What do Non-Americans...

[0098386]

So American food tastes strange because of HFCS? I thought that was just in drinks, not in the food itself.

 

[samiwas]

I did not like the drinks over there. Coca Cola and Powerade had a strange taste to them, not as sweet as they are in the rest of the world.

The Coca Cola problem is that they use high fructose corn syrup rather than regular sugar here in the US. You can get Pepsi Cola made with regular sugar, but it is a secondary offering (called "Pepsi Throwback") and costs more than regular Pepsi. It does taste better, though. Even those of us in the US know Coke tastes better in other countries. There is a nice little business in the US southwest bringing Coke in from Mexico where it is made right. Why Coke won't switch back to regular sugar for us is a mystery. Its not like we don't know the difference in taste.

See, I think completely the opposite. I found the Coke in the UK and I think Australia to be bland, almost flat-tasting. I could not wait to get back to the US Coke. I don't remember having an opinion one way or the other about Mexican Coke...I think I thought it was fine.

I like my Coke served cold and for the HFCS to take me by the collar and punch me in the face a few times. To me, there is no better drink than a perfect-temperature US Coke. But, that's my opinion, and obviously not shared by others.

And very few places overseas do refills, and their drink sizes are wwaaaayyyy too small. And they'll give you only one packet of ketchup.

But yeah the processed foods, the supermarket snacks were not very nice. Couldn't put my finger on why exactly. Global brands should be similar wherever you go, right?

You would think, but they are very different, and probably try to mesh with the local preferences. For instance, prawn or ketchup chips (crisps). The very thought makes me want to gag. But they are freaking EVERYWHERE in the UK. I don't ever see those in the US, probably because it's just not a thing over here. When ordering pizza in Sweden, it seemed like "no shrimp" was a special order. Shrimp would be a premium topping here. It's all a matter of local tastes. And I'm sure even the global brands try to alter their product to appeal to the local flavors. Trust me, I would have loved to get a bag of decent barbecue chips.

Portions are far too big. Most restaurants could easily halve the sizes of their meals.

Here a restaurant meal is designed to serve you. Not you, your lunch tomorrow and possibly your dog.

I do agree that some portions are too big. But I do love getting some leftovers sometimes. It's like a free lunch the next day.

I always found it odd in London, that they looked at us like we were crazy if we asked for our food to go. I was on a work assignment at the O2 Dome (don't know if it's still called that) for five weeks. We had an hour lunch break each day. It took about ten minutes to walk to where all the restaurants were, so we really had about forty minutes to order and eat. Seeing that all the restaurants were sit-down server places, this meant ordering then waiting, paying a bill, etc. And my experience was that servers in London were in no hurry whatsoever to get your meal out. I guess this has to do with the relaxed atmosphere or something. In one place, we couldn't order and finish in forty minutes, so we asked our order to go. They had to give us the actual plates and silverware and ask us to bring them back the next day, because they didn't even HAVE take-out containers. This was pretty common.

IMO, food in many parts of the world values quality of product as well as subtlety and balance of favors, whereas much American food is about BIG flavors and, most importantly, big portions.

I have been to many countries around the world. And I found much of the food elsewhere sort of bland. Obviously there were some really great dishes. While the contents may have had more quality, I just didn't find that spark in a lot of it. I like a lot of flavor in my food, so bland food is usually not at the top of my list.

When I was in vegas there was a Denny's I think it was and I almost threw up on the menu.

Well, it IS Denny's. Not exactly billed as high-end cuisine.

Oh and what the **** are "grits"?

I think you have to be from the South to like grits. And no one in their right mind eats plain grits. Grits is one of those foods that you melt a stick
of butter and half a pound of cheese in. Healthy? No. Yummy? Yes!

What is with the gravy in the last few years. I've seen gravy poured over french fries, which was way to many calories for me.

That's a Canadian thing, poutine. Not always a fan, but I have had good poutine.

But I feel the same way about bacon. Trust me, I love me some bacon. But there currently seems to be a rabid-like obsession with bacon in the US. It's like a real-life meme.

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It does seem like many of the posts in this thread from visitors to America are based on their experiences at fast food joints and chain restaurants. That's not how to judge food in America.

I love Chinese food. I barely had any food in China that I thought was great, and some stuff that outright repulsed me. Of course, I was in a small "suburb" in China, and not one of the big cities. So, apparently, I like Chinese-based food.

In Australia, I could not get over the "pots" of beer. It's like three sips of beer for $8. And I had a hard time finding one I liked. The day I came home, I went to my one of my favorite latin joints and got a pitcher of a nice amber for $5.

Nowhere overseas could I ever find a sandwich that really spoke to me. What the hell is up with butter on sandwiches, and a lack of good mustard? And rocket.

Truth is, I'm just a fan of stuff that is considered more "American". Barbecue. Buffalo Wings. A good burger. Tex-Mex. Fried zucchini. An all-beef taco smothered in nacho cheese, lettuce, and tomato, and southwestern sauce, then wrapped in a soft flour tortilla with a layer of refried beans then wrapped in a savory corn tortilla with a layer of monterrey jack cheese and stuffed into a deep fried gordita shell and smothered with guacamolito sauce baked in a corn husk filled with pico de gallo then wrapped in an authentic parisian crepe with egg, gruyere, merguez sausage, and portabello mushroom, wrapped in a chicago-style deep-dish meat lovers' pizza then stuffed in a blueberry pancake and finally dipped in batter and deep fried. OK, just kidding about that last one. I do try to mix a bit of healthier options in there, cooking a lot of veggie- and grilled chicken-based stir fries, pastas, etc. In fact, all my home cooking involves no deep frying.

