> Also, most Indian Restaurants in India, if not owned, are pretty much run (cooks, etc.) by Nepalese. And most "Chinese" restaurants by Bengalis. Of course, the "Chinese" food in India are, well, very very Indian-ised.
A great many Indian restaurants in the US are also owned by Bengalis. I visited a Bangladeshi restaurant in Atlanta that was advertised as such. The owner mentioned that most of the Indian restaurants in the city were owned by Bengalis, so he decided to be open about it when he started his own.
For those like me who were confused by this paragraph as I was, Bengalis are a single ethnicity that is split between the countries of India and Bangladesh. Practically all Bangladeshis are Bengalis, and 80% of them are Muslim. Most Indian Bengalis are Hindu. A more complete explanation can be found here: https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-bengal-...
But looking this up still leaves me confused as to Rayiner's anecdote. Is he saying that many Indian restaurants in America are owned by Muslim Bangladeshis? Or just that the one you mention in Atlanta was? And is there a difference between Hindu Indian Bengali and Muslim Bangladeshi Bengali cuisine?
Bengalis on both sides of the Radcliffe Line speak the same language and share some aspects of culture. But there are still subgroups within them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti_people
From what I've been told, Ghotis and Bangals have distinct culinary styles.
Tongue in cheek: Each group claims their cooking is better but I can't say I care for either of them.
I used to live above a very conventional Indian restaurant in New York, and once in conversation the owner mentioned to me that he was from Bangladesh. I asked him if were any interesting special dishes from Bangladesh that we don't normally see on Indian restaurant menus in America, and he just shrugged and said something to the effect of "meh, it's all the same anyway." I thought that was kind of interesting. The food also wasn't particularly good, so maybe he just isn't really a food guy and came into owning the business somehow other than a passion for the culinary arts.
Had a friend who ran a restaurant in Palo Alto. He had been trained in a three Michelin star restaurant in Burgundy. When they opened they had rabbit, squab, and other great dishes, but hardly anyone would order them. Steak and salmon were the most commonly ordered. It wasn’t worth buying what is considered more “exotic” by the clientele — they just couldn’t sell enough.
Rabbit isn’t really exotic, I mean, maybe it is just in the USA? You can get rabbit at some Chinese restraints in Seattle, next to frogs and snails and such. I’m guessing there is some demand in the Chinese community for such meat, but it’s weird to hear rabbit considered exotic (like horse meat, both of which often end up in American dog food).
American cuisine is extremely pedestrian, and basically kid’s food. That includes the local adaptations of foreign cuisines (every country adapts foreign cuisine to local tastes, not picking on the US here).
I’m not really sure what American food is anymore. What does an American food restaurant have abroad anyways beyond McDonald’s. Maybe a soul food or texmex place in Beijing counts as such?
A great many Indian restaurants in the US are also owned by Bengalis. I visited a Bangladeshi restaurant in Atlanta that was advertised as such. The owner mentioned that most of the Indian restaurants in the city were owned by Bengalis, so he decided to be open about it when he started his own.