American food to feed to a British friend?

[Togath]

So after talking to my boyfriend for a while about various British dishes, I began to wonder: what American foods might seem weird/unusual to him?
Now, admittedly, I've only mostly been exposed to Northwest stuff, but I figure it can't hurt to get suggestions from any part of the US(or even just "stuff that comes pre made that they don't have in the UK". Like corn tortillas, apparently).
So... anyone have ideas? I know I want to show him corn bread(and, well, corn based things in general). Maybe American style biscuits and pancakes too?

[An Enemy Spy]

Weird him out by asking if he wants gravy on his biscuits. In England, what they call biscuits are basically what we call cookies.

[Strigon]

Weird him out by asking if he wants gravy on his biscuits. In England, what they call biscuits are basically what we call cookies.

In a similar vein, try to get him to ask for jelly. In Britain, as I understand it, it's the generic term for what Jell-O makes; if you hand him a jar of strawberry jam, much confusion will follow.

[An Enemy Spy]

Do you live in Seattle? If so, go to Pike Place Market and see if he can catch a thrown salmon. In fact, Washington has all sorts of fantastic seafood. I don't know what the seafood scene is like in England, but I bet fresh Dungeness Crab isn't found on every street corner. Maybe we should get some english posters to tell us what isn't considered normal food over there.

[factotum]

Maybe we should get some english posters to tell us what isn't considered normal food over there.

That would kind of rely on us knowing what *is* considered normal food in the States, though. I mean, I know the whole biscuits and gravy thing (which frankly looks and sounds disgusting from what I've seen) and that a typical takeaway portion in the US would feed a family of six for a week or two, but beyond that, no ideas. Maybe the OP could do a Youtube search for videos of "British tries American treats!" or words to that effect--there seem to be dozens of the things!

[An Enemy Spy]

Nah man, biscuits and gravy are fantastic. You really need to try some.

[Togath]

Talking with him a little, while he's had brown/meat gravy(on fried chicken and various potato dishes), it sounds like white/country/sausage gravy isn't much of a thing there~
As for location, I'm about two hours from Seattle, though I certainly wouldn't mind taking the time to go there when he visits eventually.
Also thinking of showing him local berries. Salmonberries, thimble berries, red huckleberries(which are awesome), salal, and such.

[Rynjin]

You also need to define "American food", as there are a lot of unique flavors here people don't think about. Creole and Cajun cooking is wholly American(ized), for example.

[Karen Lynn]

Biscuits and gravy having already been mentioned(seriously, if you haven't had some, try some when you can. Heaven on a plate.), I'd point out hush puppies as one. Trying to remember something that weirded out a brit friend of mine, to no avail.

[Rynjin]

I mean if the goal is to weird somebody out, biscuits and sawmill gravy is kid's stuff. Sit them down with a plate of chitlins, hog trotters, collard greens (pepper sauce optional), and black eyed peas and ask them if they want some pickled eggs on the side. Serve them Ambrosia for desert.

[Togath]

I... actually had to look up what all of those were.
More I'm aiming for standard-ish food.

[Mr Blobby]

If this was me, I'd partly be interested in trying...

- Fast food not [really] found in the UK. Example: Wendy's.

- A Big Mac. Is it exactly the same as our one?

- 'The local thing'. Some Brits have the impression that American cuisine has almost nothing to offer. 'Americans only have one sauce - tomato' etc. Find something [or a few somethings] which is both tasty, local and won't give you a heart attack from looking at it.

[veti]

If this was me, I'd partly be interested in trying...

- Fast food not [really] found in the UK. Example: Wendy's.

I guess. But is Wendy's all that distinctive?

If you have a local place that specialises in sliders, that would be worth a visit. I remember being... taken aback, first time I encountered those in the states. Also pancakes. What the British call 'pancakes' are quite different from American ones (the American version is not unknown over there, but it is uncommon.)

- A Big Mac. Is it exactly the same as our one?

I don't know the answer to that, although it's probably Google-able. But if you take him to a McDonald's (or KFC), I would assume you'll just confirm all his worst fears and prejudices about American food in general. At that point you might as well give him a six-pack of Budweiser.

