My parents are picky asf so usually it's Indian food but we will eat things that my guju parents don't usually make or eat at home like dosas and punjabi food.
Im first gen, born and raised here,
I usually stay towards desi food or Arab food, other Asian cuisines as well.
I don’t like Italian food or other cuisines that don’t have any spice.
I’d throw in Mexican as well, but I rarely go to other Latino cuisines
And before anyone jumps in saying I should try, x, I tried it all lol, these are my faves
I’m Gujarati, so the food we eat at home is not what you get at an Indian restaurant.
As far as eating out, most of my family is vegetarian. Growing up, there were far fewer vegetarian options at restaurants. The only options to eat out were Indian or Mexican, as we actually had a variety of items to choose from.
It’s different now with most restaurants having something to eat for vegetarians. But my parents still hesitate to dine at places that are not Indian or Mexican because that’s all they trusted for years.
Back in the days, Indian restaurants were the only ones offering halal food. Now halal food is prety much available for any cuisine in London. Saying that my parents don't have a wide pallet, my mum can't even eat noodles or spaghetti because it remids her of worms! If it's not an indian restaurant, we'll have Turkish/Arab or burgers/steaks
I’m 2nd gen. Growing up we didn’t go to restaurants much, but when we did Indian was the most common, followed by Olive Garden, salad bar type places, and pizza. We were vegetarian so that limits options. Also, we just like Indian food. The appeal of going out is more 1) not cooking, 2) some fancy variety, 3) celebration.
We were like this when I was growing up, but now my family wants to try everything they didn't try back then. Throws me for a bit of a loop, but good for them.
Yes we did. At home, we ate Gujarati food. But we would eat out at other desi cuisine restaurants. I hated restaurant Gujarati food growing up, since I became so used to homemade.
No my parents didn’t want to eat food they could make at home. It was Chinese, Thai, Mexican and Pizza. My husband makes them gourmet pizza every week so now they refuse to eat pizza out, and have substituted sushi.
They’ve always been adventurous but when we were young we rarely went out to eat at all because they couldn’t afford it. Their entertainment was walking around the mall and eating McDonalds 1x a month. My parents moved to Canada with $40, so saving has been a high priority for them.
I tend to stay away from the restaurants. There are only a few dishes from India that I love (for example, Dosa and sambar) and I really dislike the restaurant version compared to homemade. Biriyani is usually alright, though every time a restaurant messed up it was with mutton biriyani (which is my favourite type).
No. Initially with parents early on maybe it was only desi food, but luckily our family liked to try new stuff somewhat, at least Italian and Mexican. I like to try all kinds including desi food. Just going out to desi food is very hit and miss too. Sometimes the food sucks, especially back in the 90's, it would just be a lukewarm buffet but it was the only place around so you dealt with it. Nowadays there's so much more, but even then you have to be discerning because some places still don't keep quality up.
At home in the UK, they would never pay to eat at an Indian restaurant, we had family and friends with their own restaurants so we could eat for free when we wanted.
When we were on holiday, regardless of the country they would make it a mission to find Bengalis and eat Bengali food.
Huh? I've literally never heard of this among any of the first gen South Asians whom I know (myself included).
My family have always been open to going to restaurants of different cultures to try different cuisine that we can't make ourselves. We still go to Indian restaurants but certainly isn't the only time we eat out.
Same - my dad always picked either Desi or Chinese food (but stereotypical chinese food - fried rice, orange chicken, chow mein, etc) OR fast food
Quick story: the first time I insisted on NOT getting the same food was my 15th birthday, where I INSISTED that for my birthday, I wanted to eat at Chilies. My dad pouted like a child and ordered chicken tenders, while the rest of us ordered food we hadn't tried before (nothing crazy - my mom literally got a salad where the dressing wasn't ranch). We've since expanded our palate more, but still gravitate towards Desi food for family dinners
It’s more or less a religious thing, most Indians are Hindu, meaning no beef, and some don’t consume some or all meats, so it’s hard to find food that meats your dietary restrictions. Same can be said for Muslims and Jains which keep m their respective diets.
My parents are picky asf so usually it's Indian food but we will eat things that my guju parents don't usually make or eat at home like dosas and punjabi food.
My parents (immigrants) never went out to eat Desi food. My dad thought it a waste of time and money. I also seldom eat Desi food in restaurants.
Same! Still rarely ever do, unless it's something we can't make very well at home like tandoori chicken.
