I wonder how well this will work for BK. I just had an impossible burger at Red Robin and it costs so much more than beef. I would imagine that cost is an even bigger issue with fast food. I...
I wonder how well this will work for BK. I just had an impossible burger at Red Robin and it costs so much more than beef. I would imagine that cost is an even bigger issue with fast food.
I suppose Carl's Jr. already is selling the Beyond burger at a significant markup, but they were not a cheap place to begin with.
From what I read last month, the Impossible Whopper costs* a dollar more. While it isn't too much, I can see some people saying 'why should I pay for fake meat when I can have the real thing for a...
From what I read last month, the Impossible Whopper costs* a dollar more. While it isn't too much, I can see some people saying 'why should I pay for fake meat when I can have the real thing for a dollar cheaper.' But this article says the St. Louis trial was quite successful, though imo its a pretty short term trial.
I actually see this as the greatest problem in the adoption of these new generation artificial meat products. If these companies are just in it for the money, it's fine if they are more expensive....
'why should I pay for fake meat when I can have the real thing for a dollar cheaper.'
I actually see this as the greatest problem in the adoption of these new generation artificial meat products. If these companies are just in it for the money, it's fine if they are more expensive. But if they are actively trying to replace meat in the average diet, they will have to eventually become the low cost choice.
They focus a lot on health benefits in their advertising, emphasizing that it's a lower calorie and lower cholesterol option than traditional beef burgers. In the grand scheme of things $1 extra...
But if they are actively trying to replace meat in the average diet, they will have to eventually become the low cost choice.
They focus a lot on health benefits in their advertising, emphasizing that it's a lower calorie and lower cholesterol option than traditional beef burgers.
In the grand scheme of things $1 extra isn't that much, especially once you factor in the level of agricultural subsidy the commercial beef industry gets. If Impossible meats is retailing for only $1 more, I suspect it's already pretty close to cost competitive (or possibly even cheaper) in terms of raw production costs.
It could actually be a cheaper or on-par option if we phased out cattle subsidies and they start to refine their processes, get economies of scale, and make other efficiency gains. It's hard to say though, because we probably also heavily subsidize the soy, peas, and whatever other crops are used to create the Impossible/Beyond meats. So we can't make a "pure" cost comparison since so many of the commodity prices upstream are being mucked with.
They do need a better general name for this stuff though. Pitching it as "fake meat" gets it tarred as being only for vegetarians. But attaching it to the name of a brand gives us the "Kleenex" problem where the trademark becomes synonymous with the item.
The meat industry is already trying to make it so they aren't allowed to market themselves with any association to the meats they're based on. In other words, "Impossible Beef" or "Impossible Lamb" will be out and they'd have to call it "Meat-like food product* *designed to taste like beef or something equally unappetizing. And this is specifically intended to hamstring their attempts to grow into the market of carnivores.
Vegetarian food is accepted now more than ever, so I don't think that it's going to be too incredibly difficult for people to try these burgers. But I agree the naming thing is a problem. "Beyond"...
They do need a better general name for this stuff though. Pitching it as "fake meat" gets it tarred as being only for vegetarians. But attaching it to the name of a brand gives us the "Kleenex" problem where the trademark becomes synonymous with the item.
Vegetarian food is accepted now more than ever, so I don't think that it's going to be too incredibly difficult for people to try these burgers. But I agree the naming thing is a problem. "Beyond" and "Impossible" are really cringy names, IMHO.
I think right now they are trying to get the word out so that production numbers can go up. As production quantity goes up, price to produce goes down. There was a freakonomics episode not too...
I think right now they are trying to get the word out so that production numbers can go up. As production quantity goes up, price to produce goes down.
There was a freakonomics episode not too long ago where they talked about this. On the plan is for it to eventually be cheaper than actual meat, so they are aiming to be the low cost choice.
Yeah, I agree with this. What is the correct word, scales of economy? As they get bigger they can get better deals with farmers, better machinery, etc.
Yeah, I agree with this. What is the correct word, scales of economy? As they get bigger they can get better deals with farmers, better machinery, etc.
The fact that the price is already this close at this small of a scale tells me that getting it down to the price of real beef (or even cheaper) is entirely possible once the economies of scale...
The fact that the price is already this close at this small of a scale tells me that getting it down to the price of real beef (or even cheaper) is entirely possible once the economies of scale really kick in.
