wellll, wellll, Arsenio. that is a pretty rabid and xenophobic response from a man who otherwise is given to very well measured postings. unfortunately, the gravamen of the question seeks to find out why it is that Dominican food is not as well received as food from other territories. such a question is naturally going to invite negative responses from those who find faults with it. whether or not you as a Dominican find it enjoyable is not the issue. the inquiry is into why others do not, at least many others. some of us have simply tried to point out some glaring weaknesses, most of which can be corrected. but i can assure you that foreigners who ask for eggs sunny side up , and get something deep fried in a cup and a half of oil, with the edges wrinkled and turned upwards, is not going to find that acceptable. nor will they like fish which has been cooked on a griddle for 20 minutes, as i have seen many times here. that style will not receive worldwide acclaim, even if it is loved at home!

I for one believe that taste of food has a lot to do with the way you were brought up and the eating culture around you.
Just as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder good taste lies in the conditioned sensation of the taste buds.
When my wife is preparing 'pica pica' (which means heating sardines with tomato sauce from a tin) my appetite goes out the window... Well, I suppose her family are eating it, too.

On the other hand she's grown fond of my favourite marinated herrings (pickled herrings with sour cream, apples and onion slices), my home made rye bread, feta cheese, real Italian salami, gorgonzola cheese, etc..... so there's hope.

m'frog

exactly, mountainfrog. it is not a matter of degrees, such as who has good food, who has better food, and who has the best. there are things which are gourmet delicacies in other countries, which i will not ever learn to enjoy. you can go to Paris, stop in some fancy restaurant, and eat all the escargot you want..heck, you can have my share ,too. i still prefer a good, well prepared tostone, one which has the right thickness and texture. but then again, thickness and texture are matters of taste. maybe because of poor availability of electricity, and therefore suboptimal refrigeration, Dominicans cook the heck out of food to assure the death of bacteria. this tendency to overcook meat is what lends itself to producing food offerings which other societies take time getting used to, among other issues.

Thanks for the Anacaona comparison .....And to your point, yes I have made it obvious that I take no shorts, but I can also come to an agreement (right, Dread?) lol....I was born and raised here in the U.S. but I definitely inherited that strong temper that many Dominican women seem to have!!

actually, JEM, i have seen no indicator of any bad temper on your part. you have managed to post all your thoughts very respectfully, and have treated the issue as one of an exchange of ideas, conducted in utmost civility. Arsenio, on the other hand, has injected a confrontational and bellicose, in-your -face approach, which bewilders me, because he is usually very well reasoned. but we touched on that in the comments section, and, i guess, he just has a dislike for the people of the english caribbean, hence his angry response to my posting.

Dreadlocks where exactly are you from if you don't mind me asking of course?

shin, let us just say that i am from one of the english speaking territories, at least i was born there. they are all so similar, so the particular one is not relevant. i consider myself a man of the world, and find it distressing that we place so much emphasis on geographic happenstances such as where one was born. if i took you, in your sleep, to Antigua, and left you in a rural town, do you think you would find out when you woke up, unless someone spoke? you would still believe you were in the DR.

Very much true. I happened to ask simply because I've read many of your posts alluding to the english-speaking islands so I became inquisitive as to where exactly you originated from. Hopefully I did not intrude upon your comfort zone for asking. I'm all for Pan-Caribbean as well as Latin American unity, it is our region and so integration would be the smartest decision on the part of the island nations.

shin, some people might not like to digest the idea, but a day is coming when the caribbean people will have to look to each other for survival . they will soon have to put away petty jealousy and bragging rights, and look to each other for economic security. we have no real strategic resources at this point in history. the big boys will soon cut us loose, as we are more trouble to them, economically, than we are worth. so all this bitter acrimony that people elect to show towards others will end up being entirely counterproductive.