It is now.
Hey, I never heard of Indian fried chicken or Kerala fried chicken until they decided to rebrand some indian dishes because Fried Chicken is a Thing.
3 Likes
A Malabari resto in Toronto set up shop near a KFC on the edge of the Bloor St Koreatown 10-15 years ago- after operating in a tiny strip plaza. They had quite a following but it closed after a fire. The most popular dishes were their fried chicken and some seafood curries.
I grew up learning to cook under the tutelage of my parents, one from San Francisco and one from the south. My motherās southern fried chicken was delicious. Even though I am from Boston and now live in Austin, when I make it, it is definitely the real deal. As long as you were taught by someone who was really good at making a regional dish, can find the same ingredients, and have the tools to cook it the same way, it should be the real deal. That does not mean the total experience, of which the food is significant but still only a part, will be the real deal, too. We were a second (and third) generation Navy family and lived in many regions, learning many regional dishes. I can reproduce the food but not sunset over the Pacific or anchoring off Annapolis, or a winter night in New York. I sure cannot recreate Paris.
4 Likes
Actually, I think that they did. There were round breads in Poland, but the bagel, as we know it, seems to have been invented in New York.
And I am sure the cognoscenti will think me a rube with a far from discerning palate, but I find that the bagels around the corner from me, hot and fresh, untoasted, spread with a schmear of cream cheese, are as good as the bagels I used to get in New York. New York may have better ones that I never tasted, but my ATX bagels are quite good. Now, if only I did not need to drive to Houston for a bialy or sour rye.
1 Like
Iām not trying to say that only NY bagels are good bagels. I grew up in the Boston area, and we had excellent bagels. But the true bagel, as we know it, was invented in Manhattan.
No problem with acceding to where it was invented. I just tire of New Yorkers, even though I used to be one, implying or even saying that all others are grossly inferior. That, to me, is right up there with those from New Orleans saying that their cuisine is clearly better than othersā. They must not have tried much else. Keller, Waters, Bourdain, Whiteā¦,.wow. If I had but one chef to cook for me, she/he would probably not come from New Orleans.
1 Like
No fa niente.
Sadly, Grand Central Oyster Bar has closed, a victim of the pandemic.
I actually did a double take at your comment because I was wondering where I ate a month ago when I thought I ate there 
It closed for a while during the pandemic but reopened last year.
2 Likes
I made a point of seeking out that place during my brief trip to Berlin in 2019.
1 Like
Thank goodness. I heard about the closing but not the reopening, and Iām very happy that this NYC institution is back.
Which reminds me. Did you ever read āAmerican Masalaā by Suvir Saran?https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780307341501
He was friends with a lot of food board people (including us) &, when he was writing the book, we went to Devi a couple of times to be experimented on with recipes he was working on for the book. The fried chicken was great.
1 Like
Ahem, I beg to differ.
3 Likes
It isnāt exactly like it is there, even there, anymore.
Portilloās got sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2014. In an effort to go national they STOPPED USING VIENNA DOGS.
As far as Iām concerned itās not a real Chicago dog unless itās Vienna.
But that would be just as true if someone in LA shipped in those dogs in. And people have. They charge too much, of course but theyāre as real as anything Iām gonna have when I go see my mother next month.
Martyās on Pico has great dogs - the ādinner frankā Vienna Beef kind - and of course itās home to the āCombo.ā
Youāre not gonna get a perfect Chicago dog but the food there is good.
1 Like
Hey! That re minds me of a Top Chef episode! (What doesnāt ?).
" Stefan : He grew up in Germany so he didnāt have any fried chicken there. Wolfie lectures him about the fine tradition of fried chicken in Austria (except Stefan was raised in Germany, and heās actually Finnish). Tom canāt get why he made cordon bleu when the idea was fried chicken; cordon bleu isnāt a twist, itās what you get at bad banquets. Confession: and from home cooks who donāt realize itās dĆ©classĆ©. Emeril points out the main problem is that it wasnāt even good cordon bleu. As they head back to the Stew Room, Padma mutters to Tom, āHeās such a bullshitter.ā At least I think thatās what she said; it was bleeped."
1 Like
I can honestly say I have zero recollection of that conversation. I was in a much darker and far more unhappy place than I am now, so Ill apologize for what you obviously found offensive.
Pax.
