| Top 5 Best Cuisines |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 · NEXT» |
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blizzard
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posted January 25, 2026 07:26 PM |
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Top 5 Best Cuisines
1. United States. Unparalleled pedigree of delicious food: street food, fair food, sit-down food. You name it. Also has the best pizza anywhere on Earth. Best burgers. Best selection of sauces. Best & most diverse alcoholic drinks. Nobody can compete with beer or with cheese options.
2. China. Enormous selection of foods depending on the province. Hot and sweet and spicy dishes in the south and southwest. Warm & hearty meals in the north. Amazing.
3. Indonesia. Insanely good food influenced by a combination of China, India, and Arabic cooking.
4. United Kingdom. Outstanding cosmopolitan options. 2nd best pizza in the world. Seafood options for street food and simple eating are endless. Warm & hearty meals.
5. France. INGREDIENTS. Perfection, but lacking in choices and the wine is not what it used to be, or rather everybody else has already caught up. The bakeries are pure delight.
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artu
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posted January 25, 2026 07:43 PM |
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Pizza and burgers? Did you just rate world cuisine by fast food! Americans…
Italian, Greek, Turkish, Chinese and Mexican are almost in every top ten list available. Justifiably. Indonesian is also praised but it’s not common here, never tried it.
U.K. Really?
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blizzard
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posted January 25, 2026 08:01 PM |
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Edited by blizzard at 20:09, 25 Jan 2026.
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London pizzaries rival New York City. That is not a **** post. It is legit.
Also, the British excel at comfort food. Spices are fun but it isnt actually necessary to have 500 different herbs in a dish in order to make it tasty. There is something to be said in simplicity in order to bring out other flavors. Most of the stereotypes about crappy British food come from old ration meals from forever ago.
Plus they have excellent beer & wine. Not as good as USA, but still pretty damm good.
Burgers are NOT strictly a fast food item. If it was so simple to make an exemplary burger, everybody would be doing it, which they aren't.
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blizzard
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posted January 25, 2026 09:11 PM |
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Edited by blizzard at 21:15, 25 Jan 2026.
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These lists are always going to be painfully difficult, but countries with very large cosmopolitan populations are going to be at an inherent major advantage, because with that comes an explosion of amazing food and the PAN-fusions of food that come with that.
Like, food from Spain or Greece or Turkey is mouth-wateringly delicious, but it can't compete with a behemoth like China that actually contains a large variety of nations within a single nation-state. China will definitely win. So much insanely good food.
As for the USA... nothing too special about traditional food from back in the day. It was mostly prepared to be practical and calorie-dense. Some pretty outstanding breweries even early on (cause of the English) but that is about it.
But that is totally different from the cosmopolitan explosion of food in the 20th and 21st century. There is really no argument... USA is going to end up topping the list.
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artu
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posted January 25, 2026 09:24 PM |
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Actual cuisines dont fuse and evolve that fast. Sure, you can have a gifted chef trying different combinations. That can happen in basically any place that is urbanized enough in today’s world. Beijing, Istanbul or Amsterdam are not that different in this regard. Almost all ingredients are available in almost any place, too. But that chef’s special menu doesnt instantly become Chinese, Turkish or Dutch cuisine. That’s like saying an Italian band mixing jazz and Brazilian rhythms is making Italian music.
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blizzard
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posted January 25, 2026 10:29 PM |
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Edited by blizzard at 22:33, 25 Jan 2026.
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There is no universally agreed upon standard for what does or doesn't belong to a particular cuisine. There are opinions, and sometimes very strong opinions, but opinions are like buttholes. Everybody has them. The line between American and Canadian food, for example, is pretty blurry, and what does or doesnt count. Bubble tea started out in Taiwan in the 80s and it quickly caught on in the USA.
So... does bubble tea not count? Cause I can buy some pretty awesome bubble tea down the street. I dont think Taiwan is allowed to claim sole ownership because it has taken on a life of its own here. There are not patents on food or drinks.
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Yogi 
Promising
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of picnics
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posted January 25, 2026 11:16 PM |
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blizzard
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posted January 25, 2026 11:41 PM |
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Edited by blizzard at 00:46, 26 Jan 2026.
