{"id":850,"date":"2011-04-12T09:44:22","date_gmt":"2011-04-12T16:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=850"},"modified":"2011-04-12T09:44:22","modified_gmt":"2011-04-12T16:44:22","slug":"spring-forward-day-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/spring-forward-day-23\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

New York
\nApril 4, 2011<\/h2>\n

The Genius of American Food<\/h4>\n

All you have to do to appreciate the wonder of American food is to travel abroad.\u00a0 No, I\u2019m not kidding.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong.\u00a0 I adored the food in Italy.\u00a0 Who wouldn\u2019t?\u00a0 The eats in Japan were wondrous.\u00a0 And don\u2019t get me started on Mexico.<\/p>\n

\"Food<\/a>
Food of the Gods<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But.\u00a0 There\u2019s one thing factor that makes food in America consistently fun:\u00a0 The fact that we\u2019re mongrels.\u00a0 Mutts.\u00a0 We\u2019re from everywhere and we\u2019ve interbred like crazy.\u00a0 This leads toall sorts of innovations, not the least of which can be found in our cuisine.<\/p>\n

\"Best.<\/a>
Best. Sandwich. Evar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back to Italy.\u00a0 Yep, the pasta Bolognese I ate there was heaven.\u00a0 Ditto the homeade ravioli.\u00a0 However, as perfect these classic dishes were, they was the same in every ristorante<\/em> that I went to.\u00a0 The recipes had been canonized long ago, polished to a high sheen like pebbles polished in one of those tumblers we had as kids.<\/p>\n

Not in the good ol\u2019 U.S. of A.\u00a0 Here were not afraid to toss things together.\u00a0 Things that, at first glance, would seem to not go together at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Buffalo<\/a>
Buffalo chicken meatloaf yay!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Case in point:\u00a0 Barbeque Chicken Pizza.\u00a0 Now a staple in restaurants and pizzerias here, this is a dish that could never <\/em>have been invente in Europe.\u00a0 No way, no how.\u00a0 Same with fajitas.\u00a0 Buffalo wings.\u00a0 The bread bowl.\u00a0 Potato chips.<\/p>\n

And the lunchtime wonder I had yesterday.\u00a0 Ladies and gentlemen, I present:\u00a0 Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf.\u00a0 What a great fucking idea.\u00a0 What a great way to freshen up a venerable, but tired, traditional dish.\u00a0 This is something I\u2019m going to try making as soon as I\u2019m back in my kitchen.<\/p>\n

Other Notable American-Born Dishes<\/h4>\n