# Is any food / drink really "world famous"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606 "2009-02-05T19:07:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/41 "2009-02-06T17:13:09Z")
There are some dishes like Caesar salad or Oysters Rockefeller that originated at a particular restaurant but are now known everywhere. I would consider them world-famous, although most people don’t know the name of the originating restaurant. And there are some individual restaurants that are well-known (at least among the foodies) around the world, such as the French Laundry, El Bulli or Tour d’Argent. But if you want to limit the discussion to food and drinks that are famous and widely associated with a particular restaurant, I can’t think of any, except for trademarked things like a Big Mac. The reason, of course, is that people copy recipes. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/42 "2009-02-06T18:58:54Z")
Yes, I think Coca-Cola is the only food product around I’ve never encountered someone not knowing. In China, a relatively restricted country just a few years ago, they’ve had Coke forever. That and McDonals are pretty much the only “world famous” food. Beijing Duck(Peking Duck) is also quite famous, but most people haven’t had it. The duck from Quanjude in Beijing is one of the best meals I’ve had in the world. ---
**Author:** ![imfloating](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bc79bd/32.png) [@imfloating](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imfloating)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/43 "2009-02-06T20:07:29Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > What’s a Digby Scallop? > I’m agree with this theory, and see my example at the end. > I think I’ve heard or Delmonico’s but that’s getting rarified, in the same way that my example is. My favorite hamburger is [Tommy’s](http://www.originaltommys.com/) who claim to be world famous. Hell, my nephew from the San Francisco bay area never heard of it until he went to UCLA (it’s not franchised, and mostly relegated to southern California). But there are numerous people from each of 100 nations who know what an Original Tommy’s double cheeseburger is, so I can justify their declaration of “World Famous”. “WORLD FAMOUS” scallops from Digby, Nova Scotia. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/44 "2009-02-06T20:13:53Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > What’s a really good, famous hamburger? Five Guys is pretty good locally; no idea if the quality survived the mad rush to mass-franchise. How good is Carl’s Jr.? I live around the corner from one of the few (or perhaps the only) Five Guys in New York City. For a fast-food burger, they’re fantastic. I’m addicted. Do they make a really good hamburger? For five bucks, sure. For about twenty bucks, there is (or was – haven’t been there in more than a year) a place on Stone Street, in the Wall Street area, that makes the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life. It’s called Nebraska Beef. It isn’t nearly as famous as Five Guys. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/45 "2009-02-06T20:16:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > There are some dishes like Caesar salad or Oysters Rockefeller that originated at a particular restaurant but are now known everywhere. I would consider them world-famous, although most people don’t know the name of the originating restaurant. And there are some individual restaurants that are well-known (at least among the foodies) around the world, such as the French Laundry, El Bulli or Tour d’Argent. But if you want to limit the discussion to food and drinks that are famous and widely associated with a particular restaurant, I can’t think of any, except for trademarked things like a Big Mac. The reason, of course, is that people copy recipes. A Singapore Sling - for example. Everytime I had one here, it was made with orange juice. At Raffles, in Singapore it was _pink and kind of foamy_ ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/46 "2009-02-06T20:35:37Z")
The first thing that came to mind was a Hurricane from Pat O’Briens. Course that might just be nationally famous, especially considering our hurricanes are called something different entirely in other parts of the world. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/47 "2009-02-11T13:31:03Z")
It took me ages to think of a truly “world famous” food item from a restaurant that is NOT a large chain. What about the beignets at the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans? Practically anyone who’s familiar with New Orleans pictures people munching beignets while guzzling chicory coffee at the Cafe du Monde. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/48 "2009-02-11T14:20:43Z")
Mexican water ? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/49 "2009-02-11T14:56:34Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > For about twenty bucks, there is (or was – haven’t been there in more than a year) a place on Stone Street, in the Wall Street area, that makes the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life. Personally, I doubt that any hamburger could be worth twenty bucks. Especially considering that you could go home and cook the same thing for a fraction of the price in under 15 minutes. The reason for hamburgers is that they’re cheap and fast. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/50 "2009-02-11T15:16:02Z")