- 'The local thing'. Some Brits have the impression that American cuisine has almost nothing to offer. 'Americans only have one sauce - tomato' etc. Find something [or a few somethings] which is both tasty, local and won't give you a heart attack from looking at it.

This, absolutely. I associate salmon with Washington, so I guess you have some tasty ways of preparing that.

[Mr Blobby]

All the above true. But then again, I'm a freak and know it. Though you've made me add another...

- Good American beer. Budweiser's only saving grace in my book is that it's not wifebeater. Prove to the Brit that *some* Americans still have taste for good ales and lagers! Naturally, this isn't worth doing if all they drink is say Fosters.

[Oneris]

The difficulty I feel is finding something that's suitably American, but not so much that it's available in an almost identical form at British restaurants that serve American styled food. So probably not pizza or hamburgers, unless it's a very regional variant.

Regional overall is probably a good way to go. Creole/Cajun, Southern, Southwest/Tex-Mex, Californian fusion, Hawaiian, and maybe Barbecue. Proper Chinese food like Szechuan, Jewish delis, In-And-Out.

And the internet tells me apparently peanut butter is rare outside the US?

[veti]

And the internet tells me apparently peanut butter is rare outside the US?

Unless your Internet has fallen through a timewarp from the 1940s, I don't know where it got that idea. Peanut butter is a globally traded commodity.

[Mr Blobby]

We have peanut butter here in the UK. It's not hugely popular, but popular enough to be found in every supermarket n the land.

You might have more luck taking them to a Mexican restaurant [not that common in the UK].

[Ninja_Prawn]

I'm not really into food that isn't based on sugar, but maybe I can help.

Regional dishes seem like an obvious one: clam chowder in Boston and sourdough bread in San Francisco. Ribs in Tennessee. Mexican food (though here are some places serving that over here now). I distinctly remember a Maryland pulled pork sandwich I had in New York that was unlike anything you'd see in Britain. It was like two inch-thick slabs of bread with about six inches of pork between them - I couldn't even pick it up! It probably seems humdrum and everyday to the locals, but to us it's totally crazy.

In general, any high quality American restaurant will feel strange to a Brit. Not just because the food is better than what you'd get over here (there is a reason for our reputation) but also because the service so... cloyingly cheerful. Aside: you may have to educate your boyfriend about the wages/tips situation in America if he's not already familiar. Workers have more rights and protections here, so tips are seen as less important.

Your confectionery is also crazy. You can't get things like Pixy Stix and Jolly Ranchers in Britain (I believe some of the additives may be banned?), so I buy loads whenever I'm in the States. Recently I had a penpal send me a bag of rock candy on strings, which I've never even heard of before. At first I wasn't sure it was edible because it was so hard and strange; I thought it might have been decorative. Also: grape flavour. Over here, purple is usually blackberry or blackcurrant, and blue is usually raspberry or cherry. We don't really do 'grape' as a flavour. Keep him away from American chocolate though, it's horrible compared to British stuff.

[Oneris]

Unless your Internet has fallen through a timewarp from the 1940s, I don't know where it got that idea. Peanut butter is a globally traded commodity.

I'm not saying it's unknown outside the US. Just that it might not be as ubiquitous. You'd be hard pressed to find an edible non American brand peanut butter in Japan, for example. (trust me, I tried)

[Coidzor]

