# Is there a distinct national "American Cuisine"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542 "2012-10-03T02:04:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/81 "2012-10-04T21:40:28Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Because it’s goddamn Southern cuisine. I’ve had grits maybe once in my life, and it was in the South. The rest of the country finds that stuff appalling. No, they don’t. They just pay a surcharge to eat it while calling it polenta. :smack: Yes, I know what hominy is. The point still stands. ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/82 "2012-10-04T21:53:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And what does that have to do with objecting to hot dogs and pizza? You could make hot dogs and pizza with the choicest ingredients, and you could slap together dishes that are on the menu of the French Laundry with cheap trashy ingredients. Very true. I was attempting to keep the discussion balanced as, in my opinion, it was weighted heavily towards comfort foods. Pizza and hot dogs are all well and good but there are other very good chefs that are exploring American Cuisine in quite different directions and I just thought I’d mention it. I shouldn’t have called the thread “depressing”. Its was just becoming a bit unbalanced. No offence intended. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/83 "2012-10-04T22:05:37Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Just because a dish is available somewhere doesn’t mean that it’s “from” there. Chicago (I assume) has plenty of places that serve Pad Thai. That’s doesn’t mean that Pad Thai is an American dish. > > I get the impression that corn on the cob (served only with butter and salt) might fit the OP’s question much better. It’s popular across the U.S., not really associated with a particular region, and regarded as foreign by most people in the Old World. Okay, we Canadians don’t really think of it as American, but our cuisine is very similar to American cuisine. How popular is it in Latin America (specifically served with only butter and salt)? > > Popcorn? That raises an interesting semantic question: at what point does a dish “become” part of a national cuisine? I would argue that it is when the majority of a nation’s citizens no longer think of it as “exotic” or “foreign”. I can’t imagine that when most Americans (or Canadians, for that matter) order a pizza, they think of it as “Italian food”. Certainly no one thinks of hamburgers as “German food”, or French fries as “French food”. So I think you can say that pizza and hamburgers and French fries have become “American” food. Burritos, nachos, and eggrolls are on the same path. It’s just the same as when a foreign word gets adopted into English. Do you think you are speaking German when you say “kindergarten” or Spanish when you say “plaza”? Of course not. So now “kindergarten” and “plaza” are English words - that just happen to have exact cognates in German and Spanish. It’s not just us doing it, either. Potato chips are a distinctly American food - possibly invented by a chef in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. in 1853. But definitely first appearing in American cookbooks in the 1850s. But when a bloke 'aving a pint in his local in Ealing gets a packet of crisps to go with it, is he thinking that he’s “eating American”? I doubt it. Culture is syncretic - that’s just how we humans roll. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/84 "2012-10-04T22:31:21Z")
> [@JCorre](#): > > From an american foodie POV this thread is really depressing. Grits and hot dogs…pizza? Christ. Well, from another American “foodie”'s point of view, I think it’s awesome. Maybe I’m just a _bas cuisine_ “foodie,” but those are the sorts of things I love about indigenous cuisines. The envelope-pushing stuff is cool, but I’ve always been much more interested in the “peasant” food. (Which has a funny way of turning into the expensive shit very quickly. To wit, America’s trend over the last few years of tip-to-tail cooking.) A nation’s cuisine–to me–is based more on comfort foods than it is haute cuisine, so there shouldn’t be any shame in celebrating American comfort food. For me, American food is barbecue, chili, clam chowder, cornbread, grits, navy bean soup, peanut butter and jelly, Carolina barbecue, Texas brisket, Kentucky mutton, burgoo, Tex-Mex, green chili, a “bowl of red,” Cincinnati chili, Michigan (and elsewhere) coney dogs, corn dogs, pizzas of all sorts (New Haven clam pies, New York and New Jersey style pies, Detroit’s caramelized pan pizzas, Chicago’s deep dish and stuffed, Midwest cracker crust, Quad cities malted crust, California’s experimental styles, etc.), Buffalo wings, Philadelphia cheese steaks, Primanti brothers sandwiches, pastrami and corned beef, Maine lobster, catfish, hushpuppies, hamburgers, hot dogs, Salisbury steak, hot links, Mississipi delta tamales, deep fried cheese curds, pork tenderloin sandwiches, jibaritos, Midwestern casseroles, boudin, jambalaya, and so on, and so forth. I can go on for paragraphs and paragraphs. There is just so much going on, so many different style of foods regionally in America, that you can spend a lifetime exploring and probably run out of time trying to taste everything. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/85 "2012-10-04T22:36:43Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Certainly no one thinks of hamburgers as “German food”, or French fries as “French food”. So I think you can say that pizza and hamburgers and French fries have become “American” food. Burritos, nachos, and eggrolls are on the same path. Well, hamburgers really are, in my opinion, American. Salt-and-peppered fried ground beef between buns with ketchup and mustard, etc., are not really a German thing. Sure, they developed out of stuff like “Hamburg steak” and _frikadell_, but I think the American version is sufficiently different to be its own foodstuff, and I have no problem unambiguously claiming hamburgers as American. I really don’t think anyone would challenge us on that. I’d say French fries (which are Belgian) and American pizza are much closer to their progenitors, though. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/86 "2012-10-04T22:52:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Southern food is part of American cuisine, and it permeates much of America and isn’t limited to the south. Once again, _Southern food is one part of American Cuisine_. But is it _national_ American cuisine, like hot dogs or corn on the cob? I would say that it is regional American cuisine, and is at least quasi-exotic in other parts of the country; it’s “from there”, and not “from here”. National cuisine, IMO, is not just a mosaic of regional cuisines. