Students Complain that Bad Asian Food = Cultural Appropriation

[JumpyTheFrog]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/the-food-fight-at-oberlin-college/421401/

 

Some students at Oberlin are complaining that the dining hall's lousy version of several different Asian foods is evidence of cultural appropriation. Of course serving an Indian dish on an Indian religious holiday but using beef instead of something else was pretty dumb. But I have my doubts that serving lousy sushi is something to get offended over.

[SKL]

Maybe they shouldn't serve any food.  It's all cultural appropriation.  Students can cook in the basement of their dorms like they did when I was in school.

[SKL]

I can't imagine going to an Asian country to study and then getting culturally offended by the fact that they don't make mashed potatoes and gravy the way I'm used to it.  If I did that, people would say I was the culturally insensitive one.  They'd say I ought to get used to the local food.

[marbel]

I can't imagine going to an Asian country to study and then getting culturally offended by the fact that they don't make mashed potatoes and gravy the way I'm used to it.  If I did that, people would say I was the culturally insensitive one.  They'd say I ought to get used to the local food.

 

I daresay if you did that, you would be pegged as a demanding "ugly American." 

 

I do get the complaint about beef though, unless it was clearly marked as such so people could avoid eating it (also it was bad timing).  I have a great beef curry recipe; no idea how authentic it is but I don't claim authenticity with any of my cooking efforts.   Not sure the university food service does either.

[SparklyUnicorn]

dumb

 

 

[Bluegoat]

Cafateria food is usally pretty middle of the road. As the article said, they don't serve authentic, great ingredient versions of any food.  cake with shortening icing should be pretty offensive as well.

 

In any case, I think if you go to a fancy place, this kind of thing is called "fusion".

 

I think this can only come out of a lot of ignorance about the history of food.  A lot of great food is made by combinations that happened when different elements became available because of trade or travel, or when cuisines were adpted to more locally available, or cheaper ingredients.

 

Or maybe, as the article suggests, its a kind of wielding of power?  Complaining about cheap food poorly made won't get them anywhere, but as soon as they frame it this way, authorities feel compelled to respond.  If so, I think that is a dangerous game.

[marbel]

<snip>

 

Or maybe, as the article suggests, its a kind of wielding of power?  Complaining about cheap food poorly made won't get them anywhere, but as soon as they frame it this way, authorities feel compelled to respond.  If so, I think that is a dangerous game.

 

I would think students at an elite university would know better than to complain about the well-intentioned efforts of poorly-paid food service workers, most of whom could not even dream of attending school there.  Though, I could be wrong.  Wonder how many (if any) food service workers are also students there.   My knowledge of that is limited to a few people I know who are struggling through community college while working at one of the fine Philadelphia area private universities. 

[Bluegoat]

I would think students at an elite university would know better than to complain about the well-intentioned efforts of poorly-paid food service workers, most of whom could not even dream of attending school there.  Though, I could be wrong.  Wonder how many (if any) food service workers are also students there.   My knowledge of that is limited to a few people I know who are struggling through community college while working at one of the fine Philadelphia area private universities. 

I think many have some student staff, but FT workers are likely not students.

 

But yeah, clearly they are not all that up on their Marxism.

 

Cheap food, in the end, is just cheap food.  We used to get Coney Island Night from time to time. Totally gross. I'd much rather fake Vietnamese.

[happi duck]

I'm stunned this went past "yuck, our cafeteria is terrible" or at the most a complaint to the cafeteria manager "your ethnic food is wrong stop calling it what it's not".

[Dmmetler]

I think it's kind of a sign of the consumer mentality. When I was in college, the dorm food was more like mom's kitchen. You want what's served, you eat it. You don't, you're responsible for finding your own. My cafeteria was staffed by motherly Latino women who seemed convinced all college girls were in imminent risk of starvation and it was their job to save them from that fate (and advise on boyfriend issues as well. As I said, mom's kitchen. Luckily, they approved of DH...). There were a few dishes that were amazing (and full of cheese and sour cream). Others..well, if you were vegan, you were out of luck, and the Asian students cooked some pretty amazing stuff in the kitchen (I had a lab partner who had come from Japan with one suitcase-and a wok), but you weren't going to get anything but overcooked, butter dripping "stir fry" over slightly crunchy rice. I think the La Choy meals in a can might have been better. And I remember them happily and proudly serving an "Easter Dinner" featuring baked ham. During Passover.

