American Cuisine in Foreign Countries

[jayandstacey]

My first inclination when someone says "American Cuisine" is to think "McDonald's" and not think very highly of the genre.  Yet we have some very nice respectable restaurants in many American cities that serve American fare.

To what degree does that happen outside the U.S.?  Are there respectable restaurants in, say, Tokyo that serve American food and strive for quality?  Or is American food generally presented in a McDonalds style, or only slightly better, in most other places?

Of course, as I travel I tend to want to enjoy their local cuisine, not American food.  So frankly I haven't noticed, or when I did see an "American" place it was selling cokes and hamburgers.

I'm confident our cuisine isn't considered on a par with the great traditional cuisines like French, Italian or Japanese.  But just exactly how far down are we on the world stage?  Is it as bad as I suspect it is? 

[Sthitch]

Most of the "American" food that I have found abroad is usually referred to not as "American" but as BBQ, Californian, Cajun, Southern, and so forth. Unfortunately most of what I have found that is simply called American are chain/sports bar/burger types of spots.

[jayandstacey]

Most of the "American" food that I have found abroad is usually referred to not as "American" but as BBQ, Californian, Cajun, Southern, and so forth. Unfortunately most of what I have found that is simply called American are chain/sports bar/burger types of spots.

Makes sense - I'm not hung up on the terminology as much as the approach to American cuisine (whatever it may be called or whatever subtype is offered) and how its treated in other lands. When you see the BBQ, Californian, etc places in other countries - are they attempting to go for critical success, ie, be one of the best 4-star places in the city - or are they simply filling a niche to make a living?

Of course, figuring out the intent of a restaurant owner is impossible - so maybe the better way to ask is "In foreign cities, are there any restaurants focused on American cuisine (of any subtype) that are considered among the very top restaurants in that city?"

put another way - "Would a top chef open an American cuisine restaurant (of any specific kind) in a foreign land and expect to get accolades of the type that might come from other cuisines, if executed equally well?"

No - I'm not losing sleep over this, just curious if American cuisine of all types is viewed outside the US in the same way comic books are generally viewed by bibliophiles. My experience says that's true but my experience is somewhat limited.

[Ericandblueboy]

Honestly I've never seen any highly touted American cuisine in a foreign country. When Jean-Georges Vongerichten opens a restaurant in a foreign country, is his food considered American? If so, they're well received. I would think any highly rated American restaurant would be opened by a celebrity chef.

[dcs]

Could food trucks be our contribution?

[Sthitch]

Honestly I've never seen any highly touted American cuisine in a foreign country. When Jean-Georges Vongerichten opens a restaurant in a foreign country, is his food considered American? If so, they're well received. I would think any highly rated American restaurant would be opened by a celebrity chef.

I sure hope his steak houses are not considered American... but when it comes to fine dining I am not sure that there is a distinct American cuisine. Even if you look at restaurants like Chez Panisse or the French Laundry what they are producing is not very different from what you would find in a similarly Michelin starred restaurant in France (we think of Alice Water’s as being revolutionary, but in reality she is just doing what has been done in the “old country” since well before Escoffier).

This is not to say that there is not a distinct American cuisine, just when it comes to fine dining it is generally just a twist on French, Italian, and a few other cuisines.

[saf]

Some time, probably about 7 years ago (?), we were on the Isle on Man. So, we get off the ferry from Belfast fairly late, go to the inn, check in, and ask where there is to eat. (It was a long and rough crossing. The bar opened, but no food was available.)

Douglas is fairly big, for the Isle of Man, as the major port is there. It's still a small place. So the innkeeper sends us down the street to his favorite place, which is the only place for dinner after about 10. It's an American Restaurant (yes, their capitalization). (He recommended "the gammon." Eventually I found out that a gammon is a ham steak.) Anyhow, it was sort of a western steakhouse. Every booth has the name of a US state on it. Well, except for the ones that have a US city name. And there are western dioramas all over the place, but the people in these little dioramas are fair folk. So the place looks like Ponderosa meets Darby O'Gill.

The food was edible. We were hungry and thought it was only edible, so I bet it was pretty bad.

The beer was VERY good.

Neither of us remember the name any more. And it seems that this was before we had the digital camera. And we can't find anything about it on the net. But we both swear that it really happened.

We have also seen an American restaurant in Madrid that specialized in Chicago hot dogs (right off the Plaza Mayor), and in Dublin with the Statue of Liberty as the logo and the oddest menu, featuring burgers and tacos.

Oh, there were also Australian restaurants in Paris. Didn't go in, but I read the menu, got confused, and now I forget what they served.

