Well, I'm far far from an expert in either, but here's my opinion, and it applies to food I've eaten in those countries, not in the US.
Food in Thailand all seemed so fresh and vibrant. I could taste the flavor of every component in a dish, yet the combined flavors were probably more balanced than any other cuisine I've eaten.
In Japan, it was the attention to detail and perfection of every dish. Even a small omelet on a skewer from an outdoor market was delicious. Every piece of yakatori or bowl of ramen, even from a small hole in the wall was good. The fried chicken (not going to attempt to spell it) was as good as anything in the southern US.

Can't really be any more specific than that, it's just that those two food experiences have stayed in my mind, more than anywhere I've been in Europe or the Americas.

The posts about Indonesian food make me sad, since there's little to be found in Chicago. Ditto for Portuguese cuisine.

Same. I was thinking when reading those posts that the only time I've had Indonesian food is in The Netherlands. Perhaps it's my favorite cuisine and I don't know it.
So strange considering the huge variety we have here. Great opportunity for someone, this city has always been more open than most to new types of cuisine.

For Portuguese in the US, Newark, NJ and Massachusetts are the places to be.

The Indonesian diaspora is relatively small in the US, with notable pockets in NYC, Philadelphia and California, and some college campuses. Not to mention, many of those so-called Indonesian restaurants are really just Malaysian places masquerading as a combo of the two. Bosh, flimshaw! Those two cuisines are as different as pizza in NY and Chicago.

I have family in New jersey, and Newark used to be the primary airport I would use, so we would occasionally stop for Portuguese food before heading to my mom's house. These days, I'm more likely to fly into Philly and I miss those Portuguese dinners! I was surprised to learn that Montreal has a decent Portuguese population, but I still have not had Portuguese food there. Before the pandemic, most of our trips were so jam-packed with a wedding planning stuff that we didn't have the opportunity period and now, we haven't been back in 14 months!

Born and raised in Louisiana so...

1. Cajun (esp. seafood) has to be #1. Crawfish etouffee is my “comfort food”.
2. New Mexican - not the same as Mexican or Tex-Mex; it’s its own red or green thing :cool:
3. American Chinese / Polynesian

Yes, lots of Portuguese spots in Montreal. I've only been to one of the more casual places. Our last time visiting, we wanted to go to one of the fancier places but just couldn't fit it in between Joe Beef and the rest of our schedule :). If we go back, Portuguese is top of our list. Along with, secretly, one of the good delis for a smoked meat sandwich which my wife has never tried. When she sees pictures of deli sandwiches with 2 inches of meat piled on them, she makes a face that I know means I'm not getting one...

I’ve ruminated over this all week and like many others have struggled to limit to 3.

If pushed, I’d probably include Italian and Japanese for their breadth of cuisine, there are so many regional and sub-genres to never get bored. After that it gets very tough, but I’d probably pick one of Spanish, Indian, Thai or Middle Eastern/North African.

What surprised me is that despite loving French food and wine, it doesn’t get a look in.

Next time swap out Joe Beef for Liverpool House or Vin Papillon! (Mr CE and Dave McMillan are old friends so we eat at his spots far more than we deserve to! During our wedding weekend, our guests did about 70 covers across his restaurants, which is impressive given that we only had 85 guests.) Mmmm...I do miss Lester's. Also St Viator.

Etouffee is one of my favourite dishes when in NOLA. Love it.

All of those were on our list, with the exception of Fairmount instead of St. Viator. But the list was too long for a long weekend. It was her first time visiting, I've been there several times, so we tried to get a taste of a few different things. I believe her favorite, and always one of mine is the Jean-Talon Market. We loved sitting at the oyster bar and trying so many different varieties for about $1 - $1.50 US per oyster. If that was in the Chicago area, I'd be in big trouble.

Fairmont is also excellent! Mr CE used Goldbelly to order a few dozen Montreal bagels yesterday, and I'm not sure which of the two he purchased from.

Fairmount was excellent up until last time I was there. Our bagels were just average. Hopefully just an off day. We immediately decided next time we'll definitely try St. Viator.

That's a bummer! Let's hope that you can get back very very soon.

Fingers crossed for all of us.