As unique as language, as varied as cultures, the societies of the world have a dizzying array of food. And the words emblazoned across the lady of liberty herself have brought all these dietary wonders together in one place.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
– The big green lady
America, current politics aside, has its roots in immigrants. The United States are a patchwork quilt of cultures, the stoic Germanic decedents of the northern provinces, the Spanish influence of the west coast and southern border, as well as the ubiquitous influence of the Irish, Italian and Jewish in New York. And each of these aquilots of nations brings with it its own unique food. It is therefore of no surprise that this author’s third most excited thought about this period (the first two being the chance to live with my American family and to study at such an amazing institution as NYU) was in reference to the food…
Those who have been to America will no doubt be nodding their heads through bouts of salivation. But for those of you who have not had the gluttonous pleasure, I shall describe.
Steak As the cholesterol of my family and myself will now attest, American steak is the bee’s knees. In fact, this can be extended to all meat. I don’t know what they do… Maybe it’s the air of freedom, perhaps the all American corn, or perhaps they feed small cows to the big cows, but it is truly phenomenal. As with all great experiences, it comes with its cost. You will never eat good meat in England. The steak you thought was tender and flavorful in England loses all meaning and becomes a shadow of a cow that has long ago shuffled off of its mortal coil. Like tasting a really good, aged, full bodied red wine and then going back to Sainsbury’s finest £3 bottle of sweet nastiness (you know who you are). Lamb chops the size of individual lambs (don’t even ask me how they do it), the most tender and most succulent beef is definitely worth falling on the sword of good food withdrawal.
You see what I mean…
Bagels Working in New York and living in New Jersey, I am truly spoiled. A fresh bagel, covered in vegetable cream cheese is the ideal way to start any morning or perhaps with the Jewish tradition of lox and schmear (salmon and cream cheese to you and me). Bacon is good as well, the American version of which can of course, when dropped, shatter like glass.
Peanut Butter ‘N’ Jelly I am sure has permeated to you through filmography and television. Quite… interesting. My overall summary would be, they are in no place to judge us for marmite.
Lucky Charms I couldn’t not give a nod to the most colourful, artificial, yet loveable cereal in the known universe. Fairly run of the mill cereal pieces, enlivened by a generous quantity of (sinfully artificial even for a chemist) marshmallow pieces. Rainbows, shamrocks and other colourful ‘lucky charms’ slowly seeping their dyed colours to turn the milk a pale green colour. Sickly sweet to the point that leaving a piece of cotton in the milk would likely grow some phenomenally coloured sugar crystals.
Lobster Maine, in the northeast, is America’s lobster capital. Boiled Lobster, stuffed lobster, lobster rolls, lobster bisque and I even heard mention of a McLobster fillet sandwich… A gorgeous luxury when dipped in clarified butter, and for the price of a reasonable pub lunch. What’s not to love?
This Author enjoying his Lobster
Cracker Barrel Now if your American cousin came to the UK and insisted that you take them to the Little Chef at your local motorway for dinner you would quite easily look upon them as if they were insane. This will give you a good picture of my cousins when we ask to go to Cracker Barrel, a southern states’, country food, motorway restaurant chain. Now the food of the southern states could rightly fill a blog of their own, but I shall introduce a few items I have had in their big southern breakfast. The first are a sweetened stewed apple, sensible enough with the bacon and pork chops that make up the heart of the massive plate. Now I may start to loose some of you. Grits. Like porridge, but devoid of flavour and as gritty as ball bearings. Biscuits and gravy. No, neither is as you picture. Biscuits are like hard scones, and the gravy a kind of salty, smoky, meat sauce. Served with pancakes and a disassembled hash brown, this southern gentleman of a breakfast is a true colossus.
Cracker Barrel and its phenomenal breakfast
BBQ Whereas an English barbeque can be aptly described as a game of Russian roulette with E.Coli, the American’s can be so sure of their lovely weather that for a good few summer months a year, the kitchen is abandoned for the porch, patio or lawn and a BBQ. Grilled chicken, meat, vegetables and everything else you could imagine gives a good image of the summer diet here.
Bread The Rockland Bakery is a bakery in a neighboring town. Similar to an English high street bakery, but with an appropriate shot of American steroid. Not to mention the bread-producing factory itself tacked on the side, through which you can wonder and (to prevent health authorities from having heart attacks) wearing gloves, pick your freshly baked loaves, buns and batons. Bakeries in Hoboken also hold the Commission to Peter as manufacturers of cheese Danishes, supplied graciously by my Uncle for my coffee break for, paraphrasing a well-known hobbit, they don’t do elevenses here.
The production line in Rockland
Beer Not technically a food, but you will forgive. Like in England, there has been a recent revival of this great invention of humanity. Breweries, bars, and microbreweries have been churning out batch after batch of new yeasty goodness. Thus far they have been very hoppy, reminiscent of IPA and other pale ales, but thankfully some good porters and Guinness is still a refreshing beacon at the end of the week. One thing that must be mentioned is the flavored beer. I have seen watermelon, lemon and raspberry flavored beer. I do my best not to weep, but the lemon one is certainly passable on a hot summer day!
Why do the English even eat? By this point you might wonder, why when our cuisine seems like such a shadow of our cousin’s, do we not just waste away? I can give you two answers. The two ‘Ch’s, Cheese and Chocolate. Yup, the humble English Cheddar, a basic stilton, or the bluest blue comes out higher than any American cheese. Perhaps less surprising when you recall most of it comes wrapped in plastic or… and this is hard to write… out of a spray can. However I have had the pleasure of finding some great Boston blue cheese and stilton with very fresh apricots, I am however, still pining for a decent cheddar (and no, contrary to popular advertising, Vermont HASN’T cracked it). Our other delicacy coming in leaps and bounds over the Americans’ is chocolate. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that Hershey’s chocolate is far too close to parmesan in taste to be of any decent substitute to Cadbury’s. Oh to see that purple bar of goodness sitting on shelves once more! As many of you may be screaming, yes, capitalism has stepped its toe on chocolate, and Cadbury’s is now owned by the US. We can however sit smugly across the Atlantic knowing that, in all but the name, they are as far from good chocolate as they have been at any point.
Couldn’t not mention donuts, and P.S. theres an English food Aisle in the store.