# American restaurants in foreign countries other than fast food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417 "2013-07-24T21:13:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/121 "2013-07-30T08:33:28Z")
> [@jovan](#): > > Serious question: what would Americans consider “American food”? This is an interesting question. Most of the restaurants mentioned here seem to serve a limited version of either diner or steakhouse food. There are American dishes like clam chowder and meatloaf that I don’t see on these menus. Turkey is another one - many American delis and diners offer turkey sandwiches or turkey dinners. The fish offered in American restaurants often includes catfish, sole, halibut, snapper, etc. American food includes a lot of bean dishes like black bean soup, red beans and rice, lima beans with hamhocks. . . There are also corn (and cornmeal) dishes like corn on the cob, corn chowder, cornbread, hush puppies. There’s comfort food like macaroni and cheese. Then there are all the different regional cuisines (such as Cajun) and regional specialties (like Chicago Italian beef) that are probably best left to another thread. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/122 "2013-07-30T08:38:07Z")
One kind of American food I really crave is Southern food. Fried okra, fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, etc. There have been a few places in Seoul that advertise themselves as “Southern” but they all suck. All they do is pour in a shit ton of red pepper flakes and call it Cajun. And then charge an arm and a leg for it. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/123 "2013-07-30T12:59:51Z")
Melbourne’s first rule of food nomenclature: American food isn’t. Generalization: Any food with the name of a country is not food from that country. American brownies French toast French vanilla slice Chinese food Welsh rarebit German pumpernickel Hamburger And it doesn’t matter what they call it, you probably aren’t going to get a decent hottodoggu or spaghetti naporitan outside of Japan. We do have American restaurants here, but because the difference is subtle, they normally register as being not-as-good rather than authentic. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/124 "2013-07-30T13:26:14Z")
> [@Caractacus\_Pott](#): > > A little late to the party so here goes. “American Pizza” outside America. It will have canned corn as a topping. Always. Restaurant or frozen at the grocery store, canned corn. True. My classmates and I were in the Pizza Hut in Oxford, England about a decade ago (mostly because it was the only place with free soda refills… and all the ICE we wanted!), and we were all sort of mystified by the corn on various pizzas. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/125 "2013-07-30T14:52:49Z")
Yep, for example, check out popular German frozen pizza brand [Dr. Oetker’s Big Americans supreme pizza](http://www.oetker.be/oetker_be/html/default/debi-7seck2.nl.html): salami, ham, corn, and mushrooms. Incidentally, I’ve always wondered whether I should be slightly offended by the “Big Americans” name. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/126 "2013-07-30T16:57:42Z")
> [@Caractacus\_Pott](#): > > A little late to the party so here goes. “American Pizza” outside America. It will have canned corn as a topping. Always. Restaurant or frozen at the grocery store, canned corn. Which raises a question in my mind: do Europeans eat much corn, generally? Maybe they think of corn as an “American” thing, the way we think of water chestnuts as a “Chinese” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Caractacus\_Pott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Caractacus\_Pott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caractacus_Pott)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/127 "2013-07-30T17:07:03Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yep, for example, check out popular German frozen pizza brand [Dr. Oetker’s Big Americans supreme pizza](http://www.oetker.be/oetker_be/html/default/debi-7seck2.nl.html): salami, ham, corn, and mushrooms. Incidentally, I’ve always wondered whether I should be slightly offended by the “Big Americans” name. 🙂 Don’t be offended. It truly is bigger than the typical Dr. Oetker frozen pizza, twice as thick. ---
**Author:** ![Caractacus\_Pott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Caractacus\_Pott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caractacus_Pott)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/128 "2013-07-30T17:10:03Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Which raises a question in my mind: do Europeans eat much corn, generally? Maybe they think of corn as an “American” thing, the way we think of water chestnuts as a “Chinese” thing. Until fairly recently, some Europeans considered corn as “pig feed.” Canned corn and drinking water from the tap instead of a bottle are “American.” ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/129 "2013-07-30T18:12:33Z")
> [@Caractacus\_Pott](#): > > Until fairly recently, some Europeans considered corn as “pig feed.” Canned corn and drinking water from the tap instead of a bottle are “American.” Funny this..my father immigrated to the US after WW 2’ he was eating at his future in-laws place in Michigan , they served corn on the cob. He said.." This is for pigs" . ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/130 "2013-07-30T18:58:47Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > I thought it was maybe a pick up from Hawaii with their Moco Loco dish (a fried egg on a hambuger patty served on rice with gravy). Loco moco. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/131 "2013-07-31T01:14:30Z")
