I’ve noticed that the McDonald’s in China seem to be of much higher quality that most McDonald’s that I’ve been to in the U.S. In this city, the McDonald’s restaurants are considered somewhat mid/high-end, and it’s reflected in the cleanliness of the place (the bathrooms at one location are cleaner than anything else I’ve seen in this city, outside of a 4-star hotel). What McDo (and KFC) serve are almost synonymous with American food here, and it definitely carries that junk food implication along with it as well. Still, at least we do get credited with some level of decadence. 
I eat it a lot as an adult but when I was a kid we didn’t have one near us. We hd Burger King, which my father bought for us infrequently (maybe once a year) and we always had to order inside, take it out and eat it at home. So no, I don’t think of it as a restaurant.
Just as a nitpick, people born in American territories are citizens to. Hawaiians didn’t get US citizenship by virtue of becoming a state.
This is the key point. McDonalds, a restaurant designed to provide the same general dining experience in all corners of the globe, is for that very reason not really American (unless in some meta-marketing kind of way). A diner, on the other hand, is a thoroughly American experience because each is unique to its location; you just can’t get the “same” hamburger in two different American diners.
I don’t think this is merely an American phenomenon. Is the Olive Garden an “All-Italian” place to eat? Some people may say “yes”, but I’ll bet none of them have ever eaten pasta at an outdoor cafe in a Tuscan piazza.
The Olive Garden Culinary Institute is located in Tuscany.
This is not intended to be an endorsement of The Olive Garden on my part.
He said he knew he was back in the US. I think from what he said he meant it did not FEEL like he was back in the US that he knew, on the mainland. I lived in Hawaii for a spell, and I know how he felt.
McDonald’s is not American food. It’s McDonald’s food. You can’t get McDonald’s food anywhere but McDonald’s, and it’s multinational. If I eat at McDonald’s in France, the food is as much French as American, as far as I’m concerned.
I wonder how long it takes before Hawaiian culture will feel American? After all, we have so many different cultures in the country that different parts of the country serve different styles of “American food.”
meat ‘n’ three – the South (and the Midwest?)
boudin and crawfish – Cajun country
seafood chowders and fried clams – New England
shredded BBQ with sweet vinegar sauce – West Tennessee
And I’ve just begun…
I wonder how long it takes before Hawaiian culture will feel American? After all, we have so many different cultures here that different parts of the country serve different styles of “American food.”
meat ‘n’ three – the South (and the Midwest?)
boudin and crawfish – Cajun country
seafood chowders and fried clams – New England
shredded BBQ with sweet vinegar sauce – West Tennessee
And I’ve just begun…
Not a nitpick at all. You are quite right and I overlooked that fact.
I cannot remember and am too lazy to look it up: Can American citiezens in territories vote in national elections?
Probably not. Puerto Ricans can’t.
Same thing here, only in Hong Kong.
Did you know that there, Chicken McNuggets are known as “Chicken Dip-Dip?”
Americans in American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands can vote in presidential primaries, but not in the general presidential election in November.
Each of those U.S. territories elects a delegate to Congress. However, the elected delegate, while able to vote in committee, cannot participate in floor votes.
I don’t consider McDs to be overly American. I also don’t consider them to be a restaurant. I do eat there once every week or two. Normally when my wife and I have had a hard day and just can’t be bothered doing the whole cooking dinner thing.
I agree, but I wonder whether it’s because we’re getting older and less cranky about it*, or because Macca’s has actually done things to reduce the American feel. By way of example, I remember that in the 80s their bins said TRASH on them, and they have since changed it to RUBBISH. You can even sometimes get a hamburger with beetroot on it -as God intended.
*I used to make a point of asking for “chips” instead of “fries”. These days, I just think that’s a pointless protest that the bored, underpaid kid serving me has probably heard a dozen times already that day, so I don’t bother.