Resident Loooooooooooooooon!!!!
I made curry tonight, and it was wonderfully delicious. However, my (American) friends said it was good, but weren't too keen on it. The Aussie that was with us said it was great and had 3 helpings.
I'm coming to the opinion that Americans don't really like Indian food - every time I've been to an Indian restaurant with an American, they've ordered (well, asked me to recommend) the most bland curry available.
Is this normal, or is it a California thing? I know my curry isn't shit as I've converted a few people, but general consensus says it's 'just not an American thing'
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 3:48, 18 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

In my experience
you can't get a decent Indian curry in the USA. I've had several when over on holiday, in various parts from New Jersey right through to California, and they're not a patch on what you can get in Britain.

I suspect demographics explain it. In the UK we have a large number of people of Indian descent, therefore there are plenty of curry houses, lots of competition, and loads of people (of all ethnic persuasions) to eat and rate the food. So the curries are top notch. The US doesn't have so many Indians.

However, there are a lot of Mexicans in America, so he Mexican restaurants over there are ten times better than we have here in Britain, because we don't have the Mexican population here.

That's just my theory, and it's purely based on observation, so feel free to disagree!
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 8:18, Reply)

k2k6
that sounds like a pretty realistic assessment to me
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 8:23, Reply)

The Loon never got the chance to eat curry over here.
We never really had the time but I may take over some jars of good curry paste for him to try when I next go over in January.
( girlinthehole, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 8:38, Reply)

Curry in the UK
is regularly a bastardised, Anglicised cock-up of the real thing. I'm lucky enough to sample genuine Kashmiri food almost every day and restaurant food doesn't even come close. I've discussed this with the guys I work with and they never, ever eat from these places.

Don't get me wrong, I quite like the odd takeaway or trip to the local curry house, but I am constantly amazed just how good the real deal is.
( Noeli overtheshoulderboulderholderthingstraplatchboobs, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 9:01, Reply)

This is true
my American friends adored the stuff they tried over here, but can't get it anywhere where they live!

There are a lot of Indians in America now too.
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 9:02, Reply)

I had a curry in New York
at a v v expensive place (friend's lawyer dad paid).

'Is this hot?' asked my pal

'for you, yes - for your English friend, no' said the waiter, giving me a broad grin.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 9:17, Reply)

K2k6 is right
that you can't find a good one over here, despite having an Indian population. Or rather, if you do find a good one, it's terribly expensive.

But also, when I've had curry it's been... I dunno, lacking somehow. It was fiery, but without a lot of flavor to me. I think it's that they don't use vinegar or tomatoes or salt in it.

Consider Greek or Italian food- they use a fair bit of vinegar and tomato, as well as other spices. Ditto with Mexican. Chinese and Thai tend to be very flavorful, but Indian tends to be strangely bland with a lot of heat. Or maybe it's just that I've only had really awful Indian food- I don't know.

I never did try Mexican food over there to see if it sucked in comparison to what we get here, but that's the way to bet. We have a lot of Mexicans here, so Mexican is often really good here- but is also often really bad, depending on how cheaply it's made.

Then again, I am living in Richmond, where the only restaurants that really seem to do well are the chains and the ones that serve either burgers or barbecue. Richmond is a serious backwater when it comes to food.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 28 Oct 2008, 9:40, Reply)

@Loon
Indian food if full of flavour and not just heat so you've obviously had crap curries.
( girlinthehole, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 10:20, Reply)

Loon is right
there's a serious margin when it comes to Mexican food.

And Queso *bokes*
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 10:58, Reply)

Yes, BGB is correct
Even mild Indian food is extremely flavoursome.

I've never tried the real McCoy though, so I'm envious of No3L now!
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 11:06, Reply)

It's odd, considering
that the last place I went to was owned and operated and full of people from India. Dunno- maybe I just got them on a bad day. I'll have to try them again, as they're just ten minutes from my house.

Come to think of it, I went to a lunch buffet there. Maybe that's the problem?

The last time I was over there, I had a vegetarian curry with BGB. I should have had you taste it to tell me if it was representative of English curries- to me it was pretty bland, which I attributed to it being vegetarian.

And what's with not getting decent Mexican food over there? It's not difficult to make, if you can get chili powder, chipotle and cocoa. All the rest of the spices used are pretty standard- cilantro is really just coriander leaves, for instance. Is it that difficult to get there? Or is it that there just aren't enough decent Mexican cooks to teach the rest?
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 28 Oct 2008, 11:23, Reply)

Just because someone's Indian
it doesn't mean that they can cook Indian food. I know a large number of fellow English folk who can't cook a decent stew or roast for toffee.

I have just planted the image of roast toffee in my own brain. It is quite sticky.
(ThomsonsPier consumes, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 11:46, Reply)

Cor blimey RL
Finding a decent Mexican in akin to finding a £50 note on the street, it just doesn't happen.

As for chipotles - very hard to get hold of from Supermarkets, you best bet is Borough Market (ludicrously expensive) or online, where you mostly have to buy in bulk.

I cook all my own anyway.
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 14:36, Reply)

I'm always astonished
when I go somewhere and try ethnic food and find it to be awful. I mean, seriously- it's not that difficult to cook good Mexican food, as an example. Yet the best Mexican restaurants I've ever been in were one here in Richmond that's run by a Greek family, and one in Saranac Lake NY in the back woods.

Why do these people cook up awful slop and pawn it off as Indian or Chinese or whatever? If the authentic stuff tasted like that, the natives of that land would revolt and start cooking differently! Worse, why do people go to these restaurants and support them if the food is greasy/salty/bland/revolting?

Gah. Never mind- I'm not going to go off on a food rant. I know that I'm too demanding.

Still, how hard is it to cook, ffs? Not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to fuck!
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 28 Oct 2008, 14:55, Reply)

I can whip up decent Mexican food
after all, in Southern California it's not hard to find the ingredients.
I just miss a decent curry, which is why I cook my own.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 15:33, Reply)

TRL
I know what you mean.

It's wholly depressing, like you said, Mexican is hardly hard. People still seem to mess it up.
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 17:06, Reply)

@TRL
Vegetarian food bland?! You're really missing out on good food then!
(Moniker, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 17:13, Reply)

Nah, not necessarily.
I cook vegetarian for my daughter sometimes. I know how to make vegetarian stuff have flavor.

That said, some restaurants don't know how to do that. I've had some of the most insipid gup at places that just plain don't know how to do it right. Makes me want to storm their kitchens and show them how to cook...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 28 Oct 2008, 21:07, Reply)