re: Italian food is better than Cajun food

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And Mexican food is better than both.

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I can understand the sentiments with Italian and Cajun. But this is where I draw a line.

Clearly Mexican food is popular. It’s obviously really just the TexMex version that fatties love to gorge on the most. Fatties love cheese and TexMex dishes require a lot of it.

Real Mexican dishes are not as popular. Good luck finding someone who just loves a good tomatillo, asks for extra corn, extra beans, or can’t have enough of that cotija cheese lightly sprinkled on top.

All TexMex dishes taste the same to me. It’s just the same slop that features a different fold of a tortilla with yellow cheese added. There’s not even much a difference in the technique of preparing the ingredients. Can somebody tell me the difference between a burrito, a taco, and a quesadilla without addressing the use of tortilla?

Most Mexican restaurants feature the same sides, all of which SUCK. Does anyone really enjoy that yellow rice? Refried beans?

Cajun dishes on the other hand have more variety. Different techniques are required when preparing étouffée, gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, boudin, etc. There’s even a debate on whether or not tomatoes should be used in most dishes. Even a simple crawfish boil results in different techniques and different ingredients.

Cajuns utilize different meats. Tasso and andouille are primary prepared meats while Mexican is simply chorizo. Cajun cooking uses a much wider variety of proteins, much of which involves hunting and fishing in its history.

Compare cookbooks. John Folse wrote the Cajun bible. Wanna know what the Mexican version looks like? It’s a pamphlet with the same ingredients on every page.

You want to know how Mexicans make vegetables better? They roast it. You want to know how Cajuns make vegetables better? They add meat AND they roast it. If it don’t have meat, it ain’t a vegetable.

If you think Mexican food is better than Cajun, go frick your mother.

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Venice has plenty of great places to eat, just like any major tourist destination you have to do some research first. If you're eating on St Mark's square or at a place that even has pizza on the menu, you're in a tourist trap most likely.

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Did the research, and my meals in Venice were good. But they were priced as though they were great, which they weren’t. Much better food in literally every other city in Italy I spent time in.

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Probably 75% will use cream.

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Yep. It covers up poor technique and timing but completely changes the dish.

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Yep. It covers up poor technique and timing but completely changes the dish.

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Which is why I think it was so good in Japan. Give the Japanese a dish or beverage that simply requires an extreme attention to detail to prepare and they will knock it out of the park. Also why they tend to make great coffee.

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I can see that. It comes together in a minute but everything has to be just right.

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Yep. And he made it right in front of me, plated it immediately, and then put it in front of me within seconds.

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And Mexican food is better than both.

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Imagine having this take.

Authentic Mexican food is legit, but what most people pass for Mexican food (TexMex), is shite.

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Agreed. Like Italian food what most Americans think of as Mexican food is some bastardized US version of the food.

Authentic Italian food is a deeply varied cuisine. It starts in the south where the tomato is king and the further north you go the less the tomato is used and the more things like wild boar, risotto, truffles and duck and other game are used in the cooking and it is absolutely delicious. Same with Mexico and something like cooking with achiote or making an arracherra skirt steak.

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Can't tell you why but it does seem like there aren't many competent people outside of south LA who make great Cajun food.

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Because there isn’t a broad demand for people to learn it

The concepts of Cajun cooking are very simple. It’s one reason why I enjoy it