# Food Fit For Tourists **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486 "2019-12-28T01:39:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/61 "2020-01-01T19:51:15Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Food courts in theme parks, casinos, remote malls. Anyplace locals can’t afford, especially with tour buses parked outside. The food courts at all the malls closest to me get invaded by tour groups at certain times. Us locals have learned to avoid them during those times. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/62 "2020-01-01T20:34:21Z")
As I understand it, the coffee served in Costa Rica is awful. That’s because the growers can make more money exporting the better beans. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/63 "2020-01-01T20:34:47Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > You obviously have no hunters in your family. > > Steaks, roasts, burgers, stew meat…you bag a moose, you’ll turn it into all of them. Yes indeed. My Canadian inlaws (in Newfoundland) have basement freezers full of moose that they shot, butchered and froze. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/64 "2020-01-05T23:16:47Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > In Canada, moose burgers and screech (rum so foul it makes Jamaicans scowl) are generally left to tourists. And suddenly the lyrics to [Leader of the Undersea World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qKyPnOb5QI&feature=youtu.be&t=112) by Odds make a lot more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Stana\_Claus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stana_claus/32/13874_2.png) [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/65 "2020-01-06T14:35:44Z")
I’ve always thought the Chicory Coffee served in New Orleans was a way to extract a small bit of revenge on Yankee tourists. During the Civil War, while the South was mostly cut off from importing pretty much anything because of the blockades, burned chicory root was used as a very poor (and very bitter IMHO) substitute for real coffee. When the real stuff became available again, I think the demand for chicory pretty much went away except for being used as swill to pass off on the Carpetbaggers under the guise of being a local “delicacy”. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/66 "2020-01-06T17:37:44Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Glad to hear this. I always thought Foster’s was swill, along with LaBatt’s and Molson. The latter is part of Coors now, which is also in the swill category. When I lived in Michigan, we would go to Windsor to buy Canadian beer, because it was better than what the same brands exported to the U.S. I like LaBatt’s Velvet Cream Porter. No idea if that’s true today; that was in the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/67 "2020-01-06T18:17:30Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > IME eating Caribbean goat or chicken, there is no attempt to butcher the animal the way most people would expect. The animal is just chopped up with a heavy cleaver. For a chicken, instead of ending up with legs, thighs, breasts, wings, you end up with pieces. Bones, whole and splintered, can be found throughout the meat. Same seems to happen in China outside the tourist area. Lots of chopped up bone along with the meat. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/68 "2020-01-06T18:24:20Z")
> [@Stana\_Claus](#): > > I’ve always thought the Chicory Coffee served in New Orleans was a way to extract a small bit of revenge on Yankee tourists. During the Civil War, while the South was mostly cut off from importing pretty much anything because of the blockades, burned chicory root was used as a very poor (and very bitter IMHO) substitute for real coffee. When the real stuff became available again, I think the demand for chicory pretty much went away except for being used as swill to pass off on the Carpetbaggers under the guise of being a local “delicacy”. No, they actually seem to like a little chicoy in their coffee. But not 100%, by any means. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/69 "2020-01-06T18:26:23Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > And suddenly the lyrics to [Leader of the Undersea World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qKyPnOb5QI&feature=youtu.be&t=112) by Odds make a lot more sense. If you can understand those lyrics, you are a better man than i.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Magdalenna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/magdalenna/32/6692_2.png) [@Magdalenna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magdalenna)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/70 "2020-01-17T17:41:19Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Do Seattle-ites ever dine atop the Space Needle or is that for tourists only? I have heard of kids going there for prom or homecoming, but other than that I’ve only ever known anyone to go there when they have visitors from out of town. It’s actually been closed for more than 2 years at this point for remodeling, which most people don’t realize because they don’t go there! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/71 "2020-01-17T20:11:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Glad to hear this. I always thought Foster’s was swill, along with LaBatt’s and Molson. The latter is part of Coors now, which is also in the swill category. The fact that you call those Canadian beers by their brand names tells me you’re not Canadian. The Labatt’s (no capital “B”) and Molson sold for export are indeed terrible. The domestic versions are much better (and more varied: ask for a “Labatt’s” in a Canadian bar and they’ll look at you, waiting to find out what kind of beer you actually want–sort of like someone asked if you wanted some cereal, and you said “Thanks, I’ll have a General Mills”). ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/72 "2020-01-17T20:32:44Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > If the OP allows for “chug” rather than “chew” … > > [Foster’s Lager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster%27s_Lager) > > Apparently UK tourists are the prime market domestically. > That this “eau de Yarra” apparently actually sells well in the UK is an affront to the POMs long and noble history of brewing. Fosters Lager was a very popular brand here when I was young: the market was split between draught beers (which you could only get in a pub), and canned beer (which you wouldn’t get at a bar). Back in the day, Australian country roads were continuously lined with discarded steel cans, and, in my state, quite a lot of those were Fosters. The ‘Fosters’ later brewed in England is a completely different beer, using the same brand name. I doubt that the ‘Fosters’ of my youth would be popular now: alcohol is addictive, and people get habituated to particular flavours. But whatever: the product now sold in the UK and USA is not the product that was sold in the 60’s and 70’s in Aus. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/73 "2020-01-17T20:35:55Z")
I grew up in Japan and never had [live tentacles](http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190130-the-mysterious-case-of-japans-dancing-zombie-squid). Actually that’s not even a common tourist food, as that article explains. [Ikizukuri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikizukuri) is common though. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/74 "2020-01-17T20:43:03Z")
Before we were married, my now-ex-wife worked summers at a Shoney’s in Myrtle Beach, SC. She marveled at how often people would order seafood and comment on their expectation that it was probably really fresh, since the ocean was so close. (The joke being that Shoney’s being a national chain of restaurants, doesn’t buy seafood from the local fisherman. Everything that Shoney’s got came on a truck from Who-knows-where.) ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/75 "2020-01-17T21:13:02Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > The fact that you call those Canadian beers by their brand names tells me you’re not Canadian. The Labatt’s (no capital “B”) and Molson sold for export are indeed terrible. The domestic versions are much better (and more varied: ask for a “Labatt’s” in a Canadian bar and they’ll look at you, waiting to find out what kind of beer you actually want–sort of like someone asked if you wanted some cereal, and you said “Thanks, I’ll have a General Mills”). I’ve been to the Molson brewery, it’s the exact same stuff. Maybe what being bought in the US isn’t as fresh, depending on location and popularity, but what goes on the truck to get hauled of to the US and what’s stocked locally is exactly the same. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/76 "2020-01-17T21:15:44Z")
I lived in Seattle almost two decades. Visited the Space Needle half a dozen times, at least, but never once used the restaurant because I kept hearing how bad and expensive it was. I’d much rather walk a few blocks, even to the food court at Seattle Center (at the foot of the needle, basically) for a better dining experience. Or jump on the monorail and you have the entire downtown at your disposal… Something else I did not do while in Seattle, that tourists all seemed to adore: Go to the Crab Pot restaurant down at Pier 49 or whatever (near the cruise ship terminal) and be served a giant king crab, then break its shell apart with a big wooden mallet. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/77 "2020-01-17T22:40:37Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > As I understand it, the coffee served in Costa Rica is awful. That’s because the growers can make more money exporting the better beans. The best coffee in La Antigua, and thus in Guatemala, and thus in the world, can be had at certain select cafes where the hyperactive proprietor snags the latest and best from a local _finca_, roasts and grinds those gleaming beans in his own hand-built devices, and offers endless cups for a pittance. Everywhere else, you’re overcharged for Nescafé _instante_ sourced who knows where? while Starfucks exports the national crop. > [@scr4](#): > > I grew up in Japan and never had [live tentacles](http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190130-the-mysterious-case-of-japans-dancing-zombie-squid). Actually that’s not even a common tourist food, as that article explains. > > [Ikizukuri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikizukuri) is common though. Klingon cuisine? One of my dietary rules: Avoid foods that crawl away. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/78 "2020-01-17T23:04:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve eaten Iquana a few times in the Caribbean. A few wild iquanas are caught, chopped up, and stewed. Locals wouldn’t bother, as you have to work hard for the bits of meat you gnaw off the bones. When I lived in Queens (New York City), you could buy iguana soup in cans in the local supermarket. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/79 "2020-01-18T16:23:08Z")
What tourist wouldn’t want to get drunk on baijiu, the Chinese liquor described by one foreign enthusiast\* as smelling "as if someone had wrung a garbage bag of soiled gym shorts into a bucket of fish sauce, stirred in an equal measure of Drano, rotten fruit, and blue cheese, and left it to marinate a few days.” Apparently it has become a trendy drink for some Westerners though its popularity is said to be waning in China. \*in a recent WSJ article. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486/80 "2020-01-18T17:03:33Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > The fact that you call those Canadian beers by their brand names tells me you’re not Canadian. The Labatt’s (no capital “B”) and Molson sold for export are indeed terrible. The domestic versions are much better (and more varied: ask for a “Labatt’s” in a Canadian bar and they’ll look at you, waiting to find out what kind of beer you actually want–sort of like someone asked if you wanted some cereal, and you said “Thanks, I’ll have a General Mills”). In order to not sound like a rube, what should one ask for? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-fit-for-tourists/845486.md?page=5)