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Germany has the best food because of the Hamburg-er and Frankfurt-er - the 2 iconic American food items! Now somebody make the case for Germany also being responsible for apple pie - I am not clear on the various stru-del/ssel...
My city (lived here for a good 10 years) has 2 McDonalds, 2 Burger Kings, Taco Bell and many more. why aren't i obese yet? this is weird.
Maybe you aren't trying hard enough?
Seriously, about 20 years ago I lost 30+ pounds eating at a Wendy's when working in a major city. Small hamburger, side salad, diet coke, $3.12 and half mile walk back to work...
Seriously, about 20 years ago I lost 30+ pounds eating at a Wendy's when working in a major city. Small hamburger, side salad, diet coke, $3.12 and half mile walk back to work...
Well the employees at McDonalds know me pretty well
Australia could give you a run for your money. Our produce is also of a higher quality. You also lack possibly the greatest cuisine in the world, at least Asia, and one of the most under-represented, Malaysian.
The US has every cuisine you can think of, including Malaysian.
Also, don't you think its a bit cocky to call a food the best in the world? I'm assuming you haven't been to most countries in the world and haven't tasted a majority of the cuisines.
I can't think of just one food being the best. Lately I have been eating alot of Iraquà food and it is just spectacular- that food isn't under many people's radar. I am also a big fan of Ethiopian food. And Mexican food in Mexico (not crappy Tex Mex) is phenomenal.
I've heard that the quality of 'some' of the USA's food is terrible, there are preservatives used in 'some' of the USA's food that are banned in other developed nations because they are dangerous and the 'spray' on cheese is legendary! But like everywhere else I'm sure there is good and bad food there, don't tell the French but its impossible for any country to claim they have the 'worlds best food'.
There is good and bad food in the USA like a lot of places. I've had some fantastic meals in the US as well as some scary ones.
When we talk about OVERALL quality, the US food industry does things to food that would make most people question eating it. Bleaching chickens, Bovine Growth Hormones in Dairy cattle and products, certain food dyes, bromate in bread, olestra etc. All these things are banned in Canada and the EU.
Even take the standard of chocolate. What can be labelled chocolate in the US can't in Canada, the U.K. and Europe because their standard of what chocolate is is lower.
This is NOT to say that you can't buy good chocolate in the US, you can, but if you just read the label and think you're getting what you think is chocolate, you may find you are eating what looks like chocolate but tastes like wax.
Most visitors to the US rate the food by their restaurant experiences. So depending on where they go and what they are looking for in a meal, you're going to get different reactions to the same meal.
One thing that most talk about is the size of the portions in the US. I remember once in Eureka, California ordering their " Chicken Special " or something like that. It sounded good, chicken, mushroom sauce with oddly bacon, but hey I was hungry. Enough food for a family of three arrived. Two FULL chicken breasts, covered in a grey sauce which was the colour of mushrooms, but no mushrooms to be seen, layered over with SIX bacons strips. Looking at it depressed me. LOL. I ate as much as I could, but mostly the bacon. The chicken and the sauce had no flavour.
You can also find many places in the US that have " rebelled " and are selling organically grown, hormone free etc foods. I know the west coast of the US best, and there is NO shortage of good restaurants, good food and people who really care about the quality of their products. California makes some FANTASTIC wines so along with that comes FANTASTIC food.
Note: Canada is no angel when it comes to food production. We use Ractopamine in cattle which is banned in the EU and Russia. There are other things I'm sure. High Fructose Corn Syrup has crept into some products that never used to have them etc.
Push a cart up and down my supermarket aisles, and you will conclude that the US has the worst food in the world. It is nearly all processed pre-packaged food loaded with additives and fillers and almost nothing of any nutritional or culinary merit on the list of ingredients.
Smaller supermarkets have almost no cheese variety at all, with about 3/4 of the shelf space occupied by shredded or processed cheeses. Some stores don't even stock plain yogurt, only flavored. Frozen vegetable shelves are 90% potatoes. The deli is where they make subs. My supermarket has discontinued a number of things that don't sell well. Basmati Rice and beef heart come to mind, I had to special order beef heart.