[dcandohio]

Honestly I've never seen any highly touted American cuisine in a foreign country. When Jean-Georges Vongerichten opens a restaurant in a foreign country, is his food considered American? If so, they're well received. I would think any highly rated American restaurant would be opened by a celebrity chef.

I dined at Jean Gorges in Shanghai, on the Bund, a couple of years ago. I don't remember everything we ate, but I do remember that we had a lovely time and that we were very happy with the food. Also, that it was expensive. So, if this is considered "American" in a foreign country, it was wonderful.

[Ericandblueboy]

I sure hope his steak houses are not considered American... but when it comes to fine dining I am not sure that there is a distinct American cuisine.

Other than the ones you named - southern, cajun and creole. I would think if Donald Links opens a Cochon in London, it would be a big hit.

[johnb]

Seems to me the real "problem" here is that, while there are certainly specific dishes or preparations that are recognized as "American" (obviously hamburgers, hot dogs, and so on come to mind), there really isn't a fully-formed "American Cuisine" distinct from other world cuisines. What, after all, is a cuisine and how distinct does it need to be to be considered separate and apart?

The usual world cuisines that come up in this sort of discussion include Chinese, French, Italian, and others, that all have the characteristic of having been formed and developed over centuries of comparative isolation from other regions, each with its own cuisine in similar parallel development. During this long time and under these conditions, they each could develop their distinctive characteristics. In contrast, the US was settled comparatively recently by waves of mostly European immigrants who brought their own foodways with them and then started fusing what they did with what their neighbors were doing. So what is cooked today in America substantially reflects those old world cuisines, and is not really so much distinct from them but rather has drawn from and to some extent fused them, and added some aspects of its own based on available ingredients such as large quantities of meat. This makes it hard to come up with, for example, a list of dishes for an "American restaurant" overseas that reflects a distinct American cuisine; it would be at best a diverse list of stereotypical American dishes.

[Anna Phor]

It's not so much that it's bad. It just doesn't always ... translate well. Or perhaps it just gets the local cultural influence?

Lebowski's in Glasgow. IMO as a non-American, it seems typical of an "American" styled restaurant in the UK or Australia (the two places I can claim as homelands)--the execution is often much like British or Australian restaurants are in the US.

[Tweaked]

Or you go to the Persian Gulf and eat at Elevation Burger and Red Velvet Cupcakery.

[Joe H]

American overseas is roughly comparable to German here. In America I find German food to be generally awful with most Americans having no idea that Germany has more Michelin starred restaurants than any country other than France. In Germany I find American food to be similarly awful with most Germans believing that we eat nothing but hamburgers, fried chicken and french fries. I should also note here that as American food is not limited to these neither is German food limited to wurst and sauerkraut.

I can't think of a single American restaurant in Barcelona but I do remember an American restaurant in Venice which had laminated pictures of all the food in the window outside.

I saw a similar one next to a "Tex Mex" in Paris that had a McDonald's next door.

McDonald's do especially well in Germany and Italy.

[Joe H]

The "Tex Mex" restaurant I mentioned above is "Indiana Tex Mex."

I suppose for someone in the 7th Arr. Indiana is synonymous with Tex Mex. I think this speaks volumes about the perception of any kind of American food overseas.

[johnb]

The "Tex Mex" restaurant I mentioned above is "Indiana Tex Mex."

I suppose for someone in the 7th Arr. Indiana is synonymous with Tex Mex. I think this speaks volumes about the perception of any kind of American food overseas.

But here's the question. If you were to establish an American restaurant overseas, what would be the dishes that you would select as being representative of American cuisine? What IS American cuisine? How is it distinctive? How should it be presented?

[jayandstacey]

But here's the question. If you were to establish an American restaurant overseas, what would be the dishes that you would select as being representative of American cuisine? What IS American cuisine? How is it distinctive? How should it be presented?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say "it doesn't matter."

When I asked the question, I was thinking really any broad or narrow type of american cuisine. So maybe a broad selection of BBQ, lobster rolls and fried chicken, OR, a versy specific genre like a particular brand of creole cooking.

I sense that the very broad approach can be nothing but a cartoon version of cuisine overseas. I wondered if maybe, just maybe, a very specific type of "american" cuisine garners any respect anywhere beyond our borders. Sadly, (though not surprisingly) it seems not. I'd have thought that maybe a 'southern cooking' place might be all the rage in Tokyo, or maybe Norway has a really respectable Cape-Cod style seafood place that's a top-notch place. But alas, no.

