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I agree with you. Lyon is known for its "bouchons", these are usually small restaurants with a convivial atmosphere and they serve some traditional food from Lyon, the most popular being the "quenelles". I do prefer South-West cuisine though, they have some great recipes of poultry meat with vegetables and herbs. In addition, their wine is way better than the ones near Lyon.
I once stayed at a chef's house in Paris, with whom I connected via Couch Surfing. He was really nice and even cooked dinner for me once, but I noticed a hint of "culinary superiority" once we started discussing food. He basically "mansplained" (or "frenchsplained"?) Mexican food to me, telling me that French cooks didn't have to use all the spices we use here, because they used really fresh and high-quality products when cooking. I was like.... dou you know Mexican cuisine is one of only 3 that has been named "World Heritage" by UNESCO? There is a reason for that, and all the spicing and mixing in Mexican food is not matter of using lesser ingredients. For instance, tomatoes were taken to Europe by Spanish conquerors in Mexico, so I'm pretty sure our tomatoes are just as good, if not better, than your napoleonic ones.

Sorry for my rant, I just couldn't stand the culinary superiority of a couple of French people I talked with when living there. Most people were nice in that regards, but I did cross paths with 2-3 fellas and gals who basically looked down on the food from elsewhere in the world.
 
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Yeah Portuguese lands are not well known. As you said most of the tourists go down south to the Algarve region. It's definitely not the area I prefer, it doesn't look Portuguese if you know what I mean. Evora for example is one of the most beautiful Portuguese city but only Spanish tourists go there (it's 1h far from the boarder)

A couple of years ago my gf and I drove all along the coast from Coimbra to Faro. We discovered a small village called Odeceixe and we decided that we would retire there if we ever have a chance to retire one day. To get there you must leave the main road from Lisbon, take a small road and follow the river and there you are: a small village with a very small beach stuck between two cliffs and a mix of pure water from the river and salt water from the sea. Best place on earth.

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I had tickets to go to the Azores this summer, and then Corona hit. Very upsetting.
 
I once stayed at a chef's house in Paris, with whom I connected via Couch Surfing. He was really nice and even cooked dinner for me once, but I noticed a hint of "culinary superiority" once we started discussing food. He basically "mansplained" (or "frenchsplained"?) to me Mexican food, telling me that French cooks didn't have to use all the spices we use here, because they used really fresh and high-quality products when cooking. I was like.... dou you know Mexican cuisine is one of only 3 that has been named "World Heritage" by UNESCO? There is a reason for that, and all the spicing and mixing in Mexican food is not matter of using lesser ingredients. For instance, tomatoes were taken to Europe by Spanish conquerors in Mexico, so I'm pretty sure our tomatoes are just as good, if not better, than your napoleonic ones.

Sorry for my rant, I just couldn't stand the culinary superiority of a couple of French people I talked with when living there. Most people were nice in that regards, but I did crossed paths with 2-3 fellas and gals who basically looked down on the food from elsewhere in the world.
Having lived in Mexico and traveled through a large portion of it, it is undoubtedly one of my favorite cuisines (rivaled by Indian and Thai). The regional variations and breadth of flavors are huge, wonderful, and intricate.

I thought I didn’t care that much for mole. Then I visited Oaxaca and got a taste for mole negro - not to mention the cheese, chocolate, helado, and mezcal.

I love the fondas in D.F.where you can eat on the cheap like a king or pig (your choice - prob a pig king).

The seafood on the coast, tripas in the mountains, and cabrito in the north! Nom nom nom

And dulce leche for the sweet tooth win.

What are the other 2 UNESCO recognized cuisines? And what’s the criteria for recognizing a cuisine? I’m intrigued.
 
I once stayed at a chef's house in Paris, with whom I connected via Couch Surfing. He was really nice and even cooked dinner for me once, but I noticed a hint of "culinary superiority" once we started discussing food. He basically "mansplained" (or "frenchsplained"?) to me Mexican food, telling me that French cooks didn't have to use all the spices we use here, because they used really fresh and high-quality products when cooking. I was like.... dou you know Mexican cuisine is one of only 3 that has been named "World Heritage" by UNESCO? There is a reason for that, and all the spicing and mixing in Mexican food is not matter of using lesser ingredients. For instance, tomatoes were taken to Europe by Spanish conquerors in Mexico, so I'm pretty sure our tomatoes are just as good, if not better, than your napoleonic ones.

