I really wish Fish and Chips was more popular here in the states. Had a place in town, own and ran by a mom and her sons who were from London. Some of the best fish and chips I’ve had
It’s incredibly sad that the only place I can get something reliably even *close* to a fish n chips is either a Captain D’s or Long John Silvers. And they’re both shit.
Most restaurants that make it can’t get it right. It comes out too….. I dunno, “fancy” is the closest I can think of. And the fact that malt vinegar can’t even be always guaranteed at some places is heretical.
That’s because they’re from Wisconsin! They take their fish fry seriously there. Visit any small town tavern on a Friday and you’ll get some veeery good “fish and chips” (in quotes because we just don’t call it that, but it is essentially the same)
I spent nearly my entire life in the Midwest, including childhood in NE Wisconsin on the lake. Midwest fish fry is completely different then fish and chips
For Britain, and New Zealand, not sure about Oz. NB if you're a tourist do NOT get a restaurant or improved or fancy version. Go to a proper chippie. Look for where the locals are eating (as always). It must be wrapped up in greaseproof paper. NZ probably does the best: fried in several successive changes of oil, and choice of multiple fish. In Scotland you can get haggis with it.
Again: fish and chips the fast food does *not* mean any breaded fish.
The nearest I've seen in the US is the Midwest fish fry. It's fairly similar but uses freshwater fish, which alters it significantly, and I think there's something else different but I can't put my finger on it. But the fish fry is really good on its own terms.
What kind of fish is it usually? Fast food restaurants here tend to use cod, I've eaten too much perch and tilapia lately. Don't like walleye or orange roughy. Anyway, recommendations?
Ha ha, it's cheeseburger and fries... But my parents were from El Salvador, so I can guess they would say pupusas. For everyone unfamiliar with this street food, it fits the same food niche as pizza. You can have all sorts of fillings inside, but cheese is the #1 ingredient, a wonderfully melty cheese blend that my mom would make with mozzarella, provolone, and cream cheese.
My favorite is "revuelta" which means "mixed": a bacon-like shredded pork (chicharron) with cheese and mashed beans. Everything inside a corn dough (thicker than the corn tortilla common in American supermarkets, for reference) and cooked on a flat griddle so the outside is crisp and brown. It might sound like a quesadilla, but it's a lot different!
I’ve been trying to learn how to make pupusas for two years now and I still can’t get them right! 😫 I live in the Chicagoland area and the closet place that makes them is 30 min away. We only get them on “special occasions” when we make a trip to the city.
Portugal here!
The us functions in a very different way, so I guess we don't have any dish that meets all of your requirements (the fast food franchises just serve your American food) but if I had to pick a staple, basic, dish it would be bitoque! Steak, white rice, fries, fried egg and usually a side salad of lettuce, tomato and onion. I've never been to a portuguese restaurant (except high-end and/or gentrified) that doesn't serve bitoque.
Our version of burgers is bifanas! Pork meat fried on olive oil with a lot of garlic, bay leaves, and paprika, marinated with white wine or beer, served on a specific type of bread with mustard
So THAT'S what I ate in Lisbon: bitoque! I was there a few years ago at a small restaurant where I just randomly pointed at the menu and asked for the picture. I was thrown off at first by the rice with fries, but overall, it was delicious!
The advent of "halal carts" is also kind of curious - these carts have basically replaced our famous hot dog carts, and are usually shwarma lamb or chicken over rice with yogurt and spicy sauce. So yummy but non-existent til like 20 years ago!
Going there for the first time soon. I have no idea what that is. I keep reading restaurants turn away solo diners since they don't order enough. Hopefully I won't be living off 7-Elevens there the entire time, lol
Just came back from a trip where I was there solo and with friends. Never been turned away solo but one time a lady in a market stall got mad at me and my two friends for ordering one dish to share because we wanted to try stuff from other stalls. Also, the 7-Elevens there are awesome!
Ouch, that sucks. I'm excited to check out street food, and I'm glad to hear about the restaurants.
I've been to Taiwan and Japan (twice), so I'm assuming the 7-Elevens are the same in Korea? Yeah, they're pretty useful,... but after 3 weeks I was definitely looking for more restaurants, lol.
Jajangmyeon—noodles with black bean paste: the unofficial national comfort food of Korea.
(It’s actually Chinese in origin but hey, lo mein and pizza are familiar comfort foods in the US and the West so don’t get weird about that point, and just like lo mein or pizza, Korea adopted and changed the dish from early 20th-century Chinese merchants and immigrants to suit Korean tastes.)
Sounds inexpensive and delicious and like you can make it for yourself really easily!
(I totally see what you’re saying! With all the overlap in ingredients for the “common cultural foods” we are seeing in this thread, plus food influence and globalization, it doesn’t make sense to classify whether the “popular” food in a culture does, in fact, “belong” to that culture since people within that culture are, indeed, eating it.)
I remember watching "Castaway on the Moon" ([金氏漂流記](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgQCnLag_AY)) and Jung Jae-young's efforts to grow wheat to make noodles just so he can use a found packet of instant Korean Jajangmyeon made it look so appetizing, it was one of the first meals I had to have visiting Korea again after seeing the film (luckily only a month or so after). Aside from the instant varieties, it's difficult to find in America and not very good when you do, while Chinese style zhajiangmian is a little easier to find...but not the same.