 

But the dorms and cafeteria on campus visits were more like "yeah, we've got 'em" as opposed to being selling points.

[Matryoshka]

Yep.  We need to put a stop to virtually all Italian food because it took tomatoes from the Americas.  We all know the Romans didn't have tomatoes.

 

The Irish should neer had had a potato famine, because the potatoes should have remained in the Andes where they came from.  How dare they eat potatoes.

 

And let's not get started on the abomination that is chocolate.  How dare we eat it with sugar instead of chili peppers like the Aztecs.  Sheesh.

 

Food mashups are as old as people.  We like food, we get the recipe, and we alter it to our own tastes.  Yummy.  And hey, people mix too, especially in our melting pot/mixed salad culture - if you have parents from two different cultures, must you never mix or alter the recipes, each has to stay purely its own?

 

My favorite bizarro only-in-America mashup was the fajita pita at I think Jack-in-the-Box.  Middle eastern bread mixed with a Texan re-imagining of Mexican food.  Only in America. :)

[shawthorne44]

I remember the time I was working in Manchester, England and I ordered a Tex-Mex dish in a "Tex-Mex" restaurant.  It actually had Tex-Mex in the name.   In my defense, I'd been away from home for awhile.  The hotel restaurant had wonderful fish and chips and mashed peas.  I lovvvvveee mashed peas.   After eating that about 14 evenings in a row, the Tex-Mex restaurant called to me.  I ordered Queso and chips.   OMG, that was ghastly!   I am pretty sure I was served an undiluted can of Campbell's nacho cheese soup.   I didn't think about cultural appropriation.   I thought, "Well, that was dumb of me.  I think I'll order the bangers and mashed".   

 

I also remember the time I ordered lasagna in Munich and there were no diary or tomato products in the dish.  Just a risk you take when ordering food away from its origin.  

[SKL]

I dare you all to try Indian Chinese.  :P

 

The time I spent 3 weeks traveling in India, I had had it with spicy food around day 15.  I ordered a toasted cheese sandwich at a modern shopping mall.  Sounds safe, right?  Except that the cheese had chili peppers in it.  Argh!  Nobody could believe that there are humans who actually desire to eat food without chili or ginger.

[shawthorne44]

I dare you all to try Indian Chinese.  :p

 

The time I spent 3 weeks traveling in India, I had had it with spicy food around day 15.  I ordered a toasted cheese sandwich at a modern shopping mall.  Sounds safe, right?  Except that the cheese had chili peppers in it.  Argh!  Nobody could believe that there are humans who actually desire to eat food without chili or ginger.

 

I know of two Indian Chinese restaurants nearby.  The name actually says "Indian Chinese" or "Chinese Indian" I forget which.  I asked my husband, "How would that work?"   He was eager to try.  

[ktgrok]

I remember the time I was working in Manchester, England and I ordered a Tex-Mex dish in a "Tex-Mex" restaurant.  It actually had Tex-Mex in the name.   In my defense, I'd been away from home for awhile.  The hotel restaurant had wonderful fish and chips and mashed peas.  I lovvvvveee mashed peas.   After eating that about 14 evenings in a row, the Tex-Mex restaurant called to me.  I ordered Queso and chips.   OMG, that was ghastly!   I am pretty sure I was served an undiluted can of Campbell's nacho cheese soup.   I didn't think about cultural appropriation.   I thought, "Well, that was dumb of me.  I think I'll order the bangers and mashed".   

 

I also remember the time I ordered lasagna in Munich and there were no diary or tomato products in the dish.  Just a risk you take when ordering food away from its origin.  

 

LOL, we will never forget the pizza we ate in Scotland. Oh my it was bad! Canned spinach on soggy dough with werid sauce. We only ate there because a local recommended it. I think she thought we'd like it better than the normal Scottish fare. She was very very wrong, lol. 

Edited December 22, 2015 by ktgrok

[Daria]

I would think students at an elite university would know better than to complain about the well-intentioned efforts of poorly-paid food service workers, most of whom could not even dream of attending school there.  Though, I could be wrong.  Wonder how many (if any) food service workers are also students there.   My knowledge of that is limited to a few people I know who are struggling through community college while working at one of the fine Philadelphia area private universities. 

