This is the Quality Contributions Roundup. It showcases interesting and well-written comments and posts from the period covered. If you want to get an idea of what this community is about or how we want you to participate, look no further (except the rules maybe--those might be important too).
As a reminder, you can nominate Quality Contributions by hitting the report button and selecting the "Actually A Quality Contribution!" option. Additionally, links to all of the roundups can be found in the wiki of /r/theThread which can be found here. For a list of other great community content, see here.
These are mostly chronologically ordered, but I have in some cases tried to cluster comments by topic so if there is something you are looking for (or trying to avoid), this might be helpful.
Quality Contributions to the Main Motte
Contributions for the week of March 30, 2026
Contributions for the week of April 6, 2026
- "I think Terry Pratchett is the atheist version of C. S. Lewis or J. R. R. Tolkien."
- "But Halo... Halo was magic."
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Notes -
I'm not sure what I can add, really. Perhaps it's clearer if I specify that I'm not like most Indians in India, or even most UMC, well-educated Indians. I don't share their politics, their ideologies, or even much of the culture. Back home, the number of people I considered to be on a similar intellectual wavelength could be counted on my fingers. I wouldn't even need both hands.
Abroad? I don't know dawg. I know a surprisingly small number of Indians in the UK, courtesy of living up north, where brown skin can be a mild curiosity. I don't even seek them out when I see them. In the US? How would I meet them by a route that isn't an online exchange?
I look Indian. I don't sound Indian. I don't act particularly Indian, beyond a fondness for biryani. I have little interest in, or engagement with, any popular form of Indian culture or media from home. I'm a Bay Area rat in spirit. I know more about American cultural trends and politics than I know about India, let alone the UK. I'm happy keeping it that way, unless I have a pragmatic reason to do otherwise.
https://www.themotte.org/post/565/culture-war-roundup-for-the-week/116844?context=8#context
That's my post popular post on the Motte. Ever. So I can only presume that, if I were lucky enough to be in America, you'd describe me in much the same way as those other Indians you first knew. I envy them. They're living the life I wish I had. I consider myself to be a temporarily estranged American, by misfortune of birth and circumstances outside my control. But if wishing were horses, I'd have given PETA a heart attack and paved the Bering Strait with equine corpses to get there. Right now, I impatiently wait for future opportunities, while feeling barely suppressed rage at how my options were curtailed.
No clue. I don't even have solid speculation to share. I haven't been in the States after 9/11, and it might just be random chance that you just ran into people who happened to be less ideologically motivated and more in it for the money. To be fair, I'm also in it for the money too, American doctors make salaries that make me salivate, even after moving to the UK.
Do you still plan on getting to America one day? And if so where would you intend to settle?
Plan? More like aspire. If the problem with my med school (they've been lazy about specific American accreditation, and the accreditors just as lazy) gets resolved within the next 3-4 years, it's quite likely I'll give the USMLE. If the problem solves itself later (and I'm a senior psychiatrist) then it's theoretically possible for me to seek to transfer my credentials without the USMLE and another bloody residency program.
At the end of the day, I don't have much control over the timeline. I'm also already in training, I have a good enough shot of progressing further in my career elsewhere, and the thought of sitting down and grinding for yet more competitive exams when I might have a wife and kids does not feel great. Even worse, AI is nipping at my heels, so it might become an entirely moot proposition by then.
But if I have the luxury of choice? Then California, baby. Or Texas. Or most of the US, really, probably excluding Alaska. Scotland is cold enough for me.
Obligatory link to comparison of state freedom levels
(Ratings are based on the situation in 2022, but are measured relative to μ and σ for 2000–2022, not just for 2022.)
Interactive global map of average daily maximum temperature on a monthly basis
While I appreciate the effort, they don't call it the Land of the Free for nothing. I'm sure the lowest ranked state would spank the entirety of the UK.
And I suspect that the climate map is slightly misleading in terms of presentation, if you don't carefully compare across seasons, you'll miss the dramatic temperature shifts seen in some parts.
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Can you change my view that Biryani is just crappy fried rice?
Biryani shouldn't really be like fried rice. The texture is different (biryani rice is less likely to stick together than fried rice), and of course the flavors are very different. What they have around me (I'm in Denver) is mostly Hyderabad style biryani, which is spicy and has a delicious fragrance that fried rice never really would have. My general advice on where to find good biryani is to see if there's anywhere that tends to have lots of Indian immigrants eating there. It might not be the best on the planet, but immigrants tend to eat at restaurants that are doing the cuisine correctly in my experience.
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Many cultures have a 'brothy meaty rice' dish that needs a ton of effort to get right. When done right, that dish is the best. When done wrong, it is crappy fried rice.
Eg:
Each dish is labor intensive and needs experience to get right. I've had the privilege of trying some of the best versions of each dish. If your Biryani tastes like crappy fried rice, it is crappy Biryani. Same for Paella and Chicken Rice.
