How Many Countries Get Their Own Restaurants?
With 195 countries, not everyone can have their own cuisines/restaurants that are popular around the world, right? I mean, obviously, everyone everywhere eats, but still, which ones have their own popular cuisines (at least in the States, where I am)?
I highly doubt that there's such a thing as Vatican food, for instance ;)
This is especially true given that there are groups of countries that share much common culture (like the Arab world) and may be made of very small countries (Polynesia, Central America)
But anyway...
First off, at least in the States, there's the big 3, above all:
Mexican
Italian
Chinese.
Then you have some runners up that are also big in the States
Japanese (or just "Sushi", although some places are called Japanese Grills)
Vietnamese (or just "Pho")
Thai
Greek
Indian
Brazilian (steakhouses)
Here in the midwest, there is a popular chain of restaurants called HuHot Mongolian Grill. That's the only reason I've heard of Mongolian food, but I suppose it counts.
- Mongolian
Then you have some deep cuts that I was previously unaware of. Despite what I said above, I have heard of three individual Central American restaurants...
Honduran (main dish was pupusas)
Guatemalan (although it was combined with Mexican cuisine)
El Salvadoran (their main dish was pupusas as well, so there's some crossover)
Some other deep cuts that aren't super big but are some places include Persian. The closest Persian restaurant to me is like 3 hours away in Chicago, but it is there. So here's a couple more.
Iranian / Persian
Nigerian (Fufu)
Ethiopian (there's at least one in Iowa City)
Korean (at least Korean BBQ places, never heard of just Korean)
Finally, I was just watching the movie Hitch and they reference Cuban food, which I'd never heard of. Again, I obviously know people in Cuba gotta eat, but I'd never heard of it as a popularized cuisine in the States but for that one line in that movie.
I'm also sure there must be Arabian food, but as said above it's likely just "Arab" and not specific to a country.
Anyway, please enlighten me and each other!
There's also individual STATES in America that have their own cuisines. Well, at least two...
- Hawaiian (could be seen more broadly as Polynesian, which, as stated, would also encompass many countries)
- Louisiana / Cajun / Creole (which we would get at Popeye's, right?)
Actually, for that matter, different states' different styles of BBQ could be considered a state cuisine, so we could throw Tennessee, Missouri (Kansas City & St. Louis individually), Texas, etc. in there. And there is of course the concept of "Tex-Mex" and even the restaurant Texas Roadhouse!