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Japanese food is slightly less terrible than Irish food.
Indian food is celestial... however I have a mild reaction to excessive turmeric and it comes out the other end runny. Then I need to spray myself with aloe vera and zinc oxide.
Besides... doesn't Indian food basically count as British food?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PGrxHO-B2TY&pp=ygUbRW5nbGlzaCBjb2xvbmlhbCBkcnVtIG1hcmNo
Legit though... the UK has the best tika massala. Yet another reason why it deserves to be in the top 5.
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artu
Promising
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posted January 26, 2026 01:05 AM |
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blizzard said:
There is no universally agreed upon standard for what does or doesn't belong to a particular cuisine. There are opinions, and sometimes very strong opinions, but opinions are like buttholes. Everybody has them. The line between American and Canadian food, for example, is pretty blurry, and what does or doesnt count. Bubble tea started out in Taiwan in the 80s and it quickly caught on in the USA.
So... does bubble tea not count? Cause I can buy some pretty awesome bubble tea down the street. I dont think Taiwan is allowed to claim sole ownership because it has taken on a life of its own here. There are not patents on food or drinks.
Yes, like anything cultural, or even anything evolutionary really, there are gray areas open to interpretation. But I think almost anyone would agree that pizza is NOT English cuisine.
Having, say, a great sushi restaurant in New York doesnt make sushi characteristically American food. It’s still Japanese. 300 hundred years from now, if your typical American housewife starts to make sushi for their kids and you have local sushi variants and nobody even remembers that it came from Japan, then ok.
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blizzard
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posted January 26, 2026 01:16 AM |
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Edited by blizzard at 01:20, 26 Jan 2026.
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I have to disagree.
Pizza is quintessentially American and British... and quite a few other places as well. You even have famous styles of pizza in various US cities. We are crazy about pizza. Now, is pizza Italian cuisine? 100%. But it is not ONLY Italian cuisine.
Just like juicy burgers are not ONLY American. It has become enough of a celebrated food in certain other places that I think we are past that point. Burgers are past the point of being something that you buy at McDonald's. The French are in love with burgers and they have their own way of preparing them. They also often eat them with forks (no comment...)
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Ghost
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Therefore I am
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posted January 26, 2026 01:18 AM |
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Home cooking.. and restaurants
1. Finland
I like the most Finnish pot/stew and casserole.. I'm OP in minced meat.. For example, I was 20yo vs 50yo fellow.. I beat him in minced meat matter.. What? I used his spices.. Not impossible.. Yeah 50yo fellow suggested burger.. But the most King is my grandapa's minced meats.. He can't tell to me.. OP than yet.. I can't find better.. Ok other I'm common cooker or worse.. When I control a little.. So I needed cookbook.. I've different cookbooks are from Asia, Finland, of course, etc Ok in restaurants, I like steak with pepper sauce, etc Buffet too..
2. Thailand
Thus I can cook a little.. My friends loved and/or liked mine Thai foods.. So top-levelled.. But I learned from one Thai lol.. I like also Thai restaurants..
3. China
Same mentioned as Thai..
4. Sweden
Last Xmas I was at mom's.. Delicacy Swedish meat ball, do you know Swedish meat ball in sugar? I visited in Sundsvall, Stockholm.. Foods were good.. And Swedish Blĺ Band is also good, esp. Isoäidin jauhelihakastike, if you google the internet.. English Grandamother's minced meat sauce.. You will surely be surprised..
5. India
I eat Indian foods often or sometimes.. I like Tikka Masala.. I'm also using Basmati rices from Asian or Oriental shop/market.. In there I buy Thai spices, etc But not Indian spices.. Later on.. I've still Basmati rices, maybe 1,5kg.. When I bought Pavliament Creamy Sella Basmati Rice Extra Long XXL Grain 11 lbs.. I always buy different Basmati rices..
Fast foods
1. Turkey
Kebabs.. But where are strong spices?!? So Tan's Kebab, but he went to pension.. And then really strong has been found Woti's Kebab 
2. America
Yeah Finnish Hesburger! 100x OP than McDonald's and Burger King.. I was young, I visited in Canary Islands, where was Bk.. Delicacy! But today I ate it again.. Not delicacy.. Hesburger will never enter America.. Only Europe, Asia, etc So if you've Hesburger.. Lucky!
