# Definitely inferior foods Americans love... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990 "2020-01-05T21:10:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/41 "2020-01-06T20:13:18Z")
Doritos gotta be near the top of the list. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/42 "2020-01-06T20:50:32Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > I realize price is a major factor, but I still won’t chose quality over quantity on some things. > > I’m eating some Hersey’s Kisses and it dawned on how inferior (though still addicting) it to most other chocolates. Same with See’s chocolates. It’s better than Hersey’s, but really not worth the price, but I still buy it because it’s cheaper than Ethel M’s. > > My beloved Spam. Spiced Ham my butt! Even canned ham tastes closer to the real thing, but yet Spam I love! > > American processed cheese. Just bought a prewrapped pack of goodness? today. I also have some less processed (hesitate to say real) cheddar and mixed shredded cheese in the freezer, but grilled cheese sandwiches must be made with the prewrapped stuff. > > Taco Bell. Mexic…nope can’t say it’s Mexic…food. Mexican food inspired yes, but Mexic…nope. Still, crave it from time to time. > > Same goes for Pizza Hut, Papa Johns and Dominos. Sounds like you like sodium. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/43 "2020-01-06T21:00:13Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > He was more of a philandering cartoon drunkard. Sure, he wouldn’t hesitate to go hammer and tongs with Flo, but IIRC, he took as much as he dished out. I’d be more afraid of Flo beating the crap out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/44 "2020-01-06T21:23:07Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > He was more of a philandering cartoon drunkard. Sure, he wouldn’t hesitate to go hammer and tongs with Flo, but IIRC, he took as much as he dished out. You’re right, but I didn’t want to spoil the **Simpsons** reference. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/45 "2020-01-06T21:57:46Z")
Remember people in small towns and rural areas may not have a local eatery , they only have chains. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/46 "2020-01-06T23:38:16Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > I agree with processed cheese stuff for grilled cheese sandwiches. Ones made with real cheese just aren’t the same, and sometimes that’s just what you want. Accompanied by Campbell’s tomato soup. Accept no substitute. Best cheese for grilled cheese is Kraft Deli Deluxe - this is real cheese, not “cheese food product”. Can be hard to find, hidden by all the variations of individually wrapped fake cheese. Usually a double-wide package, not individually wrapped, and way more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/47 "2020-01-06T23:39:37Z")
The thing about Hershey’s mentioned in the OP, I don’t think it’s inferior. I’ve had supposedly premium chocolate from around the world, and I don’t see the big deal. Hershey’s does me just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/48 "2020-01-06T23:47:37Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > The only thing that belongs on a Ritz Cracker is that spray cheese in a can stuff. > > Bacon cheddar is the best. Squeeze Cheese! Came here to say this. It also goes well on (low sodium) Saltines. Some times I make smiley faces, some times I just make a large pile of rosettes. It’s been a few years since I indulged in this terrible, terrible American snack. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/49 "2020-01-07T01:39:40Z")
I know some who are ga-ga over ‘Hot Pockets’. I’ve tried one once, and they are filling, but too greasy and gut-bomb-y to me. But the worst part is the smell of them being heated. I guess it’s the artificial shortening and the packaging. When they’re heated, the smell could knock a buzzard off a shit wagon. Gakk!! ---
**Author:** ![Teddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Teddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teddie)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/50 "2020-01-07T02:02:34Z")
Double post ---
**Author:** ![Teddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Teddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teddie)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/51 "2020-01-07T02:04:33Z")
When I first visited the US many moons ago and as a vegetarian asked for a jacket potato with cheese I WAS HORRIFIED!!! I didn’t get a jacket potato with grated cheese, No! The cheese I received on that potato was unlike anything I’d ever seen or tasted in my life. It was a nasty liquid vileness that I’d never seen before & never asked for agin. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/52 "2020-01-07T02:22:22Z")
Asking for a jacket potato in the US and I’m surprised you didn’t get a potato with a little coat on it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/53 "2020-01-07T02:39:19Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > The worst Chinese food I ever had anywhere was at the employee cafeteria at Huawei in Shanghai. Oddly enough it was run by Aramark. that’s funny! > [@erysichthon](#): > > Flaming Hot Cheetos… … ooh, I don’t eat flaming hot anything. But I do love Cheetos, even though they are disgusting. I like Fritos, too. > [@D\_Odds](#): > > Asking for a jacket potato in the US and I’m surprised you didn’t get a potato with a little coat on it. yeah, I had to think a while to guess what a “jacket potato” might be. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/54 "2020-01-07T02:57:36Z")