 

When I went to college, at a similarly elite school, many of the food service workers were students.  I had many friends who declined work study and worked at food service, because they paid in part by removing the mandatory food service charge from your housing bill, which added up to a significant savings.  I wonder if that has changed.

[Daria]

Yep.  We need to put a stop to virtually all Italian food because it took tomatoes from the Americas.  We all know the Romans didn't have tomatoes.

 

The Irish should neer had had a potato famine, because the potatoes should have remained in the Andes where they came from.  How dare they eat potatoes.

 

And let's not get started on the abomination that is chocolate.  How dare we eat it with sugar instead of chili peppers like the Aztecs.  Sheesh.

 

Food mashups are as old as people.  We like food, we get the recipe, and we alter it to our own tastes.  Yummy.  And hey, people mix too, especially in our melting pot/mixed salad culture - if you have parents from two different cultures, must you never mix or alter the recipes, each has to stay purely its own?

 

My favorite bizarro only-in-America mashup was the fajita pita at I think Jack-in-the-Box.  Middle eastern bread mixed with a Texan re-imagining of Mexican food.  Only in America. :)

 

I doubt that they made bahn mi with ciabatta rather than baguette because of some analysis of American taste.  My guess is that they had ciabatta to use up.

 

I think that cultural appropriate goes too far, but I do think that it is reasonable to complain when the menu says one thing, and something entirely different is served, or when a dish is prepared badly.  Students are a captive market at most schools, because they require you to purchase the meal plan.  So, if the meal plan doesn't offer decent food it makes sense to advocate for change.  

[JumpyTheFrog]

Or maybe, as the article suggests, its a kind of wielding of power? Complaining about cheap food poorly made won't get them anywhere, but as soon as they frame it this way, authorities feel compelled to respond. If so, I think that is a dangerous game.

I'm not sure which is worse: the students genuinely believe that the bad food is offensive or they are just saying that to manipulative the college into serving better food.

 

Do most college dorms have kitchens these days? When I went, the "kitchen" consisted of a sink and microwave. Hot plates were banned and I'm sure they would also ban crock pots, toaster ovens, rice cookers, etc. My college was terrified of fires in the dorms which meant that students couldn't really cook for themselves unless they got an apartment.

[Laurel]

My favorite bizarro only-in-America mashup was the fajita pita at I think Jack-in-the-Box. Middle eastern bread mixed with a Texan re-imagining of Mexican food. Only in America. :)

I've been to an Italian/Thai restaurant, which I thought was an odd combination. The connection seemed to be noodles...? Sadly, they did neither cuisine well, but stayed in business for quite a while, so obviously somebody liked it.

[Bluegoat]

LOL, we will never forget the pizza we ate in Scotland. Oh my it was bad! Canned spinach on soggy dough with werid sauce. We only ate there because a local recommended it. I think she thought we'd like it better than the normal Scottish fare. She was very very wrong, lol. 

 

When my husband was living in Rwanda, they used to have talapia on the pizza.

[SporkUK]

It isn't that it is bad versions of something, it' that they're selling something as one thing and giving another. Imagine someone put spam in pita bread with cranberry sauce and sold it as a hamburger. It has ham in it and bread is bread right and it's a reddish sweetish fruit based condiment? And then they blast you as being ridiculous to complain.  That's essentially what has been going on here -- and promoting itself as an elite service because it has these dishes it doesn't actually have. 

 

They're complaining because they ordered something they told they could get and got something completely different. They could have just called it what it actually was but instead felt that they giving a more ~exotic~ would bring in more business and then wouldn't step down when it was pointed out that they were wrong. It is a bit high and mighty and disrespectful to take the bits you want to boost your business and ignore the parts that actually make it that dish and then expect people not to notice or complain about the difference. 

[Bluegoat]

I've been to an Italian/Thai restaurant, which I thought was an odd combination. The connection seemed to be noodles...? Sadly, they did neither cuisine well, but stayed in business for quite a while, so obviously somebody liked it.

 

We had one that was CHinese, Jewish, and Italian.

