# Non-US Doper Visitors: Your must-have foods **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161 "2012-08-21T14:08:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/21 "2012-08-22T07:38:54Z")
Wendy’s. Chicken-fried steak and gravy - I’ve tried to make it at home but the artery-cloggingness factor falls short. And good Mexican food - there are a few Mexican restaurants that have opened in Helsinki within the past few years and they’re ok but somehow still lacking. Oh, and artificial cherry- or hot cinnamon-flavored anything (don’t even ask, I can’t explain it in any way). Red Hots, helloooo. ---
**Author:** ![MaltLiquor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@MaltLiquor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaltLiquor)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/22 "2012-08-22T08:10:35Z")
I am also felling sorry for you people. I would put in for share packages for people that can not get the snack foods they had here and cannot get. I do see alot of fast food also though. I like it alot, a whole big lot, imagine the universe, then try and imagine all the dimensions that are possible. My love is about that big for fast food. It is good about once a month or two. I can eat most anything, hell I used to eat crisco dipped in sugar or strawberry quick. I will steal the gristle and fat pieces off your plate when you are not looking. There is no part of an animal I will not eat, I was just last weekend sucking through a pig foot trynig to get at the flap of skin I thought was there. I do all this with no problems to my digestive tract. If I eat fast food I will be in the bathroom in an hour and a half, and another hour after that. I haven’t had Arby’s in a couple years though, I should give that a try. They still have the 5 for 5 deal? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/23 "2012-08-22T08:28:59Z")
Mexican. Chicken a la King. And I really want to try southern BBQ, but I haven’t had it yet. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/24 "2012-08-22T13:49:15Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I haven’t been back there in ages, but the two things I’m likely to get a yearning for and which are not part of Spain’s usual menus are barbecue and pancakes; you can get either one (although often it’s not particularly good) in “US-themed” restaurants, but I really should learn to make pancakes… > > I’m mad at Hard Rock Café because they don’t offer baby back ribs any more, at least in Barcelona ☹ I wonder how well a place that served American style breakfast (eggs to order, pancakes, french toast, waffles, hash browns, crispy bacon) would do in Europe. I’m sure American tourists would flock there. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/25 "2012-08-22T14:11:41Z")
With the Spaniards, the “eggs to order” part would fall quite flat unless the options were very different from the American ones (or at least included the Spanish ones). The agreement over what constitutes a proper _huevo frito_ is quite general, the variations we do on the subject of “what to do with an egg” are more about what other ingredients to put in an omelette or on how long to boil a boiled egg (hard vs soft) than on how to fry an egg. A lot of the American variations leave me looking like this with better coloring: 😕 Waffles are viewed as dessert/snack items (always talking about Spain). And IME in France what you guys call French toast is the poorer, fatter sister of a proper croque monsieur… which might work for brunch but not for breakfast (too heavy, and that’s for someone who does eat a solid breakfast, much of Spain doesn’t). I shall not offend my reader’s eyes with the opinions I’ve heard on hash browns. They don’t seem to be very succesful. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/26 "2012-08-22T14:41:18Z")
Pretzels. Proper soft, warm ones, not cold stale mini ones like we get in snack bags in the UK. Big Red. The other, weirder, flavours of Dr Pepper and Coke that we don’t get here (like wild cherry berry, cherry vanilla, berries & cream, etc). Those little sandwich biscuits that had cheese saltine [crackers](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Lr5IbvMlL.jpg)with peanut butter between them. In fact, saltine crackers full stop (I think Ritz crackers are the closest we have here!) [Cinnamon Imps](http://www.farleysandsathers.com/Products/ProductDetail.asp?uid=1295) Wintergreen Lifesavers. Twinkies!! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/27 "2012-08-22T14:56:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Pancakes aren’t hard; the only trick is you need to flip them once and only once. When the batter on the griddle starts getting bubbly is when you flip it… No, when the bubbles have popped and start looking slightly dry. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/28 "2012-08-22T16:49:48Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > I wonder how well a place that served American style breakfast (eggs to order, pancakes, french toast, waffles, hash browns, crispy bacon) would do in Europe. I’m sure American tourists would flock there. In college I spent a summer on an archaeologcal dig in Bulgaria. Near the end of our stay, we cooked “American breakfast” for the kitchen staff as a thank you. The menu was: toast (grilled, no toaster), scrambled eggs, fried sliced ham, and home fries with onions and green pepper. And minosas, of course. they were bemused by some of our actions\* and startled/alarmed by pouring champagne into orange juice (apparently fruit-based mixers are for alcoholics?) but they enjoyed all the breakfast foods. So based on my experience, American breakfast totally flies well in Eastern Europe. \*For example, adding milk to the eggs to make them more fluffy – milk was more expensive than eggs at that time, they were like, “if you want more eggs, just add more eggs, but whatever, you wierdos.” > [@Nava](#): > > And IME in France what you guys call French toast is the poorer, fatter sister of a proper croque monsieur A Croque Monsieur has savory cheese on it, and sometimes ham. French toast is just bread dipped in egg, almost universally served sweet - with syrup, jam, and fruit as the most common toppings. They are nothing alike except they both involve bread and egg, and French Toast is the _less fatty_ of the two. To keep this on topic, I sent a visiting English friend home with a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies “for the road” after she expressed much enthusiasm for them and bemoaned the lack in her home country. