New York
April 4, 2011
The Genius of American Food
All you have to do to appreciate the wonder of American food is to travel abroad. No, I’m not kidding.
Don’t get me wrong. I adored the food in Italy. Who wouldn’t? The eats in Japan were wondrous. And don’t get me started on Mexico.
But. There’s one thing factor that makes food in America consistently fun: The fact that we’re mongrels. Mutts. We’re from everywhere and we’ve interbred like crazy. This leads toall sorts of innovations, not the least of which can be found in our cuisine.
Back to Italy. Yep, the pasta Bolognese I ate there was heaven. Ditto the homeade ravioli. However, as perfect these classic dishes were, they was the same in every ristorante that I went to. The recipes had been canonized long ago, polished to a high sheen like pebbles polished in one of those tumblers we had as kids.
Not in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Here were not afraid to toss things together. Things that, at first glance, would seem to not go together at all.
Case in point: Barbeque Chicken Pizza. Now a staple in restaurants and pizzerias here, this is a dish that could never have been invente in Europe. No way, no how. Same with fajitas. Buffalo wings. The bread bowl. Potato chips.
And the lunchtime wonder I had yesterday. Ladies and gentlemen, I present: Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf. What a great fucking idea. What a great way to freshen up a venerable, but tired, traditional dish. This is something I’m going to try making as soon as I’m back in my kitchen.
Other Notable American-Born Dishes
- Smores
- Peanut butter
- Graham Crackers
- Pumpkin pie
- Corn bread
- Corn Dogs
- Toll House Cookies
- Cobb Salad
- The Reuben
- Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Chinese Chicken Salad
Peanut Butter Smores!
Excellent list to which I would add this southern delicacy: Chess Pie (any flavor).
I think our adopted Spaniard’s favorite discovery about life in America must be chocolate chip cookies (homemade). He thinks they are the greatest thing ever.
That’s a seriously good looking Reuben you’ve got there, and of course the world’s best are now close at hand for you.
One thing i love about restaurants, at least in my area, is the abundance of variety in cuisine choice. Within 15 minutes i can be sauntering into a sushi bar, italian eatery, french bistro, mexican taqueria, et cetera +20. Is this the same elsewhere? Having not traveled extensively, I really don’t know.
Well, i’ll clarify; i know that in Newark all we had was italian, southern, and really shitty mexican. So maybe i just love living in california?
i am love, love, loving your blog and can’t wait for your review of the book of mormon.
but ray, “the genius of american food” is an oxymoron. unless the “genius” is the high calorie count. order something besides the bolognese in italy and you may start to see. your items of “inventions” are really crap with a bow tie. corn dogs over a perfect veal milanese? i don’t think so. on top of that, american cooks can’t even come close on the italian basics, much less something more daring, which italian food offers en mass. did you ever delve into their varied antipasti?
i’ve eaten a casual slice of focaccia bread in portofino from an outdoor vendor that completely blows away any item on your list. and that was just bread.
hugs from all
Spain doesn’t have Toll House cookies?!? Does the United Nations know about this? I hereby volunteer to lead an expedition to share this delicious gift with our Iberian cousins!! When do I leave?
@Nick: You don’t know anything.
Notice, I didn’t say that idiosyncratic American food was SUPERIOR to other cuisines.
Your problem is that you and your whole family are just too high class. I do not suffer from this malady and I love corn dogs and you do not know anything.
XOXO
Maybe Nacho can start a Toll House Cookie franchise in Spain, which I can supply with my specially tweaked recipe. We’ll be rich!
We need to compare your tweaked recipe with my Great Aunt Eleanor’s gold standard recipe.
tell me about the gold standard