1. Fried Alligator.
2. Crawfish Etouffe. Shrimp Etouffe.
3. The results of a crawfish boil.
4. Jambalaya.
5. Actually good Fried Chicken.
6. A proper pizza, if you're lucky enough to have a real good pizza joint available or can actually make one.
7. A proper philly cheesesteak, again, if you can find a proper place or make one.
8. I think Maine and Massachusetts have something to do with some form of chowder. The Chesapeake Bay may also have its own form of chowder.
9. Something to do with Maryland and its obsession with using Old Bay lobster/crab/seafood/shellfish seasoning on anything and everything.
10. Biscuits and Gravy.
11. Actual biscuits in basically any format.
12. On that note, I believe a proper New York bagel can't be had in Britain.
13. English Muffins, since they'll have no idea what those are. Possibly in the form of a breakfast sandwich.
14. Sweet potato casserole, or, really, anything to do with sweet potatoes, such as baked sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries, or sweet potato pie.
15. Pot Roast where you don't turn all the drippings into "pudding."
16. Peanut butter.
17. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
18. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Plain and Elvis style.
19. Peanut butter themed things, such as milkshakes.
20. Ohio "Buckeyes" peanut-butter chocolate candies.
21. Root Beer.
22. Caffeinated Mountain Dew.
23. Grits
24. I'm sure there's some casseroles that are super Americana, like tuna fish casserole.
25. Sourdough could figure in somewhere in some capacity.
26. Texas Beef Brisket barbecue.
27. Carolina style barbecue, both mammalian based and poultry based. Seeing as how they have the two sauces.
28. Georgia-Alabama style barbecue, generally in the form of pulled pork sandwiches.
29. Bourbon-chocolate candies of basically any variety.
30. Pecan Pie
31. Bourbon Pecan Pie
32. Bourbon-Chocolate Pecan Pie
33. Derby Pie
34. Cincinnati Chili
35. Texmex Chili
36. "Southwestern" Chili
37. Americanized versions of Mexican, Cuban, and Latin American food.
38. Buffalo burgers
39. Five Guys, if available.
40. Any really good burger place, really.
41. Burgers served in the Patty Melt style.
42. Some favored form of consuming the flesh of the Turkey.
43. Hot Browns, I suppose.
44. California Rolls.
45. If you can actually find honest to goodness Pemmican or make it, that's always fun.
46. American venison would be pretty hard to come by in Britland as I understand the strictures when it comes to importing meat.
47. venison jerky, if you have a good source for the homemade variety is always nice and hard to come by even for many Americans.
48. Good smoked salmon and good lox would be much more easily acquired in the PNW than in Britland.

[Mr Blobby]

My comments to said list...

1. A proper pizza, if you're lucky enough to have a real good pizza joint available or can actually make one. Think we've got this one covered in the UK.
2. English Muffins, since they'll have no idea what those are. Possibly in the form of a breakfast sandwich. Erm... we have those here. They're called 'muffins'.
3. Peanut butter. Again, we have that one.
4. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. [Heh... was confused about this one until I learned 'jelly' is what we call 'jam'.]
5. Caffeinated Mountain Dew. Or Mountain Dew period.

[Coidzor]

My comments to said list...

And "No, you really don't." works in reply to most of those.

[Ninja_Prawn]

And "No, you really don't." works in reply to most of those.

Eh, I don't know. You may have a point with peanut butter, but the rest...

We definitely have Mountain Dew now, though the formula is different: banned chemicals again. And in my experience, American pizza is overrated. 'American-style' pizzas served in Britain are tastier, in my opinion. English muffins are pretty niche, but some people eat them.

[Mr Blobby]

Okay, there may be marginal differences between say a UK muffin and an English muffin. But travelling several thousand miles to learn this is frankly stupid when they can be offered truly different foodstuffs. This is why I suggested Mexican food - we don't see that so much here in the UK. Particular proper Mexican.

EDIT: Muffins can be found in pretty much any supermarket. I saw them next to the crumpets this very morning. However, I don't see them fresh often.

[Coidzor]

Perhaps I misremembered and it is actual muffins which lack a place in British culinary conception, but it was definitely one of those two baked goods which y'all didn't even know you were missing. Although it is impressive that this is the first time I've encountered British people who knew what an English Muffin was without explanation.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Although it is impressive that this is the first time I've encountered British people who knew what an English Muffin was without explanation.

Mhm. In my case, my sister is a big fan of them and I also happen to work with a keen baker who brings her creations into the office occasionally. I suspect most Brits wouldn't really know what an English muffin was.

[Scarlet Knight]

I don't know what's available in the UK, but when I think of American cuisine, I think hotdogs, hamburgers, BBQ, fried chicken.