Amen
I got sick of bad Biryani in the US and [made it myself](link na). No humility for this one. Took a ton of effort, and I bet it was the best Biryani in the city that day.
I now understand why restaurant Biryani sucks. Unless you're a dedicated Biryani shop (which only happens in India), you can't justify the effort it takes to make good Biryani. It took me about 2 days, start to finish.
@self_made_human , that's a war crime.
This variation is meaningful.
Lucknowi Biryani (Canonical North Indian Biryani) is meant to be aromatic, umami and fragrant. Hyderabadi Biryani (Canonical South Indian Biryani) is meant to be spicy, indulgent and saucier. I made Hyderabadi Biryani, it is my favorite. The other variations involve different types of rice (Kerala), adding potatoes (Bengali), and raisins (Karachi. This is haram).
Unfortunately, Indian restaurants in the west are mostly run by Punjabi & Bangla people. Neither regions are good at Biryani.
We have loads of biryani shops in the Bay Area, fwiw. I don't go to them because as a rule they look absolutely filthy, but we do have them.
Nope. Havent had great biryani in the Bay area. I'm an expert on the matter.
Great udipi food (madhurai idli). Good Pakistani food (zareens). Good experimental Indian (copra). Surprisingly acceptable marathi food (pav bhaji food truck, puranpoli) acceptable indo-chinese (inchins bamboo garden).
There are a few schizo places that are a 8/10 or 2/10 and no in-between. Highly unreliable, but pretty good on a good day. Eg- Aaha in Mission for Telugu/chettinad food. They make the least bad biryani in SF on a good day. Let's just say their sanitation standards are in line with the rest of the mission.
No standout north Indian or mughlai places that I know of.
P.s: while I'm talking about Indian places in the Bay. Fuck Rooh. Bad food and expensive.
I'm talking San Jose specifically, but regardless I'm not suggesting it's any good. Only that we do have dedicated biryani shops.
The lamb biryani at Dish & Dash used to be pretty good but has declined over the years
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That looks like some pretty legit biryani. Could I trouble you to write up a recipe?
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You must have had bad biryani. This is understandable, since the best stuff is only truly available in India.
Even in the UK, I've struggled to find anything as good as what I was used to at home. The best I've found is acceptable, it's biryani-shaped and roughly tastes like biryani. And then the "Indian" restaurant I ordered from yesterday served it with peas.
Fucking peas. I haven't been as flabbergasted since I tried lasagna with peas in it. Why not just piss in my mouth instead? I'd probably enjoy that more, in all honesty.
Of course, there's regional variation. Pakistani biryani is different, so is the Afghan kind. There's like half a dozen other variants from India. The one I'm most fond of can't be found anywhere nearby, for love or money.
I believe @DirtyWaterHotDog mentioned finding actually appetizing biryani in the States, he might be able to guide you better.
.... I think I'm just a heathen, I've been to the few places in the US with legit stuff and still meh
For the sake of my mental health, I'll assume that you've just had really bad luck. If I moved to the States and never managed to find decent biryani? I'd self-deport.
I think I'm just expecting it to taste like fried rice and it doesn't. Might be an expectation thing.
Yeah, it really shouldn't taste like fried rice, in the same sense that fried rice shouldn't taste like risotto.
You mean like....good?
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Man... who the fuck serves biryani with peas? I'm not even Indian and I know that's a food crime. It reminds me of the SNL black jeopardy skit where they talk about a white woman making potato salad, and say "she probably put something unnecessary in, like raisins". You have my sympathies.
You sir, are a gentleman, a scholar, and possibly a gourmet too.
Yeah. British mushy peas can stay in the dishes where they belong.
At any rate, I love biryani lol. Without peas. We used to have a great biryani place here in town - if you went for lunch you could get biryani, the curry of the day, some boneless chicken appetizer, naan, and gulab jamun, all for only $12 or so. Truly the restaurant of the gods. Unfortunately they went out of business, and I've yet to find anything on their level since. Probably good for my body, but less good for my soul.
I'm not a restaurateur, but I think I can draw the line between these two statements.
Perhaps. But they were in business for years and years with the lunch special, so I have a hard time envisioning that it was that which did them in.
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Oh well, I can only imagine the masterful quality of your biryani, while settling for bastardized versions to be found in Anglo lands.
Here is an alt link - na
It looks absolutely delicious, but I must complain about portion sizes. That's the quantity I'd feed a teenage girl, a real man needs twice as much, especially after all that work haha.
How dare you! There were 2 pots of Biryani, and I invited the whole town.
Some ingredient proportions for scale.
Redact3d
I'll probably do it again this summer. I'll take proper photos this time around.
And now you're cooking with gas brother. In fact, you've made me incredibly hungry just looking at that, but I will resist the urge by thinking of England (and whatever passes for biryani in the wider UK).
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It would be monumentally difficult for anyone to not act particularly Indian in this particular way.
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