American must-try foods?

aemsley05
aemsley05 Posts: 151 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm from the UK (Scotland) and am heading over to the States for the first time next week - going to LA and will mostly be in the Hollywood area. I'm looking for suggestions on what foods (could be ingredients, dishes, cuisines or specific restaurants and chains) that I absolutely must try while I'm over there. Currently on my list are Halo Top and all things pumpkin.

I don't have any food intolerances or dislikes and am open to trying pretty much anything so any and all suggestions are welcome - thanks!
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  • Unknown
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    edited October 2017
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  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    YepItsKriss wrote: »
    Do they not have pumpkin things in Scotland?

    Not pumpkin spice things (neither does Australia...)
    Pumpkin is more of a savoury thing here, although pumpkin pancakes are becoming more popular.
  • aemsley05
    aemsley05 Posts: 151 Member
    YepItsKriss wrote: »
    Do they not have pumpkin things in Scotland?

    Nope - currently there are pumpkins in the supermarkets purely for the kiddies to carve for Hallowe'en. I did buy one and roast and puree it to make my own pumpkin-based goodies, but otherwise we have nothing. Well, we do get Pumpkin Spice Lattes now but even that's a relatively new thing.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    aemsley05 wrote: »
    I'm from the UK (Scotland) and am heading over to the States for the first time next week - going to LA and will mostly be in the Hollywood area. I'm looking for suggestions on what foods (could be ingredients, dishes, cuisines or specific restaurants and chains) that I absolutely must try while I'm over there. Currently on my list are Halo Top and all things pumpkin.

    I don't have any food intolerances or dislikes and am open to trying pretty much anything so any and all suggestions are welcome - thanks!

    We holidayed round parts of the US a couple of years ago and spent a week in Santa Monica. I can't say there was anything overly memorable about the food there compared to other places we went. There was heaps of decent food though, and lots of delicious healthier options. I also spent a lot of time looking around the supermarkets there, as we had an apartment and made quite a few of our own meals. I did stock up on all sorts of weird and wonderful sweets, chocolate, cereals, pop tarts, snack foods etc to bring home as it was the end of our trip.
  • aemsley05
    aemsley05 Posts: 151 Member
    gearhead426hemi wrote: »
    Wish you were headed up to Washington I would have TONS of suggestions for you. What made you chose California to visit? My family went to Scotland a year ago and traveled over 1200 miles in 9 days. We hiked to the summit of the Three Sisters and the view was amazing. What a beautiful country with great food, scenery, and such rich history there. Where are you from in Scotland? We started in Glasgow, then Glencoe, Isle of Skye, Ullapool, Inverness, Aberdeen, Edinburg then back to Glasgow. We are already planning on going back in 2019 to visit some of the Northern isles we didn't get to see.

    Sorry got side tracked. Food I would recommend is any sushi place on the coast that has local catch. If you are going to southern Cali I would suggest Mexican food place.

    Sounds like you've probably seen more of Scotland than I have, lol! I grew up on one of the Scottish islands (the Isle of Arran, which is the most southerly major Scottish island) and now live over on the other coast near Aberdeen. Hope you tried some haggis while you were over here! Some people are grossed out by it but I love it.

    Cheers for the recommendations - I'm hoping to get my unadventurous boyfriend to try sushi for the first time so sounds like Cali will be a good opportunity for that!
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Get some BBQ. Try some hot sauces. Our tex mex is a bit different than how the UK does it, so go to an american Mexican place for sure.

    Also good to find in cali is seafood galore. You will get different fish than at home. I'd say sushi but also try an "everything is fried" kind of place.
  • bebeisfit
    bebeisfit Posts: 951 Member
    Agree about the tex mex or mexican restaurants. Try trip advisor for some good recommendations. California has a lot of food trucks, and those are usually good for a small meal, and it's pretty cheap.

    I don't get the Halo top craze. I love ice cream and find I'd rather have a full fat, super premium scoop of ice cream rather than a pint of ok tasting ice milk. Just my opinion.

    Are you going with other people? That will make it easier to try a variety of foods/dishes. Have fun!!
  • Monkey_Business
    Monkey_Business Posts: 1,800 Member
    Found this out from our friends and relatives from the Isles.

    Love Tex Mex and you should really try it. Will caution you though, our spicy hot might be more then you are used to. So you might consider going mild with some of the hot sauce on the side.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Try to get recommendations to real local places vs. some of the chains that are most famous, many of which are pretty mediocre (local foodie sites or local alternative weeklies may have reviews -- unfortunately I know nothing about southern California so don't know the best sources). I was so sad when someone from the UK posted on MFP generalizing about US food after a vacation in NYC where she'd apparently gone to a bunch of chains available everywhere in the US and that no one thinks of as all that good (IMO).

    Southwestern/Cal style Mexican for sure, probably local seafood (don't know what's available now). Pumpkin, yes, but everything is pumpkin-spiced (and "pumpkin spice" often does not mean it has pumpkin, it means "spices like they use in pumpkin pie") and much is awful and cloying, try to get a real (and well-made) pumpkin pie, maybe.

