I just hope people will eat smelt more and not be racist. #antiwhiteracism #privilege

http://seattletimes.com/html/living/2021756004_satosushichefantibigotry2xml.html

I think food, due to it's close tie to culture which in many cases is closely associated with race is one of those areas where I at least am a bit judgmental.

Everything else being equal if I was at food truck rally and wanted some BBQ, I'd chose the fat black man at Lone Star Smokers over the skinny white dude at Beantown BBQ. Is that racist/regionalist, or just a recognition that BBQ is a black southern culinary tradition and a black southerner is more likely to have that tradition in his bones than a white northerner? Now that's not to say I wouldn't try Beantown BBQ, or that I would trash it simply b/c the cook is white, but when I walked up I would definitely go to Lone Star Smokers first.

I play it by eyeballing the food.

At Epcot in 1990, the black guy was giving out the bigger heap of soft serve on the cones.

There is absolutely no reason that a well trained and experienced chef cannot prepare the food as well as someone of the relevant ethnic origin. Hell, I learned to cook Persian food over the years and became so practiced in it, and had tried so many different peoples' attempts at it, that after a while a lot of my Iranian friends felt my stuff was better than their own attempts. By the logic displayed here I shouldn't have bothered as I'm doomed to failure. If the chef in question has spent many years ingrained into the culture, the ingredients and the cooking methods then their ethnicity shouldn't matter. To suggest that they are inferior because they don't have the added bonus of knowing "how mummy used to make it"is extremely shortsighted in my view. I'm fully in agreement with the restaurant owner.

I'd pick lonestar over beantown for the name, but otherwise, I'm with chup -- any good chef can learn to master a form of cooking. And yeah, I realize the term chef and BBQ are somewhat incongruent, but the fact that most good BBQ is prepared by a fat black guy just means that there are more fat black guys interested in perfecting the art, which is not the same as saying any particular fat black guy is naturally more capable.

Damn, now I want some good BBQ, and I do not live in the right place for that

To Chup: Really? So if you're in a new city and want some authentic Persian Cuisine and see two shops Sahar's Persian Cuisine and Sam's Persian Cuisine, you'd just flip a coin to decide which one to go to?

To Gul: No one is saying someone can't learn, just which is more likely.

I had no idea that Ancalagon was such a racist!

No. I'd read likely the reviews as a starting point. I'd be far more interested on the opinion of Iranian customers and those otherwise familiar with the recipes. Your article above suggests that many of they customers were happy with the sushi chef's work and recommended & returned to the place as a result. That's the defining factor for me.

I've been in a good number of Persian restaurants in London, Tehran, Dubai and other places. I've also had the homemade variety cooked by Iranians and non Iranians. A Persian chef does not automatically indicate quality at all. Some of the Iranian restaurants I have been in have been bloody awful. Some excellent. In contrast I went to a wedding outside Frankfurt on one particular occasion and the German chef had to cater for about 40% Iranian guests so he tried to do some authentic khorests. His efforts, while not the best, were better than some of the Persian restaurants I have been in and it was one of the first times he'd done it.

WaB: Or that Chup was the in house chef for Hezbollah.
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That's always a tricky one, and it plays elements of political correctness against themselves.

Would those critics say that Rick Bayless can't make Mexican food? Some would say he's making more authentic Mexican than the immigrants in a strip mall dishing out enchiladas with rice and beans.

meh-half the pizza shops in town are run by asians/south asians.

then again, I have places like "Rasta Pasta" and the "Hungary Thai" on my block.

I think it's true, you couldn't get away with a non japanese sushi place and hope for much success... not without some sort of tokenism. Thing is that I think cultural culinary fusion is breaking down those barriers. One of Toronto's oldest examples is "Ginsberg and Wong's"... Kosher Cantonese.

To take the Rick Bayless example a bit further, he grew up working at his parents BBQ restaurant in Oklahoma. I'm pretty sure I'd trust him to cook either food.

I see no reason why the ethnicity of the owners or the employees matters in a restaurant, even one that is associated with a particular culture. Yes, it would be a little strange to visit a sushi bar where the sushi chefs weren't Japanese, or a Chinese place where the waiters weren't Chinese, but, you know, I think I could get over it.

Anc, do you also hate Louis CK because he's a Mexican?

I haven't tried this place yet, but I've heard the food is pretty tasty.

It's not authentic Chinese Chinese food, but apparently it's pretty good American Chinese food.

Located in the heart of West San Antonio, I'd wager there isn't an Asian person within five miles of this place.

I once had Mexican food in the Netherlands. No, it wasn't quite what I was used to, but it was decent.

I'm afraid I have to agree with Anc. If Seattle restaurants are just like everywhere else then civic prestige is lost. Fart gas will smell just awful.

I live in California. All my food is made by Mexicans.

Translation: "I know racism is wrong, but there's this one racism I really like indulging in, so I claim an exception."

Hypocrite.

Good food speaks for itself.

My favorite Mexican food in Boston comes from a pizza joint that just happens to also make incredible Sanoran style. You have to go by the food, not who makes it. Bigots like Ancalagon need to open their eyes a bit further-

Sometimes, people view going to an ethnic restaurant as an experience with another culture. This is precisely why I eat sushi with chopsticks instead of a fork when I'm way more proficient eating with forks.

It's not to say that I'd refuse sushi from a white chick... And the fact that the owner is Japanese is more related to imbuing the culture into the dining experience than the skin color of the chef... I guess I could get over it with the first bite or two.

When food is good, I enjoy eating it. I do not go trolling the kitchen for the ethnicity of the cook before taking a bite.

He who smelt it delt it.

Double post

I'm sorry but the food truck with big black dudes making egg roles were fucking awesome!!!!

Who cares about race when the food is awesome.

Just know that when you get egg rolls from big black dudes, they're longer and thicker than any egg rolls you've ever had.

They go well with chocolate salty balls.

I won't eat Mexican food unless it's made [-]from[/-] by real Mexicans.

Damn man how many fence riding saddles do you burn through in a day? You running for office or something?