Mmm… Benedict. Their menu, for the curious.
Although I wouldn’t say that they’re a specifically “American” restaurant, like NOLA. They’re more of an eclectic, “breakfasts of the world” kind of place.
Are you traveling in the western US? White Castle is an eastern chain. The closest ones to Calgary would be the Minneapolis area.
looks both ways
In Spain Cherry Coke simply isn’t sold (well, perhaps in some locations with lots of expats), finding it in Scottish supermarkets made me very happy. When I first came back from the US I figured you can get a good simulation thereof by adding a twist of grenadine to regular Coke (“red fruits juice” works too; amount of twist varies by exact juice used). It works well if all you want is Cherry Coke, even better if what you’re craving is a vanilla-on-Cherry-Coke float.
I’ll trade you a bottle of grenadine for a box of Irn Bru, which I found to be easier on my stomach than Coke 
(Rummages around in desk..) Ah! Here we are! I have just remembered a Cherry Ripe and a Violet Crumble Bar I bought yesterday here in the office for someone’s kid’s school fundraiser. I now eat them on your behalf. Cheers, and thanks for reminding me!
We always bring back some warehouse-club-sized bags of chocolate chips. You can get them here but they’re crazy expensive.
Eating out: we hit Long John Silver’s and KFC at least once, and Sonic as often as the boys can get away with it. (They like the experience of Sonic, the car hops and the ordering from speakers, as much as the food.) We also go out for breakfast with my folks every Sunday; they prefer buffet places.
At least one fresh hot soft pretzel and at least one proper funnel cake. And of course, cheesesteaks.
Grocery items: Turkey Hill lemonade, Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper. Cinnamon graham crackers. Assorted TastyKakes. A number of different candy bars - the boys like the plain Hershey’s chocolate, I miss Butterfinger and Three Musketeers, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Corn on the cob!!! Kunzler hot dogs.
I got a tip that airlines accept packing-tape-sealed storage boxes as second suitcases as long as they are under the maximum size and weight limits. The second suitcase fee is lower than the cost of mailing the stuff back to Troll Country, and you get your goodies right away. This thread is tempting me to put that to the test next time we go to the States…
For all the free publicity it gets, White Castle has a pretty limited geographic range. Northeast and northern Midwest.
In the South, Krystal provides the same sort of grub.
My guests from the Netherlands always want to get a good American steak. And they also have become addicted to pecan pie.
It’s more certain places I want to eat at as opposed to a specific food I want to eat.
I still want to go to:
- IHOP
- In n Out
- White Castle
- Taco Bell
- Krispy Kreme
All I’ve been able to knock off the list is Olive Garden in Tacoma, WA.
Root beer - just not generally available here in the UK.
I also like Red Lobster (although I see it’s getting a lot of mentions in a worst chain restaurant thread here).
Wow, no wonder the US gets a bad rap. That’s some of the most unhealthy food here 
Dude. Healthy food is universal. Junk food comes in infinite varieties
Ditto a Bosnian guy I know. He can’t get enough of the stuff, and wants to figure out a way to import it to his country.
As for the rest, I’m thinking there might be some good business in opening Tex-Mex chains in Europe or Australia!
There are several items on my menu for every visit back to the States.
Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts
Arby’s Roast Beef sandwich
Cinnabon
biscuits and gravy
Taco Bell
pulled pork bbq (we have Hard Rock Cafe for their pig sandwich but that isn’t good enough)
sweet iced tea
salt cured country ham
There is usually one trip to McDonalds just to remind me how much I really don’t care for their food.
Only in the last couple years have we gotten Dr Pepper and Mt Dew. Those cravings are now satisfied.
Diet Cherry Coke and Diet Cherry Pepsi.
Cherries are common in Australia, but just the fruit, not as a flavouring or filling. They tried selling Cherry Coke for a few months here but it didn’t last.
Cinnamon-flavoured sweets. Red Hots and Hot Tamales. Also, Brach’s candy corn (no other brand does it).
And this chicken soup with matzo balls that I got at this deli on Broadway.
Benji sausage? Wouldn’t that be more Korean than American?
No cheese ( kinda fundamental to a croque monsieur ), no meat, not a sandwich. While there is a vague resemblance to some varieties of croque monsieur ( not all of which use an eggwash ), it isn’t much of one. IMHO :).
I’ve seen plenty of Tex-Mex restaurants in Europe. And they all suck. At least all the ones I’ve tried. The cheeses are wrong, the food is bland (not enough fresh peppers involved), the meats are low-grade, there are no fresh salsas.
Maybe you just can’t get the right ingredients in Europe, maybe they are tailoring the food to palates not used to hot peppers, maybe the owners just don’t know what they’re doing. In any case, the results are not good.
Back when I used to live in Michigan, I was able to get Violet Crumble in the international foods section at Meijer and I believe I saw Jaffa cakes there too. If you know anyone in the midwest US, ask them to check at Meijer for you.