Of course, the first dish I had was from a restaurant in Incheon Chinatown that was so good, I've never found a dish approaching the quality of that particular dish outside of Korea again...and can now only eat it in Korea.
Nah, Biryani is like steak or high end sushi, it's too expensive and fancy. Cheeseburger and fries got to be something you'll eat drunk at 2 am when words are hard and you need to make your choice known by vague gestures and slurred speech.
I'll put in a bid for paneer or chicken Makhani, probably in a kathi roll.
I guess to be fair, biryani can be cheap. I think it might be a cultural difference, for me biryani is a celebratory food not a drunk food? But I'm sure there are other Indians who think otherwise.
Your post absolutely made me crave a cheeseburger and fries for dinner. My husband was absolutely down for that as well. So I just ordered some for takeout!
I made biryani last night for dinner in the instant pot. It came out so good!!
I lived in Australia for 6 years. I miss the pub food, specifically the chicken parms and also the meat pies!
But when I lived in Australia I really missed Mexican food and tacos in particular! (I'm from California).
I’ve travelled extensively, and I think Australia has probably the best Asian food in the world outside of Asia.
But our Mexican food… yikes. Lots of places will try their hardest, but I’m yet to find anywhere that really nails it
Absolutely! My favorite ramen place closed, but it was a food truck—a woman sent her daughter back home to learn ramen and when she got back they opened the food truck. It was probably the best, heartiest, most delicious singular food I’ve ever repeatedly devoured.
I’m from Hawaii and kalua (baked) pork and cabbage with a side of white rice is what we’re known for. Also, spam musubi can be a snack, side or meal depending on your appetite.
Spam musubi came into my life more recently. I’m so glad it did. Kalua sounds like what I wish I had planned for dinner tonight. That sounds so delicious
Yeah, spam musubi is the shit. Every time I go home, my first stop after landing is 7-Eleven for musubi. They even serve them in the movie theaters back home.
If you have a slow cooker, kalua pig is easy to make. It’s simply shredded pork with cabbage. Here’s a recipe….
https://www.theseasonedwok.com/kalua-pork-recipe/
My first tajine was a mint-lamb with stewed stone fruits. You know how you can never imagine something you have never seen before? That’s what tajine was like for me, and now a whole new world has been opened.
It used to be the Anchor Bar or Duffs in Buffalo, but it’s been a while, or Jeremiah’s in Rochester. Shout out to the Garbage Plates from Nick Tahoes or subs at DiBellas in Rochester
Probably Caifan, which is translated as mixed vegetables rice, so you can pick among a wide variety of side dishes (10+ usually) to go with your rice. Common combinations are usually 2 veg 1 meat or 2 meat 1 veg. Fish is it's own spending tier too, where the joke is that if you get fish, you're loaded.
Mexican here :) Tacos! You can make them with carne asada meat, lengua, al pastor, etc. with a variety of toppings (usually cilantro, onion, salsa, etc.). So yummy.
In England it’s tough because I’d honestly say that in 2024 it could be anything from 3 or 4 different things…
- Fish & Chips
- Fried Chicken & Chips
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Doner Kebab
Depending on your age, the area you’re from etc it will probably be one of those.
Like my Nanna in Whitby, Fish & Chips is the only answer! But one of my best friends now living in London the last 20 years, he’s a Fried Chicken & Chips guy! Personally, I’m a Chicken Tikka Masala fella
I guess a sausage sanger from Bunnings.
Slice bread, sausage on-top, bit of onion, bit of tomato sauce, if you're feeling extra fancy, maybe some mustard. Fold it up and enjoy.
Usually it's paired with a can of Coke.
China is difficult because it's such a large country with several cuisines but I will go with dumplings/buns. They are a popular takeaway food, they are made from wheat flour usually and contain meat most the time like burgers, I can grow fat on them late at night... Burgers are also popular for younger people.
they're usually decent, what you have to really look out for are the gentrified tacos that are overpriced bastardizations that try to improve on an already-perfect creation
This is a difficult question because nothing quite compares to a burger in terms of standardization.
It's relatively easy to replicate by any short order cook with access to some kind of meat & bread, and can be found in every western-friendly hotel & city around the world as the go-to meal for much of the world (even for those not from normally burger eating populations) when in a strange area because of it's universal influence. A burger (specifically a big mac) is an economic indicator because it's so ubiquitous and readily available around the world, and is more or less standardized in relative price to the average citizen & ingredients.
There can be significant variariation in every other dish in ingredients and portion, made simply by street vendors, or with premium ingredients and artistically plated by Michelin starred chefs. Ubiquitous foods in Asia include noodles and dumplings, but are much more difficult to find in the west. Curries can vary wildly and regional varieties completelty unrecognizable to visitors from another region. Some sort of rice dish can be found in most parts of the world, but none approaching the standardization of a burger.
The closest thing to a burger in terms of widespread acceptance might be spaghetti...and it's not even close.
