divalasvegas

Close, it was En Vogue who sang this song, with help from S&P.. ← Oh no, thanks adegiulio . And I would like to nominate another alleged uniquely American dish and one that I love, but know that makes others want to hurl: scrapple. The perfect marriage between cornmeal and select pork parts which has it's origins in Pennsylvania. Fried until crispy, with a couple of eggs over easy, hash browns and hot buttered toast. As defined at Culinary Sleuth: Must add that on my mother's side of the family this dish was made after hog butchering in the fall along with another alleged uniquely American dish: pork pudding.

Thanks jbonne. As I said when I started this topic, I thought the article was very well written especially your historical research. Knowing the criteria you had in mind when you selected these items is most helpful in understanding why you chose those particular foods (fantastic list by the way). By starting this topic, I wanted to hear from others as to what makes a particular food American to each of us, not necessarily which food you like the best. I debated with myself about whether to refer to the article as a top ten list or not, just wasn't sure. Definitely felt that your list went far and above those run of the mill lists where the criteria seems to be "because I really like it or it's momentarily really, really cool." As for, To "all of you" I say, "What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man." (Source: Rap Divas, Salt 'n' Pepper)

I came across this article online on MSNBC's website. I think it is very thoughtful and well written, and the author says right upfront that it's not meant to be exhaustive. For me the article did not seem to want to provoke any regional tensions or vigorous debate, but was meant as an acknowledgement of wonderful and distinctly American foods. What came to my mind is, What exactly is American food, What makes it American? Is it the origin of the raw ingredients or method of cooking or new twists on cooking styles which may have their roots in other countries? I think the author did a good job of explaining why each food chosen was uniquely American. My main criticism of this article is that it is pretty squishy on how "they" selected these ten particular foods, although the author briefly touches on why certain foods were not considered. You can barely turn around these days without bumping up against a "Top 10 List" on just about anything, which I usually find both boring and irritating, I mean whose top 10? I was glad that, at least IMHO, while this is a top 10 list, it is also a homage to wonderful regional foods. There's even an area where people have sent in their own favorites for honorable mention. I'll chime in with the person wrote them about steamed Blue Crabs from Chesapeake Bay (with Old Bay Seasoning, of course). And one I didn't see: the humble half smoke, which I believe was deemed Washington, DC's signature food by a poll taken by the Washington Post (please correct me if I'm wrong on this). The reason being is that when you get outside of the DC-Metro area, nobody has ever even heard of a half smoke (at least not the name, since I'm sure there are similar sausage-on-a-bun concoctions all over the US), so it's uniquely a DC thang. Here's link. Happy Independence Day! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8392312/

No, the meat will not take on as much smoke if you cook it first. However long you smoke it, that stage should come first. =R= ← Thanks ronnie_suburban for the advice. That will definitely be the way I proceed. Gee, I'm getting really excited about this! Note to self: Get out more often.

Wow, impressive Col Klink that's exactly the appliance I have. I already had vague reservations about doing this. Thank you for pointing out the whole bitterness factor. I would be extremely disappointed and ticked off if after hours and hours of smoking I ended up with a couple of slabs of bitter meat and a house full of smoke. There's absolutely nothing in the device as far as I can tell that would circulate or vent the smoke being generated. Actually I had hypothesized that the amount of smoke generated by an electric indoor device using some soaked wood chips would probably be a fraction of the smoke generated by an outdoor smoker using a lot of charcoal, but if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Thanks for all your help and have a happy Fourth of July. ← I have made "bbq" ribs in the oven. Low and slow on racks, kept at 225. They tasted good but without the smokey flavor. Maybe you could cook for an hour with the wood and the rest without. ← Bless you lcdm!!! Great idea. Thank you so much. Now, you suggest smoking them first, then the oven. However, would cooking them in the oven first kind of have an effect of "opening up the meat" so to speak to absorb more smoke flavor (smoking them for no more than an hour?) Certainly wouldn't taste as wonderful as the cue done on a grill or smoker in the great outdoors, but better than no smoke at all. Again, thanks for the help; it's much appreciated. Col Klink I may be reporting the results back to you after all.

Wow, impressive Col Klink that's exactly the appliance I have. I already had vague reservations about doing this. Thank you for pointing out the whole bitterness factor. I would be extremely disappointed and ticked off if after hours and hours of smoking I ended up with a couple of slabs of bitter meat and a house full of smoke. There's absolutely nothing in the device as far as I can tell that would circulate or vent the smoke being generated. Actually I had hypothesized that the amount of smoke generated by an electric indoor device using some soaked wood chips would probably be a fraction of the smoke generated by an outdoor smoker using a lot of charcoal, but if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Thanks for all your help and have a happy Fourth of July.