Pretty sure it's only a one dollar markup over the regular whopper, which is pretty doable IMO. Certainly opens up the options for vegetarian fast food a little more, a lot of places the only...
Pretty sure it's only a one dollar markup over the regular whopper, which is pretty doable IMO. Certainly opens up the options for vegetarian fast food a little more, a lot of places the only vegetarian things on the menu are fries and drinks, and sometimes not even the fries.
Yeah, the initial tests in St. Louis which started on the first of April had the Impossible Whopper priced at $1 more. At that price it's close enough that there's no reason for me to not give it...
Yeah, the initial tests in St. Louis which started on the first of April had the Impossible Whopper priced at $1 more. At that price it's close enough that there's no reason for me to not give it a fair shot.
Now whether it proves tasty enough to keep buying at that price is a separate matter but I'm looking forward to trying it.
Yeah that's a reasonable price for an initial product offering which I imagine will come down in cost as long as demand rises. Both meat alternatives have me interested so I'll be trying them out...
Yeah that's a reasonable price for an initial product offering which I imagine will come down in cost as long as demand rises. Both meat alternatives have me interested so I'll be trying them out as soon as I have the chance.
I also like the idea of trying them out through fast food chains because I don't have high expectations when I'm ordering a burger from a drive thru window, ya know? So if it tastes good at Burger King I'm sure I could do something much tastier with ground beef alternatives in my own kitchen.
oh man oh man oh man oh man I had a plan to try every cool new food item when I go to the US, even when for a short vacation. I wish I could fly out tomorrow, just so I'd catch this. It's fast...
oh man oh man oh man oh man
I had a plan to try every cool new food item when I go to the US, even when for a short vacation. I wish I could fly out tomorrow, just so I'd catch this. It's fast food, sure, but it's American, and I've never tried an American thing in America, where it must taste differently.
I'm just in for the Impossible Whopper for the cultural value of it: it's American, it's from Burger King (so I can compare tastes with the local stuff), and it's from the Impossible Meat. Then I...
I'm just in for the Impossible Whopper for the cultural value of it: it's American, it's from Burger King (so I can compare tastes with the local stuff), and it's from the Impossible Meat.
Then I go taste the rest of the things, good and bad.
Anything you can advise me on, food-wise, to try in the US? Philly cheesecake is probably one such thing. Burgers, NY-style pizza, hotdog are on my list already. Any non-alcoholic drink I haven't...
Anything you can advise me on, food-wise, to try in the US? Philly cheesecake is probably one such thing. Burgers, NY-style pizza, hotdog are on my list already. Any non-alcoholic drink I haven't seen in Russia, I will purchase and drink at least a bit of. Anything else?
I might not be the best person to ask, because I mostly don't care for classic American food very much. I kinda think fast food is what America does well generally, and you can go crazy with all...
I might not be the best person to ask, because I mostly don't care for classic American food very much. I kinda think fast food is what America does well generally, and you can go crazy with all those options. There has been a recent rise of fast casual restaurants though, and those are generally recognized as healthier/better alternatives. The ones I like are usually "ethnic" food, e.g. Chipotle, Roti, that may or may not have been Americanized a bit.
I'd say, for the best stuff, try to figure out what are the regional specialties of the area(s) you're visiting... a lot of what to recommend depends on which part of the country you go to, and it may not even be American food per se. Cities with big immigrant populations are where you get the best Chinese-American food, Tex-Mex, Korean-American, etc. If you go somewhere like NYC or LA, you should be set on pretty much everything, but it's probably easier to get great pho in Houston than, say, Hawaii.
Some are good, I find most to be kind of bleh. The problem is they're set up to give you many combinations of options, but they need to make it so you don't have any "wrong" choices you can make....
There has been a recent rise of fast casual restaurants though, and those are generally recognized as healthier/better alternatives.
Some are good, I find most to be kind of bleh. The problem is they're set up to give you many combinations of options, but they need to make it so you don't have any "wrong" choices you can make. So you wind up with a bowl of mush where you still have to make a ton of individual decisions, but at the end they all taste kind of the same with mild variations based on which protein and what sort of sauce you use.
Chipotle actually works well because all the options are understandable and familiar. But a lot of Chipotle style ethnic food ones are just really forgettable.
If you get a cheesesteak, get it in Philly. And don't go for a famous place... find a small, neighborhood place (a place that specializes in pizza) and get yourself a cheesesteak, provolone, with...
