# 16 People On Things They Couldn’t Believe About America Until They Moved Here **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 15, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954 "2013-11-15T01:24:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/221 "2013-11-23T11:28:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Another person chiming in - yes, the vast majority of pumpkins in the US are consumed in pie. I’ve heard of pumpkin soup, but I’ve never had it and it’s not common. Other squash are more commonly consumed. > > When you say “pie” to an American they think the sweet variety. While we do have the savory variety they aren’t thought of as “pies”, even if pie is in the name. In other words “pot pie” is thought of as a different category than “pie”. Chicken pot pie is a savory pie, but it’s not thought of as a pie here. > > I hope that’s not too confusing. It gets more confusing when you start calling pizzas ‘pies’ though! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/222 "2013-11-23T11:29:30Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Savory meat pies are very rare in US restaurants, perhaps because of their strong association with poverty. In US chain family and higher restaurants (e.g. Denny’s and TGI Fridays), perhaps; but I’ve often seen meat pies in British-style pubs in the US. I don’t see them as associated with poverty, but more as a foreign cuisine that lends a little more credence to “Ye Olde King’s Head” pub in Santa Monica, California; and similar places. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/223 "2013-11-23T11:48:34Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > Not sure if this is true - are pumpkins not eaten much in the USA? Except in pies, of course. Do they have pumpkin in a roast dinner or with meat and three veg? > > Also friends who visited the USA said all the pies were sweet. No such thing as a savory pie. What Evil Captor said =) Some of us do actually make savory pies - and people forget that [quiche](http://www.merrimentdesign.com/images/spinach-ham-and-parmesan-quiche.jpg) is a savory pie as well [mmmm bacon, onion, spinach, eggs and cheese custardy goodness, what is not to like?] though in our house we also cook medieval and renaissance, so we may make a [tart for Ember Day](http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/tarts.html), or a [pie of Paris](http://home.pcisys.net/~mem/pies.html). And need I mention that a[pate en croute](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2630/4141388667_cf6ecaa5e7_o.jpg) is also more or less a pie? More and more pumpkin and squashes are getting used - just recently I found several good recipes over on [foodgawker](http://foodgawker.com/page/2/?s=pumpkin%2Csquash). The site is a compendium of recipes found on blogs, not just US but all over. I use the site to make changes so we are not always eating the same 10 meals. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/224 "2013-11-23T13:45:57Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > i believe that is because the swedish chef is a bit more norwegian than swedish. > > picturing you explaining the chef and bork, bork, bork, to an increasingly alarmed swede, had me laughing. I have heard that the Swedish Chef is known as the Swedish Chef everywhere in the world, except for Sweden, where they call him the Norwegian Chef. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/225 "2013-11-23T13:55:53Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Credit card receipts have a line specifically for adding a tip. If you run a tab at the bar for the night you add the tip on the receipt at the end. Why would any of the money paid by credit card go to the bank? He means that the money you pay by credit card is deposited directly into the business’ account, so then the business has to get cash from somewhere to give to the employee. 1. Or, the employee gets their tips by check from the business, perhaps even by direct deposit. 2. I have a lot of customers who work in service jobs where one gets tips, and many of them complain that their boss doesn’t give them all (or any) of the tips they get from cards. Former employees of the bar next door come to my shop to get some cash off their cards for tipping because they know the bar owner won’t give credit card tips to his employees. So you’re right that tipping in cash is better. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/226 "2013-11-23T14:00:35Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > What struck me in the USA (I’ve visited but haven’t lived there) is the respect for and/or fear of the police. Like when we were pulled over (not doing anything remotely illegal) my American friend was making very sure her hands were in sight and she was being very cooperative and polite. More police officers are killed during traffic stops than any other part of the job. Keeping your hands in sight and such is just being polite. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/227 "2013-11-23T14:10:08Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > As it currently stands, you can’t just build onto a house without getting planning permission -(snip) We live in a small country - if anyone could build what they liked wherever they bought a piece if land, then we wouldn’t have any green spaces left, people would block other peoples light/ views with their new bathroom extensions and the country would be stuffed with ugly, poorly build sheds. Just offering this for contrast, from the Connecticut town where I grew up: Any new structure or any addition to an existing structure must comply with the building codes of the state (mostly safety stuff). No permanent structure could be built within 8 feet of the property line. The minimum size for a lot you may build a house on was 2 acres. Within those boundaries, go for it. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/228 "2013-11-23T14:15:54Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Nice link. If you would have asked me what the 5th biggest state in the country was, it would have been a while before I said “New Mexico,” > > Interesting that of the top-20 largest states, all but 1 (Michigan) are west of the Mississippi river. If you go by land area (removing lakes, ocean inlets, etc), all of the top-20 are western states (with Georgia at #21.) Yeah, drawing all those tiny little states can get tedious, And clearly by the time we reached the Mississippi we just wanted to get it over with. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/229 "2013-11-23T14:52:33Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Interesting link - [mapfight](http://mapfight.appspot.com/) That’s really cool. I compared Africa to the state of Illinois: [http://mapfight.appspot.com/africa-vs-us.il/africa-illinois-us-size-comparison](http://mapfight.appspot.com/africa-vs-us.il/africa-illinois-us-size-comparison) ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/230 "2013-11-23T18:11:21Z")
> [@SpyOne](#): > > He means that the money you pay by credit card is deposited directly into the business’ account, so then the business has to get cash from somewhere to give to the employee. > > 1. Or, the employee gets their tips by check from the business, perhaps even by direct deposit. > 2. I have a lot of customers who work in service jobs where one gets tips, and many of them complain that their boss doesn’t give them all (or any) of the tips they get from cards. Former employees of the bar next door come to my shop to get some cash off their cards for tipping because they know the bar owner won’t give credit card tips to his employees. > > So you’re right that tipping in cash is better. I’ve seen some places where if you tip by credit card, they enter the amount in the register and simply take out the cash value of the tip from the till itself, giving it directly to the server. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/231 "2013-11-23T20:25:43Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > Not sure if this is true - are pumpkins not eaten much in the USA? Except in pies, of course. Do they have pumpkin in a roast dinner or with meat and three veg? > > Also friends who visited the USA said all the pies were sweet. No such thing as a savory pie. We don’t have a savory dessert pie, no. We have them for meals, as noted by previous posters. If there’s something spicy in a dessert it’s in tandem w/ something sweet - chili in chocolate, pepper in peach compote, etc. Even key lime pie is tart and sweet at the same time. Squashes other than pumpkin are used more frequently b/c they have more flavor; we’re particularly fond of spaghetti squash here, and we use zucchini squash finely chopped in baking. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/232 "2013-11-23T23:44:23Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > What Evil Captor said =) > > Some of us do actually make savory pies - and people forget that [quiche](http://www.merrimentdesign.com/images/spinach-ham-and-parmesan-quiche.jpg) is a savory pie as well [mmmm bacon, onion, spinach, eggs and cheese custardy goodness, what is not to like?] though in our house we also cook medieval and renaissance, so we may make a [tart for Ember Day](http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/tarts.html), or a [pie of Paris](http://home.pcisys.net/~mem/pies.html). And need I mention that a[pate en croute](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2630/4141388667_cf6ecaa5e7_o.jpg) is also more or less a pie? > > More and more pumpkin and squashes are getting used - just recently I found several good recipes over on [foodgawker](http://foodgawker.com/page/2/?s=pumpkin%2Csquash). The site is a compendium of recipes found on blogs, not just US but all over. I use the site to make changes so we are not always eating the same 10 meals. I don’t make quiches, but I do occasionally make a pot pie of some sort. I admit to using frozen pie crust, but otherwise, my chicken, turkey, and beef pot pies are generally completely from scratch, including the gravy. It’s how I use up the last bits of roast beast. I also make a tuna pot pie, but that’s mostly from cans. Pot pies are quite good in colder weather, especially with a salad or a mixed fruit plate. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/233 "2013-11-24T00:18:39Z")
Re:savory pumpkin dishes - the only time I see them on a consistent basis locally, outside of soups, are in Thai restaurants. “Pumpkin curry” is a fairly popular menu offering around these parts. On the sweet side, [pumpkin bread](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_bread) is also reasonably ubiquitous, less so than [banana bread](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_bread), but probably about on par with or even a little more common these days than zucchini bread ( same concept ). ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/234 "2013-11-24T01:33:49Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > You guys have PUMPKIN IN A CAN?? > [@Punoqllads](#): > > Well you better let him out! No, wrong joke, that was [Prince Albert](http://www.smokes-spirits.com//images/products/ptb_prince_albert_14oz.jpg)… ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/235 "2013-11-24T04:12:07Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > a [pie of Paris](http://home.pcisys.net/~mem/pies.html) I once spent a six-month deployment craving one of those… ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/236 "2013-11-24T05:20:10Z")
No one has mentioned that most canned “pumpkin pie filling” is some other kind of squash. Buildings on the register of historical buildings have strict restrictions on what can be altered on them ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/237 "2013-11-24T07:33:36Z")
> [@svd678](#): > > Buildings on the register of historical buildings have strict restrictions on what can be altered on them Where in the world do you live where this _doesn’t_ happen? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/238 "2013-11-24T09:52:53Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Savory meat pies are very rare in US restaurants, perhaps because of their strong association with poverty. I have had chicken pot pies at both Bakers Square and Marie Callender’s (both chain restaurants, both of which also sell a wide range of sweet pies). I think they do beef pot pies too. [Moffet’s](http://moffettschickenpies.com/) in Arcadia California is a whole business, restaurant and shop, completely based around chicken pies (though they do beef ones too). The person who said there are no savory pies in America is just wrong. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/239 "2013-11-24T10:42:10Z")
And what’s a Chicago deep dish but a savory pie? Anything you have to eat with a fork isn’t really a pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954/240 "2013-11-24T15:37:02Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > And what’s a Chicago deep dish but a savory pie? Anything you have to eat with a fork isn’t really a pizza. Agreed, it is some kind of casserole. Even a calzone is a more pizza-like product as silverware is optional; but that wet, drippy ‘deep dish’ tomato, cheese and meat pie is a casserole. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/16-people-on-things-they-couldn-t-believe-about-america-until-they-moved-here/673954.md?page=13)