What would you expect to be on the menu at an “authentic American” restaurant/bar that is located outside the U.S.?

45 comments

  1. Well based on what I’ve seen when I’ve traveled…they tend to be mildly insulting parody versions of what we eat and are prepared poorly.

  2. Probably an assortment of burgers and dogs. We eat many other things, but I’d guess if there’s an American theme to a place, it’s mostly going to be that.

  3. A tripple cheeseburger with dyed red white and blue pattys garnished with a roman candle shooting out the top… Inatead if fries it just comes with a basket of .556. small is about 60 rounds and large is about 150 rounds.

  5. What I expect?

    Some weird combination of two foods, with a location name to make it seem legitimate. “Nebraska Mayonnaise-coated Banana Peppers”

    What I would like to see? I know people think American food is fast food, but our “slow” foods are what makes our cuisine amazing: different types of barbecue, pizza with dough that sits out and rises,
    banana bread, various stews that simmer for days, etc.

  6. Probably some goofy take on chicken and waffles, like the chicken is grilled maybe.

    Ketchup served as a side with everything that doesn’t get ketchup.

    Fish and chips with potato/kettle chips as a side.

    Probably at least one Red-Robinesque burger with the wrong condiments.

    A personal pizza that came out of a box and looks like a microwaved Frisbee. Likely has unseasoned ground beef topping. Maybe taco seasoned beef.

    “BBQ” ribs with ketchup/mustard glaze.

    And a hot dog in a French baguette.

  7. If it’s actually authentic? NJ diner style food with maybe some nice cocktail options or just good draft beer.

    If it’s “authentic?”

    Exactly what I had in London when I went to an “[authentic American diner](https://www.wafflejacks.co.uk/menu)”

    Bad.

    Oven baked fries.
    Badly prepared breakfast food in general.
    An inexplicable lack of salt.

  8. What would I expect? Cheesesteaks and hoagies on Amoroso or Liscio’s rolls, NYC or Chicago-style pizza, chicken wings like those from the Anchor Bar, and anything else which is reasonably authentically American.

    What would I likely see? As has been said, probably a parody or pastiche of American food, filtered through fiction, imagination, pop culture, and local tastes.

  10. The “American” stuff I have seen in foreign countries has been like a bizarre parody. Shit like hot dogs and French fries on pizza.

    If it was a true “American food” it would be like diner food. Fries, burgers, hot sandwiches like pastrami on rye, Ruebens, Philly cheese steak, bratwurst, Italian beef, Polish sausage, some salads like Caesar, antipasto salad, fried stuff like chicken tenders and mozzarella sticks, sides like veggies and mashed potatoes, country fried steak, turkey with gravy and sides, breakfast stuff like eggs, hash browns, corned beef hash, bacon, sausage, fruit, orange juice, pancakes, waffles.

  13. Probably 1950s styled, route 66 signs, or Elvis shit everywhere.

    Menu is an approximation of TGIFridays but are “off” in some way, like including odd or unusual toppings/ ingredients.

  14. Probably something vaguely “American”, which would in its original form be a bastardized version of another ethnicity’s cuisine. It would the the same as “Italian” restaurants in the US, it’s kinda like Italian food, but it’s more like an American version inspired by Italian food.

  15. One of my favorite YouTube channels is by someone named ji mcullough. A lot of people on this sub would probably be really into it.

    That being said his videos on fauxthentic traditions and specifically fauxthentic American foods from around the world could be something that you’re looking for.

    Tends to be a lot of pizzas and other things with fries on them, as well as putting hot dogs in everything. There seems to be a stereotype for hotdogs, ketchup and fries.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xgd79wuriQ

  16. What people are saying here. A lot of things, but almost nothing recognizably American.

    A real American place would almost certainly not call itself American. It would be a pizzeria, a hot dog joint, a diner, a Tex-Mex joint, a boil house, a steakhouse, or any other number of actual types of American restaurants.

