My wife and I have a vacation planned in Sydney next March. While I’m fairly adventurous when it comes to trying new foods, she is not. How different is “typical” Australian food from American? Are the spices used similar? If we were to go to into a family owned non-themed restaurant, what would we expect to find?
Also, any advice on what to try and what to avoid would be greatly appreciated. TIA.
Lots of their cuisine is English-derived, much like American cuisine.
I haven’t been to Sydney for several years, but my impression of the food was that other than some tropical fruits we have little or no access to here in New England the food didn’t feel especially “foreign” to me. Some different combinations than I was used to, and it felt a bit California-esque in that they have access to great fresh fruits and vegetable year round.
Some things you may find a bit different are sauces (their ketchup is weird 
), some fish you may not have had before, some fruits you may not have had before.
I highly recommend trying:
Pavlova, a fruit-topped meringue dessert
sausage rolls (sausage wrapped in yummy pastry)
meat pies
a burger “with the lot” and YES LET THEM PUT BEET ON IT!!!
lamington (a sort of square cake dessert)
ETA I didn’t get a chance to try Balmain bugs, which is a local crustacean, and I am sad I didn’t get to have them
Try roo and emu. Mmmm.
Barramundi (fish) from the Northern Territory. Make sure it’s not farm fish.
Forget the witchetty grubs. They only taste good when dug fresh from the ground.
The biggest difference between Sydney and a typical US city of the same size is that it is more ethnically diverse, with much more of the population having been born overseas. So, a “family owned non-themed restaurant” is likely to be Chinese or Vietnamese rather than “Australian”. The only cities that I’ve seen that rival it for such diversity are New York and London. However, compared with the average US city, it is severely lacking in Mexican restaurants: as geograp[hy would suggest, you’ll find more Southeast Asian restaurants. So, if you want to try Malaysian or Indonesian cuisine without going to Malaysia or Indonesia, Sydney is the place to go.
While you’re there, you simply MUST sample the upside-down cake!
Because we don’t eat ketchup. We have tomato sauce. Similar but different. Heinz recently tried an advertising campaign for Ketchup here in Oz, but with no success as far as I’m aware.
The thing to keep in mind in Australia 95% of the time if someone mentions beetroot, they’re talking about pickled beetroot. Which on a burger plays a similar roll to the pickles you use in the States.
As to the OP, I agree with Giles that in any of the major Australian cities, the variety of cuisines is very good. If you choose to stick to ‘traditional Australian’ cuisine you’ll find it overall very similar to your food at home.
We don’t really have much of a casual ‘diner’ culture here (No Denny’s, etc) that niche/category is generally filled by cafe’s or pubs, where you can grab a ‘counter meal’. Your typical menu is going to include a lot of variations on meat and veg or meat and salad. Steaks, chicken (often chicken schnitzel/parmigiana) some fish of some kind, etc. Vary rarely in that sort of place will see any ‘weird’ spices/dressings etc, that aren’t specifically called out on the menu.
I agree with Duckster that if you can try some Barramundi, it is a very nice fish, unfortunately the chances of finding wild caught Barramundi anywhere but a nice (and expensive) restaurant is pretty slim. Truth be told farmed Barramundi is pretty anemic, and ‘blah’ IMO.
A couple of things as an aside,
Favourite things to try?
Skip the Red Backs and Rice.
The strawberry upside down cake will be right side up.
At least standard Australian cooking doesn’t use a lot of spices, any more than say English or New England in the US.
Vegemite, of course, is an acquired taste.
Likewise beans on toast, or canned spaghetti on toast, as a breakfast item.
I had kangaroo at an old pub-turned-restaurant on the Circular Quay, near the Opera house. Beautiful building, good food. The kangaroo was similar to a steak, in my memory. Afterwards, I stumbled upon a pub with its doors open to the lovely November spring, and watched the whole pub singing along to a live band playing - honest to Sydney Visitors Bureau - Waltzing Matilda.
Don’t know if your request for recommendations was limited to restaurants, but the Sidney Aquarium was easily the best I’ve ever seen. I often tell the story of the sign I saw on the balcony that overlooked the crocodile habitat. “Do not lean. If the fall doesn’t kill you, the crocs will.” Apparently, Aussies think “beating around the bush” means “going for a walk in the outback”.
Ah, yeah - it doesn’t, Slow Moving Vehicle. It means not being direct and straight to the point.
You’ll be thrilled by the food in Sydney, Nars Glinley. It’s fresh, it’s abundant, and you can spend from $5 to $500 on it.