[Bluegoat]

It isn't that it is bad versions of something, it' that they're selling something as one thing and giving another. Imagine someone put spam in pita bread with cranberry sauce and sold it as a hamburger. It has ham in it and bread is bread right and it's a reddish sweetish fruit based condiment? And then they blast you as being ridiculous to complain.  That's essentially what has been going on here -- and promoting itself as an elite service because it has these dishes it doesn't actually have. 

 

They're complaining because they ordered something they told they could get and got something completely different. They could have just called it what it actually was but instead felt that they giving a more ~exotic~ would bring in more business and then wouldn't step down when it was pointed out that they were wrong. It is a bit high and mighty and disrespectful to take the bits you want to boost your business and ignore the parts that actually make it that dish and then expect people not to notice or complain about the difference. 

 

I don't really think cultural appropriation is the same as mislabeling.

 

And as far as the mislabeling goes, that's just typical of cheap food to some extent.  Spam in a bun might not be a hamburger, but maybe it is if soy meal in a bun can be hamburger. So it might be worth complaining about, especially if you've paid for something better, but it isn't cultural appropriation.

 

Really, to complain about the cultural purity of a Vietnamese/French dish being compromised is a little idiotic.

[JumpyTheFrog]

It isn't that it is bad versions of something, it' that they're selling something as one thing and giving another.

Then the students should complain about the cafeteria lying, not about cultural appropriation.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I would think students at an elite university would know better than to complain about the well-intentioned efforts of poorly-paid food service workers, most of whom could not even dream of attending school there.  Though, I could be wrong.  Wonder how many (if any) food service workers are also students there.   My knowledge of that is limited to a few people I know who are struggling through community college while working at one of the fine Philadelphia area private universities. 

The complaint isn't about oppressing the poorly-paid food service workers. It is about demanding that the university provide edible food for the exorbitant sum they are charging.  I'm sure that food service worker is not the one who made any of the purchasing or menu decisions.  Those are most often made by the company that is running the food service. 

 

I think it's kind of a sign of the consumer mentality. When I was in college, the dorm food was more like mom's kitchen. You want what's served, you eat it. You don't, you're responsible for finding your own. My cafeteria was staffed by motherly Latino women who seemed convinced all college girls were in imminent risk of starvation and it was their job to save them from that fate (and advise on boyfriend issues as well. As I said, mom's kitchen. Luckily, they approved of DH...). There were a few dishes that were amazing (and full of cheese and sour cream). Others..well, if you were vegan, you were out of luck, and the Asian students cooked some pretty amazing stuff in the kitchen (I had a lab partner who had come from Japan with one suitcase-and a wok), but you weren't going to get anything but overcooked, butter dripping "stir fry" over slightly crunchy rice. I think the La Choy meals in a can might have been better. And I remember them happily and proudly serving an "Easter Dinner" featuring baked ham. During Passover.

 

But the dorms and cafeteria on campus visits were more like "yeah, we've got 'em" as opposed to being selling points.

Other than "You get what you get" mentality, the dorm food (back in the dark ages when a salad bar was a newfangled invention) was nothing like my mom's kitchen.  My mom could never have been praised as a great cook, but at least most of her food was edible.  No mystery meat with a rainbow opalescent sheen to it.  No burgers as tough as hockey pucks.  Most days, the only place to find edible food was the salad bar and the make your own sandwich station (with white bread and cheap cold cuts.  I used to make my own pseudo grilled cheese in the microwave.) 

 

Many people have decided that having edible, reasonably healthy food in an important factor of choosing a college.  It was extremely important for us, especially with my kid who has food sensitivities and is severely undeweight.  While we never expected to have authentic ethnic food to be served, we do expect decent food made with decent ingredients. 

 

I'm not sure which is worse: the students genuinely believe that the bad food is offensive or they are just saying that to manipulative the college into serving better food.

 

Do most college dorms have kitchens these days? When I went, the "kitchen" consisted of a sink and microwave. Hot plates were banned and I'm sure they would also ban crock pots, toaster ovens, rice cookers, etc. My college was terrified of fires in the dorms which meant that students couldn't really cook for themselves unless they got an apartment.

What is wrong with complaining about bad food?  Those meal plans are not exactly cheap.  I would definitely want my kids to get our money's worth!  If complaining that the food is bad gets them nowhere, then I think it is smart to change the conversation to get attention.  Sad that they would have to resort to that, but smart. 