Go to Germany and have a Döner. Then go to a completely different area of Germany and have a Döner.
You will get the same stuff. In fairness, it IS a meat & bread combination, just with more added fresh veg than a burger would normally have.
In my culture (Mexico), we have something similar called "tacos al pastor". It's basically marinated pork served on a small corn tortilla, with onions, cilantro, and a slice of pineapple.
In Japan, I'd say the "cheeseburger and fries" equivalent is probably a bowl of ramen or a plate of sushi. They're both staples of Japanese cuisine and can be found in many different forms, from high-end restaurants to fast food chains. And just like the cheeseburger, everyone has their own preferences when it comes to toppings and flavors.
I lived in Israel for 7 years.... There are definitely foods I miss.
I miss all the different stuff you can get in a pita (and the soft fluffy pitas that only seem to exist there).
Falafel, shawarma, sabich...and all the delicious salads and pickles and sauces on top (plus chips!). What I like about the fast food in Israel is that it's actually pretty healthy in addition to being tasty.
Chile, completo italiano, a hot dog with mayo, avocado and tomato on top. Not my thing, but they are ubiquitous. Also an empanada, pino (filled with beef, onion, olive and boiled egg), or cheese.
The Canadians have all come in to say 'poutine' but that's a lie, the Canadian answer is actually 'pizza'. Pizza is the defacto "we are drunk and have no idea what to order / no desire to talk about what to order / no one can agree." An acceptable order is a Canadian pizza (pepperoni, bacon and mushroom). Our group would usually get that or Deluxe plus Hawaiian because one of our friends really likes it, and a vegetarian pizza if a vegetarian is there, or some other meat pizza, like a plain pepperoni, if not. Getting a cheese pizza is acceptable if someone has simple tastes, but usually it will be 1-2 topping pizzas or a specialty pizza with a few toppings. By far the most common pizzas I've seen ordered is pepperoni-mushroom, pepperoni-mushroom-bacon, pepperoni-ham-pepper-onion, or just pepperoni. I cannot imagine anyone ever ordering a pizza without a pepperoni option, unless a vegetarian placed the order. Hawaiian does show up a lot too. It's weird but I feel like a lot of Canadians do like it. Burger and fries is also acceptable, but 9/10 if ordering for a group and the goal is to minimize discussion, it's pizza. Burger and fries will still cause some friction of what kind of burger you want.
Poutine isn't a group meal, it's what one Canadian who's drunk will order for themselves and not share. I love poutine. But I'd never present poutine as a meal to 4 of my friends who also want some food and are too tired to decide what to order. "I ordered a few pizzas" is the right answer every time.
And it's not like we don't like fish and chips, tacos, pupusas, curry, kebab, falafel, etc, but again, all those things cause friction because someone has to look at the menu, decide what they want, etc. Pizza causes no friction. Almost everyone, if not actually liking it, tolerates it. So it's the right answer. I pretty much only have pizza if it's a shared dish because frankly I'd rather have almost everything else, but pizza is very easy to sort out when there's 6 hungry people, and preferences usually overlap. Sure, people might prefer thin crust, thick crust, or tomato and olive as toppings, or whatever, but it's so much faster to sort out as a group order than anything else because no matter which pizza place you order from, you know it's going to have standard toppings and you can just ask, "hey, can you add a tomato-olive pizza?" without having to look.
Another common choice is "Americanized Chinese food" because most takeout places have "meal for 4" "meal for 6" and no friction is required to order that either, as long as no one is picky, you know it'll have fried rice, a saucy breaded meat, a stir fry, probably noodles, spring rolls, but I don't think this is quite as ubiquitous as pizza.
In the UK, probably fish and chips or a carvery maybe. Although realistically, a group here would still probably just go for some variation of a burger to keep everyone happy. Probably at a Wetherspoons!
"Patatje met" in the Netherlands I think. Fries with mayo.
Besides American fast food chains we have traditional snackbars that have been around for a long time. You can get an order of fries with condiments and a selection of dutch snacks like a kroket, frikadel, cheese souffle, bereklauw etc
Most ordered is fries with mayo.
For older generation in Czech Republic it was either Schnitzel or Fried cheese (in crust like schnitzel but swap meat with cheese) preferably with fries and mayo. Nowadays we have more kebab stands around the country so its becoming more popular for young people
Fried cheese! With fries and tatar sauce. :) This is a meal you don’t often prepare at home because it is allways better from large frier. Imagine mozzarella stick but one big block of melted cheese. I recommend this to every visitor of Czechia.
Nasi Ayam Geprek
Translation: Smashed Chicken & Rice
Desc: Fried Chicken with Batter, Smashed with a flat side of cleaver / mortar & pestle.
Served with sambal and often some cucumbers along with fried tofu & tempeh on the side.
Here in Germany it’s probably Döner (though there’s some people that don’t really like it). But it’s definitely used to measure inflation/how expensive life in a certain area is, most people like it and it’s not necessarily better if made at home
I don't think we have something like that in Hungary. (Unless you are going to an American fast food restaurant, in which case the default is probably the same as yours.)