If you get a cheesesteak, get it in Philly. And don't go for a famous place... find a small, neighborhood place (a place that specializes in pizza) and get yourself a cheesesteak, provolone, with onions. It will not come with green peppers, but that's intentional. What I just described is the "basic" cheesesteak, worry about toppings after you've tried the base model.
If you want a real hot dog... go to a street vendor. They're all over the place in Center City (other cities too, of course, but Philadelphia is my experience.) Get two dogs (they're small and cheap) and get one with sauerkraut and one without. Contrast and compare.
Yeah, pretty much what you see on TV - eggs and (streaky, super crispy) bacon are the base, really good hash browns and/or pancakes are the bits I don't see done the same in the rest of the world!...
Yeah, pretty much what you see on TV - eggs and (streaky, super crispy) bacon are the base, really good hash browns and/or pancakes are the bits I don't see done the same in the rest of the world!
For what it's worth, I'm not actually American so my view isn't exactly authentic, although I lived there for a while when I was younger and I visit fairly regularly - I'm pretty much just mentioning the things that I seek out when I do go, because they're the ones that don't quite measure up elsewhere. From the rest of the thread, a good Reuben and an a proper pizza slice that you have to fold in half also very much make that list!
If you get the chance you should definitely try Cajun food. I don't know what part of the US you will be visiting (Cajun comes from the coastal south), but if you get the chance it is quite good....
If you get the chance you should definitely try Cajun food. I don't know what part of the US you will be visiting (Cajun comes from the coastal south), but if you get the chance it is quite good. It has sea food (shrimp and craw-fish), chicken, alligator, and uses beans and rice in many dishes. It has lots of spices and is just full of flavor in general.
Oh, well then it's hard to really provide any suggestions. There are definitely specialties based on region and some regions have "Americanized" versions of foreign foods like deep fried sushi.
Oh, well then it's hard to really provide any suggestions. There are definitely specialties based on region and some regions have "Americanized" versions of foreign foods like deep fried sushi.
I don't know if there are any sites or stores that specialize in selling unique American snacks to people in whichever country you are from (Russia IIRC, right?) but you could look for one to get...
I don't know if there are any sites or stores that specialize in selling unique American snacks to people in whichever country you are from (Russia IIRC, right?) but you could look for one to get ideas for what to try when you are in America. Googling for "Unique American Food/Snacks" works too. And finally /r/snackexchange is similarly a good place to look for ideas or even post this question as well.
I have gone through that exact same process a few times myself, before I went to visit a foreign country to get ideas for things to try when I was there too. :)
Oh, man... I searched the line you suggested. Some of those are ridiculous (preprocessed stuff like cereal breakfasts), and some are exactly the kind of a thing I'm looking for. Reuben sandwich...
Oh, man... I searched the line you suggested. Some of those are ridiculous (preprocessed stuff like cereal breakfasts), and some are exactly the kind of a thing I'm looking for. Reuben sandwich sounds amazing. Fried cheese curds is quite something.
Boy, am I gonna eat myself back to fatness when I get there. :D
If you like corned beef (the meat in a Reuben), cheese curds, fries and gravy, and ever come to Canada (Montréal, Quebec specifically), be sure to try Montréal smoked meat Poutine. It will blow...
Reuben sandwich sounds amazing. Fried cheese curds is quite something.
If you like corned beef (the meat in a Reuben), cheese curds, fries and gravy, and ever come to Canada (Montréal, Quebec specifically), be sure to try Montréal smoked meat Poutine. It will blow your mind! ;)
Yeah, it's pretty nice here. But as a Canadian, I am obviously biased, of course... ;) p.s. You can get Poutine in the US in many places... but it's usually pretty subpar and doesn't hold a candle...
Yeah, it's pretty nice here. But as a Canadian, I am obviously biased, of course... ;)
p.s. You can get Poutine in the US in many places... but it's usually pretty subpar and doesn't hold a candle to the real stuff in Montréal.
It's been said elsewhere already, but you have to remember that America is a huge place with a lot of varying cuisines. Despite what a lot of people think, we're not a completely homogeneous...
It's been said elsewhere already, but you have to remember that America is a huge place with a lot of varying cuisines. Despite what a lot of people think, we're not a completely homogeneous nation. So this is kinda like asking "I'm going to Europe! What is some good local European cuisine I need to try?" The answer is going to be very different in, e.g., Spain than in Poland (heck the answer is different even within different parts of Spain).
