Saturday, 06 August 2011
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American "Cuisine"
Deep fried Kool-aid
I've come to a conclusion about American "cuisine." It's bullshit.
I mean, you can't really hate on America (and Americans) for it-- but it's just the way it is. I finally had enough when I went to the Orange County Fair and tried two of the latest crazes: deep fried Kool-aid and chocolate covered bacon. Everyone has been raving about such things everywhere I looked recently. Travel channel, magazines, food blogs, etc. I guess for American foodies, its amazing stuff (from what I've been reading). However, I think that for any real foodies who have experienced culinary traditions from other places, its all bullshit. Its a poor excuse for jumbled up flavors from a country that isn't half as old as some pickled pepper shops in China. And that's the problem.
There's no real culinary tradition in America. While quick food in other countries displays intricate flavor combinations, varying textures, bold/bright tasting components, and tradition older than our nation...America's idea of this is putting fries in our sandwiches. Are you kidding me? Having spent the last few years exploring everything I could about food whenever given the chance, I've derived that most Americans suffer from blissful food-ignorance.
Some of the highest rated food establishments, touted by food critics and casual foodies alike I've discovered to be pretty average to below average for my palette. The food is bland, usually no depth of flavor, cooking techniques are a joke. How many steakhouses serve steaks on a sizzling fucking skillet? Fail. How many boil ribs for BBQ? Fail. Its a joke.
Are there some great American chefs? Hell yeah. There are some amazing American chefs out there producing great food. However! If you look the fast majority of top chefs and (Top Chef Masters, hehe) they are almost all versed in old world cooking. NOT American cooking. French, Italian, South American, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, African...these are where these chefs get their inspiration. In fact, having grown up on Asian food, I always feel that when people try to improve upon Asian food with these high class American restaurants trying to do Asian food...it always fails to impress. Why? Because they were using complex herb and spice combinations in Asia before Europeans even knew salt and pepper could make food taste better. Believe that shit.
Which brings me back to one. I guess I shouldn't expect that much from American cuisine when they consider salt the most important spice that should be on everything. The culinary tradition of this country is still in its infancy. Will it get better? Probably. You already see it in some of the fusion restaurants that have seemed to start here. They draw from the old world and update, and make it new. Brilliant stuff. Maybe that will be American cuisine of the future.
But right now we're stuck with Kool-aid crystals mixed with batter and deep fried. WTF!?
What do you think of the deep fried kool-aid phase? Would you try that?
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Comments (40)
I think I might try it once, just to say I've tried it.
America is a melting pot, of course the best food originated in other countries, the vast majority of Americans have come from other countries generations ago! If you're going to criticize american food for being bland maybe you should first define what makes a dish 'American'. Authentic american food can only have come from Native Americans. Have you tasted their cuisine?
@cdedodgethis@xanga - Actually, there is a significant enough amount of culinary tradition that originated from America, or at the very least popularized in America, in its short history. In fact, many dishes we commonly think origninated in other countries that we eat here were actually created here.
You just sound like a picky eater..
I really think that we're not as awful as you make us sound.
Fusion restaurants popping up everywhere doesn't show "progress" either. It just shows that more people, even if they may be brilliant chefs, can take flavor combinations from different cultures and think of a new way to put them on a plate.
That's really not that brilliant..
I just disagree with you....
just read the first two sentences. that's all i needed to read. THANK YOU!
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Wow, I completely understand and agree. There is no unique flavor or food that American cuisine has and you're right..."There's no real culinary tradition in America." Just a bunch of bullshit food they put together and call it "THE BEST." YEAH, THE BEST SHIT THAT WILL MAKE YOUR ASS A BALLOON.
You're displaying your own ignorance of cuisine and America by harping on stereotypical junk food crap. No one with real experience with food considers deep fried kool-aid balls "American cuisine."
Jewish Americans, Italian Americans, French Americans, Spanish Americans, Greek Americans have created their own unique flavours for America using local N.American ingredients and different techniques. Do you think they eat stacked up pastrami sandwiches in Israel? There's also Cajun or creole food, which is uniquely American and has an abundance of history and culture behind it. Then look to California for the likes of Alice Waters or New York at Dan Barber - sure, there are influences and techniques used from French or Italian kitchens, but so what? What comes out of the kitchen is still quintessentially American... Real American.
If we want to talk about the youth of American history, Singapore is another young nation - its current republic only about 46 years old, and it's steeped in a wealth of dishes unique to their country as well. Try telling them that they don't have real cuisine and that it's all borrowed from China/Indonesia/Malaysia/Thailand too while you're at it. Seriously? You're going to say a country has no street cred because it's young and that it has influences from other countries?
If you keep eating at shitty chain restaurants, of course you're going to get shitty food. Look around a little harder. There is an abundance of talent coming from the red white and blue.
If you want to hate on unhealthy food, junk food, and the consumerism around it, then that's a different topic all together. It's NOT "American cuisine."