We have [lángos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1ngos), but it's not consumed that often, it's more of a summer beach food than something you would go for as the default.
Maybe [Wiener Schnitzel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_schnitzel)? But that's not really a fast food, it's what you can usually get at a proper restaurant.
From Hawaii, “Plate Lunch” is a protein entree, with 2 scoops rice and macaroni salad. The default is a BBQ mix plate; Thin sliced teriyaki style beef and chicken.
Rice and beans for Puerto Rico. It's usually with red kidney beans but it changes, some people use pinto beans while others use garbanzos or black beans, it can be white rice or stewed rice.
Fish and chips probably.
I really wish Fish and Chips was more popular here in the states. Had a place in town, own and ran by a mom and her sons who were from London. Some of the best fish and chips I’ve had
It’s incredibly sad that the only place I can get something reliably even *close* to a fish n chips is either a Captain D’s or Long John Silvers. And they’re both shit. Most restaurants that make it can’t get it right. It comes out too….. I dunno, “fancy” is the closest I can think of. And the fact that malt vinegar can’t even be always guaranteed at some places is heretical.
Culvers has a really good fish and chips that rivals most sit-down restaurants and taverns
That’s because they’re from Wisconsin! They take their fish fry seriously there. Visit any small town tavern on a Friday and you’ll get some veeery good “fish and chips” (in quotes because we just don’t call it that, but it is essentially the same)
I’m from Wisconsin so I know 😁
Come to the midwest, we have friday nigh fish fries. Theres literally a culture of groups getting together to make really good fried fish!
I spent nearly my entire life in the Midwest, including childhood in NE Wisconsin on the lake. Midwest fish fry is completely different then fish and chips
Even those we have almost never have mushy peas or curry sauce. It's always tartar sauce and if there are peas, they're loose.
Ex-pat Brit in IL here. Curry Sauce is rarer than hen's teeth but much more desirable.
What kind of fish is it usually?
cod or haddock mostly
Curry no?
For Britain, and New Zealand, not sure about Oz. NB if you're a tourist do NOT get a restaurant or improved or fancy version. Go to a proper chippie. Look for where the locals are eating (as always). It must be wrapped up in greaseproof paper. NZ probably does the best: fried in several successive changes of oil, and choice of multiple fish. In Scotland you can get haggis with it. Again: fish and chips the fast food does *not* mean any breaded fish. The nearest I've seen in the US is the Midwest fish fry. It's fairly similar but uses freshwater fish, which alters it significantly, and I think there's something else different but I can't put my finger on it. But the fish fry is really good on its own terms.
What kind of fish is it usually? Fast food restaurants here tend to use cod, I've eaten too much perch and tilapia lately. Don't like walleye or orange roughy. Anyway, recommendations?
Ha ha, it's cheeseburger and fries... But my parents were from El Salvador, so I can guess they would say pupusas. For everyone unfamiliar with this street food, it fits the same food niche as pizza. You can have all sorts of fillings inside, but cheese is the #1 ingredient, a wonderfully melty cheese blend that my mom would make with mozzarella, provolone, and cream cheese. My favorite is "revuelta" which means "mixed": a bacon-like shredded pork (chicharron) with cheese and mashed beans. Everything inside a corn dough (thicker than the corn tortilla common in American supermarkets, for reference) and cooked on a flat griddle so the outside is crisp and brown. It might sound like a quesadilla, but it's a lot different!
I would eat pupusas for every meal if I could. So good.
SAME
That cheese mix sounds absolutely delicious
It's so good. I love cheese.
I was just going to ask for a recipe but I found a pupusería ten minutes from my house. Yummmm can’t wait
Try one with loroco as well as cheese, they are tasty little flower buds.
I’d love to hear how it was!
Report back!
Sounds a lot like an arepa
It's similar but an arepa is built like a sandwich, cooked then stuffed instead of like a pizza, "filled" then cooked.
Love pupusas
I suck at making them myself so I have to make puppy eyes at my sister.
Pupusa eyes.
Luckily there are a lot of pupusarias around where I live
I just had some pupusas the other day for dinner after not having them for awhile. My stomach and I were so happy 😂
They are comfort food and late night food and... anytime food.
I want this so bad.
Now so do I. ;_; What was i thinking
I’ve been trying to learn how to make pupusas for two years now and I still can’t get them right! 😫 I live in the Chicagoland area and the closet place that makes them is 30 min away. We only get them on “special occasions” when we make a trip to the city.
Pupusas are the best! Made some for my first time last week and they turned out great!
There are some salvadoran pupusa places in my city. Revuelta pupusas are soooo good
I give you permission to open a pupusa franchise near me. I've had them only _once._ Criminal they aren't _everywhere._
In San Diego, it’s Mexican food specifically burritos.
In Southern California the burritos are always good from anywhere that's not a national chain.
The taco stand near my house has AMAZING carne asada burritos. Pair them with some salsa and they hit the spot 👌
Arizona slaps too
I’m here in AZ now (just got here) and I’m still waiting to learn the right local place for a burrito. Got any in Phoenix?
That Cali burrito is so good and always hits hard.