Col Klink I've enjoyed and been enlightened reading of all of your great advice and very detailed instructions on smoking meats. I need your advice/guidance on using an electric indoor smoker. I've had this appliance hanging out and collecting dust at my house for some time now. It's a Bravetti 18 quart oven/smoker. I've never used it but one is supposed to be able to smoke meats--I plan to sacrifice a couple of slabs of spareribs this weekend to the Smoke Goddess--using soaked wood chips and setting the temperature to 225 degrees. Do you or anyone else out there have any experience with an indoor smoker? BTW, as to why I'm not doing it outside, 1) as I have said elsewhere I have some temporary mobility issues and it really isn't feasible for me to tackle the old Weber grill, 2) I've never smoked anything, only grilled, on the Weber, and 3) I don't particularly like the thought of working over a hot grill in 90+ degree heat--I'm a big sissy! Thanks for any help you can provide.

Word. Like what he said, only better than me. Thanks Busboy. I just heard a new one today (at least it was new to me), no lie: a grilled salmon Caesar salad. Maybe in the right hands it might actually taste good; I don't know. I'm just not feelin' it. Perhaps the upside of all of this is that more people who are disappointed in what's out there in restaurant-land will get fed up and be "scared straight" back into their own kitchens. One can only hope.

First of all FoodTutor, thanks for clarifying this point. I apologize for any offence to you or anyone else reading this thread. I guess it's no surprise that we are all passionate about our opinions on food or we wouldn't be members of a forum such as this. We all bring who we are to the eGullet table. I am a home cook and a consumer. I have no experience in the "industry"--unless working as a student eons ago in the college cafeteria to feed 2,000 people per night or volunteering and cooking in hot church kitchens qualifies--but appreciate learning from all of you with your varied backgrounds as relates to food. As a consumer, I have had mostly thank goodness, either decent, good or great restaurant experiences. Even when I've had awful food or service, I usually try to see it from the establishment's point of view. I've seen customers behave in such a fashion where I've actually apologized to a restaurant worker for their bad behavior and even left a larger tip than I originally intended because I felt so bad about how they had been treated, often over an issue that was completely out of their control. Again, your well thought out response FoodTutor is sincerely appreciated and once again I come away from a discussion knowing a heck a of a lot more than I did before. My screen name says it all, I guess, but I promise I will strive to keep in check some of my "Diva-ish" ways.

You don't? I've managed kitchens, and I'd say that offering one type of ribs involves a considerable amount of expense, space in the walk-in, and time in prep, all for an item that is very high food cost, and not extremely profitable. Offering both types of ribs is twice the expense, twice the space and twice the prep. And then, if you don't have enough customers who like both types of ribs, you get to throw away the ones you prepped that didn't get sold. So that's exactly what the big deal is. ← Why thank you for enlightening me. And your so-o-o-o polite, too! So exactly how do you (or other restauranteurs on this thread) go about finding out what your customers like? I'm not a professional--just a mere Earthling-- but I would assume that one of the first steps would be to actually offer it on your menu and see how well it's received? I know there's also all kinds of marketing to be done, tastings, etc. as well. I'm sure there are many dishes that initially seemed promising on menus at first, but didn't fly with the clientele, or somehow fell out of favor/fashion, or maybe there was some well publicized food scare and now your stuck with tons of the product in your fridges/freezers and can't give it away or any number of reasons that I'm sure you know more about than me that may cause a restaurantuer to throw out all type of foods, unfortunately to the financial loss of said restauranteur. Just asking.