Of course quality varies, and I'm not sure what Washington has that's good, but has he ever had a dirty water dog that snaps with everything? Or is that just a NY thing?

[Rynjin]

I... actually had to look up what all of those were.
More I'm aiming for standard-ish food.

If you're in Alabama, that's Sunday dinner and a snack.

Trying to guess which one's the snack though, now there's your challenge.

Spoiler

Show

It's the pig's feet.

They're all surprisingly tasty too (though for the love of all that is holy if you live in an apartment complex or something don't cook them. If your neighbors don't murder you you'll probably be evicted.).

[LIST=1][*]Fried Alligator.[*]Jambalaya

Gator is better grilled or turned into jerky than fried IMO. Deep fried shark on the other hand is great. Good with lemon zest mixed in the batter.

I'd also suggest a good gumbo rather than jambalaya. Okra is not a vegetable commonly found outside the US as far as I know, so it would have a more interesting and unique flavor than what essentially boils down to "spicy tomato soup". I also think it's the better dish overall, myself.

Something to do with Maryland and its obsession with using Old Bay lobster/crab/seafood/shellfish seasoning on anything and everything.

Skip it. He wouldn't be missing much. I lived in Maryland for the past couple of years before coming back to Florida and I can tell you two things: The reputation is not exaggerated (there are Old Bay flavored potato chips up there for god's sake and that's just the most obvious hint something is wrong) and it makes a lot of perfectly good seafood practically unpalatable.

As well as salmon I'd add mahi-mahi to the list of suggested seafood. Fish that can be prepared like steak are probably interesting enough they'd get a kick out of it.

[JustSomeGuy]

Since you guys seem so insistent, i googled "english muffin" to see, and we have those yes. The problem might be that muffin also means a sort of big cupcake so it can get lost in the varieties of those, seeing as how there is basically only one type of "english muffin" (excluding maybe wholemeal or whatever, but there are way more varieties of dessert muffin).

I haven't been to the us, but i've been to canada twice for a total of about 12 weeks, and stuff that was weird for me:

Peanut butter and mountain dew - bad different, pb seemed plasticy or something, md tasted like licking a battery covered in sugar

Bacon and burgers - good different, bacon was just nicer and i spent loads trying as many burgers as i could. Personally, i liked the "grampa burger" best, i think it was arby's, but apparently i am wrong on this.

Kebabs (kabobs!?) - better describe these as a meat-and-sauce wrap or he'll be dissapointed (assuming he eats kebabs). I thought that since it's all greek-turkish anyway they'd understand what a kofte kebab was, but no idea. Even describing it yielded nothing but shrugs (argh!)

Chocolate i would kill for - Oh Henry!s. I stopped trying anything else after those, that was the de facto bar of choice from then until eternity.

Generic takaway pizzas were samey enough to not consider a difference.

I went to a comedy club there and it was really odd though, seemed almost like going to the theatre in that no one was drunk, no one was rowdy or loud and there were some excessively involved bouncers afoot.

Shooting ranges would be a unique experience since they are so open and public there, and here they are almost a secret underground society. Also cars - we went to a car rental place and a generic model was a ridiculously overengined pontiac (i think it might have been a grand prix?). These are the things of movies and car chases in britain, 2 litres is considered a reasonably large engine (most are around 1.4-1.6 litres) and the sizes over there are literally double that. I'd reccomend letting him get his arse behind the wheel of some big americana roadtank, just for the experience of tooling around like every tv show he probably watched growing up.

Maybe also cartoon merchandise if that's a thing he likes, i remember picking up so much adventure time/mlp stuff for my kids that just wasn't available here.

[Pyromancer999]

Not radically different, but a Chicago Deep Dish style pizza might be interesting.

Also: Fried egg on a cheeseburger. Not found everywhere, but encountered it in college and now at burger joints/other eateries in my area, including chain restaurants, and it is delightful. Especially on a bacon cheeseburger.

Going more into unusual burger toppings: Peanut butter on a burger. One of my favorite restaurants does a wonderful Peanut Butter and Bacon burger. Don't knock it until you try it.