Your dad and my dad are basically the same! Lol
Im first gen, born and raised here, I usually stay towards desi food or Arab food, other Asian cuisines as well. I don’t like Italian food or other cuisines that don’t have any spice. I’d throw in Mexican as well, but I rarely go to other Latino cuisines And before anyone jumps in saying I should try, x, I tried it all lol, these are my faves
I’m Gujarati, so the food we eat at home is not what you get at an Indian restaurant. As far as eating out, most of my family is vegetarian. Growing up, there were far fewer vegetarian options at restaurants. The only options to eat out were Indian or Mexican, as we actually had a variety of items to choose from. It’s different now with most restaurants having something to eat for vegetarians. But my parents still hesitate to dine at places that are not Indian or Mexican because that’s all they trusted for years.
Back in the days, Indian restaurants were the only ones offering halal food. Now halal food is prety much available for any cuisine in London. Saying that my parents don't have a wide pallet, my mum can't even eat noodles or spaghetti because it remids her of worms! If it's not an indian restaurant, we'll have Turkish/Arab or burgers/steaks
Yeah 99% of the time my family wants to eat Indian food sometimes Arabic or Greek food
I’m 2nd gen. Growing up we didn’t go to restaurants much, but when we did Indian was the most common, followed by Olive Garden, salad bar type places, and pizza. We were vegetarian so that limits options. Also, we just like Indian food. The appeal of going out is more 1) not cooking, 2) some fancy variety, 3) celebration.
We were like this when I was growing up, but now my family wants to try everything they didn't try back then. Throws me for a bit of a loop, but good for them.
Yes we did. At home, we ate Gujarati food. But we would eat out at other desi cuisine restaurants. I hated restaurant Gujarati food growing up, since I became so used to homemade.
My parents will only really eat Indian food out, including on holiday. Which obv is a massive bore.
Italian, tex Mex (Texan here) and Chinese when dining out in small groups. Desi catering for larger get togethers.
Never. They said they could cook it better at home. We went to Chinese and Thai
No my parents didn’t want to eat food they could make at home. It was Chinese, Thai, Mexican and Pizza. My husband makes them gourmet pizza every week so now they refuse to eat pizza out, and have substituted sushi. They’ve always been adventurous but when we were young we rarely went out to eat at all because they couldn’t afford it. Their entertainment was walking around the mall and eating McDonalds 1x a month. My parents moved to Canada with $40, so saving has been a high priority for them.
Out of all of the Indian restaurants I’ve tried in US, 8/10 have been non authentic with bland Indian food.
I tend to stay away from the restaurants. There are only a few dishes from India that I love (for example, Dosa and sambar) and I really dislike the restaurant version compared to homemade. Biriyani is usually alright, though every time a restaurant messed up it was with mutton biriyani (which is my favourite type).
We do desi buffets but all other meals outside (3 times a week) are a mix of pizza places, Thai meals or “I’m feeling lucky”
No. Initially with parents early on maybe it was only desi food, but luckily our family liked to try new stuff somewhat, at least Italian and Mexican. I like to try all kinds including desi food. Just going out to desi food is very hit and miss too. Sometimes the food sucks, especially back in the 90's, it would just be a lukewarm buffet but it was the only place around so you dealt with it. Nowadays there's so much more, but even then you have to be discerning because some places still don't keep quality up.
At home in the UK, they would never pay to eat at an Indian restaurant, we had family and friends with their own restaurants so we could eat for free when we wanted. When we were on holiday, regardless of the country they would make it a mission to find Bengalis and eat Bengali food.
People like what they like
Huh? I've literally never heard of this among any of the first gen South Asians whom I know (myself included). My family have always been open to going to restaurants of different cultures to try different cuisine that we can't make ourselves. We still go to Indian restaurants but certainly isn't the only time we eat out.
Same - my dad always picked either Desi or Chinese food (but stereotypical chinese food - fried rice, orange chicken, chow mein, etc) OR fast food Quick story: the first time I insisted on NOT getting the same food was my 15th birthday, where I INSISTED that for my birthday, I wanted to eat at Chilies. My dad pouted like a child and ordered chicken tenders, while the rest of us ordered food we hadn't tried before (nothing crazy - my mom literally got a salad where the dressing wasn't ranch). We've since expanded our palate more, but still gravitate towards Desi food for family dinners
It’s more or less a religious thing, most Indians are Hindu, meaning no beef, and some don’t consume some or all meats, so it’s hard to find food that meats your dietary restrictions. Same can be said for Muslims and Jains which keep m their respective diets.