 

I know my kids' dorms had kitchens, but most were the bare minimum. Very few appliances with heating elements were allowed in the rooms due to fire risk. Plus, if we are paying for the meal plan, I want my kids to be able to eat that.  There are many adjustments to going away to college.  I didn't want getting their own food to be another stress right off the bat.  Plus, there wasn't a grocery store within walking distance so there wasn't a way to get food without a car, let alone a big enough fridge to store the food. 

[Bluegoat]

The complaint isn't about oppressing the poorly-paid food service workers. It is about demanding that the university provide edible food for the exorbitant sum they are charging.  I'm sure that food service worker is not the one who made any of the purchasing or menu decisions.  Those are most often made by the company that is running the food service. 

 

Other than "You get what you get" mentality, the dorm food (back in the dark ages when a salad bar was a newfangled invention) was nothing like my mom's kitchen.  My mom could never have been praised as a great cook, but at least most of her food was edible.  No mystery meat with a rainbow opalescent sheen to it.  No burgers as tough as hockey pucks.  Most days, the only place to find edible food was the salad bar and the make your own sandwich station (with white bread and cheap cold cuts.  I used to make my own pseudo grilled cheese in the microwave.) 

 

Many people have decided that having edible, reasonably healthy food in an important factor of choosing a college.  It was extremely important for us, especially with my kid who has food sensitivities and is severely undeweight.  While we never expected to have authentic ethnic food to be served, we do expect decent food made with decent ingredients. 

 

What is wrong with complaining about bad food?  Those meal plans are not exactly cheap.  I would definitely want my kids to get our money's worth!  If complaining that the food is bad gets them nowhere, then I think it is smart to change the conversation to get attention.  Sad that they would have to resort to that, but smart. 

 

I know my kids' dorms had kitchens, but most were the bare minimum. Very few appliances with heating elements were allowed in the rooms due to fire risk. Plus, if we are paying for the meal plan, I want my kids to be able to eat that.  There are many adjustments to going away to college.  I didn't want getting their own food to be another stress right off the bat.  Plus, there wasn't a grocery store within walking distance so there wasn't a way to get food without a car, let alone a big enough fridge to store the food. 

 

 

They aren't complaining about bad food.

 

They are complaining about cultural appropriation.

[El...]

Last night, we had a short-notice guest, an old work friend of DH's.  I made a very American version of stir-fried peanut chicken.  When he walked in door and took off his shoes, with some remark about his "Asian family", I just cringed.  I don't think he liked the dinner much.  He was nice about it, though!

 

In Okinawa, if you have vegetable pizza it came with bits of canned corn on it.  So funny! 

 

My point is, feeling entitled to the best food everywhere you go is very weird.  We need to stop cultivating that in our youth.  I'm feed the kids peanut butter sandwiches as we speak, to keep their palates humble.  :smash:  :p

[vonfirmath]

I've been to an Italian/Thai restaurant, which I thought was an odd combination. The connection seemed to be noodles...? Sadly, they did neither cuisine well, but stayed in business for quite a while, so obviously somebody liked it.

 

Personally, having had real Mexican food "over the border" and Tex-Mex on this side. I prefer the Tex-mex.

[TechWife]

Do most college dorms have kitchens these days? When I went, the "kitchen" consisted of a sink and microwave. Hot plates were banned and I'm sure they would also ban crock pots, toaster ovens, rice cookers, etc. My college was terrified of fires in the dorms which meant that students couldn't really cook for themselves unless they got an apartment.

 

When I went to college back in the dark ages, each dorm had a full kitchen. That is also true at my son's uni now - each dorm has a full kitchen for the students to use. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I think it's kind of a sign of the consumer mentality. When I was in college, the dorm food was more like mom's kitchen. You want what's served, you eat it. You don't, you're responsible for finding your own. My cafeteria was staffed by motherly Latino women who seemed convinced all college girls were in imminent risk of starvation and it was their job to save them from that fate (and advise on boyfriend issues as well. As I said, mom's kitchen. Luckily, they approved of DH...). There were a few dishes that were amazing (and full of cheese and sour cream). Others..well, if you were vegan, you were out of luck, and the Asian students cooked some pretty amazing stuff in the kitchen (I had a lab partner who had come from Japan with one suitcase-and a wok), but you weren't going to get anything but overcooked, butter dripping "stir fry" over slightly crunchy rice. I think the La Choy meals in a can might have been better. And I remember them happily and proudly serving an "Easter Dinner" featuring baked ham. During Passover.

