- USA
This may be because most of the popular foods in the USA 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 american dishes either.There’s the traditional stuff such as 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.
2. Mexico
If you were only allowed to eat the food of one country the rest of your life, it would be smart to make it Mexico. 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.
3. 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 the 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.
4. 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
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 multicourse 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.
Food Around The World 