By Junior Levi Kassinove

What is culture without food? Personally, when I visit a different country, I am only focused on the food. I couldn’t care less about the landmarks and tourist attractions. Sometimes the differing behavior is interesting though, like how in India people eat with their hands (theculturetrip.com). Other than slightly different mannerisms, the food is the only part of the culture that is worth experiencing in my opinion. It’s the only thing that differs so drastically from place to place, even within countries. I should mention that these rankings aren’t necessarily the best tasting foods I’ve ever had, but the ones that are most interesting from least to greatest. Without further ado, here are my most interesting foods from around the world. 

Red Snapper Nigiri at Musashi, Palm Desert

Since we are going around the world (not including places I haven’t been to, such as Africa and Asia), I think it is appropriate to start locally. This dish is obviously Japanese, and Musashi is not located in Japan, but I want to start this list by highlighting the variety of cultures in the United States. Because of the mixed nature of the U.S., it is possible to get pretty much any type of food. Perhaps in most cases the foreign dishes will not be the same quality as served in their homeland, but I believe Musashi serves fantastic sushi. The red snapper nigiri, in particular, is blowtorched and finished with a yuzu-based garnish. Its instant burst of citrus is accented by the complex flavor of the torched red snapper, leaving a pleasant and exquisite aftertaste. While the food at Musashi is excellent, for the vast majority of sushi restaurants in the United States, I order without wasabi because it is extremely unlikely that they will serve actual ground wasabi root. Rather, most restaurants will serve a horseradish based substitute due to the difficulty of growing wasabi (businessinsider.com). That is an example of the quality difference between the U.S. and other countries. 

My Experience at Pujol and Quintonil, Mexico City

One of the things that I did not expect to try in Mexico City was ant larvae. At both of these restaurants I was served some variation of it; Quintonil served it mixed with avocado, and Pujol served it on a puffed tortilla. Pujol is hands down the best restaurant I’ve ever been to, and currently it’s rated as the 5th best restaurant in the world (worlds50best.com). When I went there, I believe it was ranked 12th. Quintonil is currently 9th, and when I went there it was ranked around 20th. So, if you can get into these places, I highly recommend them. I remember at Quintonil I had for dessert a cake made of huitlacoche, which is a fungus that grows on corn (en.wikipedia.org). It is considered a delicacy in Mexico, and it was definitely interesting to eat, so it goes on my list. At Pujol I distinctly remember their dish, mole madre, mole nuevo, which is mole aged for 1000 days paired with freshly made mole. Mole is a dish traditionally made with peppers and chocolate; the exact ingredients of which vary between Mexican grandmas (en.wikipedia.org). 

France and Spain

There isn’t much to be said about these countries that hasn’t already been said. The bread in France being good is an understatement. A croissant from any cafe in France makes a croissant from a local coffee shop in the U.S. taste like Wonder Bread. Seafood from Spain is absolutely delicious, especially Spanish octopus. My favorite food in Spain, however, is undoubtedly Jamón ibérico de Bellota. It is widely regarded as the best ham in the world, as the pigs are pampered and run wild in oak forests, eating mostly acorns, chestnuts, and grass (Jamon iberico-Wikipedia). The highest grade of Jamón ibérico de Bellota is pata negra, which is reserved for only the pure-bred Iberian pigs. Pata negra literally translates to black foot, a trait only pure breds have, so a good way to tell if a leg of jamón is genuinely pata negra is to look at the foot. The term is even used as slang to mean “the best” in Spain. It is absolutely delicious and widely available in Spain, like truffles in Italy. On the topic of meat, steak is excellent in France if you accept the way they prepare it. The French cook their steaks the only real way, which is bloody rare. I ordered a medium rare steak once in France, and they served me one of the rarest steaks I’ve ever eaten besides tartar. It was incredible. Unbelievably tender. I highly recommend it for the students going on the upcoming trip to France. 

Conclusion

Food is one of the defining features of each culture. Recently, I’ve been interested in exotic fruits. Many of the fruits that I have learned about this year have never been heard of by my peers. Have you ever heard of a mangosteen? The LA Times called it “arguably the world’s most delicious tropical fruit” (latimes.com). Perhaps I’ll rank the world’s greatest fruits next. Mangosteen would be pata negra. If you have a food that you think deserves to be on this list, please tell me in the comments below.