That's a fair point. I asked the question with the underlying assumption that I'm going to visit as many places as I can. It would help if I'd voiced that assumption, but hindsight is 20/20....
That's a fair point.
I asked the question with the underlying assumption that I'm going to visit as many places as I can. It would help if I'd voiced that assumption, but hindsight is 20/20.
Still, any interesting suggestion I can gather is a welcome one, if for a future reference alone.
Hold up. Whiz is the standard cheese option. It's either that or provolone. But it you go to Philly make sure to get Dinics' roast pork sandwich before you get a cheese steak. With broccoli rabe...
Hold up. Whiz is the standard cheese option. It's either that or provolone.
But it you go to Philly make sure to get Dinics' roast pork sandwich before you get a cheese steak. With broccoli rabe and sharp provolone.
No. No no no. Cheez whiz is the abomination that is still upheld at Pat's and Geno's (or, as I prefer, Satan and Beelzebub's). They're the fast food of cheesesteaks... no care, no love, just slop...
No. No no no. Cheez whiz is the abomination that is still upheld at Pat's and Geno's (or, as I prefer, Satan and Beelzebub's). They're the fast food of cheesesteaks... no care, no love, just slop the glop and never stop. Proper cheese should be melted on the meat while it's on the grill, not ladled.
McDonald's actually tastes exactly the same in every country I've been in, at least their staple items like the Quarter Pounder and Big Mac. It's kind of amazing actually, as most fast food chains...
McDonald's actually tastes exactly the same in every country I've been in, at least their staple items like the Quarter Pounder and Big Mac. It's kind of amazing actually, as most fast food chains aren't this consistent within the same city. I don't particularly like McDonald's, but when I'm traveling I can always count on them when I want something that tastes like home.
They already currently server a MorningStar Veggie Burger. It's less calorically-dense than an Impossible Burger, so I'd rather eat that. I hope the Impossible Burger doesn't nudge it off the menu.
They already currently server a MorningStar Veggie Burger. It's less calorically-dense than an Impossible Burger, so I'd rather eat that. I hope the Impossible Burger doesn't nudge it off the menu.
The ones I use are definitely mean to be an approximation (Grillers Original/Grillers Prime), but, yeah not nearly as close as Impossible/Beyond. I don't mind, myself, really. As I've stated...
The ones I use are definitely mean to be an approximation (Grillers Original/Grillers Prime), but, yeah not nearly as close as Impossible/Beyond. I don't mind, myself, really. As I've stated before, I feel those get too close and upset my stomach, a bit. Plus, the MorningStar patties have less calories/protein than the Impossible/Beyond as they have much less fat in them.
I remember those Morningstar burgers being introduced when I worked at a BK in high school. I just looked it up to double check and they've been on the menu since 2002. Source: CNN article from...
I remember those Morningstar burgers being introduced when I worked at a BK in high school. I just looked it up to double check and they've been on the menu since 2002. Source: CNN article from 3.14.2002
In fast food restaurant terms that may as well be a fixture menu item. It's probably reasonably popular so it could be safe for the foreseeable future regardless of the success of the impossible whopper. But who knows.
Interesting. White Castle has been doing an Impossible burger since last year, but I could never figure out exactly how nationwide they are. They seem to be primarily in about six or seven states....
Interesting. White Castle has been doing an Impossible burger since last year, but I could never figure out exactly how nationwide they are. They seem to be primarily in about six or seven states. They did have some killer ads for it though.
Wtf? Balance? You shouldn't be going to BK everyday in the first place. Why is nobody questioning this? It's cool that they focus on less meat and maybe a healthier alternative to the Whopper but...
With the Impossible Whopper, Burger King is primarily targeting meat eaters who seek more balance in their diet. The new product is designed to "give somebody who wants to eat a burger every day, but doesn't necessarily want to eat beef everyday, permission to come into the restaurants more frequently,"
Wtf? Balance? You shouldn't be going to BK everyday in the first place. Why is nobody questioning this? It's cool that they focus on less meat and maybe a healthier alternative to the Whopper but ffs we shouldn't encourage people to eat at fast food places everyday.
You aren't wrong, but this is coming directly from Burger King. Are you really surprised that a food company wants people to eat there multiple times per week?
You aren't wrong, but this is coming directly from Burger King. Are you really surprised that a food company wants people to eat there multiple times per week?
