8. Japanese udon noodle soup

For years, the only noodles I had were el cheapo cup of noodles, you know, broke student food. I survived on those things for a really long while. I remember when I realized that there was an elevated level of noodles. I love udon noodles because they are more substantial, love scooping them up with a large spoon in their mildly flavored broth. It's just so simple and just so good. 

7. Belgian fries

Yes we call them french fries even though they're originally Belgian (still in dispute).  I hate to say I was disappointed by Belgian waffles when I made it to Belgium but I did have some really great fries. These days I go to places in the city that claim to serve belgian fries, the biggest distinction being that they are twice fried and served with some kind of mayo. I actually prefer fries with mayo or at the very least a ketchup/mayo combo. I know Canadians love their poutine version, but I just can't get into it. These days I try to avoid fries all together cos once I get started, well- I can't stop. But if you're gonna have a fry, have a good one.

I love a good grilled whole fish and many cultures make really good ones, just with different ingredients. Some keep it simple, salt and pepper, some add garlic and Filipino restaurants of which there are many in my neighborhood take it a step further. They stuff a whole fish (usually Tilapia or similar) with tomatoes, onions and ginger, till the poor fish can't take it no mo. I hate to admit that I'm actually starting to be very partial to the FIlipino version even though many African restaurants have something similar. 

18.  Italian Lasagna
This one I have grown to love as well. Full disclosure here, the first time I had lasagna and I very well remember when that was, I absolutely hated it. I could not understand for the life of me why people would eat this piling mess of sauce and cheese and pasta.  That's because I had a very crappy lasagna. When done right, with the right ingredients, with home cooked tomato sauce and not something you poured out of a bottle, with real cheese and not some overly processed stuff, it's insanely delicious. Who am I kidding? I've been known to enjoy some bad versions recently. After all, it is pasta and sauce and cheese. (I also like spinach/veggie versions).

17.  Indian Tikka Masala
This might be the most bastardized dish on the list, at this point many people seem to think it's less of an authentic Indian dish and could very well pass for the new British national dish. But let me tell you, when you sink your naan into this, (preferably lamb not chicken)...boy oh boy, am I a happy trooper.


16. Chinese pork dumplings (steamed)
There was a season in my life where all I did was head on over to Chinatown and spend the best 2 bucks ever. $2 gave me a proper lunch- 10 fried pork and chive dumplings. I have finally upgraded to steamed dumplings (someone told me its healthier) and no less tasty mind you. It's still my preferred way to eat on a dime and now I even purchase bags of 50 from the little dumpling shops for $8 and steam them at home. Not all dumplings are created equal so don't make any judgments based on a crap place or something you grabbed from the freezer section.

15.  Jamaican patties (beef/veggie/chicken)
OK ok, I know beef patties, really? On the list? I am starting to get the sense that there's some people out there that aren't as fun of beef patties as say My mother and I. When we're together, we devour that stuff. I actually introduced my mom to them only about 3 years ago and when she comes to visit, I make sure I have a little greasy welcome bag of patties just for her. So put your nose in the air all you want, patties are on the list and that's how its going to be.


14. Trinidad Curry Goat Roti
While we're here, let's stay in the Caribbean. It surprises me that this is another one I didn't quite get the first time around. There was just so much going on in my mouth that I wasn't accustomed to. Too many spices- what's that? cloves, allspice, curry. And how was I supposed to eat the thing, rolled up together or separately. I have settled on keeping my roti skin seperate, I think it gives me the kind of flexibility I like when eating or something like that.

13. Greek Souvlaki
As broke students in Paris, our food options were limited and that's how I found out about manger grec/grecque (eat greek). This was the general reference for little greek sandwich/rotiserries places that were super affordable and open at all hours. To be quite accurate, many of them were Turkish and I'm not even sure anyone cared to make the distinction. If in NYC try the Souvlaki Gr truck.

12. Vietnamese Banh Mi
When I first wrote up the list, I was actually going to have french bread/ baguettes as one of the things on the list. But then I thought about my favorite form to have it. Some places do cheat and use any kind of bread/roll, I utterly prefer that it be on french bread but that's besides the point. The growth in popularity of food trucks in NYC has also brought a lot of Vietnamese cuisine to the forefront. To be quite honest if it wasn't for the street food scene, I wouldn't have considered venturing to Vietnamese restaurants. This is to me what a perfect sandwich is about. I will never be a deli or cold cut sandwich girl, give me some lemongrass seasoned grilled meats served hot, give me pickled carrots and cilantro, give me a banh mi.

11. American BBQ
I'm basically trying to cheat here when I say American BBQ. For me this encompasses the entire experience of eating American BBQ. If you , seen my annual BBQ festival posts or basically grabbed my phone and went through the pics, you would find that I love BBQ joints. We always over spend when we go there because its not just about the ribs. brisket, pulled pork, burnt ends, it's also about the sides, the mac and cheese, the baked beans, the collard greens and I could go on and on (shout out to cornbread). If you need some further convincing, watch this little show called BBQ pit-masters- this stuff is not to be taken lightly, there's a science to good BBQ.

So what are your thoughts so far?  I know I delayed with Part 2, but the final ten will be up next week.