I would definitely try new items from: 1. Churches Fried Chicken -- I think they have the absolute best fast food fried chicken. Love their chicken, love their sides (especially their fried okra). Northern Virginia used to have a few Churches outlets, but I think they're all gone except for one in Ft. Belvoir. While on business in Austin. Texas one of the places I insisted upon dining at was Churches. Delicious as usual, but in Austin they give you a choice of either brown gravy or white (cream) gravy. How civilized! Stupid Northern Virginia. 2. Denny's, at least the one near me, especially breakfast items. 3. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts as opposed to God-awful Dunkin Donuts, with a synthetic taste to everything they touch (the taste of styrofoam coated with sugar). 4. KFC. Not as good as Churches though (cringing as I know I'm about to be stoned for that comment). 5. Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips. Whatever they make I'll try though I don't think I ever tried the chicken since it's the seafood items, in particular the fish, that I crave. I think they even had a hot lemon pie. Once again, however, the one most convenient to me has closed. Unlike McDonalds with it's 3,000 or so item menu, Arthur Treacher's has always kept it short and sweet. Dumbass Stupid Northern Virginia. Popeye's is okay, but some of their new ideas in the past have tasted like barf and they must fry up the tiniest chickens/chicklets(?) to be found. I've actually gotten chicken legs from them only slightly larger than a drummette. And why get rid of the onion rings? As for Taco Bell, I have a visceral dislike for them but no rational reason for it. EDITED TO SAY: While I've had a visceral reaction against Taco Bell for some time, the one thing that really did it was when a then co-worker and friend bit down into one of their alleged tacos and broke off a crown which she had only recently had placed in her mouth. Turns out that along with the meat, someone scrambled in a piece of metal from the disintegrating grill/griddle(?) in that place. Ugh. And they even had the nerve to give her attitude! I really wanted to add McDonald's to the list, but as it was said upthread the good old days McDonald's is long gone, but I do like the idea that someone mentioned about opening a "Classic" McDonalds with the short menu, food that's thrown out after a few minutes, and fries fried in BEEF TALLOW, with an option for vegetable oil fries for those who want it.

I know it's not another country's breakfast since I grew up in the US, but it might as well be. When I tell folks that we would eat fried fish and grits, or salmon cakes and grits, or even in real lean times sardines and grits I get a look from people/yankees like I just admitted to be a Satan worshiper. But that's what we ate. Also had breakfasts fried liver (very pink in the middle), with onions, gravy and bacon..................... and grits of course. The addition of sliced tomatoes would often accompany those breakfasts as well.

Oh Tommy Dearest I definitely agree with patronizing restaurants that offer what you want and avoiding those that don't. However, there are legitimate reasons why such a seemingly reasonable expectations may not be as attainable as you or others may believe: 1. Proximity -- Especially here in the Washington, DC-Metropolitan area finding places that actually offer well made renditions of spareribs, or whatever type of food may not be in favor at the moment, is getting increasingly more difficult. Please refer to another eGullet discussion related to this matter: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=68604&hl= Note as discussed in that thread, to experience really good bbq, one might have to travel one to two hours away from one's home (or more) to get it. Is this reasonable? I don't think so. Again, I don't see what the big deal is about offering both types of ribs? Of course, such headaches may cause us to just stay home and cook exactly the kind of good food we like and to Hell with the restaurants! 2. Accessibility -- I currently have mobility issues that prevent me from just saying, "oh, gee this place isn't serving what I like anymore; but this place with the only access being 2 flights of stairs up and down does; I think I'll go there from now on." Unfortunately, not an option for me right now. Elective surgery in the near future will most likely rectify this problem. But until then, I don't think it's too much to ask for just a couple of restaurants convenient and accesible to me to offer something so exotic and alien to American cuisine as............ spareribs, for goodness sake. Well Tommy, since you claim that no baby back rib you've ever made tasted like pork chops, which, as I have said previously, I truly like, how about a real challenge? How about your best recipe for succulent.................... CHICKEN FEET!?

Please, please fiftydollars don't think that I don't want you to have 24/7 access to baby back ribs! I'm not advocating here that people can't get what they want, when they want it--which is an unknown luxury unto itself in most parts of the world today. The only thing wrong with "pork chop bones" is not that I think they are beneath me or anything. Come on, I like chicken feet for God's sake! It's that two things, at least: 1) If they were indeed called what they actually were--pork chop bones, and I love pork chops BTW--would they fetch $20-$25.00 a pop? And, 2. That they have become such a standard choice, at least in the Washington, DC-Metropolitan area, they are rapidly becoming the ONLY choice at many restaurants. All I ask is that I have access to spareribs also..... that's it............ really. As for prime rib roast bones with a "healthy" IMHO (translated to mean "mandatory") amount of meat and crispy fat, like you, they are also MY FAVORITE PART OF THE ROAST AS WELL. Finally, about loving the whole pig, this is one of my porky fantasies ........................ The Caja China: http://www.lacajachina.com/

Hello all, I know that this isn't a solution to the question at hand, but there's a bbq battle happening this weekend in DC. Maybe some decent que can be had at there. Information can be found at this website: http://www.bbqusa.us/ Admission is $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids. I've never attended this event so would appreciate feedback from anyone who has. Peace out.

