Nasty Battle #6 - Gastronomy Vs Gastronomy

In Mumbai it’s ‘Pav Bhaji’, in Delhi it’s ‘Kulcha-Chhole’. In New York it’s ‘Cheesecake’ and in Philadelphia it’s a ‘Cheesesteak’. Seemingly, every great city has it’s Food rivalries and every local has his/her favourite. How is anyone  supposed to decide where to eat Pizza in Chicago when a simple Google search yields more than 81,300 pizza places! Or the fact that every corner shop claims to be “The Original” yet you walk down two blocks and you find- yet again, another “The Original”.

June 7 was celebrated  the ‘National Doughnut Day’ in the US with many bakeries offering free doughnuts to customers. This food holiday gave rise to a long standing debate: which is the better doughnut, yeasted or cake? The pros and cons are that the yeast doughnuts are light and airy with a pleasant squish. They are so delicate that you can eat about six or eight of them before your brain registers that you’re full (perhaps too full). Cake doughnuts on the other hand are crumbly and buttery and can handle heavier toppings like the thick chocolate frosting. They are also dunkable.

This brought to mind, another heated food debates that rage on, like which is better : the hard shell taco or the soft shell taco? Sometimes regional idiosyncrasies drive the debate. In UK, there is a long standing debate between Devon and Cornwall over how to properly serve cream teas.  Devonians argue that it is cream and then the jam, while the Cornish vie for jam first , then cream condemning the Devon method as a blasphemy.

Clotted Cream in Devon

Another food debate which is meant for serious foodies is about the ‘Not so humble’ steak. Some people like their steaks Well-done : Charred on the outside; thoroughly brown and chewy on the inside. Others want theirs done Medium rare, with a warm succulent, juicy pink centre. And some want their steaks to be so rare that it practically moos when they stick a fork in it. In many restaurants across Europe, anyone who orders for a Well-done steak is politely told NO and asked to leave if he/she insists.

So, the Food Feuds are seen in every nook and corner of the world. The only way in which we can settle these rivalries is by tasting each and every recipe in the world!

Wars have never been this delicious, have they?!

- Kalyani Kamat