Food

While I have been here in the States I have tried to eat some of the local food. Some of you may remember my Chicago style hotdog. Well, I have had plenty of fried chicken (not KFC !), and a heap of ribs. Big fan of ribs. And lots of wings, generally buffalo style but sometimes BBQ or even Hot and Spicy.

I decided to write this blog the other day after eating some shrimp here in New Orleans. Within half an hour or so I started having pains in the stomach. Lasted a few hours and then was ok - didn't lose my lunch though. New Orleans is supposedly renowned for its seafood, but I have been a little tentative when it comes to seafood since then.

I did try catfish when I was in Memphis. Not something we generally eat back home. Flavour wasn't too bad but I wasn't fond of the texture - it's not a firm fish. Well, I guess I don't know if that was because of the way it was cooked - it was fried. The sides were a highlight of that meal - some great coleslaw and hushpuppies. Hushpuppies are fried cornbread balls and I really enjoyed them.

Still on the seafood, they eat a lot of Tilapia. This is a freshwater fish. It is much firmer texture than catfish but I'm not sold on the flavour. I have also had some cod which was very similar to what I am used to and therefore it was pretty darn good.

The best ribs I have had to date were in Cleveland of all places. While in Memphis I went to some place that claimed they were ranked 3rd in the world championships; this may have been the case but they wouldn't have with what I was served. Flavour was ok but meat was a bit dry. Off to Texas tomorrow so hopefully they should have some good ribs there. And some good BBQ. BBQ here is what we call roast / slow-roasting back home: our BBQ equates to their GRILLING; our GRILLING equates to their BROILING. The good thing here is that every state (and even some locales) have a different flavour - dry vs wet rubs, marinades bases etc all vary and this does present a great variety.

I mentioned side dishes. They love mac and cheese as a side ! I generally only eat it as snack - and it's usually packet stuff. I don't really consider it a side dish.

I think I may have posted a photo of a hot roast beef sandwich I had in New York. Covered in gravy and served with fries. It was pretty damn good too. In Pittsburgh I had a sandwich from Primanti Brothers. They have been seen on the Food Channel. They make a sandwich with all the sides on the actual sandwich. So you have your chips and coleslaw on the sandwich with your meat - that was also good.

Speaking of fries, they also have 'chips' as a side. These are the packet chips or 'crisps' (sometimes home made). A Burger with 'chips' is nowhere near as good as a burger with fries ! They also have biscuits, often eaten as a side or breakfast item. These are like savory scones, maybe a bit lighter in texture. And I am yet to try 'grits'. Grits are a corn based 'porridge' I guess. They don't look that appetising but maybe I will try them at some stage.

Buffet at the casino today. I saw beetroot, which was the first time this trip. My god it was awful. It will probably be the last time I have beetroot this trip too ! On the plus side, the way the did their sweet potatoes was great.

They have no idea about bacon here. Nothing like ours. It is thin and has no flavour at all. Most of it is smoked. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I think that because they cut it so thin, you have nothing left with flavour. And Canadian bacon is even worse. It is really just warm ham.

Anyway, just thought I'd give a food update. If there is anything you think I should try let me know. As I said, heading to Dallas tomorrow, then most likely Vegas (mainly as a point to see the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dams - not much of a gambler). After that I should be on the West Coast for the rest of my trip. Only 6 weeks to go - that has gone fast !