Of course not, although it would be nice if they actually gave a shit about peoples well-being. I'm more shocked that people int this thread aren't talking about it and are more focused on some...
Of course not, although it would be nice if they actually gave a shit about peoples well-being. I'm more shocked that people int this thread aren't talking about it and are more focused on some shitty veggie replacement add.
I wonder how well this will work for BK. I just had an impossible burger at Red Robin and it costs so much more than beef. I would imagine that cost is an even bigger issue with fast food.
I suppose Carl's Jr. already is selling the Beyond burger at a significant markup, but they were not a cheap place to begin with.
From what I read last month, the Impossible Whopper costs* a dollar more. While it isn't too much, I can see some people saying 'why should I pay for fake meat when I can have the real thing for a dollar cheaper.' But this article says the St. Louis trial was quite successful, though imo its a pretty short term trial.
*edit: wrote tastes instead of costs
I actually see this as the greatest problem in the adoption of these new generation artificial meat products. If these companies are just in it for the money, it's fine if they are more expensive. But if they are actively trying to replace meat in the average diet, they will have to eventually become the low cost choice.
They focus a lot on health benefits in their advertising, emphasizing that it's a lower calorie and lower cholesterol option than traditional beef burgers.
In the grand scheme of things $1 extra isn't that much, especially once you factor in the level of agricultural subsidy the commercial beef industry gets. If Impossible meats is retailing for only $1 more, I suspect it's already pretty close to cost competitive (or possibly even cheaper) in terms of raw production costs.
It could actually be a cheaper or on-par option if we phased out cattle subsidies and they start to refine their processes, get economies of scale, and make other efficiency gains. It's hard to say though, because we probably also heavily subsidize the soy, peas, and whatever other crops are used to create the Impossible/Beyond meats. So we can't make a "pure" cost comparison since so many of the commodity prices upstream are being mucked with.
They do need a better general name for this stuff though. Pitching it as "fake meat" gets it tarred as being only for vegetarians. But attaching it to the name of a brand gives us the "Kleenex" problem where the trademark becomes synonymous with the item.
The meat industry is already trying to make it so they aren't allowed to market themselves with any association to the meats they're based on. In other words, "Impossible Beef" or "Impossible Lamb" will be out and they'd have to call it "Meat-like food product* *designed to taste like beef or something equally unappetizing. And this is specifically intended to hamstring their attempts to grow into the market of carnivores.
Vegetarian food is accepted now more than ever, so I don't think that it's going to be too incredibly difficult for people to try these burgers. But I agree the naming thing is a problem. "Beyond" and "Impossible" are really cringy names, IMHO.
I think right now they are trying to get the word out so that production numbers can go up. As production quantity goes up, price to produce goes down.
There was a freakonomics episode not too long ago where they talked about this. On the plan is for it to eventually be cheaper than actual meat, so they are aiming to be the low cost choice.
Yeah, I agree with this. What is the correct word, scales of economy? As they get bigger they can get better deals with farmers, better machinery, etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economies_of_scale
The fact that the price is already this close at this small of a scale tells me that getting it down to the price of real beef (or even cheaper) is entirely possible once the economies of scale really kick in.
Pretty sure it's only a one dollar markup over the regular whopper, which is pretty doable IMO. Certainly opens up the options for vegetarian fast food a little more, a lot of places the only vegetarian things on the menu are fries and drinks, and sometimes not even the fries.
Yeah, the initial tests in St. Louis which started on the first of April had the Impossible Whopper priced at $1 more. At that price it's close enough that there's no reason for me to not give it a fair shot.
Now whether it proves tasty enough to keep buying at that price is a separate matter but I'm looking forward to trying it.
That's roughly the same for A&W with their Beyond Burger too. I actually had one earlier today and it was only $1.20 more than the normal beef patty.
Yeah that's a reasonable price for an initial product offering which I imagine will come down in cost as long as demand rises. Both meat alternatives have me interested so I'll be trying them out as soon as I have the chance.
I also like the idea of trying them out through fast food chains because I don't have high expectations when I'm ordering a burger from a drive thru window, ya know? So if it tastes good at Burger King I'm sure I could do something much tastier with ground beef alternatives in my own kitchen.