Sorry for my rant, I just couldn't stand the culinary superiority of a couple of French people I talked with when living there. Most people were nice in that regards, but I did crossed paths with 2-3 fellas and gals who basically looked down on the food from elsewhere in the world.

For being considered the best cuisine in the world, some French chefs tend to show some sorte of arrogance in respect to cuisine from other countries. Here they fight to say which area of France has the best cuisine but they rarely compare to other countries, it's a shame. Some of these chefs could learn so much from other cuisines. Fortunately some Chefs do that, they mix French cuisine with Asian, South-American or Indian food for example and it works pretty well. These are mostly young chefs who traveled, met different cultures, tasted different food, etc... It's also a generation problem. Older chefs are probably more conservative of their traditional cuisine.
 
Having lived in Mexico and traveled through a large portion of it, it is undoubtedly one of my favorite cuisines (rivaled by Indian and Thai). The regional variations and breadth of flavors are huge, wonderful, and intricate.

I thought I didn’t care that much for mole. Then I visited Oaxaca and got a taste for mole negro - not to mention the cheese, chocolate, helado, and mezcal.

I love the fondas in D.F.where you can eat on the cheap like a king or pig (your choice - prob a pig king).

The seafood on the coast, tripas in the mountains, and cabrito in the north! Nom nom nom

And dulce leche for the sweet tooth win.

What are the other 2 UNESCO recognized cuisines? And what’s the criteria for recognizing a cuisine? I’m intrigued.
IIRC it was French and Mediterranian cuisine. I don't know if others have been included ever since, but these 3 are recognized as "Intangible Cultural Heritage", just like some dances, rites, and festivities from throughout the world.
 
For being considered the best cuisine in the world, some French chefs tend to show some sorte of arrogance in respect to cuisine from other countries. Here they fight to say which area of France has the best cuisine but they rarely compare to other countries, it's a shame. Some of these chefs could learn so much from other cuisines. Fortunately some Chefs do that, they mix French cuisine with Asian, South-American or Indian food for example and it works pretty well. These are mostly young chefs who traveled, met different cultures, tasted different food, etc... It's also a generation problem. Older chefs are probably more conservative of their traditional cuisine.

What french chefs do tend to have is a high level of culinary skill and technique. The arrival of big french chefs in Britain in the 60s was revolutionary in British cuisine in that they re-taught british chefs technique and seasonality which they in turn then applied to more traditional local dishes. Is probably why there has been a renaissance in british food over the last 20 years. But yeah snobbery over your own local cuisine isn’t cool!
 
Yes. It covers a large area with unique recepies in each region, but a general shared ethos. I'm not hugely knowledgable in mediterranian cuisine, but I've loved pretty much everything I've had.
True about the ethos and unique recipes. I’ve traveled through Israel and Kuwait and been to Lebanese, Iranian, Jordanian, Moroccan, Greek, etc restaurants. I love, like you say, the shared ethos. You go to these different places and there is both familiarity that lets your taste buds settle in but always something new to surprise and challenge them.
 
I once stayed at a chef's house in Paris, with whom I connected via Couch Surfing. He was really nice and even cooked dinner for me once, but I noticed a hint of "culinary superiority" once we started discussing food. He basically "mansplained" (or "frenchsplained"?) to me Mexican food, telling me that French cooks didn't have to use all the spices we use here, because they used really fresh and high-quality products when cooking. I was like.... dou you know Mexican cuisine is one of only 3 that has been named "World Heritage" by UNESCO? There is a reason for that, and all the spicing and mixing in Mexican food is not matter of using lesser ingredients. For instance, tomatoes were taken to Europe by Spanish conquerors in Mexico, so I'm pretty sure our tomatoes are just as good, if not better, than your napoleonic ones.

Sorry for my rant, I just couldn't stand the culinary superiority of a couple of French people I talked with when living there. Most people were nice in that regards, but I did crossed paths with 2-3 fellas and gals who basically looked down on the food from elsewhere in the world.
It's crazy how much Latin American produce changed world cuisine. Tomatoes, chilis, potatoes, beans, corn, chocolate, peanuts. Not to mention all the fruit.
 
It's crazy how much Latin American produce changed world cuisine. Tomatoes, chilis, potatoes, beans, corn, chocolate, peanuts. Not to mention all the fruit.
LOL beat me to it by 2 minutes!

I will also say that Tex-Mex is a legit cuisine and is the perfect distillation of what is unique about the food in America (one of the few things we have going for us overall..)
 
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