Sorry that I wasn't more clear in what I object to. To clarify, I think it's fantastic that people have a choice. Eat what you will. It's just when, in order to accomodate their choices, my/others' choices are restricted do I have a problem. How about this? Why not have BOTH baby backs and regular spareribs on the menu at a BBQ joint? After years and years of going to BBQ restaurants and ordering ribs meant spareribs I now having to inquire in advance what type of ribs are on the menu are--more and more they are exclusively baby backs. Also, When I said: This was my obviously very confusing attempt at using a bit of humor to make my point. Sorry, Tommy. Next time I'll try to remember to insert a smilie face so there's no misunderstanding. Just to be excrutiatingly clear, I do not object to people having access to ultra lean pork products and am not "ticked off" as you say to what other people put in their mouths. What I do object to is, once again having my choices restricted since most of the pork available in markets in the U.S. is bred to be lean. And, BTW, I am aware that there is delicious heritage pork out there to be ordered online. I did some research on this, looks delicious, but not everyone has $75.00-$80.00 to spend on one 10-12 lb. pork roast, plus shipping and handling. At least I don't. How about mass producing less lean pigs again as was the case several years ago, in addition to the ultra lean piggies, and have both types of pork available at the supermarket, for the same price per pound of course, just to be fair?

HMMMM... I'm thinking we need a new thread: "why we miss David Rosengarten," as I am also a huge member of his fanclub. How else would I know how to brew that perfect cup of tea, or the difference between a highland and lowland Scotch? Did you know he still sends a regular email newsletter? You can sign up for "The Rosengarten Report" online: David Rosengarten's Website Oh, and to keep it on topic, foams are really starting to piss me off. It was cool, strange and palate challenging when Adria did it, but now it's just downright annoying when the corner brewpub tops their risotto with a basil foam. It's just so 2003... ← Yo lizard I've already signed up for his online newsletter. And I think starting a "Why I Miss David Rosengarten" thread is brilliant. Will you?

First of all, ingridsf I'm drooling as I read your rendition of pork roast. Delicious! And you are so right: when it's a good piece of pork you don't have to do much with it. I admit to being a pork snob since a) my mom was a farm girl and they slaughtered their own pigs every year and did all kinds of wonderful things with it, not wasting one porky bit--hams, chitlin's, sausage, head cheese, pork pudding, and so on. b) my mom could cook the living shit--not overcooked to dryness--out of a good pork roast. Period. End of story. And that's when pork actually smelled and tasted like pork. As you say, why indeed would ANYONE buy pork loin? Of course I'm not trying to back an actual Constitutional Amendment to prevent people from buying this product. Oh well, maybe I am. But it's such a horrible product that the most suggested way of cooking it is to prepare it medium or medium rare to make it palatable! Yes, I know that modern day pork is supposed to be free of those diseases of the past that required one to cook pork within an inch of its life (and taste), but I'm one of the lone "old school gals" that absolutely despises "pork tartare" or any of his/her modern day cousins. On Taste glad to see I'm not alone in missing his show. As you and SusySushi have concurred, it is a show I miss a lot. And for the love of God, as you say, PLEASE STOP WRAPPING UP EVERYTHING!!! When I order breakfast, I want my eggs, breakfast meat(s), hash browns on a plate, not folded into the hideously ubiquitous "breakfast burrito." Hey, while you're at it, why not fold in my toast, jelly, coffee and orange juice too. Oh ditsydine I didn't remember about David Rosengarten's recipe for making won ton soup broth. If you or anyone else can point me to that recipe, it would be much appreciated. BTW, I love chicken feet. Edited mainly to correct misspelling of SuzySushi's online name. Sorry Suzy!

Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, but I've noticed a couple of things involving reactions to certain foods eaten. 1. There is a phenomenon that I see more so in women, exclusively really, than in men. It's craving something that the body seems to actually need at the moment. I have heard women say on many occasions that they crave spinach, beets, steak which leads me to believe that...................... 2. It seems that when I crave these foods, my body is actually telling me something. I was recently diagnosed as being anemic. I always thought people with anemia were skinny, itty bitty little things. But alas, no. So there are times I absolutely have to have spinach, beef, beets, liver. I think it's my body's way of saying "yes indeed you are anemic, you need iron, now take care of it." The same thing happens to me with dairy products. Calcium calling? 3. After a night of, well, "partying," nothing sets me right like a nice plate of protein and grease..... eggs, sausage, grits (with a lovely pool of butter melted in the middle) or homefries, toast with more said butter. Once I've eaten that I just feel "right" again.