We don’t have cheese in a can though, and you won’t get creamer for your cafe coffee (it’ll be a mental assortment of milk to choose from instead), and Chinese takeaway doesn’t come in those lovely carry boxes.
Aussie wines are great, boutique beer is great, and if you’re an oyster and seafood fan (and in March, Balmain Bugs are in season, Motorgirl!) check out ‘Sydney Oyster Bar’ at Circular Quay.
If you have the chance to eat crocodile, do. It’s much better than the other way 'round.
And if it’s all too overwhelming for your wife, there are too many MickeyD’s on too many corners.
Eat lots, drink more and have yourself a very merry time.
You could always go to one of the Outback Steakhouses in Sidney (Google shows me two) 
Please don’t even joke about that. I’m still not sure how I let my wife talk me into going to the one in Brisbane, but it was horrible. :smack:
Lots more Asian influenced places, but there are plenty of English/French/Italian inspired pubs/bistros and cafes to choose from too. Lots of cafes do filled rolls - (normally called panini) plus wraps with a mixture of meats and salad vegies - benefit of these is you can see what’s in them if she’s picky. Most places will allow for some degree of takeout option if you’re wanting something to go.
There’s also largish Middle Eastern and Indian populations so you might find tandoori chicken salads wraps or Turkish bread with haloumi and pumpkin to suit Western taste buds, along with more authentic offerings too.
We are big on brunch here, especially on the weekend, and are lavish in our use of avocado and poached eggs in various combinations (pancakes and waffles are cafe dependent and won’t always be offered).
Coffee comes Italian-style - espresso, long black, latte, flat white etc - we do have Starbucks around a few places but most shut down a while ago, and given a chance I reckon you’ll find our coffee is pretty good, although stronger than you may be used to?
Fish is really common and fresh, and make sure you have fish and chips at some point in your stay.
There is McDonalds, KFC and Hungry Jack (Burger King) if she gets really desperate but really our food is not challenging, can be really excellent and should be tried.
Agree with the other comments about pricing and tipping - looks expensive on the menu but that’s all you pay. Portions may be smaller than you are used to, but should always fill you up.
If you’re looking at recommendations I like Broadsheet - gives you an idea of what’s on the menu at well reviewed cafes, but follow your nose and I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
I have to second this! Loved this place! There was also a good diner type place in King’s Cross, but I have no memory of the name and it’s probably not there anymore.
My family found the food in Australia to be on the bland side (this was years ago–we visited right before the Sydney Olympics), but none of it was particularly odd. There seemed to be fewer sauces and condiment usage.
I found it was odd that soft drinks and stuff don’t generally come with ice. Lot’s of great pastries.
You do have to try vegemite at least once. That will probably be enough ;):D. I saw it places in the equivalent of little jelly packets, so you don’t have to buy a whole jar or anything.
Nars Glinley, if you’re interested in sampling a bit of bush tucker, this place, about 10 minutes by bus from the city centre, is well worth it. Not cheap, but the food is simply delicious. And it’s set right in Victoria Park - a nice spot for outside under the tree, looking at a ducky lake. They’re always happy to put your table there.
Full disclosure: I live in ultra-liberal, ultra-trendy Northern California, so my comparison might not hold if you are from Nebraska or Georgia or someplace like that.
People were no where near as health conscious about the food, and so lots of choices you might find in CA were not available. Now, I have not been to Oz since the “gluten-free” craze hit the US (or at least CA), so I wonder if one might readily find “gluten free” menu items at restaurants. It’s very common here to find not only vegetarian choices, but gluten free as well. Pretty much any coffee shop where I live will have soy milk… is that readily available at your typical, local coffee shop (I don’t mean Starbucks)?
Knives are much bigger. Not sure about forks and spoons.
Interesting, I have to disagree. I’m not gluten-free but I am a vegetarian and try to eat healthy, and I found Sydney way better than all but the largest American cities. Yeah, there’s lots of meat pies and steak and such, but especially if you get into neighborhoods where people actually live you can find tons of <whatever>-free options.
The food can be a little bit bland, IME – “true” Aussie cuisine is…sort of variations of British, I guess. But there’s an amazing variety of fantastic Asian and Asian-inspired options, fantastic coffee on just about every option (yes, with soy milk readily available)…
The only things I found lacking in Sydney were pizza (your options range from ‘ech’ to ‘well, it’s better than cooking something myself’) and Tex-Mex (though there’s a fast-food chain that can manage a semi-decent burrito).
I would not expect to find good Tex-Mex anywhere except certain regions of the US. We Americans are absolutely mad about Mexican food, in general, but I would never expect to find that in a country half-way around the world.