I think that's usually just shorthand for, "I don't like foods I'm not familiar with."

Like, Mexican food and Chinese food and Ethiopian food really have nothing in common other than being originally from places other than here, and putting them all under one label kind of makes it seem like that "not from here" quality is what defines them.

Have you been to my neighborhood? There is a restaurant on the closest corner. It's called Papas and Tacos (hee!) and it makes spaghetti, falafel, tacos, burritos etc., some sort of Armenian pizza thing and pizza. I think it's an ethnic restaurant.

well, I know someone who literally did not like anything except beef and potatoes and macaroni and boiled vegetables.

Seriously.

This is the kind of person who does not like "ethnic food."

I think that's usually just shorthand for, "I don't like foods I'm not familiar with."

Yeah, that's how I'd read it. If your position is "I don't like trying new things," then it doesn't matter how different Thai and Greek food are from each other, just that they're both different from the food you know.

(I think this position is ridiculous because if you don't try new things, how do you really know what you like? But there are people in the world who really are that picky/set in their ways.)

My parents are like that - Italian is the one non-American cuisine that's not "too foreign" for them to like. They haven't enjoyed Japanese steakhouses other relatives and I have taken them to despite liking grilled chicken, rice, and mixed vegetables (which my mom sometimes cooks with teriyaki sauce at home!). And while Mom at least liked the scent of Chinese takeout I used to bring home, she's afraid to actually try anything like that herself.

I consider it a huge victory that both really liked the Mexican place I took them for New Year's Eve when all the other decent restaurants were packed.

(I think this position is ridiculous because if you don't try new things, how do you really know what you like? But there are people in the world who really are that picky/set in their ways.)

ah, describes my mac to a T.

It was me, too, for a long time. Even a few years ago, when I went to dinner with Jessica and Ethan and Deb Grabien (and maybe a few others?), when I heard we were going to ... (Wow, I don't even remember. Afghani? Ethiopian? Something like that.) I was terrified. I grew up on Wonder Bread and canned vegetables and Dunkin Donuts, so anything really spicy or really *different* made me nervous.

And then it was delicious! Which was part of how I learned to stop worrying and love the new cuisines.

well, I know someone who literally did not like anything except beef and potatoes and macaroni and boiled vegetables.

My BFF's brother (who is 42) does not eat any vegetables, eats only unseasoned beef, chicken, or ham or a hot dog and eats potatoes or pasta (with only plain tomato sauce). He also likes snack foods, although he has stopped eating them to lose weight.

My grandpa was so anti - Italian (yes, I am half Italian) that the only pasta he would eat was macaroni, because of macaroni and cheese. Which was sad because my mom had learned to make all sorts of good Italian food from her friends in the neighborhood (she was one of the only students not African-American or of Italian descent).

Yeah, that's how I'd read it. If your position is "I don't like trying new things," then it doesn't matter how different Thai and Greek food are from each other, just that they're both different from the food you know.

When I was about 10, my family went on a trip to DC. One night, we were trying to decide what to have for dinner. Someone suggested Chinese food, and I said I didn't feel like Chinese food. Someone suggested Italian, and my sister didn't feel like Italian. This went on for a while, until my mother, getting frustrated with all of us, picked up a guidebook, looked through the restaurants, and found an Ethiopian restaurant. She told us that we were going there, and we couldn't say that we didn't feel like Ethiopian food, because none of us knew what Ethiopian food was and therefore it was impossible for us to reject it.

Afghan Kebab House!

Damnit, now I want pumpkin bulanee for lunch, and there is none nearby.

[edit: There are about eleventy-billion spellings of "bulanee" out there so I'm going with the one on that restaurant's menu. Wikipedia favors "bolani."]