought the only Chinese restaurant in town. Even though the husband was an accountant by training - he became an owner/chef to get out of NYC - and to make a living to support his family. I doubt the food in his place was very good - but it's an interesting story. Robyn

[scordelia]

I'd like to see anyone try to get a Mexican meal that good in France.

In Paris, they don't have Mexican food really, just a cuisine they call "Tex Mex." On our first day in the city, we passed a restaurant called "Indiana" that served Tex Mex, which is a bit like calling a French restaurant "Bulgaria." --When in France, don't eat the fajitas, from the LA Times

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I waitressed at the Art Institute in grad school, and one day, I had a lovely French couple from Strasbourg in my section and they said they wanted a really American experience. So I sent them to great Mexican dive (no longer exists) near Wrigley Field and told them to tell their server that they never had Mexican before and to bring out a taste of everything and to try marguaritas, but no more than 2 because they were really strong.

They came back the next day killer hangovers (they ignored my only 2 advice), but they loved it and wanted a good guacamole recipe and a good margarita recipe so they could make them for their friends back in France.

[chefzadi]

Is this thread going all over the place with comparisons?

It's more than apples and oranges. More like sesame seeds with roastbeef.

Flunch, Quick, Tex Mex in France? Sure, they are there. But in the places those types of places exists, walk for 5-10 minutes, you can find much better.

They came back the next day killer hangovers (they ignored my only 2 advice), but they loved it and wanted a good guacamole recipe and a good margarita recipe so they could make them for their friends back in France.

Of course French people like avacados, closest thing to butter that grows on a tree.

[Busboy]

Getting back to Lexington VA, Busboy, did you get a chance to hit the Pink Cadallac Diner?  I'm concerned that no mention means it was disappointing.

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I did get to the Pink Cadillac and enjoyed it immensly. It's the kind of place I'm looking for when I get off the highway.

I am in no position to judge the white gravy or the grits as I had never eaten either before, but I did enjoy them. I have been told since that ordering hot sauce for the grits would not have been out of line and that might have made them perfect. Always great to be able to get country ham with breakfast and the atmosphere is wonderful, as was our 6 foot blonde waitress. The only disappointment was the biscuits, which were undercooked and served with that weird Land o' Lakes margarine you see everywhere.

The life-size King Kong in the parking lot is compelling, too.

[stephenc]

Why would you go to a "Tuscan" restaurant in the middle of rural Virginia?

That's like eating at a "Mexican" restaurant in France. Laughably bad.

[Busboy]

Why would you go to a "Tuscan" restaurant in the middle of rural Virginia?

That's like eating at a "Mexican" restaurant in France.  Laughably bad.

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Because, as I said earlier, I've had good luck at Italian restaurants in small towns.

Because, I've found "local" restaurants to be a very low percentage bet.

Because many Italians came to America and brought their cooking traditions with them (while very few Mexicans have gone to France, which does offer very good Algerian and Vietnamese food.) That's why, as was also pointed out up thread, the U.S. is, generally, the one country where you can go and get a variety of reasonable quality foods of different origins.

Because that's where the kids wanted to go.

[touaregsand]

Why would you go to a "Tuscan" restaurant in the middle of rural Virginia?

That's like eating at a "Mexican" restaurant in France.  Laughably bad.

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Busboy explained why upthread.

Actually the TexMex I had in France wasn't bad. It was just so so. Why did I have Mexican in France? Third month there, I had to try it. Just to see what it was like. I had Korean in France too. Again, not bad. The ingredients were fresh, the seasoning was pretty good but geared more toward eating with wine. I think there are two Chinese places with one Michelin star each in Paris. Odd thing is at the lower level Chinese food is usually pretty bad or just okay in Paris. You'll find the best North African food outside of the Magrheb in France. I didn't try much of the Vietnamese, but what little I did try was excellent.

Going back on topic to rural America. I was in Simi Valley (not quite rural, but close enough) years and years ago and stumbled upon a place that served crawfish. It looked pretty good, sure enough the owner was a Louisianna native and the food was terrific. Andiesenji might know of the place.

EDIT: cross post with The Bus.

Edited July 7, 2005 by touaregsand (log)

[Fat Guy]

You might not have a high likelihood of success at a Tuscan restaurant in rural Virginia, but there's always a chance -- the US if filled with exceptions that would make a fool of anyone bold enough to be doctrinaire. The point being, you can't lay down rigid rules about the US cuisine scene because it's so heterogeneous. France, for its part, tends towards homogeneity, though of course there is diversity within that single dominant style -- so it's a lot easier to generalize that Mexican food will be bad in France than it is to generalize that Italian food will be bad in Virginia. Even though ostensibly the US is the land of the chains it is quite a lot more culinarily diverse than most nations that have smaller chain presences.

