What is this thread all about?
Just a place for general discussion. A place to unload whats on your mind and talk about anything - personal, health, help needed, achievements, daily highs and daily lows, theories, predictions and what have you.
Does not need to be Q related.
Thing is, reason and logic only go so deep...and this gal is from N Vietnam, then S Vietnam (though by that time of course one country but the differences remain even today apparently), then escaped by boat including getting shot at...so in theory she should REALLY understand this stuff better than most - and KIND OF does but KIND OF doesn't....
Oh and she's Catholic and very much so, so the guilt is pounded in, there's also that.
"OKAY" - yeah I can see that. As good/interesting as it is (granted, assuming place actually worth its salt)(this one had a green bean dish in the mix that was out of this world for instance), of the various cuisines I've had it wouldn't make the "desert island list" (Mexican, Italian, American/BBQ/Cajun, Thai, Vietnamese, hon mention German) by any stretch.
Edit: PS I saw your stuff about Korean - I haven't had much exposure there other than the BBQ places. That's a tough nut to crack just like Vietnamese - without this gal cooking stuff I wouldn't know squat other than Pho and noodle bowls - neither of which are acceptable in restaurants anymore anyway. Maybe someplace like LA is good for learning about this without a suitable tutor....
Test to make sure not too far in comment depth
Edit: OK
Mexican - "always" - actually I lived in PHX for awhile and got very picky - and when I've been back it's like DAMN, the difference. Denver is rough - there are a few places but you have to really look. I thought the proximity to NM would help but NOPE - seems most is straight from the land of Tex-Mex = bland/blargh.
Italian - yup, like anything it can be wrecked. See: Olive Garden, or that place I went near Sequoia NP that "can't possibly mess up Italian that bad" and the alfredo was like flour and water/Elmer's
Asian - yeah you have to really work at it. I got good at Thai by getting a good cookbook as a baseline but it was just that - I then had to start guessing how to get closer to a couple standout restaurants, which eventually worked.
Ethiopian/4-star - LOL the funny thing there is there is ONE I found up in Lafayette which would eliminate much annoyance driving-wise etc - stellar reviews but always check the 1-stars. Several saying "I don't see what the fuss is, it's nothing like Colfax" - well the place was in Boulder and got shut down due to Covid and Google Campus double whammy apparently, and reopened in L. So ALL the good reviews more or less (there is always an idiot or two that says things like "just as good as Colfax" or "I lived in [other city] and this is the ONLY place I'll go for this here"*) are fucking Boulder/Lafayette types that would never go down to Colfax in the first place and wouldn't know the difference. The best I've had actually was Eritrean (one country over but basically the same) at a place on Haight, which a) I wonder if it's still there these days and b) I wouldn't go into that stupid city now anyway. The Haight wasn't really particularly nice when I moved out of SF (2010)....
*Edit 2 - the big eye-opener on this was actually using "I used to live in the Bay Area and this is the ONLY place I'll go for Indian food here" when I moved to Denver. I quickly learned almost anyone saying this doesn't have taste buds, a brain, or both. Probably the least reliable review phrase ever.