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/29 "2012-08-22T17:25:01Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > I wonder how well a place that served American style breakfast (eggs to order, pancakes, french toast, waffles, hash browns, crispy bacon) would do in Europe. I’m sure American tourists would flock there. I ate at a place called NOLA American Bakery a couple of weeks ago. I had eggs and biscuits, while my wife had pancakes with crispy bacon. There were a few Americans there, but most of the crowd (it was Saturday brunch, and the placed was packed) were locals. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/30 "2012-08-23T01:15:01Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Some of the candy I got from an Australian is probably really common there, but hard to find in the US. > > I’m thinking of Cherry Ripe bars, Jaffas, and Violet Crumble. If I went to Australia I’d stock up so I could bring back a lot. Shipping and handling makes this stuff very expensive in the US. Prepare to loosen your belt … [http://www.simplyoz.com/products/australian\_foods](http://www.simplyoz.com/products/australian_foods) ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/31 "2012-08-23T01:37:46Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I ate at a place called NOLA American Bakery a couple of weeks ago. I had eggs and biscuits, while my wife had pancakes with crispy bacon. There were a few Americans there, but most of the crowd (it was Saturday brunch, and the placed was packed) were locals. And Paris, France has [Breakfast In America](http://www.breakfast-in-america.com/main/), which the locals love. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/32 "2012-08-23T02:41:37Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I haven’t been back there in ages, but the two things I’m likely to get a yearning for and which are not part of Spain’s usual menus are barbecue and pancakes; you can get either one (although often it’s not particularly good) in “US-themed” restaurants, but I really should learn to make pancakes… > > I’m mad at Hard Rock Café because they don’t offer baby back ribs any more, at least in Barcelona ☹ Pancakes were one of the exotic dishes I impressed my roommates with when I lived in Spain. I think it made them feel like they were in the movies. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/33 "2012-08-23T04:56:08Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > A Croque Monsieur has savory cheese on it, and sometimes ham. French toast is just bread dipped in egg, almost universally served sweet - with syrup, jam, and fruit as the most common toppings. They are nothing alike except they both involve bread and egg, and French Toast is the _less fatty_ of the two. French toast may have a lower fat content, but the impression it left on my stomach was a lot heavier. And I didn’t even add all the sugary stuff my friends would put on it… And as for “nothing alike”, hey, by your own description French toast = Croque monsieur - savory + as much sugar as possible. Which sounds very American, actually, but “nothing alike”? I disagree. There’s a Mafalda strip where her mother bribes her into eating her soup; Mafalda is saying she’d rather go hungry, the mother says “panqueques” (for dessert). Mafalda eats her soup saying “this one for being easy to bribe…” When I first encountered pancakes, I thought “ok, yeah, I can see this being used for a bribe!” ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/34 "2012-08-23T05:06:35Z")
Whenever we go to our winter place in Florida, I always get Miller High Life and Corn Pops. Sure, MHL is sold in Canada. But I find it doesn’t taste the same. Also, it’s my vacation beer; PBR and Keith’s are my goto at home. And corn pops? According to Wikipedia, Canada and France both sell this monstrosity. I found out that you also sell it in America Land, under the name “kix,” which is much shorter than the name I came up with, which I will spare you due to its number of profanities. The American corn pops are amazing, by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/35 "2012-08-23T06:05:16Z")
I’ve always wanted to try a White Castle Slider, but we haven’t had any luck in finding a White Castle location to visit in all of our travels. One of the first things we do when we cross the border is hit a 7-11 and check out the junk food that we haven’t tried before. Our favourite so far has been the hot lime cheetos - yum! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/36 "2012-08-23T06:29:30Z")
There are no cherries in Europe? Asia? Not even fake cherry flavor?!?? I think I just became patriotic for the USA. ---
**Author:** ![MaltLiquor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@MaltLiquor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaltLiquor)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/37 "2012-08-23T06:40:56Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > There are no cherries in Europe? Asia? Not even fake cherry flavor?!?? > > I think I just became patriotic for the USA. How would fake cherry flavour be cherry flavor? Might as well rub something red on a banana and call it cherry. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/38 "2012-08-23T07:13:03Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > There are no cherries in Europe? Of course we have cherries, the fruit. Which you can then find used in baking, usually as glace` cherries on top of cakes and iced buns. What’s not popular, and therefore fairly rare, is cherry flavoured **stuff**. We’ve got cherry coke, but you won’t find it in most of the little convenience stores or fast food places. Likewise, I’ve only tended to find cherry 7 Up in asian mini-markets, it’s not mainstream. Dr Pepper seems to be doing better, it’s easier to find, but again, if you’re grabbing lunch and want a fizzy drink, your choice is usually limited to coke/diet coke, fanto/tango, and Lilt. (or Irn Bru, if you’re in Scotland) Back on topic - I love hash browns and are glad they seem to be becoming more common in the UK. Deep fried potato product, what’s not to love 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/39 "2012-08-23T07:43:34Z")
French dip sandwiches. The juices. Oh god, the delicious juices. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161/40 "2012-08-23T08:06:04Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I ate at a place called NOLA American Bakery a couple of weeks ago. I had eggs and biscuits, while my wife had pancakes with crispy bacon. There were a few Americans there, but most of the crowd (it was Saturday brunch, and the placed was packed) were locals. Also, last I checked, “Benedict” still had lines going out the door at all hours… Yes, they live up to their name. My contribution? Fried clams. Guilt pleasure of mine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-doper-visitors-your-must-have-foods/632161.md?page=3)