It's also, to get back to a point above, a lot bigger. France is smaller than Texas. The US is 250% the size of all of Western Europe. The whole concept of "small-town France" has to be looked at differently from "small-town USA" because small towns in France are mostly in very close orbit to major cities. If you're in Paris you can drive to Reims for dinner and sleep at home that night. You're talking about the distance from New York City to New Haven, Connecticut -- a lot of Americans would call that a daily commute. So one of the reasons you have restaurants in "small-town France" that cater to culinarily sophisticated international urban tastes is that small-town France has a fictional aspect to it in that the culinarily sophisticated international urban people can get there in an hour and fifteen minutes.

[Priscilla]

The phrase "authentic Tuscan cuisine," however, will henceforth evoke bitter memories.

This gave me a laugh -- in our house "Tuscan" has come to be referred to as The Forbidden Word. An ongoing source of hilarity -- we vie to outdo one another finding the best instances of its (mis)use.

[Viola da gamba]

Although I think I had a nice piece of pie in Deas Lake.

Ah - then you must have been there during the brief tourist season - i.e. May to September - as otherwise there are no open restaurants in Dease Lake. Which, of course, is another problem in rural Canada - somewhere so underpopulated that small children occasionally look at strangers and yell "Look ma, people!" - if it ain't tourist season, there aren't any restaurants open - good, bad or indifferent - period.

[NulloModo]

The phrase "authentic Tuscan cuisine," however, will henceforth evoke bitter memories.

This gave me a laugh -- in our house "Tuscan" has come to be referred to as The Forbidden Word. An ongoing source of hilarity -- we vie to outdo one another finding the best instances of its (mis)use.

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I am curious - do you find Tuscan to be more misused than other Italian local cuisines? Around here I don't find that much labled 'Tuscan' in particular, but in the shadow of philly, red gravey is king.

BTW -

Is your icon the Stargate symbol for Earth ? Hehe how cool is that, I am totally into that series lately.

[chow guy]

.

Because many Italians came to America and brought their cooking traditions with them (while very few Mexicans have gone to France, which does offer very good Algerian and Vietnamese food.) That's why, as was also pointed out up thread, the U.S. is, generally, the one country where you can go and get a variety of reasonable quality foods of different origins.

Bingo!

[Priscilla]

The phrase "authentic Tuscan cuisine," however, will henceforth evoke bitter memories.

This gave me a laugh -- in our house "Tuscan" has come to be referred to as The Forbidden Word. An ongoing source of hilarity -- we vie to outdo one another finding the best instances of its (mis)use.

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I am curious - do you find Tuscan to be more misused than other Italian local cuisines? Around here I don't find that much labled 'Tuscan' in particular, but in the shadow of philly, red gravey is king.

BTW -

Is your icon the Stargate symbol for Earth ? Hehe how cool is that, I am totally into that series lately.

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The criminal misuse of Tuscan is only sometimes food-related -- our household ban on the term was actually fueled by the seemingly eightieth homeowner on various HGTV & related shows announcing they are seeking a "Tuscan villa" look for their kitchen, or their pool cabana, or their custom dog house.

Food-wise, my husband and son and I were recently hilarified by a local supermarket chain's (Ralph's, in Southern California) majorly promoting its "Tuscan melons." Now, said melons may well be Italian in origin -- although I have my doubts, I did not investigate -- but to see the gigantic TUSCAN trumpeted all around on signs set us off.

It's just another idle pastime, like watching for Jonathon Gold to use the word "fugue" in his restaurant reviews, or, "shatteringly crisp."

Indeed, as Teal'c would say -- my avatar is the Earth chevron!

[Pan]

[...]Food-wise, my husband and son and I were recently hilarified by a local supermarket chain's (Ralph's, in Southern California) majorly promoting its "Tuscan melons."  Now, said melons may well be Italian in origin --  although I have my doubts, I did not investigate -- but to see the gigantic TUSCAN trumpeted all around on signs set us off.[...]

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For what it's worth, that doesn't seem very strange to me. Tuscany is a major agriculture and horticulture region.

[joiei]

Here is the information about a "Tuscan Melon" I have seen at the local Wild Oats. They left out the word "style" which fits between Tuscan and Melon. Shame on them. Misleading the poor gullible public like that.

