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[nomad soul]

"Which country has the best food?"
By Zoe Li, CNN Travel | 6 January 2013
Source: http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/eat/worlds-best-food-cultures-453528

We love to write about food. We love to celebrate the good stuff and lambaste the bad. But there's a debate we've avoided, if only to save computer screens the world over from the liters of spittle that will fly from the mouths of irate readers as they vent incredulously about our "ignorant, biased, un-researched and unreasoned" choices. Which is why, having taken the plunge, we want to turn this particular piece over to you, and ask: which country has the best food?

We've started the (dough) ball rolling with our own ranking here. Read it through. Try not to choke on your burrito. It's time to find out once and for all, which cuisine is king.

10. United States: No one ever says "let's go out and get some American food tonight." And yet we eat it all the time. This may be because most of the popular American foods originate in some other country. The pizza slice is Italian. Fries are Belgium or Dutch. Hamburgers and frankfurters? Likely German. But in the kitchens of the United States, they have been improved and added to, to become global icons for food lovers everywhere. Don't neglect the homegrown dishes either. There's the traditional stuff like clam chowder, key lime pie and Cobb salad, and most importantly the locavore movement of modern American food started by Alice Waters. This promotion of eco awareness in food culture is carried on today by Michelle Obama.

Yum
Cheeseburger -- a perfect example of making good things greater.
Chocolate chip cookie -- the world would be a little less habitable without this Americana classic.

Dumb
All overly processed foods such as Twinkies, Hostess cakes and KFC.

9. Mexico: If you were only allowed to eat one type of food for the rest of your life, it would be smart to make it Mexican. The cuisine of the Mesoamerican country has a little bit of everything -- you'll never get bored. Amongst the enchiladas and the tacos and the helados and the quesadillas you'll find the zestiness of Greek salads and the richness of an Indian curry; the heat of Thai food and the use-your-hands snackiness of tapas. It is also central station for nutritional superfoods. All that avocado, tomato, lime and garlic with beans and chocolates and chilies to boot, is rich with antioxidants and good healthful things. It doesn't taste healthy though. It tastes like a fiesta in your mouth.

Yum
Mole -- ancient sauce made of chili peppers, spices, chocolate and magic incantations.
Tacos al pastor -- the spit-roast pork taco, a blend of the pre- and post-Colombian.
Tamales -- an ancient Mayan food of masa cooked in a leaf wrapping.

Dumb
Tostadas -- basically the same as a taco or burrito but served in a crispy fried tortilla which breaks into pieces as soon as you bite into it. Impossible to eat.

8. Thailand: Flip through a Thai cook book and you'll be hard pressed to find an ingredient list that doesn't run a page long. The combination of so many herbs and spices in each dish produces complex flavors that somehow come together like orchestral music. Thais fit spicy, sour, salty, sweet, chewy, crunchy and slippery into one dish. With influences from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and a royal culinary tradition, Thai cuisine is the best of many worlds. The best part about eating Thai food in Thailand though is the hospitality. Sun, beach, service with a smile and a plastic bag full of som tam -- that's the good life.

Yum
Tom yam kung -- a rave party for the mouth. The floral notes of lemongrass, the earthy galangal, freshness of kaffir lime leaves and the heat of the chilies.
Massaman curry -- a Thai curry with Islamic roots. Topped our list of the world's 50 most delicious foods.
Som tam -- the popular green papaya salad is sour, extra spicy, sweet and salty. It's the best of Thai tastes.

Dumb
Pla som -- a fermented fish eaten uncooked is popular in Lawa, Thailand and reported to be responsible for bile duct cancer.

7. Greece: Traveling and eating in Greece feels like a glossy magazine spread come to life, but without the Photoshopping. Like the blue seas and white buildings, the kalamata olives, feta cheese, the colorful salads and roast meats are all postcard perfect by default. The secret? Lashings of glistening olive oil. Gift of Gods, olive oil is arguably Greece's greatest export, influencing the way people around the world think about food and nutritional health. Eating in Greece is also a way of consuming history. A bite of dolma or a slurp of lentil soup gives a small taste of life in ancient Greece, when they were invented.