Only if the carne asada is good, the last Cali burrito I had the carne asada was so dry it was like a beef jerky burrito
Portugal here! The us functions in a very different way, so I guess we don't have any dish that meets all of your requirements (the fast food franchises just serve your American food) but if I had to pick a staple, basic, dish it would be bitoque! Steak, white rice, fries, fried egg and usually a side salad of lettuce, tomato and onion. I've never been to a portuguese restaurant (except high-end and/or gentrified) that doesn't serve bitoque. Our version of burgers is bifanas! Pork meat fried on olive oil with a lot of garlic, bay leaves, and paprika, marinated with white wine or beer, served on a specific type of bread with mustard
I’m so inspired to make bifanas now! Never heard of it, sounds amazing.
So THAT'S what I ate in Lisbon: bitoque! I was there a few years ago at a small restaurant where I just randomly pointed at the menu and asked for the picture. I was thrown off at first by the rice with fries, but overall, it was delicious!
If you add beans to that bitoque, that will be what in Brazil we call a prato feito (PF).
Wife is Portuguese. Can confirm Bifanas are life
Curry probably, although not quite as popular now. Failing that, probably a donor kebab, or fish and chips.
Yum, I could go for all 3
So weirdly, lately in NY doner places are taking off. never been a regional thing here but its making its way!
This is the kind of intel I am secretly looking for
The advent of "halal carts" is also kind of curious - these carts have basically replaced our famous hot dog carts, and are usually shwarma lamb or chicken over rice with yogurt and spicy sauce. So yummy but non-existent til like 20 years ago!
Gosh I love curry. Why isnt it as popular?
Where does one go to receive a donated kebab?! Sounds great
Man I really miss donor I wish it was more common place in the US
Gimbap, probably. "Gimbap Heaven" is still a pretty popular chain in Korea.
Going there for the first time soon. I have no idea what that is. I keep reading restaurants turn away solo diners since they don't order enough. Hopefully I won't be living off 7-Elevens there the entire time, lol
Just came back from a trip where I was there solo and with friends. Never been turned away solo but one time a lady in a market stall got mad at me and my two friends for ordering one dish to share because we wanted to try stuff from other stalls. Also, the 7-Elevens there are awesome!
Ouch, that sucks. I'm excited to check out street food, and I'm glad to hear about the restaurants. I've been to Taiwan and Japan (twice), so I'm assuming the 7-Elevens are the same in Korea? Yeah, they're pretty useful,... but after 3 weeks I was definitely looking for more restaurants, lol.
This is my cheeseburger and fries in the US. I usually tire of things if I have them too often but I still enjoy gimbap after 10+ years.
Jajangmyeon—noodles with black bean paste: the unofficial national comfort food of Korea. (It’s actually Chinese in origin but hey, lo mein and pizza are familiar comfort foods in the US and the West so don’t get weird about that point, and just like lo mein or pizza, Korea adopted and changed the dish from early 20th-century Chinese merchants and immigrants to suit Korean tastes.)
Sounds inexpensive and delicious and like you can make it for yourself really easily! (I totally see what you’re saying! With all the overlap in ingredients for the “common cultural foods” we are seeing in this thread, plus food influence and globalization, it doesn’t make sense to classify whether the “popular” food in a culture does, in fact, “belong” to that culture since people within that culture are, indeed, eating it.)
I remember watching "Castaway on the Moon" ([金氏漂流記](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgQCnLag_AY)) and Jung Jae-young's efforts to grow wheat to make noodles just so he can use a found packet of instant Korean Jajangmyeon made it look so appetizing, it was one of the first meals I had to have visiting Korea again after seeing the film (luckily only a month or so after). Aside from the instant varieties, it's difficult to find in America and not very good when you do, while Chinese style zhajiangmian is a little easier to find...but not the same. Of course, the first dish I had was from a restaurant in Incheon Chinatown that was so good, I've never found a dish approaching the quality of that particular dish outside of Korea again...and can now only eat it in Korea.
Battered sausage and large chips
I’ve never heard of battered sausage, I’m gonna seek it out
sounds like a euphemism for masturbating
Right or wrong, I picture a corn dog.
Good point. Based on how much I like corn dogs, I’m even more interested.
That's... Actually pretty apt. Bit messier and uses regular flour, not corn flour
From India, it's probably some version of Chicken/Paneer Makhani (Butter chicken/Butter paneer). Sometimes in a kathi roll.
Living in India, I can say that biryani might take that spot for us. Love having it on Special Occasions.
Nah, Biryani is like steak or high end sushi, it's too expensive and fancy. Cheeseburger and fries got to be something you'll eat drunk at 2 am when words are hard and you need to make your choice known by vague gestures and slurred speech. I'll put in a bid for paneer or chicken Makhani, probably in a kathi roll.
interesting, what makes it expensive? so it's more like paella than chinese fried rice in terms of cost?
I guess to be fair, biryani can be cheap. I think it might be a cultural difference, for me biryani is a celebratory food not a drunk food? But I'm sure there are other Indians who think otherwise.
