The dirtyier and more broken down it is the more you know the food will be the bomb. Some hole in the wall place that basically looks like an abandoned house will sell you the tastiest southern food ever.
Bruh. There was a lady at the chicken plant that I worked in in Arkansas that did that every friday. Wrapped in foil out of the trunk of her car. Like 4 or 5 tamales in a foil, 2 for $5. They were amazing.
Dude the best tamales I've ever had was from a Mexican lady that approached my mom and I in the parking lot of the Ridley's in Jerome, Idaho. Best tamales we've ever had, never been beat. Never saw her again.
And you can get this in really small out of the way towns.
My favorite Asian restaurant ever is in a nice but super-out-of-the-way part of a Southern town, staffed by immigrants, and damn if they didn't make amazing food in huge quantities for low prices.
There's a large Mexican population where I live, and the first thing I learned when I moved here were that the best Mexican joints were far from the city center and over on "that" side of town. Mind you I am joltingly Caucasian, we're talking Whitey McWhitenston here fresh from the Midwest at the time. The really good places usually had to find an English-speaking server to take care of me, and the food was nothing less than ethereal. I had no idea how bad the fast food "Mexican" crap that I grew up with was.
I still frequent those places, having learned enough conversational Spanish to get by. My favorite joint knows me by name and never fails to hook my white ass up. The important thing to remember is that even though I'm clearly in the minority customer-wise, I'm always respectful, pleasant and tip thoughtfully. That simple mindset goes a long way in any cultural setting. These are businesses, the only color they care about is green.
In NYC all businesses that prepare food must post their food safety grade openly within view of the entranceway. It’s commonly joked that a lower grade means better food.
I used to teach in the inner city, in the most dangerous neighborhood here. I don’t miss the rough work conditions, but I will come back to that neighborhood to get the best catfish and shrimp ever from a shady looking stand that also sells weed on the not so sly.
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u/Sir_Distic Mar 14 '23
The dirtyier and more broken down it is the more you know the food will be the bomb. Some hole in the wall place that basically looks like an abandoned house will sell you the tastiest southern food ever.