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Me too. I suspect America is like Australia; every night across the country you'll find people sitting down to share a meal of.... barbecue beef, Thai curry, Vietnamese, seafood, Irish stews, grandma's recipe Polish dumplings, a Big Mac, microwave dinners , a tee bone steak and veggies, chicken parmigiana ..........
Beyond damper and Aussie style (real) Pavlova, I'm not sure what "Aussie food" really is.
Perhaps British food was never going to be a really strong common bond. No offence to the Brits, but its not really considered one of the world's great cuisines....
Luckily we both had immigrants to replace the English food. However, America's immigrants were a lot longer ago, while Australia's were more recent. As BCC said, American food is just blah.
Sure, the top restaurants in both countries are similar, and I'm sure there are way more Michelin stars in the US, but put Denny's or Shari's or the Cheesecake Factory up against any Australian country pub and I can tell you which will win. Average Americans just don't really have any food standards whatsoever. Google nachoes if you don't believe me. Or I could horrify you with a pic of the shelf stable cake like products they sell.
Or you could treat yourself to a defrosted meal at a neighbourhood American Italian place. America got its Italians several generations ago and have thoroughly beaten the good food out of them, the people who arrived in Australia and had to grow their own tomatoes and import coffee machines to get decent food are still alive in Australia.
Luckily we both had immigrants to replace the English food. However, America's immigrants were a lot longer ago, while Australia's were more recent. As BCC said, American food is just blah.
Sure, the top restaurants in both countries are similar, and I'm sure there are way more Michelin stars in the US, but put Denny's or Shari's or the Cheesecake Factory up against any Australian country pub and I can tell you which will win. Average Americans just don't really have any food standards whatsoever. Google nachoes if you don't believe me. Or I could horrify you with a pic of the shelf stable cake like products they sell.
Or you could treat yourself to a defrosted meal at a neighbourhood American Italian place. America got its Italians several generations ago and have thoroughly beaten the good food out of them, the people who arrived in Australia and had to grow their own tomatoes and import coffee machines to get decent food are still alive in Australia.
You just named a bunch of crappy American chain. I agree wih those being crap. There are plenty of great italian places with fresh regional food, especially in the Northeast. Olive Garden is a travesty.
The USA has good nachos and bad nachos. It depends on where you go. Real nachos wouldn't have that gross liquidy "nacho cheese'.
I was schocked while in Rome last year to see menus full of frozen foods. I saw aserisks on stuff, so I looked at the bottom of the page and that meant frozen items.
You just named a bunch of crappy American chain. I agree wih those being crap. There are plenty of great italian places with fresh regional food, especially in the Northeast. Olive Garden is a travesty.
The USA has good nachos and bad nachos. It depends on where you go. Real nachos wouldn't have that gross liquidy "nacho cheese'.
I was schocked while in Rome last year to see menus full of frozen foods. I saw aserisks on stuff, so I looked at the bottom of the page and that meant frozen items.
Yes, there are some good restaurants, but the vast vast majority are excrement. Cheesecake Factory, Panera, Unos, Cracker Barrel, Applebees, Ruby Tuesday, Red Lobster, and on and on and on.
You must have lived in a region that did not do justice to American cuisine.
Come over and dine with me...I can show you what I am talking about.
I've been to plenty of parts of the US but I was living in NYC. As I said, it's just my opinion, but it's not exactly easy to find American food outside America and given how pervasive American culture is there is surely a reason its food never really caught on. From what I saw, aside from very high end places American doesn't do nuanced flavours well. The abundance of chains is somewhat symptomatic of an unadventurous pallette.
I've been to plenty of parts of the US but I was living in NYC. As I said, it's just my opinion, but it's not exactly easy to find American food outside America and given how pervasive American culture is there is surely a reason its food never really caught on. From what I saw, aside from very high end places American doesn't do nuanced flavours well. The abundance of chains is somewhat symptomatic of an unadventurous pallette.
I hear ya. I don't eat at chains and I love good American food. I was fortunate to grow up in a very international city in the South. Certain regions in the South create delicious tasty healthy foods. I am also a very good amateur Chef and cook a lot of my food. However, when I am not in the mood and I am wanting American I know where to go.
My favorite international food is Persian food. I have learned how to make one of the best Persian soups.
I understand the OP's craving. I have traveled to several European countries with lengthy stays and my craving hit me during my travels as well.
Don't go to chain restaurants. Go to small independant local ones. They are all over the place.
And the food there is generally worse than the chains, which is why the chains thrive.
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