What is the foodmagellan challenge?
To “visit” as many of the countries of the world and sample their cuisines. Due to temporal and financial constraints, I am accomplishing this by making local excursions, occasionally using a liberal definition of “local.” It has not escaped foodmagellan’s attention that this challenge undersamples the diverse cuisines of many countries (e.g. China and Mexico) and oversamples some less diverse regions (e.g. Ethiopia and Eritrea). Current geopolitical boundaries in many or most parts of the world do not align with regional culinary boundaries. While consensus exists in defining such “food borders” for some regions, foodmagellan has undertaken this particular country-based challenge in appreciation of the modern nation-state, which while in decline, has historically played a large role in delineating cuisine and other culture. Foodmagellan does plan on charting the innards of some of the most bountiful countries that are available for local exploration, such as China, India, Mexico, Thailand.
What is this website about?
This website catalogues the foodmagellan challenge, with a page devoted to each country visited in the Los Angeles area (similar future excursions are planned for other U.S. cities). On each page, one can find information about the cuisine of the country, foodmagellan’s favorite local restaurant for the corresponding country, along with other recommendations, information, and anything else foodmagellan feels like posting.
Who is foodmagellan?
Foodmagellan, when not exploring the outer reaches of Los Angeles, goes by the name of Ben (or Bobby) and can be found poking electrodes into insect brains in order to unlock the mysteries of the mind, without being particularly optimistic about meeting this goal. While dedicated to the challenge, foodmagellan hopes to avoid the fate of his namesake, Ferdinand Magellan, who died in the midst of his attempt to circumnavigate the globe. As you may have guessed, foodmagellan is a completist: on the one hand, this predilection gave birth to the website you are currently reading; on the other hand, he occasionally is compelled to sit through movies such as The Matrix Revolutions.
How can I help?
While many future excursions have been planned, foodmagellan would appreciate help determining whether it is possible to locally visit a number of as-yet-unexplored countries (los angeles). If a country cannot be visited in the area, foodmagellan would be interested in other locations or restaurants that serve an authentic dish from the country, even if the restaurant would not count as a representative of the country itself. Foodmagellan is also looking for food representing Native American nations. Do not be fooled by impostors such as this popular late-night restaurant, where Taiwanese food is served by women dressed up as Native Americans in a faux-Indian Lodge:
And of course, foodmagellan is grateful to anyone who points out an error, broken link, restaurant closing, opening, or any other relevant information.
Foodmagellan in the midst of a semi-disastrous food tour of Northern Mexico.
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