    Now I will back out and let the locals advice.
  • madwells1
    madwells1 Posts: 510 Member
    Shrimp tacos!
  • Sunnybrooke99
    Sunnybrooke99 Posts: 369 Member
    A Rubio’s original fish taco.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    Definitely get some Mexican food. So Cal will have excellent options. Also, swing through an In N Out burger and get a Double Double with fries and a chocolate shake. You can ask for it animal style and they will skip the bun if you care about such things.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    madwells1 wrote: »
    Shrimp tacos!

    And also this.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    JeepHair77 wrote: »
    In Hollywood? I guess you need to eat some In 'n Out burger. Those Californians love their In 'n Out burger.

    Hubby travels to LA quite often and there's an In N Out right near LAX. It's only the proper thing to do to hit it after landing and before departure. The only way to travel to CA, IMO.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited October 2017
    JeepHair77 wrote: »
    In Hollywood? I guess you need to eat some In 'n Out burger. Those Californians love their In 'n Out burger.

    That's what I was going to say. Isn't In-N-Out a requirement? (Not a fan, personally.)
  • aemsley05
    aemsley05 Posts: 151 Member
    Thanks everyone for your suggestions - I love the idea of living off nothing but tacos! :D

    Will check out In 'n Out Burger for sure, and will definitely get some Mexican and BBQ. I'm going with my boyfriend who is totally not adventurous when it comes to food, but fortunately he loves Mexican and all things meat so that works out quite well!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited October 2017
    https://spoonuniversity.com/place/la-foods-that-are-must-trys

    I wouldn't classify most of these things as typical "American", but LA is kinda quirky. Too bad you can't travel around a bit...the US is large and food cultures vary considerably by region...
  • Sunnybrooke99
    Sunnybrooke99 Posts: 369 Member
    for a nice meal out, check out a Chart House. These are really nice seafood places, right on the coast. Every one I have been to was beautiful and had great food.
  • JetJaguar
    JetJaguar Posts: 801 Member
    If you go to In-N-Out, be sure to order the animal fries. It's not on their regular menu boards, but In-N-Out also has an unlisted "secret" menu.
  • sparklyglitterbomb
    sparklyglitterbomb Posts: 458 Member
    The cool think about LA is that you can experience so many ethnicities in one area.
    For the LA institutions, do try In-n-Out, then also you can head down to Pink's for a hot dog (mediocre, but an LA landmark). Tacos all around as mentioned above.. Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles (hit the original on Gower) is fun, if you are near downtown, get a danger dog (hot dog with peppers and onions, cooked on a sheet pan in a little cart) and the Mexican corn. French dip at Phillipe's... but really, there are so many great options I'd ask someone at your hotel for their recommendations.

    you can also head to Little Ethiopia, Little Persia, Little India, Japantown, K-town, etc and get a wonderful sampling of those cuisines. I loved living in LA because it was such a fun melting pot.

  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited October 2017
    The following are 3 "only in LA" go-to spots for distinctly "American" food:

    1) Pink's hot dogs

    http://pinkshollywood.com/mobile/

    2) Langer's #9 pastrami sandwich

    http://www.langersdeli.com/

    3) Phillipe's "French" dipped roast beef sandwich

    https://www.philippes.com/

    4) "In and Out" burgers is not only available in LA but it's uniquely American. It's a chain. One reportedly opened to mobs in London last year. Not sure about Scotland.

    If you haven' t been to one yet, check it out in LA and look up their "secret menu" here:

    http://hackthemenu.com/in-n-out/secret-menu/

    You be considered an insider if you order from it.

    5) Guelaguetza isn't American - it's Oaxacan - but it's considered one of the best Mexican restaurants in LA.

    Authentic moles (sauces) made from dozens of ingredients are their specialty. You've also gotta try their Michelada (a spicy beer concoction) unique to Mexico.

    http://www.ilovemole.com/

    It's located in Koreatown where you can also find dozens of Korean places to eat.

    There many other Asian, Latino and other ethic eateries in LA (too many to mention really) but (w/the exception of In-N-Out) the places mentioned above should be on any tourist's list of eateries to try in LA.

    Enjoy!
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I had to ask Google about In n Out in London and they only did a 4 hours pop up, nothing saying if they might make it permanent. We do have Five Guys now though all over the country.
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
    Each town will have it's own "food identity". I wouldn't say food is "American". I live in the Mid West (Ohio). It's quite a bit different than California.

    My grandparents lived near Manchester, UK when I was growing up and when I visited I missed American Cheeseburgers (British meat tastes different).

    If I was going to LA I'd try and find a Spanish/Mexican inspired restaurant and try that kind of food (Since I'm thinking that's pretty limited in the UK and it's also limited in the Midwest).

    Any chance you could drop a few sausage rolls out of the plan when passing over Ohio? LOL I haven't been to the UK since 2001 and miss them greatly!

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