  17. What I would expect to actually get would be different from what I would expect from one that is ideal.

    The ideal one would have:

    Apps: Onion Rings, Mozz sticks, Potato Skins,

    Entrees: Burgers, Fried Chicken, Chicken BBQ, Cheese Steaks, Hoagies, Hot dogs, Wings, Grilled Cheese, Chili, Meatloaf, Crab and Lobster and/or surf and turf.

    Sides: corn, baked beans, mashed potatoes, Mac and cheese, Cole slaw, macaroni salad, potato salad.

    Desserts: Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Molten Lava Cake, Carrot Cake, Brownies, Milkskakes

  19. Depends on what you mean by “expect”, “authentic American”, and how exactly those two ideas are connected.

    – I anticipate a collection of either local fare inspired by American ingredients or American dishes with local flavoring. Either way it probably won’t be particularly enjoyable for Americans or the locals.

    If I were trying to replicate the American food experience while also trying to appeal to a non-American audience in a bar setting.

    I’d start with a burger and chicken wing menu with a mix of American standards and local flavorings

    Then I’d lean into Tex Mex, US Asian fusion (think American Sushi), deli food, or one of our many other food subcultures

    Our food culture is way too diverse to replicate in a single restaurant. While this is true to an extent of most places, our fondness for experimenting with other food cultures leads to a lot of foods that can only meaningfully be found in the USA.

  20. I would think it would go better if it planed for a regional theme. Food traditions here tend to be regional rather than national, sort of an internal version of ethnic food. National food is often meant more to be user friendly, sort of a descendant of hardtack.

  23. Caesar salad that hasn’t got even one ingredient that is part of a Caesar salad. Had that one in Moravia

  24. really depends, upscale or nah?

    ​

    If it’s like a corner bar that serves food, then all that stuff they all have on their menus (deep fried appetizers, different types of burgers, you know what’s gonna be there

    ​

    if it’s upscale, then fancy takes on the classics. BLT = crispy skin pork belly, a slice of fried tomato with an aioli on a bed of arugula.

  27. I would expect them to have some strange stuff that no American has ever eaten in the history of the world. Stuff like pizza with hot dogs and corn on it, or cornbread with ketchup and fish.

    What they *should* have is several kinds of BBQ, cheeseburgers and fries, and chili.

  28. American restaurant outside of the US? As a guy who has traveled overseas several times I know that anything I see on that menu isn’t going to be anything I’ve ever had before. It’s going to be like a Simpsons parody or something.

    If you wanna know what they should have I’d say the following would be a good start:

    * Burgers & Fries
    * Also Onion Rings
    * Chicken Strips
    * Meatloaf and Mashed potatoes
    * BLTs
    * That would be a Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato sandwich
    * Tuna Melt
    * Patty Melt
    * Club Sandwich
    * Hot dog, Chicken Nuggets, Grilled Cheese (kids menu items)
    * Classic Breakfast plate
    * Eggs, bacon or sausage, biscuits or toast, grits
    * Oatmeal
    * Omelettes
    * Biscuits and gravy
    * Pancakes
    * Root Beer Floats
    * Banana Splits

    I would say Barbecue, but y’all will screw that one up for sure so don’t even try it.

  29. I was at one in Germany that marketed itself as an American sports bar. Got the nachos, hoping for a nice hearty plate of restaurant/bar-style nachos we get back home with a bunch of toppings like nice melty shredded cheeses, ground beef, sour cream, pico, jalapenos, and such.

    What I got was basically a bowl of doritos next to a bowl of sad liquid cheese seemingly from a jar

    So pretty much I expect a similar type of sad low-effort take on an assortment of other stereotypical American foods lol

  30. I don’t expect an authentic American restaurant outside the US. There was a southwest and Mexican fusion restaurant in Germany and I could not recognize the food. Under their Mexican food section, they had “Schnitzel Santa Fe” which had something referred to as “Texassauce.” I don’t even know what Texassauce would be, but Santa Fe ≠ Texas and neither of them are Mexico. And most of it the food was just seasoned with paprika.