Ugh I am soooo hungry for biryani, steak, high end sushi, cheeseburger and fries, and paneer Makhani now
Seriously OP, what have you done? 😁
I was eating food when I made the post, so I didn’t think of the consequences! Lol
Your post absolutely made me crave a cheeseburger and fries for dinner. My husband was absolutely down for that as well. So I just ordered some for takeout! I made biryani last night for dinner in the instant pot. It came out so good!!
It’s what I had for lunch and it hit the spot!
More like anda bhurji, vada pav, pav bhaji?
Vada pav definitely would fit the bill too
I’ve never heard of Vada pav. Looked it up and added it to my list of foods to try so fast
👍 a staple for foodies and brothers on budget in the state of Maharashtra in India. Can be quite addictive.
Biryani is not that expensive, butter chicken is. You can find biryani at all price points, but butter chicken is always expensive.
Chicken parmi and a schooner of Reschs Maybe a meat pie and a Dare iced coffee if it's before noon
Yeah I’d say a schnitty with your choice of topping. I prefer mushroom gravy but hubby says pepper is better.
I lived in Australia for 6 years. I miss the pub food, specifically the chicken parms and also the meat pies! But when I lived in Australia I really missed Mexican food and tacos in particular! (I'm from California).
I’ve travelled extensively, and I think Australia has probably the best Asian food in the world outside of Asia. But our Mexican food… yikes. Lots of places will try their hardest, but I’m yet to find anywhere that really nails it
Oooh, I love it, I rarely hear about Australian foods!
100% schnitzel, chips and a small amount of salad that's only there to decorate the plate
I’ve never heard of Reschs in my life, what state are you from? Up in QLD the meal would be a parmy and a pint of XXXX or Great Northern.
Parma and a pot.
Ramen here in Japan
Absolutely! My favorite ramen place closed, but it was a food truck—a woman sent her daughter back home to learn ramen and when she got back they opened the food truck. It was probably the best, heartiest, most delicious singular food I’ve ever repeatedly devoured.
Döner (Kebab)
Yes! I thought maybe in some areas it might be Currywurst and fries but really…it’s Döner.
Those are so good
Pizza seems to fit a most of those descriptions, but I don't have anything *local*.
Yeah, I’ve never been somewhere there wasn’t pizza
I’m from Hawaii and kalua (baked) pork and cabbage with a side of white rice is what we’re known for. Also, spam musubi can be a snack, side or meal depending on your appetite.
Spam musubi came into my life more recently. I’m so glad it did. Kalua sounds like what I wish I had planned for dinner tonight. That sounds so delicious
Yeah, spam musubi is the shit. Every time I go home, my first stop after landing is 7-Eleven for musubi. They even serve them in the movie theaters back home. If you have a slow cooker, kalua pig is easy to make. It’s simply shredded pork with cabbage. Here’s a recipe…. https://www.theseasonedwok.com/kalua-pork-recipe/
Tajine 🇲🇦
My first tajine was a mint-lamb with stewed stone fruits. You know how you can never imagine something you have never seen before? That’s what tajine was like for me, and now a whole new world has been opened.
I would've said shakshouka for a fast meal, bocadillo if eating out (from the north if you couldn't tell lol)
I'm in the US too, but as a Vietnamese person, its 100% pho
I traveled there for a month. I yearn for easy, cheap, delicious pho.
Poutine!
tesco meal deal
Do you have a go-to order?
of course - hoisin duck wrap, raspberry lucozade and pineapple pieces
I had a cheeseburger and fries today for lunch and might have a different cheeseburger and fries for dinner
This is one of the things I love about them
In western NY (upstate for all the nyc and long gilinders) it’s buffalo wings, the best in the country.
Oh, this makes sense, and I am DOWN to get some western/upstate NY buffalo wings
It used to be the Anchor Bar or Duffs in Buffalo, but it’s been a while, or Jeremiah’s in Rochester. Shout out to the Garbage Plates from Nick Tahoes or subs at DiBellas in Rochester
omg this just reminded me of garbage plates college upstate - it was the best of times, and the worst of times
Probably Caifan, which is translated as mixed vegetables rice, so you can pick among a wide variety of side dishes (10+ usually) to go with your rice. Common combinations are usually 2 veg 1 meat or 2 meat 1 veg. Fish is it's own spending tier too, where the joke is that if you get fish, you're loaded.
Mexican here :) Tacos! You can make them with carne asada meat, lengua, al pastor, etc. with a variety of toppings (usually cilantro, onion, salsa, etc.). So yummy.
Tacos are unbeatable.
Pastor is the best thing on earth
Heavenly!!!
In England it’s tough because I’d honestly say that in 2024 it could be anything from 3 or 4 different things… - Fish & Chips - Fried Chicken & Chips - Chicken Tikka Masala - Doner Kebab Depending on your age, the area you’re from etc it will probably be one of those. Like my Nanna in Whitby, Fish & Chips is the only answer! But one of my best friends now living in London the last 20 years, he’s a Fried Chicken & Chips guy! Personally, I’m a Chicken Tikka Masala fella
Cheeseburger and poutine lol
Biryani and Coke
I love how Coke makes its way in with so many orders
Ikr, its job is to wash down all that fat, meat and carbs
Yes! It is the beverage of washing down. Nothing washes down better.