Oh ditsydine I couldn't agree with you more. Great theory on why baby backs have become so ubiquitous. Yes indeed, they are pork chop bones. Instead of cutting them into pork chops, grocery stores and restaurants have figured out how to give us TWO cuts of low flavored pork: baby back ribs and boneless pork loin which is so lean these days that it gives boneless, skinless chicken breasts some real competition in the taste free department. Once they remove the loin, they have this "rack" of bones that used to be attached to the pork chop but now they call them "ribs." Aaack!!! In the supermarket I've noticed that they are often more expensive per pound than regular spareribs. Well, I guess the supermarket gurus are right: you can sell Americans--except for my learned brethren/sistren (real word?) in eGullet-land--anything if you know how to market it.

Hi Malawry if you still need a turkey fryer please let me know. I just bought one last year and used it to deep fry a turkey for Thanksgiving. Believe me, it was some kinda good! It's made by MasterBuilt and is electric, so I was able to fry the turkey indoors. You can use it both in and outdoors. I had always wanted to deep fry a turkey, but was a bit chicken shit about doing it since there were always horror stories around the holidays that seemed to end with......... "and then the house was suddenly engulfed in flames." Anyway, this thing works like a charm, can also be used with liquids to steam corn, crabs, shrimp, whatever. I mean you'd have to be dumb as a sack of hammers to not be able to operate it. I'd really like to attend the Pig Pickin' but I have a weeklong meeting out of town--Orange County, CA (any restaurant suggestions?) at that time.

I must say that this has been a real bone (pun intended )of contention for me for some time. I'm not saying that I want to ban certain dishes................. okay, if I had the power I would. But there are extremely popular restaurant dishes that I just don't get. The main one that irritates me the most is baby back ribs. Why? How the Hell did this become so overwhelmingly popular? I've ordered them out because often when a restaurant says ribs they mean baby backs. They're okay. But they're just not spareribs. The texture, lip smacking fat content (umami?) and depth of flavor is just not even close to spareribs. Also, the fact that a lot of places charge more for them than spareribs leaves me somewhat perplexed. I know what totally ruined them for me were comments made by David Rosengarten on his show Taste many years ago. God, how I miss that show. Always so informative and entertaining too. Not like a lot of the truly horrendus Food Network "cooking" shows are today. But, I digress. As I recall he was giving his usual excellent overview of various types of ribs--baby backs, country style, spareribs, should they be called ribs, what part of the pig they come from and so forth. When he began discussing where baby back ribs were found on the pig's carcass, I was already wondering and had been for quite sometime "what the Hell are baby back ribs?" Are they from baby pigs or what? Well, my wonderful David said "ladies and gentlemen, baby back ribs are really .............................pork chop bones. WTF? I knew it. I knew they didn't taste right. I knew that they just didn't have the whatever--the right stuff, the right texture, the right taste like real spareribs. And for some bizarre reason Americans fell in love with these damn things. Part of it I think was because they have been touted as a "leaner" type of rib. Once and for all, if you want to eat lean meat please just go out and buy a truckload of boneless, skinless, tasteless chicken breasts and call it a day. Actually, it's real genius on the part of restauranteurs that they could take freaking pork chop bones, rename them baby backs, and get rich in the process. So my friends, do you have any culinary objections of your own?

Okay racheld this is official. Stop. Please. I'm begging you for mercy, I'm crying uncle. You and your delicious suggestions are going make me do a run on cream cheese the next time I go shopping. You know it's amazing how cream cheese can be used so many different ways. My favorite is to use it when I make a spinach/artichoke dip. I used to make a bechamel, but thought that there had to be a better way. Well there is: add cream cheese to the cooked spinach after you've drained the spinach and while it is still warm. I add a whole bunch of other stuff, but the cream cheese trick really helps out. I have never seen a tv chef recommend this. All of them make a bechamel sauce. I may have to hide out at your home when you make that Beef Stroganoff. Hell, I'll even do the dishes.

Dear God SusanG when can I come over for dinner? What delicious ideas. Your scrambled eggs remind of how I like my omelette: three eggs (two will do but I prefer three), two or three kinds of cheese, sauteed onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms, chunks of ham, cooked until just a little underdone, sprinkled with a bit of Tabasco sauce. No tomatoes ever. Can't stand tomatoes or ketchup (blech) near my eggs. Glad to know yet another lily gilder. Maybe we should all start lily gilding club, where we can exchange ideas over how to become more excessive than we already are! But then again, that's what eGullet is for.

Wow! It's good to know that I'm not the only lily gilder out there. I was beginning to think I was a bit strange. I think I'm in trouble though. I'm very impressed by the incredible amount of gilding you all do, but especially NulloModo, HollyGroveFarms and Marlene, the three of you are downright dangerous So as my waistline and hips continue to expand I can at least put part of the blame on all of you for giving me even more lily gilding ideas.