In a lot of towns, the WalMart is the only supermarket in town. Americans define "good food" as food that has not gone past the best-by date, and hold stores to no other criteria. Variety is measured by how many different pre-sweetened ready-to-eat cereals there are. If you were trapped in a convenience store, you'd be malnourished in a week, yet tens of millions of Americans literally buy all their food there. The proportion of ready to eat meals that are ordered in fast food, sub or pizza outlets is very likely of the order of 95%.
Anywhere in Asia and South America, and probably quite a few places in Africa, you can go into any marketplace and look at the food stalls, you will see poor people eating food that is superior to what a majority of Americans will be eating for lunch that day. Superior in terms of freshness, nutritional quality, and delicious presentation, prepared on the spot from scratch, at a small fraction of the price..
I would have to agree with you on this. This is why I love that there are more and more farmers markets. I also like shopping at Trader Joes and Whole Foods. I can get better cheeses, sausages, etc..
I went to the farmers markets this week and got some grassfed butter, baked bread, fruit and veggies. Everything was amazingly delicious. We need to keep expanding the farm to table movement and farmers markets
Seriously? According to who? They're good and all, but there are many great cuisines...to me Mexican cuisine is less varied than most. American is great too, but it's not like we're totally lacking in that department either. We can get pulled pork, I even saw Philly cheese for the first time, as well as the usual gourmet hotdogs, burgers, ribs.etc. More Southern BBQ/Soul food is on it's way, but in many parts of the US that isn't so common anyway.
Mexican cuisine is varied. However, you cannot rate it by restaurants that serve it abroad. Also, alot of US restaurants serve more Tex Mex style food. I consider that American food. I have seen what people try to sell as Mexican food in other countries and it is an abomination. These people should be sued. Lol
For example, we don't eat nachos and very few Mexicans eat flour tortillas. Burritos are not even consumed in a majority of Mexico. Our food is not glopped with sour cream and greasy cheeses( actually our cheeses are more akin to European fresh cheeses and used in moderation). Our breads and pastries are also diverse and excellent.
We eat alot of soups, varied seafood dishes and sauteed meat and veggie dishes(guisados). We have diverse sauces. Also, there is an art and skill in adding chiles to our sauces and dishes. People think that just by throwing
A jalapeno into the dish or making it hot automatically makes it Mexican. It does not. There are different chiles with different flavors that go with different types of meats.
We did smoothies, juicing and fruit salads before they became a trend. I grew up drinking pineapple/cucumber/spinach water and all types of smoothies ( aguas frescas and licuados). This is very normal for us.
Only recently do I see that people are being introduced to our more varied, complex and delicious cuisine.
Mexican cuisine is varied. However, you cannot rate it by restaurants that serve it abroad. Also, alot of US restaurants serve more Tex Mex style food. I consider that American food. I have seen what people try to sell as Mexican food in other countries and it is an abomination. These people should be sued. Lol
For example, we don't eat nachos and very few Mexicans eat flour tortillas. Burritos are not even consumed in a majority of Mexico. Our food is not glopped with sour cream and greasy cheeses( actually our cheeses are more akin to European fresh cheeses and used in moderation). Our breads and pastries are also diverse and excellent.
We eat alot of soups, varied seafood dishes and sauteed meat and veggie dishes(guisados). We have diverse sauces. Also, there is an art and skill in adding chiles to our sauces and dishes. People think that just by throwing
A jalapeno into the dish or making it hot automatically makes it Mexican. It does not. There are different chiles with different flavors that go with different types of meats.
We did smoothies, juicing and fruit salads before they became a trend. I grew up drinking pineapple/cucumber/spinach water and all types of smoothies ( aguas frescas and licuados). This is very normal for us.
Only recently do I see that people are being introduced to our more varied, complex and delicious cuisine.
Absolutely agree. Mexican food is not what most think it is. UNESCO lists Mexican cuisine as a"Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity"
Absolutely agree. Mexican food is not what most think it is. UNESCO lists Mexican cuisine as a"Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity"
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