if you had to choose...?

[Bex714]

if you could only pick 2 regional cuisines to eat for the rest of your life, which two would you choose? ok, two is nearly impossible, pick 3!

I start off with Thai, Middle Eastern and Mexican.... but then 'Italian' pokes it's busted up nose in... and then I think BBQ and biscuits... then butter chicken and mutter paneer

your turn

[Johnresa]

Definitely Vietnamese and Jamaican

[schrutefarms]

I couldn't do it, but....
Italian
Middle Eastern
Americana (a big steak dinner comes to mind-I think BBQ could be in that catagory as well, along with burgers and grilled cheese. And Buffalo wings. And BLT's. And...you get the drift.)

[cimui]

This is a toughie! I read this right before bed and literally lay awake thinking about my answer. Now I have to post it despite the late hour:

Vietnamese

Indian (north and south Indian)

Chinese (this is sort of cheating since I'm including Korean Chinese like jia jiang mian and kimchi... which I'm counting as Chinese since my mama used to make it; Japanese Chinese like futomaki and omusubi, especially popular in Taiwan; Portuguese Chinese like dan tat; Thai Chinese like curry beef puffs; Uighur Chinese gyro-like meat from a spit on naan)

Runners up would be Turkish, Mexican (especially coastal cuisine) and maybe southern U.S.

[Michelly]

Asian (Korean, Japanese, Thai, etc.)
Mediterranean (Italian, Greek, Spanish, etc.)
French

MIL is Mexican, and I've had my fill of that.

[Michelly]

Aw, heck, but I'd still want a REALLY GOOD cheeseburger once in a while!

[SnackHappy]

Eurasian, Pan-American and Afro-Oceanic.

[cuccubear]

That pretty much covers all the bases! Good job!

[Paulustrious]

Not quite...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI0Fa6...

[cuccubear]

I guess given their handle, SnackHappy would have included that somewhere in the Eurasian category. :-) or maybe it's Pan-Oceanic cuisine, afterall, Cupcake Island is out there somewhere!

[Bex714]

So many great combinations! Poor traditional British cuisine didn't stand a chance, which is hilarious because I'm craving fish & chips today! :)

[Harters]

I'd sort of assumed that you'd intended we not include our "home region" but if we can, then I'll certainly add British (whether traditional or modern) to my above two. Although perhaps not fish and chips - as it's rarely done well.

[Bex714]

of course you could! if your region is what you love, why deny yourself?

[Harters]

Ta very much. I'll have it then.

Probably the second best regional European cuisine for use of seasonal produce (after Italy).

[rockandroller1]

Greek, Italian and French

[BamiaWruz]

Mesopotamian cuisine

Italian

And if I had to choose 3 then japanese as well.

[KristieB]

I have to ask. What exactly is Mesopotamian Cuisine??

[Harters]

Mesopotamia was pretty much what we'd call modern day Iraq.

[jnk]

Asian, Mediteranean and French

[nomadchowwoman]

I refuse. To choose.

Not fair.

Taking my pots and spices and going home.

[jfood]

Asian, European and Latin

[hotteacher1976]

Chinese
Southern/Soul Food (very specific)
Italian

[EWSflash]

Mexico and Japanese

[sedimental]

Is it cheating to choose "American Fusion"?

[Popkin]

Mexican, American South, and Italian.

I just won't do without mom's lasange, macaroni and cheese, or taco trucks.

[KristieB]

Oh this is such a hard choice but here goes:

Indian, Thai, Italian.

But then there is something to be said for:

German, Mexican, and Polish

And: Greek, American, and Middle Eastern.

And then everything else Asian rears it's head and hollers "Pick Me, you love me!!"

Oh heck, I can't choose.

[Jacey]

Japanese
Middle Eastern

[Paulustrious]

Asian and European.

[Dio Seijuro]

Japanese
Vietnamese
Chinese

But if I can cheat like taboo and say Asian as one of the choices, then I'll add to that Italian and Mexican.

[taboo]

Asian ( which covers Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese), American for simply grilled meats and Greek for the grilled octopus and simply prepared fish...YUM!

[cuccubear]

<1> Italian
<2> Middle Eastern
<3> Gullah

[Sam Fujisaka]

Lao, Mexican, Japanese

[schmoopy]

I would like to have one of my choices be "Asian" which would cover so many of the cuisines that I love: Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese. But in fairness to the game, here are my three choices:

Japanese
Mexican
Italian

Isn't it great that we don't have to limit ourselves? So many great foods, so little time...

[Miss Needle]

I used to play this game as a kid! This can be so depressing. But it's really comforting to know that we aren't limited to just 2 or 3 in real life.

Western American -- some people may consider that cheating, but I don't. That way, I'll get my burgers, Mexican food, Asian food, seafood and the wonderful Californian produce

French -- have a weakness for French desserts; Paris has some really good Middle Eastern food -- does that count? If not, I'd be happy eating everything from duck confit to some freakin' molecular gastronomic masterpiece from Pierre Gagnaire.

Chinese -- because it's so damn large there's tons of variety; dim sum, mabo tofu, xiao long bao, zi ran chao yang rou jia mo -- it's all good

or

Indian -- also a huge country with tons of variety; may be leaning towards Indian because California and Vancouver (which is in my Western America category) does have Chinese cuisine

If my Western America with all of the international influences answer is considered a cop-out, then my 3 choices would be:

French
Chinese
Californian

[tcamp]

Oooh, tricky. I am going with your Western American category too, plus Indian.

If that doesn't fly, then:

Chinese
Indian
Mexican

[Paula76]

Indian, Italian and Middle Eastern for me. The great thing about Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines is that they cover a lot of regional dishes which offers great variety of flavours...as for Italian, their fresh produce is second to none and I definetely couldn't live without pasta and pizza!

[laliz]

California Cuisine
Italian
Chinese

[Harters]

Assuming the OP intends that we can't pick our own region........

........Eastern Mediterranean and Italian

[mojoeater]

Mexican, Thai and Italian.

[CookieWeasel]

Indian, and Chinese! Hard to pick a third, as Thai and Middle Eastern come in at a tie.

[gordeaux]

Mexican and Indian. Thai would take the place of Indian, but I don't think I could live without parathas and ghee laden spinach, and hot, juicy botis, and makhani anything, and kulfi, and good samosas...

[invinotheresverde]

Mexican and Indian for me, too. It's not even a contest.

[bayoucook]

Italian and Mexican.
Tie for 3rd: American South and France.

[JenBoes]

Italian (pasta!!) and French

[Jennalynn]

If you're forced to carve up the US into sub regions (Southern etc), then you should also not be able to just say "Mexican"... but it's your game, so I'll play ; )

Chinese. With so many regions you get everything. Including BBQ.
Italian. Again, so many different areas so much variety.
French. Haute and Country... it's got it all.

[Janet from Richmond]

Mexican, Italian and Middle Eastern. With Thai and American Southern being a very close 4th and 5th.

[16crab]

Thai and Mexican for me too...totally different and loads of choices in each.
As long as I can throw a little cinnamon in every chocolate dessert I love and call it Mexican ;)

[Bex714]

deal! I am impressed that you were able to make up your mind so quickly. it makes me wonder what you'd pick had I said no to the creative dessert tweaking! hahaha

[16crab]

Well then wherever they eat the most chocolate would be the regional cuisine of choice!!!

[Sam Fujisaka]

Any and all of the northern European countries for chocolate consumption.