"American" food

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  • algebravoodoo
    algebravoodoo Posts: 776 Member
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    When I first read the OP , especially the part about the advertiser claiming nothing was more American I thought it was quite amusing that what was declared American was a food which literally translated means "from Frankfurt" ie Germany.

    Then I though about it a little more and though it was fitting as a reminder that American as a nationality is not a homogeneous entity since the native population is a minority.

    Putting aside fast food, my understanding of home cooked American food is that its regional variations are less to do with what grows in the area than with the origin of the people who settled in the area in the first place. So some areas will have a cuisine which resembles that of Eastern Europe, others have a more Mediterranean feel, others have a distinctively Northern Europe style, some have some French or African influences (gumbo anybody?).

    My question to the American posters would be, are there any native dishes which are considered "as American as apple pie" since it's not a cuisine I am familiar with at all?

    Well, I have never seen true Southern cornbread anywhere else I've been. I've seen a loaf of wholegrain bread rolled in cornmeal that was labeled cornbread in a bakery in Germany, but I was sorely disappointed. Black-eye peas or pink-eye purple hull peas served with sliced tomatoes, onions and relish is something I think of as a treat from the US, especially if there is cornbread to sop up the pot liquor. :love:
  • 5n0wbal1
    5n0wbal1 Posts: 429 Member
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    Hershey's candy can't be sold here as chocolate as it has too little cocoa in it. It also tastes and smells like sick to us.
    This pretty much made my day. Calling Hershey's chocolate is just absurd. If only the US would get on that.
    Yum...Hershey's...I love Hershey's!
  • pudadough
    pudadough Posts: 1,271 Member
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    Tex Mex is American!

    Dallas has one of the original Tex Mex restaurants, El Fenix. I have heard foreign attempts at Tex Mex (other than in Mexico) are pretty sad and/or gross. Heck, that's probably true north of the Mason Dixon line...

    Ah geez El Fenix is no bueno. Come to Austin for really amazing Tex-Mex!

    You can't go to any of the franchise locations. They're crap. You HAVE to go to the original downtown location. My Tex Mex snob parents told me so. :laugh:

    Austin is good for awesome BBQ, too.
  • a_mandolin_
    a_mandolin_ Posts: 336 Member
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    Has anybody mentioned the delicious Chicago pizza yet? PIzza anywhere else (including anywhere else in the US) just sucks :P

    chicago_pie.jpg
  • a_mandolin_
    a_mandolin_ Posts: 336 Member
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    Colorful sugary, marshmallow filled cereal doesn't seem to be available in such variety outside the US either, that I have seen.
  • algebravoodoo
    algebravoodoo Posts: 776 Member
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    I'm from Germany and here we have apple cake (not exactly sure if it's the same as pie) and instead of hot dogs there's Currywurst (basically sausage slathered with ketchup and curry).

    I have been to the US several times and while I think some of the fastfood chains aren't bad, I'd choose a basic italian or greek restaurant in Germany over these at any time (I'm not a big fan of german kitchen in restaurants, I rather eat these foods at home). Though the steak places in the US are pretty good and better than most steak restaurants in Germany. What I didn't see there as much as in Germany are the Döner Kebaps, I really love these here, though of course they're not german..

    What really annoys me in the US are the plastic dishes and cutlery in the hotels at breakfast. This is just awful! And of course the extremely weak coffee.

    The closest thing to a Döner I have over here is a lamb gyro. Gosh, I miss those! Horrible for you but oh so sinfully delightful! Especially after a night of clubbing :)
  • lseed87
    lseed87 Posts: 1,105 Member
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    I never heard of "As American as apple pie" and I'm American.
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
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    Has anybody mentioned the delicious Chicago pizza yet? PIzza anywhere else (including anywhere else in the US) just sucks :P

    chicago_pie.jpg

    i guess you haven't been to italy then
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
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    who knows what this tasty beverage is?

    250px-Eggcream_zps941238d4.jpg

    Root beer float?

    EDIT: it looks like what I had as a kid, coke with ice cream

    it's an egg creme!

    will have to check it out when in NY in September though it doesn't sound nice

    it's actually not bad, they don't make them quite the authentic way they used to. go to brooklyn to find a good one
  • buzzcockgirl
    buzzcockgirl Posts: 260 Member
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    America is a whole lot bigger than the United States. And it's a whole lot bigger than North America.