No… if a restaurant advertises “OUR world famous garlic fries”, they’re not claiming garlic fries are world famous… they’re marketing the idea that around the world people know Joe Blo’s garlic fries for their quality. How universal is Spam? If you were to refer to it in, say, Sri Lanka would they know what you’re saying? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/51 "2009-02-11T15:47:09Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Personally, I doubt that any hamburger could be worth twenty bucks. Next time you’re in Seattle, please allow me to provide a counterexample. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/52 "2009-02-11T19:02:57Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Ohohoh! I forgot- Johnny Walker. Upscale peanut vendors in Cameroon will pack their peanuts in Johnny Walker bottles, and nearly every home displays at least one empty Johnny Walker bottle as proof that at one point in their life they could afford a bottle of liquor. I would think Jack Daniels is more recognized than Johnnie Walker? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/53 "2009-03-04T17:59:08Z")
I’ve never eaten it, and I don’t even know if it’s good… but it’s definuitely famous: > **[U.S. Senate: 404 Error Page](https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/general/one_item_and_teasers/file_not_found.htm)** > > 404 Error Page The Navy Bean Soup served each day at the U.S. Senate cafeteria is very famous, if only as the answer to a trivia question! ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/54 "2009-03-04T19:21:48Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Lipton is big elsewhere, but I’ve never seen it in China. Lipton is all they served in some hotels in Beijing and Shanghai. I argued that it was ridiculous that with all the good and inexpensive tea available, they would choose to serve much more expensive and famously bad tea. They do the same in Viet Nam though. They see it as sophisticated, maybe even partly because it is so bad. I’m not sure it counts as a brand, but Mr. Bean is a phenomenon around the world, to the point now that kids in Viet Nam will call out Mr. Bean to me when I go by. (Though I look nothing like Rowan Atkinson, I swear!) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/55 "2009-03-04T20:12:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Huh. I don’t know Delmonico’s (I know the cut, though). Never heard of Lombardi’s. Obviously, I know Uno/Due, but I don’t think most people know Uno’s outside the States, and I’d figure Due is pretty much unknown outside Chicago (hell, I know Chicagoans who have never heard of Due.) I know Fisherman’s Wharf, but didn’t realize the seafood there is particularly prized, and, well, sure, Kobe. But I have the feeling that Kobe isn’t as well known in Europe as it is here in the States, though I could be wrong about that. You’re right about Kobe - I’ve only ever encountered it online. I’ve no idea what the other ones were in that list, either! ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/56 "2009-03-05T02:43:15Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Hershey’s chocolate. Ghirardelli’s is fairly well known also, but doesn’t have the global reach of the Hershey bar. Hershey’s is considered garbage in much of the world outside North America. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/57 "2009-03-05T03:26:29Z")
Heh. The Mr. Bean thing is bizarre and I can only think it is one of the mysteries of the East. > [@johnspartan](#): > > I would think Jack Daniels is more recognized than Johnnie Walker? Not in Cameroon. Johnnie Walker was _the_ liquor bottle to put in china cabinets and sell your peanuts from. The hard liquor people could actually afford to drink was sold in small single-shot plastic bags- like large soy sauce packets. One popular brand was “Johnny Walter.” Always got a chuckle out of me. For Lipton, yeah, I’m a long way from Beijing. I can’t recall seeing Spam any place. Heinz ketchup seems to be pretty widely available. At least, I’ve seen it in China and now and then you could find it in Cameroon. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/58 "2009-03-05T03:37:05Z")
Do [sloppy joes](http://www.sloppyjoes.com/) count as world famous? ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/59 "2009-03-05T17:27:30Z")
Not to belabor the obvious but brand names are world famous when they are marketed around the world. Coca-Cola is generally considered the world’s most famous brand. What I find interesting is when a specific location makes a recipe famous without necessarily branding it. Two examples come to mind. Waldorf Salad. From the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in NYC Ranch dressing – The original was developed at Hidden Valley Ranch. The dressing was always a branded side business later expanded by a national marketer, but today anything “ranch” flavored derives its name from HVR. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606/60 "2009-03-06T15:23:40Z")
> [@palindromemordnilap](#): > > Not to belabor the obvious but brand names are world famous when they are marketed around the world. Coca-Cola is generally considered the world’s most famous brand. > > What I find interesting is when a specific location makes a recipe famous without necessarily branding it. Two examples come to mind. > > Waldorf Salad. From the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in NYC > > Ranch dressing – The original was developed at Hidden Valley Ranch. The dressing was always a branded side business later expanded by a national marketer, but today anything “ranch” flavored derives its name from HVR. Or Cobb Salad, named for the former owner of the Brown Derby. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-any-food-drink-really-world-famous/484606.md?page=4)