[JOHN]

MY WIFE WHO IS A PILIPINA (FROM THE PHILIPPINES) AND I BOTH LOVE CHINESE BUFFETS. WE LIKE TO BE ABLE TO PICK AND CHOOSE AND HAVE ALL WE WANT OF CERTAIN ITEMS. WE HAVE EATEN AT MANY DIFFERENT CHINESE BUFFETS AND SEE ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE SUCH AS WHITES, BLACKS, HISPANICS, ETC. FROM MY OBSERVATION BLACK CUSTOMERS ARE NO MORE FREQUENT AT CHINESE BUFFETS THAN ANY OTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE.

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Name : JOHN, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 47, City : Zolfo Springs, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : Detention Deputy, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

[Vivian H.]

Being from the South I had never eaten rice without sugar until I moved up North. My first taste of fried rice hooked me for life. It was bought at the corner rice house, where most African Americans buy and prefer. Restaurant-style Chinese food is great, too, but the average fried-rice lover gets it off the corner, which is why some people disagree that there is a love of Chinese food in the black community.

User Detail :  

Name : Vivian H., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 56, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : chemist, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Eric25194]

The ‘Chinese’ food that a lot of Americans eat, not just black Americans, is ‘American Chinese’ food. It is filled with fat, it’s tasty and not that hard to obtain. When someone doesn’t feel like cooking, all they have to do is pick up a phone and order take-out. Americans in general do not have as big of a preference for real Chinese food. Some Americans do not even know what real Chinese food is.

User Detail :  

Name : Eric25194, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 18, City : Miami, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Peter]

I admit it, I’m in love with Chinese food! Most of the black folk I know like it, and plenty of whites do, too. It’s a convineence food that’s highly appealing but widely available in every ghetto and suburb.

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Name : Peter, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 20, City : Jacksonville, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Anne T.]

I haven’t met a person in America over the age of 13 who doesn’t like Chinese food.

User Detail :  

Name : Anne T., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Southern Baptist, Age : 34, City : St. Louis, State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : IT, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Jeff]

I grew up spending a fair amount of time with my god-parents, who are both Chinese, and over the years, we ate in countless Chinese restaurants in both the U.S. and Canada. As an adult, I still love Chinese food, and eat in Chinese restaurants fairly often. Based on my experience, I have never noticed that blacks frequent Chinese restaurants any more or less than anyone else. Two interesting side points tho – 1) I have noticed that (at least here in the midwest), blacks almost always tend to outnumber whites when dining at the Red Lobster chain, and at the same time, I have very seldom observed Asian people eating in Red Lobster restuarants. 2) My Chinese god-parents used to tell me that if I went into a Chinese restaurant, and didn’t notice at least a few tables of Chinese people somewhere in the restuarant, I should go somewhere else because the food probably wasn’t very good. Quirky, but sort of logical at the same time, isn’t it?

User Detail :  

Name : Jeff, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 33, City : Mishawaka, State : IN, Country : United States, Occupation : Manager, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Tina24608]

There are three Chinese restaurants within a five block radius from my home. The food is cheap. It is not really tasty. Most blacks in the ghetto don’t have good eating habits. Usually one parent is working and the other is absent. The single parent rarely has time to cook, and Chinese food is a quick fix.

User Detail :  

Name : Tina24608, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 30, City : NA, State : NJ, Country : United States, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[New Age Girl]

I think we like Chinese food for the same reasons that most of us like Holiday meals and Soul Food. I guess this is to say that it is good. I like it myself.

User Detail :  

Name : New Age Girl, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 17, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Julie P.]

I live in a city with a very large African-American population, and I have never noticed this phenomenon. In fact, all of the Chinese restaurants I go to seem to be filled with caucasians. I have also noticed quite a few restaurants and food markets owned by Asians that specialize in African-American ‘soul food’. I wonder if maybe what you have noticed is more of a socio-economic phenomenon than one based on race or ethnicity? After all, I know an awful lot of ‘white’ people who order Chinese frequently!

User Detail :  

Name : Julie P., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 32, City : Baltimore, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jenn]

I believe it’s because Chinese people cook some of the same things we cook and some of the same ingredients. Like we eat gravy and rice, steamed and fried vegetabales, pork, chicken and beef. Rarely would you find a vegetarian Asian or Black person.

User Detail :  

Name : Jenn, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 21, City : Berkeley, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Property Management, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Chris]

Many blacks in America live in poor neighborhoods where enterprising Asians open up Chinese fast food places. Its just something that many grow up on. Like McDonalds.

User Detail :  

Name : Chris, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 23, City : Tampa, State : FL, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Diane]

Black people like Chinese food because the Chinese will set-up a restaurant in the black community more often than other cultures. If you go to the Southwest you would ask why black people there love Mexican food. That’s because Mexicans will set-up a fast food stand or restaurant in the black community. We do spend money on good food, that’s why we encourage the Greek, the japanese and others to bring their cuisines to the ghetto…they’ll get rich! Oh by the way, believe me we would love to have other foods in our community, but for the time being, we are fighting just to get grocery stores!

User Detail :  

Name : Diane, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 40+, City : Charlotte, State : NC, Country : United States, Occupation : Hard, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Sondra]

I sat thinking about this because, as many others have noted, I really haven’t noticed this so-called phenomena. The only thing I can really come up with is the possibility that perhaps the Chinese restaurants you frequented in the United States were in predominately black neighborhoods? It would seem to follow that if you eat Chinese food in a Mexican neighborhood, you will find a lot of Mexicans at the restaurant (Chinese restaurants are so plentiful, that people don’t have to drive across town to find one, so there wouldn’t necessarily be much mixing of classes/races/etc.), and so forth for different races/classes. If you eat Chinese food in West LA, you’re probably going to notice the patrons driving a lot nicer cars than they would be in Echo Park. From my experience, just about everyone likes Chinese food. I grew up in a part of town that was mostly white, with some Hispanics, and until I got my license and starting exploring the city, thought that Hispanic people had an abnormal affinity for Chinese food. In reality, I just hadn’t seen enough of the world (or enough Chinese restaurants) to come to a well-rounded conclusion. Chinese food is plain delicious. We all eat it.

User Detail :  

Name : Sondra, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Legal Assistant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Therese]

Black people do not have a ‘well known aversion to tipping’. What ‘some’ of us have is a watchful eye on the pocket. Some of us are not as blessed as others financially and therefore may scrimp where we can to avoid being broke. I find myself occasionally strapped for cash, but will try to tip anyway, because it is the proper thing to do. Not that I haven’t considered not tipping when we have days when we have a while until pay day and have occasionally had to give an apology at certain times when I did not have much cash on hand.

User Detail :  

Name : Therese, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 30, City : Naperville, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : Homemaker/Part-time Esthetician, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Wayne B.]

To the post above that mentioned the ‘black culture of not tipping waiters very well.’ I waited tables for a dozen years at the same cafe that served all strata and spectra of citizens, and never noticed this. Black people have always tipped me as well as white people, except where there was a group of Black Americans who seemed to be more working-class than professional class; THEN they might tip poorly, but only as poorly as similar-economic-class whites I’ve waited on.

User Detail :  

Name : Wayne B., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 43, City : Austin, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Editor, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

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