    We have Mexican food. Then we have Tex-Mex, Cal-Mex, Flori-Mex, Cuban, Cajun, Southern-Soul food (which derives primarily from Ethiopian cuisine), the foods from the Mid-Atlantic, the New England foods, Carolina barbecue and low country boils, Memphis barbecue with sweet, tangy sauces, Kansas City barbecue with thick, sweet sauces, Texas barbecue with rubs and primarily using beef. We have unique pizzas from NY, Chicago, and California that don't even remotely resemble each other.

    And then there's beef. Big, thick, juicy steaks cut on the bone or boneless, cooked on the hottest grills imaginable, and served simply with salt, pepper, maybe a little garlic, a side of green veggies and a baked sweet potato or baked white potato. Believe it or not, that steak comes from Italy, but Americans all over - from Texas to New York - have improved it and made it their own. And we have bison.

    If there's one food that is uniquely American, though, it is corn. Roast corn, corn chowder, popcorn, cornbread, masa, corn cakes, corn tortillas, etc. Oh, and avocados. We have avocados. They're from the Caribbean and Central America and have been adopted in cuisines all over the world. In fact, the Americas grow a good bit of the world's produce.

    I'm one of those "Americans" who has lived and been all over the world, (was born an expat, and spent a decent amount of my 30s as one). I appreciate what we have available in the United States more than anything. We get greater varieties of everything in the US than anywhere else in the world. Most people really have no idea how spectacular food is here.

    It isn't all crappy fast food and boxes of pasta. Mac and cheese is Italian, by the way.

    Thank you!!! Honestly I can't imagine why so many non-US types think all of our food is teh crap.

    Also want to give a shout-out for utterly delicious local specialties -- lobster rolls, clam chowder, New England boiled dinner and Boston baked beans... Maryland crab cakes...the whole kick-@ss old Southern foodway (which by the way is ALL home made and very based on fresh seasonal produce)....tex-mex....cioppino....the American steakhouse tradition....

    There is a huge farm-to-table movement in the US, and we have a long tradition of creative fusion cuisine.

    Yes to both of you!! I may be biased, living in California (and in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the most culturally diverse cities in our country or world!) but we have so many good foods that aren't 'yellow or beige', that aren't fried or processed-- things you pick up at the market that are locally grown, fresh and COLORFUL! I shop at the Asian market, the Mexican market- specialty stores like Sprouts or Whole Foods.... we get the best of all of it! I'm sure every culture thinks their food is best, but I really am spoiled here in California where I can get pretty much any type fo food at anytime. Or better yet, the ingredients to make any type of food anytime. Like last nights dinner (see diary)... I made my own Thai coconut lemongrass stirfry to eat over basmati rice... DELICIOUS!

    On the other hand- we do have a TON of fastfood joints EVERYWHERE that are pure crap! But I think those are everywhere-all over the world!
  • MsLilly200
    MsLilly200 Posts: 192 Member
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    There's hot dogs and apple pie here in sweden...

    And when I think of American food I think like McDonalds... And stereotypical thanksgiving food... Roast turkey, cranberry jelly, pumpkin pie... We don't really have it... Cause we don't celebrate thanksgiving (at least no one I know does).

    Also to those people talking about how much different food america (not just USA) has. These are just the ones I think of when I think "(us)american food". When I think about Japanese food I think sushi and ramen, Indian food is curry, German is sausages, Thai is pad thai, British is fish'n'chips, French is... Well fancy restaurant food and snails tbh... And so on.
    I'm pretty sure the first Swedish food people think of is meatballs which, as I'm pretty sure you know, isn't the only food we have...
  • SpecialSundae
    SpecialSundae Posts: 795 Member
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    I don't think American food is all bad. Admittedly, I'm still horrified at some of the additives which are permitted and the way that some junk food is subsidised by the government, but there are some amazing things out there.

    I think Americans have as screwed up an image of British food as Brits have of American food, though. Someone mentioned a "farm to plate" movement which I assume is similar to the Slow Food/CittaSlow movement in Europe. There's an awful lot of governmental support for healthy eating, even if a large proportion of the population ignore it.

