David Horne wrote:
> Miguel Cruz wrote:
>> You have to go where the locals go.
>
> We went to lots of local restaurants, but the real experience was the
> home-cooked food, which is IMO better than _either_ food bought on the
> street or in restaurants.
I'll wholeheartedly agree with you there. But it's not always an option for
tourists!
> The street food I saw was mostly of the rough-and-ready variety- simply
> cooked dhal and rice, for example. That's where locals went- and I was
> living in a residential non-touristy neighbourhood. What were the treats I
> missed? Genuine question. I had such a wide variety of food there, I'd be
> surprised if I missed anything!
India isn't such a paradise for street food, like places further west
(Turkey and the middle east) and even moreso, further east (especially
southeast Asia) can be. The reason I eat on the street in India when not
staying with people is first and foremost for safety rather than cuisine.
But you can get interesting snacks, and for lunches on the go, etc., the
food is more authentic and interesting than in tourist restaurants. If you
include permanent places that are downmarket and have the kitchen out front
where everyone can see it, then you can find some very good stuff.
>> So it's definitely possible for locals to be out of touch!
>
> Indeed, if you were talking to people with views like that. Can't say
> that's the kind of people I was staying with though.
I've had the good fortune to have a pretty diverse exposure to locals in
India - from one of the wealthiest families in the country, where we had a
private 8-room guesthouse on the grounds complete with satellite TV and
chauffeur to drive us around to see the sights - to huts in small villages
where there was only enough room for the oldest people to sleep indoors and
the other three generations slept out on hammocks until the chickens pecking
underneath woke us up.
I experienced an astonishing diversity of social, economic, and intellectual
perspective - far, far greater than found in the US, I think. Here I think
anyone can, if they really want to, sc. together some money and go eat a
fancy dinner in New York or Los Angeles alongside the rich elite. In India
the opposite ends of the scale are so far apart there's no common ground at
all. So who you talk to makes a big difference.
miguel
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