    I had nachos at an American style sports bar. That may have been the sweetest thing I’ve ever eaten. They managed to make the tortilla chips sweet, like they were made from sweet corn or something. The salsa was unbelievably sweet and had no bite to it at all. The “guacamole” was just unseasoned mashed avocado with nothing in it. The cheese was the only thing half decent but that couldn’t save it.

    You can usually find good burgers, but that’s easy and you can make them enough different ways that I wouldn’t necessarily call every burger place an American restaurant.

    TLDR: I don’t expect anything but cheap and unresearched knockoffs and off-flavors from American-Style restaurants abroad.

  32. I studied abroad in Italy and tried a couple of those places when I was feeling homesick. It’s always hamburgers of varying quality, french fries, and an assortment of foods that are *almost* American, but just missed the mark. Think hot dogs served in a baguette, a salad with “ranch dressing” that’s just straight-up mayonnaise, macaroni and cheese served in a very thin watery sauce, etc.

    And the theme is always a diner with neon signs and Elvis posters everywhere.

  33. Oh my god, just different versions of the most disgusting burger you could imagine. These are all versions of “authentic” burgers I’ve had in the middle of long trips when I got homesick. One with zucchini in the patty, one with what I think was curry powder in the patty but some sort of provolone cheese sauce on top, and one that I kid you not came with canned corn on it.

  34. Taking foods we have as just slapping chopped hotdogs, yellow mustard, or sliced cheese on it. Pizza, waffles, etc… needs some hotdogs and mustard. 🤨

  37. Assuming they’re actually authentic: Burgers, Hot Dogs, New York-Style Pizza, Fried Chicken, Chili Con Carne, Pancakes/Waffles/French Toast with Maple Syrup, Baked Mac and Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, General Tso’s Chicken, Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie

    I wouldn’t expect this but maybe a few things that are a bit more regional like New England Clam Chowder, Corned Beef Reuben, Cincinnati Chili, Grits, or Cheesesteak.

  38. I ordered “Steak American” in Belgium once and I got a big dollop of raw hamburger on a bed of lettuce. WTF?!

  39. Hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza (without corn, tuna, or hot dogs as toppings), chili, General Tao’s chicken, pho, chicken pot pie, fried chicken, French fries, onion rings, turkey with stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, succotash (with bacon), sauerkraut, sweet potatoes, & cranberry sauce, fried shrimp and/or fried clams with cocktail sauce, Oysters Rockefeller, jambalaya, at least 4 different kinds of barbecue: North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas City, & Alabama, shrimp po’ boys, Kentucky Hot Browns, biscuits (not cookies — kind of like scones, but not sweet) and sausage gravy, collard greens cooked with ham hocks, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, stuffed potato skins, meatball subs, jello, iced tea, onion rings, corn-on-the-cob, Philadelphia cheesesteak subs, watermelon, cheesecake, red velvet cake, Mississippi mud pie….editing to add tacos, burritos, chimichangas, quesadillas, salsa and tortilla chips….

  40. If you’ve ever been to a local Asian-American buffet that’s what American food is like. The decor is one way but the food is a mix of a bunch of shit that otherwise wouldn’t go together on paper. Italian food, African-American food, seafood, Chinese food, fried food, Mexican food, sides, French food, Japanese food, and deserts all in one place. And elevator music playing on the speakers.

  41. Drip coffee with only basic cream and sugar.

    Pancakes and American style bacon, drenched in syrup.

    Some kind of roasted meat.

    Biscuits and gravy.

    And basic tap beers and coke or Pepsi. Oh of course sweet tea as well.

  42. Kind of a big country. It’s almost like asking, “What would a European restaurant menu look like?”

    It depends on which part of the country: New England lobster; Louisiana Cajun; Alaskan crab; Chicago and NY-style pizza; Cincinnati chili/hot dogs; Southwest bar-b-q; and whatever they eat in California. I’m sure I missed some, but you get the gist.

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