Last time I was at Red Robin the Impossible patty only added $1 to any burger.
oh man oh man oh man oh man
I had a plan to try every cool new food item when I go to the US, even when for a short vacation. I wish I could fly out tomorrow, just so I'd catch this. It's fast food, sure, but it's American, and I've never tried an American thing in America, where it must taste differently.
Lol, that reminds me of my aunt who was excited to try a Philly cheesesteak on her first trip in Philadelphia, so she got one from Subway.
I'm just in for the Impossible Whopper for the cultural value of it: it's American, it's from Burger King (so I can compare tastes with the local stuff), and it's from the Impossible Meat.
Then I go taste the rest of the things, good and bad.
Yeah dude, don't mind me. Do your thing and have all the fun.
Anything you can advise me on, food-wise, to try in the US? Philly cheesecake is probably one such thing. Burgers, NY-style pizza, hotdog are on my list already. Any non-alcoholic drink I haven't seen in Russia, I will purchase and drink at least a bit of. Anything else?
I might not be the best person to ask, because I mostly don't care for classic American food very much. I kinda think fast food is what America does well generally, and you can go crazy with all those options. There has been a recent rise of fast casual restaurants though, and those are generally recognized as healthier/better alternatives. The ones I like are usually "ethnic" food, e.g. Chipotle, Roti, that may or may not have been Americanized a bit.
I'd say, for the best stuff, try to figure out what are the regional specialties of the area(s) you're visiting... a lot of what to recommend depends on which part of the country you go to, and it may not even be American food per se. Cities with big immigrant populations are where you get the best Chinese-American food, Tex-Mex, Korean-American, etc. If you go somewhere like NYC or LA, you should be set on pretty much everything, but it's probably easier to get great pho in Houston than, say, Hawaii.
The one absolute rule is to always check reviews on Yelp or something similar before you decide to go somewhere and spend your money. A lot of places are run by people who have no business selling food to anyone, and it's more than you would think.
Some are good, I find most to be kind of bleh. The problem is they're set up to give you many combinations of options, but they need to make it so you don't have any "wrong" choices you can make. So you wind up with a bowl of mush where you still have to make a ton of individual decisions, but at the end they all taste kind of the same with mild variations based on which protein and what sort of sauce you use.
Chipotle actually works well because all the options are understandable and familiar. But a lot of Chipotle style ethnic food ones are just really forgettable.
If you get a cheesesteak, get it in Philly. And don't go for a famous place... find a small, neighborhood place (a place that specializes in pizza) and get yourself a cheesesteak, provolone, with onions. It will not come with green peppers, but that's intentional. What I just described is the "basic" cheesesteak, worry about toppings after you've tried the base model.
If you want a real hot dog... go to a street vendor. They're all over the place in Center City (other cities too, of course, but Philadelphia is my experience.) Get two dogs (they're small and cheap) and get one with sauerkraut and one without. Contrast and compare.
Good guide. Thanks!
I'd definitely add BBQ, the local spin on Mexican food in whatever region you're visiting, and a proper diner breakfast to that list.
What would that include? Is that the eggs-n-bacon I see so often in films and on TV?
Yeah, pretty much what you see on TV - eggs and (streaky, super crispy) bacon are the base, really good hash browns and/or pancakes are the bits I don't see done the same in the rest of the world!
For what it's worth, I'm not actually American so my view isn't exactly authentic, although I lived there for a while when I was younger and I visit fairly regularly - I'm pretty much just mentioning the things that I seek out when I do go, because they're the ones that don't quite measure up elsewhere. From the rest of the thread, a good Reuben and an a proper pizza slice that you have to fold in half also very much make that list!
If you get the chance you should definitely try Cajun food. I don't know what part of the US you will be visiting (Cajun comes from the coastal south), but if you get the chance it is quite good. It has sea food (shrimp and craw-fish), chicken, alligator, and uses beans and rice in many dishes. It has lots of spices and is just full of flavor in general.
Where are you visiting in the US? I can provide better suggestions if I know general geographic location.
Not visiting: hoping to, eventually, someday, before I die.
Oh, well then it's hard to really provide any suggestions. There are definitely specialties based on region and some regions have "Americanized" versions of foreign foods like deep fried sushi.
I don't know if there are any sites or stores that specialize in selling unique American snacks to people in whichever country you are from (Russia IIRC, right?) but you could look for one to get ideas for what to try when you are in America. Googling for "Unique American Food/Snacks" works too. And finally /r/snackexchange is similarly a good place to look for ideas or even post this question as well.