    As for great Scottish food, we have some of the world's best meat, seafood and berry fruits and indisputably the greatest whisky in the world. We also have the deep-fried Mars bar and the munchie box, so it's all swings and roundabouts.
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
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    I don't think American food is all bad. Admittedly, I'm still horrified at some of the additives which are permitted and the way that some junk food is subsidised by the government, but there are some amazing things out there.

    I think Americans have as screwed up an image of British food as Brits have of American food, though. Someone mentioned a "farm to plate" movement which I assume is similar to the Slow Food/CittaSlow movement in Europe. There's an awful lot of governmental support for healthy eating, even if a large proportion of the population ignore it.

    As for great Scottish food, we have some of the world's best meat, seafood and berry fruits and indisputably the greatest whisky in the world. We also have the deep-fried Mars bar and the munchie box, so it's all swings and roundabouts.

    yes GRANT whiskey ;)
  • twinkiemon
    twinkiemon Posts: 216 Member
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    I live in America but I just wanted to say my mom makes the BEST apple pie EVER!! :) We have two apple trees in our backyard that grow the perfect cooking apples and I'm not sure what she does to that pie but it tastes like heaven...

    That's all, just my totally, biased (because she's my mother) opinion.
  • ganzelly
    ganzelly Posts: 302 Member
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    Blueberry pie - that comes to mind as American, more so than apple pie really as I've had apples from childhood but blueberries are a more recent import and popular over recent years in the UK. Cranberries for similar reasons, definitely American.

    "Mac and cheese" is another one, I hadn't seen that until Ramsay started shouting at restaurateurs Stateside on the TV. I still can't believe you would want that on the menu in a decent restaurant - the joys of cultural differences :-)

    I wasn't intending to "bash" anything, I just wrote down what sprung to mind as American foods and which of them we have here. Our fast food joints that emulate KFC etc are truly awful.

    One of my absolute favorite meals is I guess, very american. It's mac and cheese made with an American cheese white sauce (I realize American cheese is not really 'cheese' it even says pasteurized cheese product on the label) but anyway, mac and cheese with hot dogs cut up into it. I still make this about once a month for my husband and me, we absolutely love it. I know the exact calorie count so I can work around it for the day. Very American I guess. and yes, I absolutely love blueberry pie too!
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
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    I'm from south africa, and DUH we get all this stuff...

    no disrespect to fellow americans, but it's always something said to make it seem that americans invent things... (commercially that is) ..
    It's always "it's a braai the american way, what we've been doing for ____ years and has been OUR tradition for ___"
    or, "WORLD SERIES ______ (insert sport or something)" but you don't find a single person from any other country other than the US..

    It puzzles me :p
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    I'm from south africa, and DUH we get all this stuff...

    no disrespect to fellow americans, but it's always something said to make it seem that americans invent things... (commercially that is) ..
    It's always "it's a braai the american way, what we've been doing for ____ years and has been OUR tradition for ___"
    or, "WORLD SERIES ______ (insert sport or something)" but you don't find a single person from any other country other than the US..

    It puzzles me :p

    all of the players in major league baseball are American? Toronto Blue Jays dont exist? did you just copy and paste this or you serious?

    and we can call it a world series because there is no team outside of the MLB that has any chance of winning.
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    i guess the Champions League should change their name since they dont give teams from Major League Soccer a chance to play.. :D
  • ShreddedTweet
    ShreddedTweet Posts: 1,326 Member
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    i guess the Champions League should change their name since they dont give teams from Major League Soccer a chance to play.. :D

    Major League soccer couldn't compete. Anyway, US sportsmanship or lack thereof/ ego is in question here? Please...just check the stupid Nike Gold Medal shirts you had for the 2012 Olympics. So tacky. Cringe.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
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    Just curious...

    So, being the US we always hear phrases like "As American as apple pie" and I just saw a Ballpark Frank commercial where dude said "you don't get more American than Ball Park franks!" So, I wanna ask my non-US friends...do y'all have apple pie and hot dogs where you live? Please tell us where you're from when you respond.

    I really did grow up thinking we were the only ones who had apple pie lol
    Lol @ these garbage replies.


    I think all "American food" is just modified versions of other people's food

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