 

But the dorms and cafeteria on campus visits were more like "yeah, we've got 'em" as opposed to being selling points.

 

I see nothing wrong with complaining about the food.  For one thing this food is not free.  It's actually quite expensive.  I think as a paying customer it is fine to say the food is not good and to ask for better.

 

I'm very well aware of the fact that the Chinese food I get at the crap shack down the street is not very authentic.  So that part of the complaint is a bit stupid to me, but I don't begrudge them complaining about the taste or quality.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I lived in a dorm for one semester.  There was no kitchen.  They had one microwave for the entire building that they wheeled out of a closet for a couple of hours per day.  That was it.  And we were not allowed to have any heat producing appliance of any kind.

 

The food at our cafeteria was actually pretty good though. 

 

 

[Daria]

When I went to college back in the dark ages, each dorm had a full kitchen. That is also true at my son's uni now - each dorm has a full kitchen for the students to use. 

 

That was true in our dorm, but in order to live in the dorm you needed to have an incredibly expensive meal plan.  So, while you could cook food, you were still paying for the dorm food as well.  

 

You could get out of the meal plan if you had medical reasons, or you worked at the food service.

[itsmylife]

Chiming in about Indian Chinese or Indo-Chinese food.  China and India are neighbors, right?  There is a fairly medium to large population of people of Chinese origin in India.  Their cuisine is Indo-Chinese.  And it is amazing.  One of my childhood memories is going to this one of the large convent schools and buying food from a window that was built in the outer walls of the school.  The "window" was open a couple of hours in the evening and the lines were long.

[albeto.]

 

 

According to the link, "they" are the members of Oberlin, "properly seen as an outlier, not a reflection of what most campuses are like," featured in "an outlying story about a small number of students plucked by the tabloid most adept at trolling its readers from the stream of campus news. There are dissenters at the school. And students at many campuses often complain about food in overwrought ways."

 

I think the story the Atlantic picks up on fuels an anti-progressive bias in general (calling the school "ultra-liberal," identified as Lena Dunham's college), as "cultural appropriation" is the new buzzword used by the "PC Police," "Social Justice Warriors," or those who were once called "Bleeding Heart Liberals." It's a crafty version of the ever popular "kids these days" whine. 

Edited December 22, 2015 by albeto.

[mom2scouts]

It's Oberlin College. That's all I need to know.

[marbel]

They aren't complaining about bad food.

 

They are complaining about cultural appropriation.

 

Exactly.

 

In the article, people are using terms such as "disrespectful" and "appropriative" to complain about the food.  

 

Of course the food should be edible, and nutritious, and a decent value for the money.  But that's not what they're complaining about.  Saying that the sushi wasn't properly representative of the culture (just a paraphrase) is not the same as saying that the the food is badly cooked/poor quality/inedible.

 

[Matryoshka]

Then the students should complain about the cafeteria lying, not about cultural appropriation.

 

:iagree:   If the food tastes like crap, complain away.  I do think the food at the dining commons should be edible.  But that's not a problem of cultural appropriation.  Virtually any meal can be made delicious or nasty - it's about using quality ingredients and knowing how to combine them.  Hockey pucks (that's what we called the frozen patties they served us in college) masquerading as good 'ol American hamburgers are just as much of an abomination.

 

 

[SKL]

You can complain all you like about the quality and cost of cafeteria food.  More power to ya.  No matter where you come from, I guarantee you'll find something to complain about.  Don't take it personally.  :P  I actually think it is weird that young people arrive at school expecting gourmet cuisine.  Really?  You go to a restaurant for that.

 

When/where I went to school, the dorms had kitchens.  It was pretty normal for foreign students and others with dietary concerns to cook their own food.  It was a nice social activity for them too.  While a meal plan was "required," you could get out of it by explaining that you were unable to eat the food.  I also cooked sometimes - typical American food - though I don't remember my reasons.

