The Ethnic Dining Guide to Tyler Cowen
DCist has a very good interview with the multitalented Tyler Cowen, who has been blogging about the best of the DC area’s ethnic dining for several years. A snippet:
Why focus on ethnic food rather than traditional fine dining? Were you always an adventurous eater?
All food is ethnic food, in my view, fine dining too. I try to cover as much fine dining as I can. But two things limit me. First, I am not wealthy. Second, I don’t think this is a very good area for fine dining. I’d rather save up my money for periodic trips to Europe and other places. Right now Washington doesn’t have a single truly first-rate restaurant in the fine dining sense.
When I was a kid I wouldn’t eat much more than hamburger, fish and chips, and veal parmigiana. I still love those dishes, at least if they are done properly.
You’ve traveled to 65 different countries. When faced with a cuisine you’ve never tried before, what are your strategies for selecting a restaurant and making the most out of an unfamiliar menu?
I think it is over 70 countries by now. I try to go local. I look for proximity to fresh ingredients. I look for downscale food in a competitive environment, in places where the proprietor is close at hand. When it comes to the menu, I ask or I copy other people. I don’t choose what to me sounds like it will taste best. That’s a mistake usually.
While the rest of us just eat and blog, Cowen is not just a dining expert but also a peerless econ blogger, author, regular NYT columnist (here’s a great one on the free market response to rising food prices), and economics prof & scholar at George Mason University.