> [@Caractacus\_Pott](#): > > You’ve made my point. Even the least demanding Mexican-style cuisine can’t be satisfactorily made outside North America for some reason. There have been some decent Mexican-food restaurants in Bangkok over the years. The long-running Tia Maria was the best but never seemed to garner much custom. It was in a sucky location though, but still managed to hang on for 15 years or so. Sunrise Tacos is a local chain that is actually pretty good, owned and operated by yet another American lawyer – what is it about American lawyers opening restaurants in Bangkok? And the unimaginatively named Chips and Salsa is owned and operated by real Mexicans from Mexico, and they’re very good. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/132 "2013-07-31T01:54:22Z")
In Japan, corn dogs are known as “American dogs”. I’m not sure whether this counts as another example of people outside the US thinking that corn = American, since corn dogs actually were invented in the US and are consumed by actual Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/133 "2013-07-31T01:58:09Z")
You’ll often find [American fried rice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_fried_rice) on menus here in Thailand. It was actually invented over here too, during the Vietnam War era, but that was so long ago that many if not most if not all Thais think this really is an old American standby. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/134 "2013-07-31T03:03:48Z")
bump writes: \> My classmates and I were in the Pizza Hut in Oxford, England about a decade \> ago (mostly because it was the only place with free soda refills… and all the ICE \> we wanted!), and we were all sort of mystified by the corn on various pizzas. I was at one of the chain pizza restaurants in Oxford some years ago and ordered a tandoori chicken pizza. (This is actually the most common variety of pizza in the U.K.) The chicken pieces on the pizza had bones in them. I pointed this out to the waitress. She said, “Well, all chickens have bones in them” (or something similarly snide). I told about this to a British woman afterwards and she complemented me on restraining myself from slugging the waitress for her snideness. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/135 "2013-08-05T01:30:59Z")
Another one in Bangkok that deserves a mention is [Neil’s Tavern](http://www.neil.co.th/). There is no Neil in the operation, never has been. But if I tell you it first opened its doors on July 20, 1969, you might be able to figure out whom it’s named after. (For you younger Dopers, think “moon landing.” ;)) It’s a steakhouse, fairly expensive too, with most of the meat flown in including from the US. ---
**Author:** ![Uther\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Uther\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uther_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/136 "2013-08-05T20:37:46Z")
> [@Caractacus\_Pott](#): > > Don’t be offended. It truly is bigger than the typical Dr. Oetker frozen pizza, twice as thick. Well, there is also this: [an “American” pizza by Dr. Oetker that does contain no corn.](http://www.oetker.de/unsere-produkte/culinaria/american-hot-dog-style.html) Instead it has hot dog slices, fried onions. chopped cherkins, cheese and a mustard honey sauce. :eek: The same product line has Pizza Turkish lahmacun style, Pizza Greek gyros style and Pizza Thai Chicken - the latter with chicken breast, spinach, coconut cream, ginger, cilantro, sour cream. :eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![Werekoala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7993a0/32.png) [@Werekoala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Werekoala)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/137 "2013-08-06T00:45:45Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > London has The Texas Embassy. They put beans in the chili. Do I need to go on? Yes, but the enchiladas are passable, as are the tacos, and the drinks are good. (been there twice - I’m a Texan, so my opinion naturally counts far more than anyone else’s) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/138 "2013-08-06T01:47:58Z")
> [@Uther\_Penguin](#): > > Well, there is also this: [an “American” pizza by Dr. Oetker that does contain no corn.](http://www.oetker.de/unsere-produkte/culinaria/american-hot-dog-style.html) Instead it has hot dog slices, fried onions. chopped cherkins, cheese and a mustard honey sauce. :eek: Holy shit, that’s pretty awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/139 "2013-08-06T09:37:05Z")
I’ve been in a lot of countries, and the only other place I’ve seen an IHOP is in Japan. (International, indeed…) The Japanese idea of breakfast food wasn’t quite the same as American’s. Tokyo also had a Tony Roma’s and a Johnny Rocket’s. ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417/140 "2013-08-06T11:33:46Z")
For Chicago dopers who want to try out a foreign version of pizza and fried chicken, there’s [This place](http://www.yelp.com/biz/cheo-ga-jip-pizza-and-chicken-niles) in Niles. Apparently it’s a chain from South Korea and they brought it over here, to an area where a ton of Koreans live. I’ve had their chicken a few times. The spicy sauces are pretty spectacular. Not too much like buffalo sauce. It comes with daikon radishes on the side. The pizzas, though, are weird. They have options like sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, corn (of course) and mayonnaise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-restaurants-in-foreign-countries-other-than-fast-food/664417.md?page=8)