Yum
Olive oil -- drizzled on other food, or soaked up by bread, is almost as varied as wine in its flavors.
Spanakopita -- makes spinach palatable with its feta cheese mixture and flaky pastry cover.
Gyros -- late-night drunk eating wouldn't be the same without the pita bread sandwich of roast meat and tzatziki.

Dumb
Lachanorizo -- basically cabbage and onion cooked to death then mixed with rice. Filling, but one-dimensional.

6. India: When a cuisine uses spices in such abundance that the meat and vegetables seem like an afterthought, you know you're dealing with cooks dedicated to flavor. There are no rules for spice usage as long as it results in something delicious. The same spice can add zest to savory and sweet dishes, or can sometimes be eaten on its own -- fennel seed is enjoyed as a breath-freshening digestive aid at the end of meals. And any country that manages to make vegetarian food taste consistently great certainly deserves some kind of Nobel prize. The regional varieties are vast. There's Goa's seafood, there's the wazwan of Kashmir and there's the coconutty richness of Kerala.

Yum
Dal -- India has managed to make boiled lentils exciting.
Dosa -- a pancake filled with anything from cheese to spicy vegetables, perfect for lunch or dinner.
Chai -- not everyone likes coffee and not everyone likes plain tea, but it's hard to resist chai.

Dumb
Balti chicken -- an invention for the British palate, should probably have died out with colonialism.

5. Japan: Japanese apply the same precision to their food as they do to their engineering. This is the place that spawned tyrannical sushi masters and ramen bullies who make their staff and customers tremble with a glare. You can get a lavish multi-course kaiseki meal that presents the seasons in a spread of visual and culinary poetry. Or grab a seat at a revolving sushi conveyor for a solo feast. Or pick up something random and previously unknown in your gastronomic lexicon from the refrigerated shelves of a convenience store. It's impossible to eat badly in Japan.

Yum
Miso soup -- showcases some of the fundamental flavors of Japanese food, simple and wholesome.
Sushi and sashimi -- who knew that raw fish on rice could become so popular?
Tempura -- the perfection of deep-frying. Never greasy, the batter is thin and light like a crisp tissue.

Dumb
Fugu -- is anything really that delicious that it's worth risking your life to eat? The poisonous blowfish recently killed diners in Egypt, but is becoming more available in Japan.

4. Spain: Viva Espana, that country whose hedonistic food culture we all secretly wish was our own. All that bar-hopping and tapas-eating, the minimal working, the 9 p.m. dinners, the endless porron challenges -- this is a culture based on, around and sometimes even inside food. The Spaniards gourmandize the way they flamenco dance, with unbridled passion. They munch on snacks throughout the day with intervals of big meals. From the fruits of the Mediterranean Sea to the spoils of the Pyrenees, from the saffron and cumin notes of the Moors to the insane molecular experiments of Ferran Adria, Spanish food is timeless yet avant garde.

Yum
Jamón ibérico -- a whole cured ham hock usually carved by clamping it down in a wooden stand like some medieval ritual.
Churros -- the world's best version of sweet fried dough.

Dumb
Gazpacho -- it's refreshing and all, but it's basically liquid salad.

3. France: If you're one of those people who doesn't like to eat because "there's more to life than food" -- visit Paris. It's a city notorious for its curmudgeonly denizens, but they all believe in the importance of good food. Two-hour lunch breaks for three-course meals are de rigeur. Entire two-week vacations are centered on exploring combinations of wines and cheeses around the country. Down-to-earth cooking will surprise those who thought of the French as the world's food snobs (it is the birthplace of the Michelin Guide after all). Cassoulet, pot au feu, steak frites are revelatory when had in the right bistro.

Yum
Escargot -- credit the French for turning slimey, garden-dwelling pests into a delicacy. Massive respect for making them taste amazing too.
Macarons -- like unicorn food. In fact anything from a patisserie in France seems to have been conjured out of sugar, fairy dust and the dinner wishes of little girls.
Baguette -- the first and last thing that you'll want to eat in France. The first bite is transformational; the last will be full of longing.

Dumb
Foie gras -- it tastes like 10,000 ducks roasted in butter then reduced to a velvet pudding, but some animal advocates decry the cruelty of force-feeding fowl to fatten their livers.