So to answer your question above - I wouldn't ever open an "american" restaurant and hope for anything more than rock bottom prices for crap food. Like many such fast food places here, my only hope would be to make it up in volume. And I'd either be a known chain, or something close ("Florida Fried Chicken" / "Burger Prince"). Instead I'd focus on a more specific area, like a "Chicago Steakhouse" or "Cape Cod Chowder Hut" and serve a fairly full menu around those concepts, doing my best to make it taste and feel authentic.

I would invest all my internet $ in this idea. I would not invest any real $$ in it.

[mdt]

I can't think of a single American restaurant in Barcelona  but I do remember an American restaurant in Venice which had laminated pictures of all the food in the window outside.

There is Peggy Sue's (Food from America) http://www.peggysues.es/. And there is an outpost in Madrid too.

[Joe H]

There is Peggy Sue's (Food from America) http://www.peggysues.es/. And there is an outpost in Madrid too.

A "Mississippi sandwich," "chicken fingers" and "Elvis pizza."  Actually advertisiing frozen McCain french fries!

Unfortunately most Europeans believe this is what American food is all about.

[Steve R.]

There is a "Florence Diner" in Florence, Italy that is under the same ownership as an interesting restaurant across the street that serves a steak with blueberry sauce and has 2 branches in the US.  Cant remember the restaurant's name -- it looks like a tourist trap but its actually worth trying.  Not sure about the diner"¦ we didn't have hamburger urges while living there this past summer.

[mdt]

There is a "Florence Diner" in Florence, Italy that is under the same ownership as an interesting restaurant across the street that serves a steak with blueberry sauce and has 2 branches in the US.  Cant remember the restaurant's name -- it looks like a tourist trap but its actually worth trying.  Not sure about the diner"¦ we didn't have hamburger urges while living there this past summer.

It has been too many years between visits to Europe for me, but this last trip I was surprised to see the number of places (many that are not close to tourist traps) offering hamburgers on the menu. I even saw plates of sliders brought to tables.

[TheMatt]

There is a "Florence Diner" in Florence, Italy that is under the same ownership as an interesting restaurant across the street that serves a steak with blueberry sauce and has 2 branches in the US.  Cant remember the restaurant's name -- it looks like a tourist trap but its actually worth trying.  Not sure about the diner"¦ we didn't have hamburger urges while living there this past summer.

Looking around the web, that appears to be "Acqua al 2" which has a branch in DC, and seems to even have that dish:

Filetto al Mirtillo

 

A hand-carved filet mignon cooked in

blueberry reduction sauce $32

[frogprince]

I once had an enchilada near Hampstead Heath.

I wished I hadn't

Reckon I deserved it though

[Steve R.]

Looking around the web, that appears to be "Acqua al 2" which has a branch in DC, and seems to even have that dish:

Yep, that's the one.  Although it was loaded with tourists, there were long communal tables and we wound up talking to several Italian pilots and stewards from Alitalia who knew many other locals who kept coming over and talking.  My wife ordered the blueberry steak and I ordered the balsamic reduction coated steak.  Both were excellent pieces of meat, the blueberry cooked down into the same thickness as the balsamic but added a little liveliness that made her steak better than mine.  But, surprisingly (at least to us), both were very good.  I wouldn't run there but, the one in D.C. is like the one in Florence, I wouldn't avoid it either.  Might be a fun dinner.

[hillvalley]

A few weeks ago we had to deal with a very serious issue: one of my students from an eastern block country thought that in America we put french fries on our pizza because she ordered The Yankee, a plain pizza with fries, at a restaurant downtown.  I assured her that we do not do that in America.

The local Irish Pub here in southern Switzerland near the Italian border, owned by a guy from Sweden, caters to a local American college.  You can get nachos made with Doritos, mozzarella sticks served with sweet and sour sauce, and The Obama burger, which comes with lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon and avocado.  It's 18chf, about $20, and the best seller.

"American food" is whatever those in the business in the area decide it is.

The most embarrassing American food intrusion I've seen in Europe so far was in Barcelona, where there was a Duncan Donuts next to The Boqueria, a centuries old market.

[Joe H]

I've had several of the most serious meals of my life in Germany (i.e. Schwarzwaldstube, Bareiss, Im Schiffchen) and have been almost embarassed to walk around German cities and see what passes for "American" food there.  Having said this, Americans have no idea of how good "German" food can be.  Or "Swiss" food.  I represented a company in Monthey near Montreaux for years dating back to the early '80's.  Serious would be defined as from anywhere else in Europe, perhaps anywhere else in the world rather than America.

Of course how many people reading this think Swiss is some kind of fondue?  Or German some kind of wurst or something which has beer in it?

There are so many who have no real idea of what they are missing.  On either side of the ocean.