3. Italy
Pizza, of course, but in Kebab & Pizzeria restaurants.. I ate real Italian pizza..
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blizzard
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posted January 26, 2026 01:47 AM |
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I currently live in Finland... mountain of snow outside.
I am sure that cozy Finnish home-cooked meals are a 10/10.
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artu
Promising
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posted January 26, 2026 02:14 AM |
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Pizza can be considered a native both in USA and Italy, you have your thick crust stuff and it is an internal part of American life-style now. And of course, there are local pizza variants all over the world, we have pizza with sucuk and pastirami and döner etc.. But counting it as English cuisine is kind of pushing it. Nobody thinks of England when they think of pizza.
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Ghost
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Therefore I am
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posted January 26, 2026 02:36 AM |
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WTF! If I want to buy a Sucuk 500g in Finland.. €16,15! Cheese's price.. 'Pastanami' looked A new word, of course..
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blizzard
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posted January 26, 2026 03:06 AM |
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Edited by blizzard at 03:36, 26 Jan 2026.
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It is here. Americans who go to Europe know that London is a great pizza city.
Not as diverse as the USA, but England is a small country. USA has Chicago deep dish, San Francisco broccoli pizza, Detroit style, etc. Philadelphia eats more pizza than Naples.
Italians are pasta eaters. Italian pasta hasn't caught on here in the way that pizza has.
My list is just MY list. I am sure there is awesome Slavic food but I have only had it a few times and I am not much of a judge on it.
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Ghost
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posted January 26, 2026 03:36 AM |
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Edited by Ghost at 04:14, 26 Jan 2026.
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Other..
I want to tell you.. Spices are the key!! Book says so.. Super spices are..
Anise
Basil
Bell pepper
Caper
Cardamom
Cayenne pepper
Chervil
Chili powder
Chili sauce
Cinnamon - For example, Café brűlot
Clove
Coriander
Cumin - For example, Irish lamb stew
Curry
Dill
Garlic
Ginger
Horseradish
Marjoram
Mint
Mustard seeds
Nutmeg
Nutmeg flower
Oregano
Parsley
Peppers - For example, grilled T-bone steak or green pepper steaks
Rosemary
Rumex acetosella, commonly known as red sorrel, sheep's sorrel, field sorrel and sour weed
Saffron - For example, Paella
Salad burnet
Salvia officinalis, common sage or sage
Savory
Soy sauce
Star anise - For example, marble tea eggs
Tarragon
Thyme - For example, lamb skewers
Vanilla
Note! I used Google translator and image.. And book printed in 1993..
Where salt? Hmm
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Yogi
Promising
Supreme Hero
of picnics
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posted January 26, 2026 03:56 AM |
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artu
Promising
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posted January 26, 2026 01:19 PM |
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@blizz
Have you ever stayed in London, because I did, three times. They have adequate kebabs, too. I wouldnt consider that English cuisine either. 
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Are you pretty? This is my occasion. - Ghost
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Galaad
Hero of Order
Li mort as morz, li vif as vis
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posted January 26, 2026 01:43 PM |
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#1 Georgian
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blizzard
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Urban Legend
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posted January 26, 2026 03:11 PM |
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Edited by blizzard at 16:15, 26 Jan 2026.
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artu said:
@blizz
Have you ever stayed in London, because I did, three times. They have adequate kebabs, too. I wouldnt consider that English cuisine either.
This is how I see it:
Jamaican beef patties are not American cuisine because you cannot typically buy locally prepared beef patties in a supermarket or farmer's market. You have to go to a Caribbean restaurant. Or at least that has always been my experience.
Sushi is most definitely American cuisine, because it is ubiquitous to the culture and supermarkets across the country frequently have a section where they prepare and sell their own sushi, including many of their own variations and twists on it. Some Japanese people might say that it is not "real" sushi, but opinions are like buttholes. Everybody has them. If it is part of the broader culture instead of to very specific ethnic restaurants, then it is a part of the national cuisine.
London is often ranked by critics as a top city for pizza. They have a LOT of pizzaries too.
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