If you've ever traveled out of the U.S., you know there's nothing as delicious as tacos from a Mexican food cart near the zocalo or a pizza hand-tossed and wood-fired at an inviting bistro in Italy.
But there are some foods even the best cooks, bakers and chefs beyond our shores can't prepare as well as those in the good ol' US of A. Below are just a few.
Breakfast
Sure, you can get one of the most delicious coffees you've ever supped in Costa Rica and choose from an endless array of pastries and rolls in France, Germany or Italy, but finding a hearty morning repast consisting of eggs, meat, potatoes, bread and jam is hard to come by anywhere outside the U.S. (unless it is copied).
Breakfast in the States isn't just one food -- it's a mixture of them, and that's what makes it so fabulous. Served fresh and hot most of the time, the traditional American breakfast is a combination of proteins and starches that stick to your ribcage.
English and Irish breakfasts come close with bangers (sausage), black and white puddings (sausage as well), and rashers of bacon, but where are the biscuits and gravy? And we can't forget frisbee-sized pancakes topped with pads of butter and real maple syrup (grown in North American forests). Slippery eggs soaking in butter adorning (American) French toast or piled between two halves of an (American) English muffin with melting cheese and savory sausage cannot be outdone by a cold tomato slice and a stiff piece of hard bread found on a British plate.
When hoteling overseas, you're sure to be served a continental breakfast, with soft-boiled eggs in a basket, varieties of rolls, cold meats, cheeses and fruits. These are all delicious and local (if you're lucky), but nothing compares to a hot, bacony breakfast with enough calories to get you down to your subway stop and on to visiting the next architectural relic.
Doughnuts
Speaking of pastries, we must broach the topic of our round, super unhealthy, sugar-laden morning treats that come in a box or bag: doughnuts (or donuts). Though not considered real food by nutritionists, U.S. residents pick them up at many-a-drive-thru Dunkin' Donuts or other shoppe for one, two or a dozen, calling them breakfast.
In most stateside venues, the donuts are soft, fluffy, light and tasty. They come filled or frosted, sprinkled or elongated.
Donuts can be found on German bakery shelves near the hand-rolled pretzels and pumpkin-seed buns, but don't buy one. For some reason, donut-makers there haven't mastered the art. Any "frosting" applied is comparable to tasteless plastic coating, and the flour used for the dough is too heavy to simulate a Krispy Kreme. In general, Germans wisely put less sugar in their pastries, and the donut is no exception.
You might enjoy a Berliner, or a powdered-sugar-covered ball of dough that has jelly filling; however, it won't compare to the same model back home. Leave these treats for indulgence off vacation, when you're reading the paper on a Sunday morning or enjoying your coffee, and get ready for a sugar high.
Sandwiches
Because the U.S. is a mix of cultures, so are our sandwiches. A Jewish deli for example will offer a mouth-watering pastrami, tuna salad or sloppy Joe, accompanied by a cold dill pickle and a bowl of homemade chicken noodle or matzah ball soup. An Italian-American delicatessen will serve up your choice of submarine sandwiches, all seasoned differently and accompanied with a bag of crunchy chips.
Though European countries such as France and Germany are known for their fine breads, their variety of sandwiches leave much to be desired. A belegtes Brot in Deutschland is little more than a handful of a roll topped with a cold cut or two under lettuce and a slice of cheese. There's not much creativity involved.
One can go to a French bakery for a long roll filled with different elements; it's the bread that dominates the tastes. Italy has plenty of salami shops and butchers abound, but their panino is a hard, crusty and crumbly work of art that takes several sessions to consume.
It's a fact that the U.S. has more sandwich choices than anywhere else: in fact, downtown Las Vegas has been named Sandwich Capital of the World. I'd agree -- it's in Henderson (a suburb of Vegas) where I tasted the best sandwiches ever at that Jewish deli mentioned above.
Fried Chicken
Spicy, delicious, homemade-style battered and fried pieces of chicken are hard to find outside of the U.S.
In different countries, variations of chicken recipes abound, but nowhere I've traveled keeps the crispy bird on its menu. Is this because good fried chicken like that found at home can't be replicated?
Sure, I've had KFC in Germany, and this "restaurant" is quite popular in Asian countries like China and Japan. But overpriced chicken chains overseas don't keep up the standards for great fried chicken, and what is served -- in my opinion -- doesn't do credit to the dish.
Ethically speaking, the concept of mass-bred, steroidal chickens spending their entire existence in a small cage not being able to walk and giving up their lives so they can be shipped overseas and served in fast food restaurants doesn't make them any more appetizing. It takes a desperate human to eat (literally) run-of-the-mill fried chicken. (Sorry to ruin your appetite.)
If fast food restaurants don't serve it, where's the best southern-fried chicken? You might find a tasty leg and thigh at grocery store deli counters in your small town or city. Even better, check Grandma's house. Fried chicken made at home by a caring and thoughtful mom, grandmother or any woman who knows how to shop for quality bird -- and make great mashed potatoes and gravy to go alongside her prized main course -- is the best. If that woman comes from the South... you've scored.
Burgers
We all know that the U.S. is famous for being a hamburger haven. Americans have a reputation for eating tons of burgers every year. In fact, the hamburger is considered the national dish of the United States. That's because we devour them in massive quantities, have a myriad of hamburger chains, and serve them up at our weekend barbecues. Getting a burger and fries from McDonald's is quicker and easier for some than making an effort to eat something healthier.
Though the burger is purported to have originated in Hamburg, Germany as some sausage between two pieces of bread, the origin of the hamburger is still unclear. However, hamburger-steak sandwiches were advertised in U.S. newspapers across the country, from New York to Hawaii, since at least the 1890s.
Many restaurants and burger bistros overseas try to mimic American hamburgers, with good reason. The creativity and consciousness given to building the best burger around is a never-ending past-time for folks in the USA. We LOVE our burgers.
Steaks
The last food item on our list, for now, is the steak. Succulent and tender when we grill them correctly, beef steak is the creme de la creme of an American barbecue.
Other than countries like South Africa where the braai (barbecue feast) is the main way to celebrate any event...or New Zealand, where the "Barbie" is a long-held tradition, routinely throwing a steak on the grill is difficult to replicate. One reason for this is that beef isn't eaten as plentifully as it is in the U.S.A., where we grow our own cattle. It can be costly and somehow "excessive" in countries like Germany, where Schwein (pork) is king.
Eating steak for dinner is a luxury and a pleasure for many in the U.S., and it has become routine. A youngster growing up in the United States will learn how he likes his steak cooked, and most are familiar with different cuts of beef before they graduate from high school.
Topping these six foods is hard to do beyond U.S. borders, but possible. Many try and fail, but finer culinary artists succeed. No matter: foods are part of the culture of every country -- every region -- on earth. Just as we can't be everywhere at once, we can't eat everything we want either.
Tasting different foods around the world are part of what makes traveling so adventurous... and delicious. Even at home.
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