Living the majority of my life in a small town has really restricted the potential of my taste buds.
Growing up, I lived in a little town named Fort Erie.
Fort Erie is known for many things: the Fort Erie Racetrack, the annual Friendship Festival, and the historic Old Fort Erie.
One thing Fort Erie is not known for, however, is cultural diversity.
With 91.3% of it's population registering as caucasian, Fort Erie isn't exactly the cultural mecca of the world; a fact, reflected best in the local restaurant selection.
While living in Fort Erie your options for eating out range from "that Italian place" to "that other Italian place."
Thankfully for my taste buds, this changed when I started attending college a few cities over.
I still remember the looks on my roommates faces as I pondered over a menu the first time they took me out for Chinese food.
"What's in a chicken ball?"
looks of condescending confusion and disbelief found there way to me from all sides of the table.
At 20 years of age I had never experienced the pure bliss that is a chicken ball thoroughly covered in sweet-and-sour sauce, nor had I any idea what General Tso's credentials were.
When my dish arrived, it was love at first bite.
The seasonings were both sweet and spicy, the textures were crunchy mixed with smooth.
There were so many flavors I had never experienced, and this was only one dish.
Needless to say my curiosity was piqued and I made it my goal to find all the dishes I had been missing out on this whole time.
This past summer I decided to introduce my mouth a much needed culture shock.
I searched high and low for the most exotic of cuisines within the region and have decided to document and review my experiences with this new and wonderful world of cultural cuisine.
Growing up, I lived in a little town named Fort Erie.
Fort Erie is known for many things: the Fort Erie Racetrack, the annual Friendship Festival, and the historic Old Fort Erie.
One thing Fort Erie is not known for, however, is cultural diversity.
With 91.3% of it's population registering as caucasian, Fort Erie isn't exactly the cultural mecca of the world; a fact, reflected best in the local restaurant selection.
While living in Fort Erie your options for eating out range from "that Italian place" to "that other Italian place."
Thankfully for my taste buds, this changed when I started attending college a few cities over.
I still remember the looks on my roommates faces as I pondered over a menu the first time they took me out for Chinese food.
"What's in a chicken ball?"
looks of condescending confusion and disbelief found there way to me from all sides of the table.
At 20 years of age I had never experienced the pure bliss that is a chicken ball thoroughly covered in sweet-and-sour sauce, nor had I any idea what General Tso's credentials were.
When my dish arrived, it was love at first bite.
The seasonings were both sweet and spicy, the textures were crunchy mixed with smooth.
There were so many flavors I had never experienced, and this was only one dish.
Needless to say my curiosity was piqued and I made it my goal to find all the dishes I had been missing out on this whole time.
This past summer I decided to introduce my mouth a much needed culture shock.
I searched high and low for the most exotic of cuisines within the region and have decided to document and review my experiences with this new and wonderful world of cultural cuisine.
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