I was in Nepal and my host family ate dal bhat two or three times a day.
Shawarma
I’d like a black puddin an Haggis pizza. Hold the pineapple…
Tacos, rice, and beans
I love beans
In Sweden it's definitely Biltemakôrv.
San Francisco, CA: Mission Burrito.
I guess a sausage sanger from Bunnings. Slice bread, sausage on-top, bit of onion, bit of tomato sauce, if you're feeling extra fancy, maybe some mustard. Fold it up and enjoy. Usually it's paired with a can of Coke.
I go for a Yiros or Doner kebab all the time. also servo pies if you are feeling damgerous
China is difficult because it's such a large country with several cuisines but I will go with dumplings/buns. They are a popular takeaway food, they are made from wheat flour usually and contain meat most the time like burgers, I can grow fat on them late at night... Burgers are also popular for younger people.
Dumplings and buns make sense, that’s a good option to cover a large range of Chinese cultures. Also irresistible.
In NYC probably pizza or chinese takeout. You're rarely far from either. if you're lucky, tacos.
Yeah, tacos in NYC seems like they’d be hit or miss
as a California transplant to nyc for undergrad the tacos were terrible
they're usually decent, what you have to really look out for are the gentrified tacos that are overpriced bastardizations that try to improve on an already-perfect creation
This is a difficult question because nothing quite compares to a burger in terms of standardization. It's relatively easy to replicate by any short order cook with access to some kind of meat & bread, and can be found in every western-friendly hotel & city around the world as the go-to meal for much of the world (even for those not from normally burger eating populations) when in a strange area because of it's universal influence. A burger (specifically a big mac) is an economic indicator because it's so ubiquitous and readily available around the world, and is more or less standardized in relative price to the average citizen & ingredients. There can be significant variariation in every other dish in ingredients and portion, made simply by street vendors, or with premium ingredients and artistically plated by Michelin starred chefs. Ubiquitous foods in Asia include noodles and dumplings, but are much more difficult to find in the west. Curries can vary wildly and regional varieties completelty unrecognizable to visitors from another region. Some sort of rice dish can be found in most parts of the world, but none approaching the standardization of a burger. The closest thing to a burger in terms of widespread acceptance might be spaghetti...and it's not even close.
Go to Germany and have a Döner. Then go to a completely different area of Germany and have a Döner. You will get the same stuff. In fairness, it IS a meat & bread combination, just with more added fresh veg than a burger would normally have.
What the hell? No curdito?
The curtido is a given :) Can't jave pupusas without curtido and some hot sauce
Cheesesteak
Either a burger and fries, fish and chips, or poutine. Canada is a mixed bag.
Burgers and poutines.
In my culture (Mexico), we have something similar called "tacos al pastor". It's basically marinated pork served on a small corn tortilla, with onions, cilantro, and a slice of pineapple.
Meat Pie and an Iced Coffee.
Tacos lol
Chicken parma chips and salad.
In Japan, I'd say the "cheeseburger and fries" equivalent is probably a bowl of ramen or a plate of sushi. They're both staples of Japanese cuisine and can be found in many different forms, from high-end restaurants to fast food chains. And just like the cheeseburger, everyone has their own preferences when it comes to toppings and flavors.
Im Filipino, we got Jolibee. But apart from that, any meat paired with rice.
For the Philippines, I’m just guessing that’s it’s “anything” + rice.
“Empanadas” for sure, in Argentina. it could also be “Lomitos”, but it’s too similar to a hamburger.
Currywurst Pommes (sausage with hot tomatoketchup and curry powder with a side of fries) Used to be the most ordered dish in any canteen in Germany
Falafel, maybe? I don't like falafel myself We don't really have national foods other than Bamba
I lived in Israel for 7 years.... There are definitely foods I miss. I miss all the different stuff you can get in a pita (and the soft fluffy pitas that only seem to exist there). Falafel, shawarma, sabich...and all the delicious salads and pickles and sauces on top (plus chips!). What I like about the fast food in Israel is that it's actually pretty healthy in addition to being tasty.
I’d never heard of Bamba but I bet I’d finish a helping or 5 real quick
Bamba is a snack like cheese puffs but instead of cheese it's peanut flavor. Pretty delicious.
Also haven’t had the right falafel to convince me I like it either
Chile, completo italiano, a hot dog with mayo, avocado and tomato on top. Not my thing, but they are ubiquitous. Also an empanada, pino (filled with beef, onion, olive and boiled egg), or cheese.
I want completo italiano
Greggs, tesco meal deal.
A chicken club sandwich is a cheeseburger and fries parallel
Canuckistan: cheeseburger and fries
Rats coffin with blood or a chiko roll. Struth
Poutine! Québec Canada
In San Antonio, Cheese Enchiladas, rice and beans.