I was wondering how we ended up with such a thing as a tuscan melon here in Oklahoma. And when the local melons are so good.

[Pan]

I see. Just marketing. Tuscan cantaloupes are way better than any cantaloupes I've had in the US. I've really liked California produce in California, though. I'd be at least passingly curious how good those melons are.

[PattyO]

My family and I just returned home yesterday from our yearly vacation in Moultonborough, New Hampshire. This was our eighth year and we know the area well and there aren't many restaurants and not a chain to be found.

One of our favorite restaurants is clearly a 'locals' place where the food it pretty good and the prices very good. Thursday night is Country Fried Chicken Nite so, of course, that was our dining destination that evening.

Unfortunately, when we got there, there was a long line, the mosquitoes were out in force, and the kids were not happy about it (though they were willing to wait out of kindness to me, Bless them!).

So....we decided to try a new restaurant that we had passed on the way. BIG mistake.

To start, we were clearly underdressed, and were momentarily uncomfortable. I say momentarily because, when the waitress placed the New York Flatbread sticks and strawberry cream cheese on the table, the sinking feeling began its descent.

The salads were okay - even a little inspired if not for the heart of the iceberg that was included in my wedge with blue cheese.

The meals were dreadful. My daughter had a ceaser salad with obvious bottled dressing and powdered parmesan. I guess the 'gourmay' touch was the sliced of red and yellow pepper ? on the salad.

My son ordered a $28.00 Delmonico steak - rare. It came well done and the waitress was none to pleased when we sent it back.

My husband and I ordered the individual Beef Wellingtons. Horrid! The pastry was slimy and undercooked, there wasn't any pate, and the Bernaise was so overloaded with vinegar that it made it inedible.

The sides were potato pancakes that had been cooked in oil that should have been changed a week ago, green beans sauteed with PEPPERONI , and a mixture of mashed sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash with Maple Syrup.

We were so disgusted that we just paid the bill and left. I would have said something to the waitress, but she had told us that her aunt and uncle owned the restaurant and ran the kitchen and I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

But she didn't seem surprised, nor did she ask any questions, when she came to pick up our plates, which were barely touched.

There are some terrific restaurants in that area. This one is clearly not one of them.

[fischwlu]

Well, I am joining this conversation very late, but as a 2002 graduate of Washington and Lee, I feel compelled to put in my 2 cents about Lexington, VA. There are 2 places that my husband and I miss when we think of Lex-Vegas (as the students call it, tongue in cheek). First, we miss Salernos, a very casual Italian (but not Tuscan!!) restuarant. For very little money, you can get a white pizza with garlic, spinach and tomato and a BAB (Big A-- Beer). The other place is the Blue Heron. I don't know if it is still around but they had a wonderful menu that changed every day, depending on what was fresh and seasonal. It was a "healthy" place that served grilled tofu sandwiches, cold soba noodles, and a daily herbal tea. It was the kind of place that appealed to the artists and environmentalists in the area that were usual unseen through the mass of shaggy haired fraternity brothers and gray suited VMI cadets.

I agree with previous posters, that when in Rome, eat as the Romans do. This is a town where an exciting day involves breakfast at the Le-Hi Truck Stop, followed by a trip to Walmart. Do not expect these people to know what kobe beef is or ask their thoughts on the Slow Food movement (although they probably invented it, because everything is slow 'round them parts). There are many B & B's in the area that offer "fine dining" but your best bet is to go to the casual, non-chain places.

Oh, and to the person who doesn't think a college town can be described as "rural," visit Lexington, it is not a typical college town. There is one bar (the Palms) and half of the students live off campus in old mills and farmhouses. If you listen very closely, you just might here a banjo playing the song from Deliverance.

[Busboy]

I agree with previous posters, that when in Rome, eat as the Romans do.

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Is that why you reccommended an Italian place?

[fischwlu]

Really, I should rephrase my description. Salernos is not an Italian restuarant, it is more like a pizza/sub shop, that happens to serve some pasta dishes and desserts and has tables (and did I mention their huge glasses of beer?).

There was a rumor about this one Italian restaurant in town that it was mafia run and it was closed down after they were accused of money laundering. I don't know if this is true, but it was right at the intersection of I-64 and I-81, so that could be a good location for such things.

So don't assume that you can't get authentic Italian, or any other non-American cuisine, outside of the big cities. Their motives for being in a small town may not always be honest, but more then just country folk live in small towns.