Robert H. wrote: > George C. wrote: >>Also there is "The Eating Factory" in Bellevue, but I would >>strongly advise against it. My trip there was the first time in >> Could someone please explain to me why this place is usually packed >>at lunch time? And with mostly Japanese businessmen, to boot? >To anyone in search of great food - fresh & tasty - by all means try the >Eating Factory. It may not be for everyone (what is?) but the tip off to the >quality is the number of Asians one sees there. First off, to add another data point, I found the Sushi at the Eating Factory to be perhaps the worst I've ever had -- I actually preferred the stuff in the plastic box at Larry's. It may be a good value, but I didn't care for the taste. Much more troubling, however, is your assumption that "if a bunch of ethnicity xxx eat there, the food must be high quality -- after all, they, if anybody, should know about the food from their culture". Going by this logic, McDonalds *must* be the place to go for a high quality hamburger -- after all, you always see a lot of white people eating there. Taco Bell must be the best place for mexican food, I always see a lot of latino people eating there, etc.... The fact that a bunch of Asians eat at the Eating factory merely tells me that this specific bunch of Asians have crappy palates -- as do most whites, blacks, latinos, etc. After all, when's the last time you went to *any* sushi restaurant in Seattle and didn't see a "bunch of Asains". You see, most folks in this world don't particularly care about food and they make crappy judges of quality. In my travels through the inner regions of Mexico -- stopping at both picturesque farming villages and large urban areas -- I was struck by how damned pathetic the quality of food was. Most fish was wildly overcooked, beef was almost non-existent and tasted like shoe leather, soups were okay (especially chicken) etc. None the less, these joints were often packed by local mexicans. I suspect the same could be said of any other ethnicity, including white america (think white castle, 7-11, jack-in-the-crack)
Seattle, WA
Asians, etc.
I've read this particular rant a few times and feel compelled to respond. Sure, being of a particular ethnicity does not confer upon one the palate of a gourmet, however, I think that it fair to say that a person of a particular ethnicity might have a better idea about how particular dishes should taste. There is such a thing as cultural transmission of information. To contend that the fact that a restaurant is frequented by people of the same ethnicity as the cuisine being served holds zero information value is absurd. Here's an example: In my personal opinion, the best mexican food in Seattle is served at Guadalupana. Every time I've eaten there all, or nearly all of the other customers appeared to be Mexican (judging in part from the fact that they were speaking Spanish). Is this simply a coincidence? Perhaps, but I'll guess that there is some correlation here. Doe's this mean that it's a hard and fast rule? I don't think so. But to maintian that this observation is somehow so meaningless as to warrant censure is ridiculous (and a bit haughty).
Someone wrote: <snip> >In my personal opinion, the best mexican food in Seattle is served at >Guadalupana. <snip> Guadalupana? Where is this restaurant? And what is the phone number? There is no listing in the US west Seattle yellow pages. checked 1-206-555-1212 there is no listing in Seattle for a Guadalupana. peace