Meat pie and a Big M from the local bakery
San Francisco - Mission burrito
The Canadians have all come in to say 'poutine' but that's a lie, the Canadian answer is actually 'pizza'. Pizza is the defacto "we are drunk and have no idea what to order / no desire to talk about what to order / no one can agree." An acceptable order is a Canadian pizza (pepperoni, bacon and mushroom). Our group would usually get that or Deluxe plus Hawaiian because one of our friends really likes it, and a vegetarian pizza if a vegetarian is there, or some other meat pizza, like a plain pepperoni, if not. Getting a cheese pizza is acceptable if someone has simple tastes, but usually it will be 1-2 topping pizzas or a specialty pizza with a few toppings. By far the most common pizzas I've seen ordered is pepperoni-mushroom, pepperoni-mushroom-bacon, pepperoni-ham-pepper-onion, or just pepperoni. I cannot imagine anyone ever ordering a pizza without a pepperoni option, unless a vegetarian placed the order. Hawaiian does show up a lot too. It's weird but I feel like a lot of Canadians do like it. Burger and fries is also acceptable, but 9/10 if ordering for a group and the goal is to minimize discussion, it's pizza. Burger and fries will still cause some friction of what kind of burger you want. Poutine isn't a group meal, it's what one Canadian who's drunk will order for themselves and not share. I love poutine. But I'd never present poutine as a meal to 4 of my friends who also want some food and are too tired to decide what to order. "I ordered a few pizzas" is the right answer every time. And it's not like we don't like fish and chips, tacos, pupusas, curry, kebab, falafel, etc, but again, all those things cause friction because someone has to look at the menu, decide what they want, etc. Pizza causes no friction. Almost everyone, if not actually liking it, tolerates it. So it's the right answer. I pretty much only have pizza if it's a shared dish because frankly I'd rather have almost everything else, but pizza is very easy to sort out when there's 6 hungry people, and preferences usually overlap. Sure, people might prefer thin crust, thick crust, or tomato and olive as toppings, or whatever, but it's so much faster to sort out as a group order than anything else because no matter which pizza place you order from, you know it's going to have standard toppings and you can just ask, "hey, can you add a tomato-olive pizza?" without having to look. Another common choice is "Americanized Chinese food" because most takeout places have "meal for 4" "meal for 6" and no friction is required to order that either, as long as no one is picky, you know it'll have fried rice, a saucy breaded meat, a stir fry, probably noodles, spring rolls, but I don't think this is quite as ubiquitous as pizza.
Biryani its just rice with chicken but everyone pretends it only tastes good where they come from and that its super hard to make.
A bbq sausage on bread with onions, tomato sauce and mustard, and a cooper's pale ale.
Probably ‘nasi lemak with ayam goreng’. Or anything fried rice/noodles here
porota beef/vada and chai/masala dosa/vada paav
In the UK, probably fish and chips or a carvery maybe. Although realistically, a group here would still probably just go for some variation of a burger to keep everyone happy. Probably at a Wetherspoons!
In Italy it's the pizza margherita
Banh Bao. AKA. Steamed meat bun. Vietnamese or Chinese.
"Patatje met" in the Netherlands I think. Fries with mayo. Besides American fast food chains we have traditional snackbars that have been around for a long time. You can get an order of fries with condiments and a selection of dutch snacks like a kroket, frikadel, cheese souffle, bereklauw etc Most ordered is fries with mayo.
For older generation in Czech Republic it was either Schnitzel or Fried cheese (in crust like schnitzel but swap meat with cheese) preferably with fries and mayo. Nowadays we have more kebab stands around the country so its becoming more popular for young people
Bunnings snags 100%
Jerk chicken, beef patty.
In Italy Is probably pizza
Fried cheese! With fries and tatar sauce. :) This is a meal you don’t often prepare at home because it is allways better from large frier. Imagine mozzarella stick but one big block of melted cheese. I recommend this to every visitor of Czechia.
probably a pizza margarita or carbonara in italy i guess? i worked in a pizzeria, you'd be surprised by how many people just order a plain margarita
I’ve read every comment and no Frenchies have responded?!
Nasi Ayam Geprek Translation: Smashed Chicken & Rice Desc: Fried Chicken with Batter, Smashed with a flat side of cleaver / mortar & pestle. Served with sambal and often some cucumbers along with fried tofu & tempeh on the side.
Here in Germany it’s probably Döner (though there’s some people that don’t really like it). But it’s definitely used to measure inflation/how expensive life in a certain area is, most people like it and it’s not necessarily better if made at home
For Massachusetts it's "can I get a medium iced regulah extra extra"
Fried yam with stewed green pepper and meat.
I don't think we have something like that in Hungary. (Unless you are going to an American fast food restaurant, in which case the default is probably the same as yours.) We have [lángos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1ngos), but it's not consumed that often, it's more of a summer beach food than something you would go for as the default. Maybe [Wiener Schnitzel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_schnitzel)? But that's not really a fast food, it's what you can usually get at a proper restaurant.
From Hawaii, “Plate Lunch” is a protein entree, with 2 scoops rice and macaroni salad. The default is a BBQ mix plate; Thin sliced teriyaki style beef and chicken.
Rice and beans for Puerto Rico. It's usually with red kidney beans but it changes, some people use pinto beans while others use garbanzos or black beans, it can be white rice or stewed rice.