
How the Partition Changed India's Food Cultures Forever - fern12
https://thewire.in/167360/partition-food-punjab-mughlai-bengal/
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chimeracoder
> Chatterjee’s wife belongs to an East Bengal family – he, on the other hand,
> is a ghoti (from West Bengal), and he acknowledges the superior cooking of
> the eastern lot.

In my entire life, I have never seen an authentic traditional Bengali
restaurant in the US - either West Bengal or East Bengali cuisine (excluding
Bangladeshi, which is more like Punjabi food[0]). I am told there is a single
one in the Bay Area about an hour and a half from San Francisco, but I have
not been able to visit it.

This isn't just the US - I'm in London now, where one only just recently
opened up, and I'm dying to try it - but it's still the first in a city full
of Indian and Bengali people.

It's really sad, because both West Bengal and East Bengali have dramatically
different but wonderful (in their own ways) cuisines, but there's no way for
people to experience either one short of befriending a Bengali person and
being invited to dinner at their place.

Restaurants are already very risky and unprofitable businesses, so I doubt it
would be a successful venture for someone to introduce an Indian cuisine to
the Western market that's not what people expect (Punjabi or South Indian),
but I really wish it existed.

[0] The terminology here is admittedly confusing, but "Bangladeshi" is
different from "East Bengali" in this context, even though the eastern part of
Bengal is now Bangladesh. The reasons behind this terminology go back to the
first partition of Bengal in 1905.

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dman
Dont think Bengali cuisine is alone here. I am yet to eat a meal in the US
that resembles an authentic meal eaten in the Delhi / Meerut belt.

~~~
shyn3
Come to Toronto. We have it all.

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dman
Any recommendations?

~~~
shyn3
In terms of Bengali food? I can't speak to it too much, I had it once and it
was good. It was East End Toronto -- Danforth/Victoria Park area, it's called
Little Bangladesh. There were 3-4 restaurants.

The rest of Toronto has a pocket for any ethnically diverse food. You name it,
we have it, and it's similar to the locals. Somalian check. Indian check.
Afghani check. Middle Eastern.. you name it. Korean.... There is a pocket in
Toronto for each culture.

"Little Portugal, Little Italy, Greektown, Little Bangladesh..." so on and so
forth.

~~~
chimeracoder
> In terms of Bengali food? I can't speak to it too much, I had it once and it
> was good. It was East End Toronto -- Danforth/Victoria Park area, it's
> called Little Bangladesh

As mentioned above, Bangladeshi food is different from traditional (West)
Bengali food[0]. So what you ate there was probably Bangladeshi food, which is
much more similar to Punjabi food.

Bengali food is an entirely different cuisine; there's very little overlap.

[0] or even traditional East Bengali food.