2. China: The people who greet each other with "Have you eaten yet?" are arguably the most food-obsessed in the world. Food has been a form of escapism for the Chinese throughout its tumultuous history. The Chinese entrepreneurial spirit and appreciation for the finer points of frugality -- the folks are cheap, crafty and food-crazed -- results in one of the bravest tribes of eaters in the world. But the Chinese don't just cook and sell anything, they also make it taste great. China is the place to go to get food shock a dozen times a day. "You can eat that?" will become the intrepid food traveler's daily refrain. China's regional cuisines are so varied it's hard to believe they're from the same nation. It's not a food culture you can easily summarize, except to say you'll invariably want seconds.

Yum
Sweet and sour pork -- a guilty pleasure that has taken on different forms.
Dim sum -- a grand tradition from Hong Kong to New York.
Roast suckling pig and Peking duck -- wonders of different styles of ovens adopted by Chinese chefs.
Xiaolongbao -- incredible soup-filled surprises. How do they get that dumpling skin to hold all that hot broth?

Dumb
Shark's fin soup -- rallying for Chinese restaurants to ban the dish has been a pet issue of green campaigners in recent years.

1. Italy: Italian food has enslaved tastebuds around the globe for centuries, with its zesty tomato sauces, those clever things they do with wheat flour and desserts that are basically vehicles for cream.
It's all so simple. Get some noodles, get some olive oil, get some garlic, maybe a tomato or a slice of bacon. Bam, you have a party on a plate. And it is all so easy to cook and eat. From the cheesy risottos to the crisp fried meats, Italian cuisine is a compendium of crowd-pleasing comfort food. Many people have welcomed it into their homes, especially novice cooks. Therein lies the real genius -- Italian food has become everyman's food.

Yum
Ragu alla bolognese (spaghetti bolognaise) -- the world's go-to "can't decide what to have" food.
Pizza -- mind-bogglingly simple yet satisfying dish. Staple diet of bachelors and college students.
Italian-style salami -- second only to cigarettes as a source of addiction.
Coffee -- cappuccino is for breakfast? Forget it. We want it all day and all night.

Dumb
Buffalo mozzarella -- those balls of spongy, off-white, subtly flavored cheeses of water buffalo milk. The flavor's so subtle you have to imagine it.

(End of article)

[Mushkilla]

nomad, what about Kabsa of the Magic Kingdom? where do you rank it?
I think Kebsa is much better than Cheeseburger or the Italian-style salami.

[spiral78]

Belgium has fantastic French-style food, at far more reasonable prices. Beer's quite acceptable as well:-)

Also vote for Georgia.

[Mushkilla]

[Hodor]

Chinese food is number 2?
Really?
Seriously?
Please.
Give me a break.
Been there. Eaten that.
The foods of Vietnam are far superior. Vietnam deserves to be in the top three. And Belgium has some rich, wonderful stews (e.g. Carbonade Flamandre ) that go so well with their rich ales, putting them in the top five, in my book.
But China? Number two?
China can share 10th place with the USA. They are both big stupid countries where people don't even know how to eat, much less cook (NB: I am American and I have spent some time in all the countries I have mentioned and eaten more than my fill).

Hodor! Hodor!

[nomad soul]

If the list were extended to 20, I would hope Russia would be on it. Some Russian friends of mine used to own an upscale nightclub and restaurant in the US. For New Year's, they would pull out all the stops with some of the most incredible and diverse food from the appetizers to the desserts.

[Mushkilla]

Russian cuisine?
I think the Russian cuisine is copied from the Georgian cuisine, like in America, that Mexican cuisine is to the American cuisine.

[nomad soul]

[caliph]

Persian food should be in the top 10, maybe even top 5.

Johnslat may concur.

[johnslat]

Dear caliph,

I most heartily concur.

Regards,
John

[Hod]

[Sashadroogie]

[caliph]

Bourdain on Iran: Not what I expected

http://www.cnn.com/video/shows/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown/season-4/iran/index.html#autoplay=true

[scot47]

I like the staff canteen at the Space Cadet Training Facility.

[caliph]

I like the staff canteen at the Space Cadet Training Facility.

Me too! It's where I learned to love liver (kibtdah) for breakfast.