[idnib]

I know of two Indian Chinese restaurants nearby.  The name actually says "Indian Chinese" or "Chinese Indian" I forget which.  I asked my husband, "How would that work?"   He was eager to try.  

 

It's usually Chinese-style in prep, but with Indian spices, at least in my experience.

 

 

I've had "American" pizza in SE Asia and it came with corn on it because "Americans love corn!" There was no similar explanation for the green beans.

[DesertBlossom]

When I went to college back in the dark ages, each dorm had a full kitchen. That is also true at my son's uni now - each dorm has a full kitchen for the students to use.

The university I went to (seems like yesterday) had traditional dorms with meal service, but also apartment style dorms as well, with full kitchens. I lived in an apartment style dorm because cooking myself was cheaper.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Eh well you know college students.  I was very idealistic when I was a college student too.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I remember my dad getting his panties in a twist over some stuff I learned in school.  He was not entirely wrong.

[luuknam]

I've had "American" pizza in SE Asia and it came with corn on it because "Americans love corn!"

 

The American pizza in The Netherlands also had corn on it. Really, it's about time you Americans start making American pizza - apparently the entire rest of the world knows it needs corn on it!

 

Thai food in Thai restaurants run by Thai people in the US (or The Netherlands, for that matter) isn't like Thai food in Thailand. Some ingredients are hard to get or are expensive. It's one of those :crying: moments when you find out that you can't get the food you're used to, even though it's an X restaurant run by X people and on the menu it clearly says the same names of the dishes you love, but it's really a "get over it" kind of thing.

 

Still ticked off at IHOP though. There is nothing international about the International House Of Pancakes.

[SparklyUnicorn]

The American pizza in The Netherlands also had corn on it. Really, it's about time you Americans start making American pizza - apparently the entire rest of the world knows it needs corn on it!

 

Thai food in Thai restaurants run by Thai people in the US (or The Netherlands, for that matter) isn't like Thai food in Thailand. Some ingredients are hard to get or are expensive. It's one of those :crying: moments when you find out that you can't get the food you're used to, even though it's an X restaurant run by X people and on the menu it clearly says the same names of the dishes you love, but it's really a "get over it" kind of thing.

 

Still ticked off at IHOP though. There is nothing international about the International House Of Pancakes.

 

Oh this is funny.  I had "American" pizza in Germany and it too had corn.  I have never in my life had a pizza with corn in the US.  I've never seen that as an option.

 

It's not bad with corn, but it's not an American thing to put corn on pizza.  LOL

 

I agree, there is nothing International about IHOP.  That one has bad American diner written all over it.  LOL 

[Gil]

Uhm...really? I mean seriously...What bizarro realm have I slipped into and how the heck do I get back to reality?

Because surely, this can't be real...

 

I hope that their parents are embarrassed. I would be embarrassed for my childs name to be published in connection to this foolishness.

Why hasn't a concerned relative called and explained to these brats "Dear, you are in a foreign country. Stop looking for foods from your native homeland."?

 

I mean...really?!

 

 

[TechWife]

The American pizza in The Netherlands also had corn on it. Really, it's about time you Americans start making American pizza - apparently the entire rest of the world knows it needs corn on it!

 

 

 

And an egg - sunny side up right in the middle! I noticed last week that California Pizza Kitchen is now offering this an an option. 

 

[Word Nerd]

nm

Edited December 23, 2015 by Word Nerd

[SparklyUnicorn]

Uhm...really? I mean seriously...What bizarro realm have I slipped into and how the heck do I get back to reality?

Because surely, this can't be real...

 

I hope that their parents are embarrassed. I would be embarrassed for my childs name to be published in connection to this foolishness.

Why hasn't a concerned relative called and explained to these brats "Dear, you are in a foreign country. Stop looking for foods from your native homeland."?

 

I mean...really?!

 

Oh see I don't know.  With the prices these schools charge I might start acting spoiled and posh too. 

 

LOL

 

I want to get something for my money. 

[mom2bee]

Jeez! I put in an application to work in my schools food court just so that I can eat during the semester because employees get a free meal at the end of each shift. I'm really and truly hoping to get 3-5 days a week.

 

 

[albeto.]

nm

 

edited to delete reply

Edited December 23, 2015 by albeto.