Hard Rock Cafe got its start as an “American-style” cafe in London did it not?
I remember getting some really horrible pizza in London back in the stone age ('78 or so - high school trip). Similar to SqrlCub’s experience. Apparently, they had no mozzarella, and used in its place a very sharp cheddar cheese. Smelled awful, and tasted just plain wrong.
Pizza Hut is all over the globe now, of course. They have a neat trick of using local toppings on their pizzas. I had a delicious conch pizza in Curacao a few years back.
The Indian (well, Northern Indian at least) version of American pizza: basically, chapati with ketchup. A little powdered cheese sprinkled on top and sometimes chopped chilis. Weeeee-eird.
Hamburgers are “lamburgers” (never beef, of course!) and sometimes actually mutton or goat.
But these are mostly at the joints that imitate American fast-food restaurants (Nirula’s, etc.).
They have American-style cola, too (ThumsUp?).
In short, it’s edible (and sometimes more sanitary than the traditional places), but it won’t cure homesickness. Stick to the local specialties. (Mmmm-mmm, rosewater lassis. Coconut sambal. Twelve different kinds of mangoes. Roasted corn with salt and lime juice. Sweet lime soda. Mmmm-mmm, I want to go back…)
According to a friend returning from Japan, one would do well to stay away from ordering pizza in Disneyland Tokyo. Or, at least, make sure they don’t put :eek: mayonaise :eek: on it instead of cheese, like they did to hers.
In Israel, I got a slice served to me with corn as a topping. I thought it was pretty good, actually.
I know Stockholm has a Hard Rock Cafe…My wife bought a sweatshirt when we were there a couple of years ago…And we went to a sports bar one night…watched the Swedish Hockey Champioship game…It was just like an American sports bar…beer, burgers, nachos, and TV’s all around so you couldn’t miss the game…We had a fun night there.
Lately a chain has appeared in a local shopping centre (mall) called ‘All American Food’, they sell hamburgers, hot dogs, hot chips (fries), fried chicken and so on. Rather pointless because a few metres away there’s a McDonald’s and a KFC.
I think hamburgers, fried chicken and hot dogs would be regarded as American food here in Australia
The Original Hot Dog Shop (“O”) in Pittsburgh also offers fries as a topping on burgers. I wonder if it’s just Pittsburgh, or a more regional thing. I guess I’ll have to keep an eye out next year.
They have a lot of American chains here in Germany, not just fast food, but Applebee’s, Chilis, and a few others. I really like the German KFC, they serve eat-in orders on real plates with real silverware. And it’s so clean, unlike the one’s in the States (at least the ones in Memphis).
There are a lot of 50s style diners here, too. The one here in Heidelberg is in an old train car and has old diner menus on the walls. The food is okay, and they do the breakfast all day thing. I went to one in Munich that had rollerskating (maybe it was in-line skates) waiters that also sang. Bizarre. Is that even safe?
The Crown Plaza hotel in downtown Heidelberg has an American food buffet running right now. It’s very expensive, so I’ve not been. They also do either a Boston or Maine seafood buffet in Spring, but I haven’t been to that either.
I always thought of catsup/ketchup as an American food (or food-type stuff) and thought it weird that in Chinese restaurants they serve it in a little dish along with the hot mustard. But on a trip to Malaysia I discovered that they serve it there too. Asking an Asian companion, I was informed that not only is it a Chinese food, but the name is even Chinese–thus the confusion about how to spell it.
Maybe there aren’t any really American foods (except BBQ).
Bear in mind that what WE call ethnic foods are often unknown in the country they were SUPPOSEDLY invented in. A lot of “Italian” and “Chinese” and “Mexican” foods are actually AMERICAN!
Americans who eat “Italian food” in Italy are often disappointed, because many of the most popular “Italian” dishes are either unheard of in Italy, or are prepared much differently. Few restaurants in Canton recognize or serve what we call “Cantonese” food, except for the ones catering to tourists.
I’m told (I’m not sure the source is accurate) that Taco Bell actually has numerous thriving franchises in Mexico City… precisely because what we think of as “Mexican” food relly didn’t exist in much of Mexico previously.
When ethnic groups came to the USA they often found that either
They now had access to all kinds of ingredients they didn’t have before (Italians could get all the tomatoes they wanted year-round, for instance), and started using these different ingredients (or else they started using a lot MORE of the same old ingredients).
They COULDN’T get some of the ingredients they were used to, and started improvising… coming up with all kinds of new dishes along the way.
So… “American” food isn’t just McDOnald’s. We’re a CULINARY melting pot too, you know.
There’s a story making the rounds about a homesick Yank in Hong Kong. A brochure in his hotel room bragged that room service could now make American-style pizza. He ordered one. When it arrived, he took one look and one bite and asked, “What the heck is this?”
The bellboy answered, “Just what you ordered, sir. It’s a pizza with pepper only.”
Before going on a trip to Iceland, we had heard many stories about the local cuisine. Pigs buried six months, etc. One of my first meals there, I ate a hamburger and fries under pictures of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean. Considering how much sleep I had gotten in the previous 2-3 days, it was surreal to say the least. The burger was cafeteria quality, with an odd, but pretty good sauce. The entire country had excellent fries.
Near the youth hostel in Reykjavik, there was a snack hut advertising hamburgers, hot dogs, Pepsi and so on, IN ENGLISH. I can’t imagine there were enough Americans to support it, and have wondered about it ever since. Then there was the Hard Rock - IIRC, dishes tended to favor fish, the local product.
back in 1972, I was in Romania (with my high school choir - that makes me about 46 so you don’t have to do the math). after about 2 weeks of dining at Romanian restaurants with roughly the same menu, we were a bit tired of goat’s cheese and unrecognizable (to us) pork dishes. Some one got the bright idea to call ahead and try and get some sandwhiches for us at the next stop. I imagine the conversation went something like this; “they like these things called sandwiches. what are sandwhiches? I understand they consist of some meat between two slices of bread”
well, something went terribly wrong in the translation. the “bread” turned out to be a cornmeal mush kind of thing, and we never had the guts to ask what was stuck in between.
After 3 weeks of pork, goat’s cheese, tomatoes, hard rolls and tea, I was just dying for ANYTHING from home. When mom picked me up from the airport she started telling me about the wonderful dinner she’d prepared “a nice pork roast”…
It took me more than a decade before I ate pork again.
Well, pizza sure isn’t, unless you find a Pizza Hut.
Never have seen an american restaurant abroad other than chains plus some bars with an american theme. they don’t eat corn in europe, it’s only for domestic animal feed. well, corn flakes only.
It’s not just Pittsburgh (or the 'burgh as we call it) but more of a south-western PA thing. Fries also can come in salads and things along those lines. I live in Johnstown, which is close to the 'burgh. SW PA is also responsible for Punxsatawny Phil-- it must be something in the water.