I have gone through that exact same process a few times myself, before I went to visit a foreign country to get ideas for things to try when I was there too. :)
Oh, man... I searched the line you suggested. Some of those are ridiculous (preprocessed stuff like cereal breakfasts), and some are exactly the kind of a thing I'm looking for. Reuben sandwich sounds amazing. Fried cheese curds is quite something.
Boy, am I gonna eat myself back to fatness when I get there. :D
If you like corned beef (the meat in a Reuben), cheese curds, fries and gravy, and ever come to Canada (Montréal, Quebec specifically), be sure to try Montréal smoked meat Poutine. It will blow your mind! ;)
Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. After all I've heard about Canada, visiting it sounds like something that should be on my list.
Yeah, it's pretty nice here. But as a Canadian, I am obviously biased, of course... ;)
p.s. You can get Poutine in the US in many places... but it's usually pretty subpar and doesn't hold a candle to the real stuff in Montréal.
It's been said elsewhere already, but you have to remember that America is a huge place with a lot of varying cuisines. Despite what a lot of people think, we're not a completely homogeneous nation. So this is kinda like asking "I'm going to Europe! What is some good local European cuisine I need to try?" The answer is going to be very different in, e.g., Spain than in Poland (heck the answer is different even within different parts of Spain).
That's a fair point.
I asked the question with the underlying assumption that I'm going to visit as many places as I can. It would help if I'd voiced that assumption, but hindsight is 20/20.
Still, any interesting suggestion I can gather is a welcome one, if for a future reference alone.
At least she didn't go with the tourist traps that use Cheez Whiz on theirs.
Hold up. Whiz is the standard cheese option. It's either that or provolone.
But it you go to Philly make sure to get Dinics' roast pork sandwich before you get a cheese steak. With broccoli rabe and sharp provolone.
No. No no no. Cheez whiz is the abomination that is still upheld at Pat's and Geno's (or, as I prefer, Satan and Beelzebub's). They're the fast food of cheesesteaks... no care, no love, just slop the glop and never stop. Proper cheese should be melted on the meat while it's on the grill, not ladled.
Tbh I’ve always enjoyed American fast food when eaten abroad. Interesting menu items too.
Any particular examples? I can't remember eating anything out of McD or Burger King with a Russian twist. Plenty of twists, just not a Russian one.
Yea, it's not necessarily a country-specific "twist", just something different than the American menu. Here's a listicle with some examples.
McDonald's actually tastes exactly the same in every country I've been in, at least their staple items like the Quarter Pounder and Big Mac. It's kind of amazing actually, as most fast food chains aren't this consistent within the same city. I don't particularly like McDonald's, but when I'm traveling I can always count on them when I want something that tastes like home.
They already currently server a MorningStar Veggie Burger. It's less calorically-dense than an Impossible Burger, so I'd rather eat that. I hope the Impossible Burger doesn't nudge it off the menu.
I eat the morning star ones too at home. I don't think the patty is meant as a replacement for meat though. I might be wrong, I am vegetarian.
The ones I use are definitely mean to be an approximation (Grillers Original/Grillers Prime), but, yeah not nearly as close as Impossible/Beyond. I don't mind, myself, really. As I've stated before, I feel those get too close and upset my stomach, a bit. Plus, the MorningStar patties have less calories/protein than the Impossible/Beyond as they have much less fat in them.
I remember those Morningstar burgers being introduced when I worked at a BK in high school. I just looked it up to double check and they've been on the menu since 2002. Source: CNN article from 3.14.2002
In fast food restaurant terms that may as well be a fixture menu item. It's probably reasonably popular so it could be safe for the foreseeable future regardless of the success of the impossible whopper. But who knows.
Interesting. White Castle has been doing an Impossible burger since last year, but I could never figure out exactly how nationwide they are. They seem to be primarily in about six or seven states. They did have some killer ads for it though.
Wtf? Balance? You shouldn't be going to BK everyday in the first place. Why is nobody questioning this? It's cool that they focus on less meat and maybe a healthier alternative to the Whopper but ffs we shouldn't encourage people to eat at fast food places everyday.
You aren't wrong, but this is coming directly from Burger King. Are you really surprised that a food company wants people to eat there multiple times per week?
Of course not, although it would be nice if they actually gave a shit about peoples well-being. I'm more shocked that people int this thread aren't talking about it and are more focused on some shitty veggie replacement add.