When Little Banjo was small, I used to make tuna noodle casserole — “ironically “ — when the Ukulele Lady was away. I followed the “He-Man’s Tuna Casserole” recipe from Jan and Michael Stern’s essential 1980s cookbook **Square Meals,** which includes sour cream, onion, celery, garlic, pimientos, and green pepper, as well as the usual can of cream of mushroom soup. And I used the roasted garlic mushroom soup, and topped with grated Parmesan instead of crumbled crackers. Little Banjo is now 24, large and hairy and smelly and living with his hot girlfriend in Prague, and one of his favorite dishes is still tuna noodle casserole. To my horror. He’s visiting Brooklyn for a couple more days now, and his picks for home cooked meals are poppa’s fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, and…Tuna noodle casserole. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/55 "2020-01-07T03:31:44Z")
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Somehow it manages to be flabby, slimy, gritty, and floppy all at once. It’s hideous. It tastes like chemicals. It has no redeeming qualities. But every now and then…it’s just so damn good. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/56 "2020-01-07T05:39:58Z")
> [@Personal](#): > > The thing about Hershey’s mentioned in the OP, I don’t think it’s inferior. I’ve had supposedly premium chocolate from around the world, and I don’t see the big deal. Hershey’s does me just fine. For me, it’s not only the taste, but the mouth feel/how it melts. Premium chocolate melts almost immediately, with the the waxy coating/aftertaste of Herseys. Regular Japanese chocolate has that feel because they tend to have more milk in them. One of my favorite Japanese chocolate is Choco Babies (yeah, I know, possibly non-PC). Little pellets of chocolate that have a waxy coat, which I’m sure really is paraffin, but once that melts away, the chocolate is divine. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/57 "2020-01-07T18:38:56Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > I went to england recently, pondered for a moment about whether I could live there, and honestly I would have to live by a place with a taco bell. Maybe it’s not great food, but its a comfort food for for me since childhood. There are 27 stores there that I can see, but that’s not a lot. Good luck. The UK has not really taken up Mexican, more’s the pity, and I have never even seen a Taco Bell there. Most likely the first ones will be in London, if they are not there already. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/58 "2020-01-07T18:51:53Z")
> [@Teddie](#): > > When I first visited the US many moons ago and as a vegetarian asked for a jacket potato with cheese I WAS HORRIFIED!!! > > I didn’t get a jacket potato with grated cheese, No! The cheese I received on that potato was unlike anything I’d ever seen or tasted in my life. It was a nasty liquid vileness that I’d never seen before & never asked for agin. For the record, that is probably a regional thing or even just unique to that restaurant. I’ve never ordered a baked potato and received any kind of cheese except grated cheddar or colby jack unless it was a “specialty” version like a nacho potato with queso, taco meat, tomatoes, and jalapenos. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/59 "2020-01-07T19:02:12Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > . > > I’m eating some Hersey’s Kisses and it dawned on how inferior (though still addicting) it to most other chocolates. Same with See’s chocolates. It’s better than Hersey’s, but really not worth the price, but I still buy it because it’s cheaper than Ethel M’s. > > My beloved Spam. Spiced Ham my butt! Even canned ham tastes closer to the real thing, but yet Spam I love! > > American processed cheese. Just bought a prewrapped pack of goodness? today. I also have some less processed (hesitate to say real) cheddar and mixed shredded cheese in the freezer, but grilled cheese sandwiches must be made with the prewrapped stuff. > … Ok, it is true that hershey’s chocolate has a different taste than Euro milk chocolate, since they use a different process. but trust me, even in Germany etc, they still make and eat plenty of crap chocolate, stuff that tastes quite similar to that used in hollow easter bunnies. Generally in the uSA, we get only premium chocolate imported, not the grocery store stuff. I am not a fan of hershey’s different taste but some prefer it. It is by no means generally "inferior. " See’s is quite good. In fact a blind taste test had several of theirs ranked higher than Godiva and even higher than some very pricy chocolate. Part of that is See’s “thing” for freshness, no stale chocolate is ever sold. Spam is rather similar to other nations canned meat products . American processed cheese _food_ is nasty, but has a good shelf life (and makes decent trout bait!). _Real_ american cheese melts very nice and is great for cheeseburgers. But not for snacking or cheese plates. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/60 "2020-01-07T19:04:38Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Corndogs. Sonic is salty, fatty and much too big serving sizes. But I love it. I’ve recently been warned off it. I’m glad I ate my corndogs while I could. They will be a rare treat now. (:() The ones sold in Disneyland are not heart healthy by any means, but are the best Corn dogs we have ever had. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990.md?page=4)