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/87 "2012-10-04T22:54:42Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > But is it _national_ American cuisine, like hot dogs or corn on the cob? I would say that it is regional American cuisine, and is at least quasi-exotic in other parts of the country; it’s “from there”, and not “from here”. National cuisine, IMO, is not just a mosaic of regional cuisines. Is “corn on the cob” national? I think of that as Midwestern, myself. I just don’t really believe there is a single “national” cuisine for any large country, really. It’s all going to be somewhat regional. I mean, yeah, I guess hamburgers you can get pretty much anywhere in the US, but there’s probably only a small handful of foodstuffs that qualify in complete ubiquity. Much of what we identify with other “national” cuisines is similarly regional. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/88 "2012-10-04T23:13:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Is “corn on the cob” national? I think of that as Midwestern, myself. Very much so, IMO. While I still maintain steak & potatoes, burgers & fries, pizza, etc… as examples of American food, I’d like to change my answer. In thinking about the question from the POV of opening an “American restaurant” abroad, I’m considering what local Chinese and Italian restaurants are like. Everything on their menus has a similar overarching style. In that respect, I’ve got to go with a BBQ Grill as the quintessential American restaurant style if opening chains in other countries. Ribs, steak, pork chops, burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, baked potato, etc… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/89 "2012-10-05T00:00:39Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Very much so, IMO. That’s interesting. I live in Chicago, and I can’t even remember the last restaurant I’ve been to that had corn on the cob, nor the last time I’ve been at someone’s cookout and eaten it. I agree that it’s “American,” but I don’t think it’s as ubiquitous as hot dogs and hamburgers. I should not have simply said “Midwestern,” though. I associate it with the South as well. > [@](#): > > I’m considering what local Chinese and Italian restaurants are like. But I doubt the local Chinese is that similar to an overarching Chinese national cuisine. China would actually be a good example. It’s hard for me to think of dishes that are ubiquitously Chinese (other than, say, rice or fried rice or something like that) as it is for me to think of American dishes besides hamburgers that are enjoyed coast-to-coast. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/90 "2012-10-05T00:19:29Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But I doubt the local Chinese is that similar to an overarching Chinese national cuisine. China would actually be a good example. It’s hard for me to think of dishes that are ubiquitously Chinese (other than, say, rice or fried rice or something like that) as it is for me to think of American dishes besides hamburgers that are enjoyed coast-to-coast. _Juk_ (or congee). But then, that spans pretty much all of Asia. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/91 "2012-10-05T01:45:14Z")
As **Baal Houthom** mentioned earlier, I think you’ll find that “breakfast cereal” was invented in America. ---
**Author:** ![KermitTheFrig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/47e85d/32.png) [@KermitTheFrig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KermitTheFrig)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/92 "2012-10-05T01:55:18Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Here in New England, cornbread would be highly unusual to see. Except in Shaw’s Supermarkets, Stop & Shop, Market Basket, Hannaford. . . The corn muffin is the “Official Muffin” of Massachusetts. Burgers and fries Turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash and cranberry sauce Barbecued ribs, cole slaw, cornbread Corn on the cob Macaroni and cheese Casseroles with a base of Campbell’s Cream of Something Soup Apple pie ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/93 "2012-10-05T03:43:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But I doubt the local Chinese is that similar to an overarching Chinese national cuisine. Agreed, but for the most part it’s all cooked with the same method. That’s why I think BBQ would probably be the American equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/94 "2012-10-05T03:58:22Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Agreed, but for the most part it’s all cooked with the same method. That’s why I think BBQ would probably be the American equivalent. Except that a good portion of America doesn’t seem to know what barbecue is about. Unless you mean grilling in general, and not barbecue. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/95 "2012-10-05T04:00:23Z")
Please don’t start this national movement. Us non-Americans are perfectly happy with regional US cuisine like Cajun, New England, Tex-Mex, Little Italy, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/96 "2012-10-05T11:15:34Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Just because a dish is available somewhere doesn’t mean that it’s “from” there. Chicago (I assume) has plenty of places that serve Pad Thai. That’s doesn’t mean that Pad Thai is an American dish. > > I get the impression that corn on the cob (served only with butter and salt) might fit the OP’s question much better. It’s popular across the U.S., not really associated with a particular region, and regarded as foreign by most people in the Old World. I used to have it regularly as a kid in England- with salted butter, rather than salt and butter, but my mother never added salt to anything for some reason. It’s not popular on the continent, I don’t think, but it’s actually quite common over 'ere. Incidently, though you might claim crisps (‘chips’ to you lot), you can only claim salted ones- flavoured ones are an Irish invention. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542/97 "2012-10-05T14:31:24Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, Kentucky does have a unique style of barbecue made from mutton. Mostly in Western Kentucky in the area around Owensboro, but that’s an interesting regional take on barbecue. It exists also in extreme southern Indiana, around Evansville (as far as I’ve been), but it’s mostly Owensboro. So that’s interesting. You can probably find similar subtle differences between Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama. (Like, I know Alabama is a standout for having “white” barbecue sauce for chicken [usually] that’s based on mayonnaise. Or that the Mississippi delta has its own style of tamales and hot links [which you can find in Chicago]. Georgia has chicken mull, and it’s own version of Brunswick stew, etc.) But, yeah, I get your general point–the broad cuisine in the states will be largely similar, only really distinguished by food geeks. Yeah, I was thinking more 40,000 foot view. As in (and God forgive me), classifying Tex-Mex in with “Southwestern” cuisine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinct-national-american-cuisine/636542.md?page=4)