Now, one big thing is that I'm not a foodie at all. I'm just as happy with a Subway sandwich as I am with an authentic Italian pasta dish. One of my best friends and I can never agree on where to eat because I like simple, and he can't fathom eating something that is not free-range grass-fed organically raised and prepared by a dedicated chef. I fully appreciate good food, but I don't feel the need to spend three times as much on lunch when it really doesn't do that much for me.

For the most part, I think people like what they are used to. People overseas seem to think American food is far too big, with too many rich flavors. And many Americans think the food overseas is bland and don't like some of the customs that go against what they are used to. It all comes down to what you like to eat, as long as you aren't killing yourself with it.

 

[leenak]

I had awesome food in China, it's a shame you didn't. The funniest part is that in Beijing, they have American-style Chinese restaurants. We had a tour guide that accidentally took us to one and she wondered why we weren't happy about it. We had been in China for a week at that point and had been eating local cuisine. She said that they took all the Americans there and they loved it.

 

[LadyX]

As longs as it's good food made from good produce I really don't care. And surely there are very American dishes. Maybe if you're nice somebody will invite you for Thanksgiving in their home. There you can have some very American homemade food experiences that you won't find anywhere else.

But ignorance can be bliss also. Good luck with that.

Why is it that when people say something others disagree with, it's called ignorance. I'm merely saying my thought about this. No need to go about calling someone ignorant just because it contradicts to what you're saying. This is not directed to you only but also the people who indirectly called me ignorant. I'm am not from the US and I live nowhere near the US. I do not celebrate Thanksgiving and I'm not interested in experiencing it.

 

[c073186]

Oh and what the **** are "grits"?

How do you feel towards polenta? They're basically the same thing. With that said, the amount of added fat that people usually add to grits is a bit nauseating to me. (Though... polenta is often laden with butter and cheese also... so really they are about the same).

I am from the US and agree with some of what has been said here: mainly, I am frustrated that most restaurants have over-sized portions and have little regard for healthfulness of the food. But then again, it's what sells, so how can you blame them? I do also think it's a bit unfair though for people to only mention fast food when they talk about "American" food. Of course fast food is not going to be high quality (it's cheap by its nature). There are good and bad dining options everywhere.

This is straying slightly from the topic, but can anyone comment on the accuracy of the statement that Italians eat Nutella sandwiches like we eat peanut butter? To me that is strange, Nutella is basically frosting, all sugar, ... like eating frosted slices of bread for a meal?

 

[JBazz]

I have no problem with the food, the majority of it is very nice. However, serving portions are far too big for my appetite.

I'm an American and I get asked all the time, "didn't you like it?" because I leave at least half behind.

 

[Renzatic]

I had awesome food in China, it's a shame you didn't. The funniest part is that in Beijing, they have American-style Chinese restaurants. We had a tour guide that accidentally took us to one and she wondered why we weren't happy about it. We had been in China for a week at that point and had been eating local cuisine. She said that they took all the Americans there and they loved it.

I've had traditional Chinese cuisine. It's not bad at all, but if you're not used to eating your food looking like the animal it came from, it can be a little offputting.

 

[jsolares]

Not entirely sure what US food actually is, spent 3 months in MN back in '94, no complains. there was this "italian" restaurant that had this big piece of bread filled with cheese and tomato sauce, it was really really nice, haven't had anything like it since, probably the cheese, it was not just mozzarella.

Just spent a couple of weeks in Europe and i was disappointed by the quality of food and prices, i guess we are spoiled here in Central America where vegetables and fruits are really cheap.

Had my first trip over there in June.

I did not like the drinks over there. Coca Cola and Powerade had a strange taste to them, not as sweet as they are in the rest of the world.

Meats were good though. Certainly on par with everywhere else I've been but with the benefit of being cheaper. Same with restaurants, we went to some swanky places and we were surprised at how much it didn't cost! A chain restaurant here would set you back £40 ($60?) for two, but over there it was like $40? And portions were bigger
We didn't go to many world restaurants over there, mostly just grills and temporary restaurants bolted onto houses. Stayed in LA.

But yeah the processed foods, the supermarket snacks were not very nice. Couldn't put my finger on why exactly. Global brands should be similar wherever you go, right?

They don't use sugarcane or beet sugar, it's mostly derived from corn.

 

[snberk103]

See, I think completely the opposite. ...

For the most part, I think people like what they are used to. People overseas seem to think American food is far too big, with too many rich flavors. And many Americans think the food overseas is bland and don't like some of the customs that go against what they are used to. It all comes down to what you like to eat, as long as you aren't killing yourself with it.

Please don't take this wrong way... but after reading your post what struck me was that you like the flavour of HFCS and salt, and perhaps MSG. Near as I can figure, the foods you most enjoy get most of their flavours from those 3 ingredients.

Now... that is fine (as long as there is a self-awareness) - because as you also state - people like what they are used to, and there are lots of regional cuisines that are off-putting to others. But .... if you are equating HFCS, salt, & MSG with flavour - then you need to re-read your last line.

However, I can only make deductions about your diet as only you know what you are actually eating, and if I have made some wrong assumptions then please accept my apologies.

I will just add, however, that my personal experience is that a lot of food in America is heavily over-salted and too sweet. And when you are talking about high salt and sugar content in foods (as we are), then the huge portions become part of the discussion. Massive portions are no longer good value for the money, they are the single largest contributor to the most serious health issue in the USA today. Which makes your last line even more topical.