-Victoria,www.Gastronommy.com
Is there even such a thing as "American" cooking? I don't think so. Like you said, our country is too young... and we came from Europe anyway, so I don't think we've had enough time to develop our own ideas. Who knows. Also, if you haven't noticed there is also a lack of "American" culture. American culture is working 24/7 and that's basically it. We suck that way (:
p.s. oh wait! There is one thing I recall being American originated--butter cakes (your typical layer cake. Most often bought in a box -_- ). I'm pretty sure they started here and they're not really popular anywhere else.
@Tofunator@xanga - Obviously a few paragraphs is not enough to encompass the entirity of my opinion. And I am very quick to admit its merely an opinion, as food, flavors, etc. are largely subjective, and I respect that you disagree. And I do believe there are great American chefs out there making great American food as you stated...but in my opinion, they are the exception, not the rule.
And to assume my experiences are merely from "shitty chain restaurants" is unfair. I just wonder why was Campanile often thought of as the "best restaurant in Los Angeles" by so many chefs, critics, etc. when I've visited 8 seat holes on the south of France on surf trips that would blow it out of the water? Why is Susur Lee's Shang so heralded when I bet that even he knows many of the dishes there are on par with good street food in Hong Kong? Why is "American" vegan food shitty and flavorless, yet as an avid meat eater, I still love many vegan restaurants in India, Vietnam & Thailand? Why, for so long, was Peter Luger in NYC considered, one of, if not the best steakhouse in the country when they serve their steaks on a sizzling platter, when any chef worth his apron knows that you'd never serve steak before it rests.
That's the beginning of the basis for my opinion. The junk food was merely the tipping point that made me think to start writing about it.
All the same, happy eating to you.
you dont get cuisine at fairs. use your brain.
@foreverdiet@xanga - I was going to make that same point.
I like that the controversy of the post tried to be off-set by the relatively unrelated question at the end. Not the best attempt, ireallylikefood.
"Cuisine" is not made at fairs. I've heard very little actual praise for fried kool-aid, and most of it's done mockingly.
@Tofunator@xanga - This. Though I struggle to find good "American cuisine" myself, this post is absolutely right.
I agree with you, actually. Unless your family has roots in other countries and you cook the way they do, you really don't have a cuisine. You bring up so many pathetic points.
People use WAY too much salt. Your fries are fuckin salty enough, you don't need extra salt for cryin out loud !
Cept I agree with the point about Cajun. It's definitely unique to at least a small section of our country.
But our restaurants definitely cook decently bland food. Even the "chinese" food we have isn't even chinese. My one friend's mom is from china, and her food is SPICY. like even the things he told me "weren't too bad" were like, flames on my plate. haha.
You're not going to find good food at a fair.
Firstly, I certainly hope you weren't going to the fair in hopes of finding anything that can be called cuisine. Does the "authentic" Japanese food cart run by 1st or 2nd generation citizens at the fair represent Japanese cuisine??? I surely hope not!
You can't expect a country with such a young history that already had such deep rooted investments in other cultures to be able to come together and make a food niche. "Americans" haven't been around all that long. Anything back dating America will be tallied elsewhere because while it's creators may have been American, their roots (and ingredients) came from other lands.
As far as the Americas go we can include South America as well. The native cultures in North America could more accurately give us a taste of the indigenous ingredients and dishes of this northern land. Perhaps investigate there. However, their traditions don't include modern appliances, ovens, or tools in many cases still, so it can't be compared to most cuisines of other cultures that you're probably referencing that do include the use of many modern applications and imports. You'd have to dig pretty deeply in all of those cultures to compare fairly. Modern adaptations have been given much more attention outside the Americas and you might perhaps find some of the most traditional, original, dishes within the Americas.... assuming you look beyond chain restaurants and the county fair. :P
lol, yawn.
Seriously. Going to the fair and having an epiphany on how "American" food is bullshit.
Okay then. lol.
@My_notes_to_self@xanga - There are tons of smaller restaurants that are absolutely fantastic in the US too (I have not heard of Campanile in LA, and in general, I've found that fine-dining in LA sucks). Most of my experience is from NYC, so there's probably an abundance of better options there than some other cities.
re: Susur Lee is also not a good example. How is it even American? The cuisine is Chinese and the chef himself is CANADIAN!
re: Peter Luger's: they don't serve steak on a sizzling platter, so I'm not sure what you mean.
re: Vegan: Seeing how America is not a vegetarian sort of culture, how can you expect them to have good vegan eats? I don't expect India to have awesome steak, nor do I expect Italy to have good Chinese food (and let me tell you, they don't).
re: Salt (in your post): Salt is actually the most important "spice" to most cultures and cuisines, from breads to cured meats.
Oh, I don't know isn't American cuisine more comfort food than fancy food? I'd rather eat home cooked pot roast than escargot. I'd rather eat cheese on crackers than caviar on a cracker. Maybe I'm just a simple minded American but whenever I leave the country I have always looked for American food! Pulled-pork sandwiches in Puerto Rico. Fried chicken in the Azores. Pizza Hut in Panama. Spaghetti in Sicily. French fries in Canada. Yum!
Yeah, I eat the traditional foods of other countries too. I love Mexican food as an example, but traditional American food is pretty tasty too. It's just not fancy.