'American' Food

[cactuswatcher]

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25. Chicken and waffles. Well, my dad loved waffles and I had too many of them as a teenager. Chicken and waffles? Same day, okay. Same meal, I'll pass.

24. I like mint-flavored things. Skeptical European should realize mint flavor in toothpaste is there because people might like it. (See root beer below).

23. Corn dogs. Most kids back in the day loved them. I just tolerated them, since I'm not a huge fan of the more typical forms of corn bread. I'd tolerate corn dogs now, just see no reason to seek one out now.

22. Twizzlers. I don't like red licorice much. I like black licorice, but there are better brands than Twizzlers.

21. Candy corn. It's always too much after a piece or two. The variety that has a chocolate top, instead of the yellow, is a different matter. Still way too sweet, but way too tempting for me to pass up.

20. Sweet potato casserole. I don't like sweet potatoes except in pie. French fry them? Put marshmallows on them? Put orange juice on them? Nah, still they just seem nasty to me.

19. Root beer is a favorite of mine. Again the reason they flavor medicine in Europe with something similar is that people might like it. It has to be way better than the imitation banana they flavored my medicine with when I was little. Try a root beer float if you don't think root beer is for you. You might change your mind. That said A&W isn't great root beer. It tastes more of vanilla than any thing. Barq's, Dad's, Hire's (if they still make it) are good. IBC is an acquired taste, perhaps not for beginners in the world of root beer.

18. The worst thing about Outback Steak House is that many of them aren't open for lunch. My sister loved onion rings, and was eager to have me go with her to order a bloomin' onion. It wasn't at Outback, and it was good but too much food for just two people.

17. Cakes and candies. Well, people get used to what they have.

16. Grits. Well, if you're a big fan of porridge of one sort or another you'd probably like grits. It's literally a processed corn porridge. The process of making hominy takes all the flavor out of it, and making hominy into grits doesn't change that. You can load grits up with butter and what-not but the basis is very bland.

15. American cereal. Much of it has too much sugar, and the kind with mini-marshmallows was too much for me even as a kid.

14. Hot pockets. My family tried them back when they first came out. We realized two things. They were pretty expensive for what you got and frozen pizza (also relatively rare at the time) with our own add-ons could be a decent meal.

13. I was and am not a big fan of 'American Cheese,' unless it's melted, then it's totally a different matter. "Cactus Watcher, do you want a slice of cheese on your school sandwich?" No. "Cactus Watcher, do you want a grilled cheese sandwich, tonight?" You bet!

12. Ice. Europeans should realize that most of the U.S. lies at the latitude of Madrid or south of there. After a few days of American hot summer days, you might appreciate ice more.

11. Fruit salad. My mother never put mini-marshmallows in anything except for company. Our fruit salad was more along the lines of fruit cocktail. I like it fine without the marshmallows and the sweet liquid.

10. High fructose corn syrup. Added sugar in any form is sugar.

9. In recent years our white bread has been made with more and more sugar, which it doesn't need. I've been noticing that whole wheat has become sweeter lately. I wish they'd stop doing that!

8. Ranch dressing. I like it as well as most other salad dressings other than thousand island, which I find icky.

7. Sweet tea. I don't use sugar or sweetener in my tea, so if I order iced tea at a restaurant and get sweet tea, it's not a pleasant surprise. First time that happened to me? In the deep south... of Canada - Vancouver, B.C.

6. Fake bacon bits, are, well, it depends on your mood. Think of them as flavored croutons. Better than nothing on your salad, they can't compare with real bacon.

5. Deep fried God-knows. It's all too much for my tastes.

4. Twinkies. When I was a kid, Hostess did everything it could to get parents to get Hostess Cupcakes for their kids. But I was always a fan of their Twinkies. By the time I was a teenager, I realized Twinkies were pretty sad, too. But as a grad student I discovered chocolate covered Twinkies, called Chocodiles, and got addicted to those for awhile... And yes, I've seen a Twinkie that's gone bad. Nothing like seeing green mold in that creamy filling!

3. Chicago style pizza is mostly for tourists. Most Chicagoans prefer pub-style, which is the same thing as St. Louis-style (thin crispy crust cut in small diamonds instead of large wedges. Much more practical for sharing.)

2. Pop tarts. If you like jelly on cardboard (with or without frosting), be my guest. Another thing I'll pass on.

1. I'll admit I'm prejudiced. The poor kids in my old neighborhood all loved biscuits and gravy. I got used to the idea that it was food for only poor folks. Admittedly, our family sometimes had chipped beef on toast (S.O.S) which isn't much different in reality, which I liked all right.