If you were out of the US for a while, what would be the food you would seek out

[cbayer]

upon returning?

I will be returning after 7 months out and have already located the first Popeye's across the border.

[Galileo126]

1. It's a toss-up

Either a Burger King whopper with extra onions, or El Pollo Loco 1/2 chicken with rice and beans.

I have a Popeye's within walking distance. I'll let 'em know they should start frying up more chicken!

(ps: Welcome back!)

[cbayer]

2. I'm partial to a few items from MickeyD's, so that's on my list, too.

When I lived in New Orleans, I lived within 2 blocks of a Popeye's.

I miss it badly.

[PumpkinAle]

3. Pecan Pie!

Love it!!

Welcome back cbayer

[cbayer]

6. Yes! I'm coming in through Texas and a chicken fried steak and some Texas BBQ are also

on the list.

[pinto]

17. Ask maddezmom about a great BBQ spot if go by the Austin area.

She, my brother and I had lunch there. Forget the name or the town. Little town south of Austin.

Picnic tables inside, find a spot. Paper plates, butcher paper place mats. BBQ pit right outside the front door, you pass it on your way in. Order at the pit. Get your drinks inside. Iced tea and...Dr. Pepper. Killer BBQ. Real neat spot.

[cbayer]

21. I'm not going through Austin this trip, but I am going to stay the night with maddezmom.

And I expect here to provide me with a great dining experience, preferably at her house, lol.

[pinto]

25. She makes some good plates.

[Texasgal]

23. Was it Kreuz Market in Lockhart?

http://kreuzmarket.com/

Or

http://www.saltlickbbq.com/ in driftwood?

Either place is amazing. I miss BBQ although I will go for the smell..

[pinto]

26. That's it!

Neat place.

[pinto]

36. Ooops. Heard from my brother. It was Smitty's.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

4. I don't know that I would.

I can't think of anything that I 'have to have', or even adore, that's unique to the United States. I largely stopped eating at regular US 'fast food' restaurants quite a while ago. I still occasionally do a pizza, usually from pizza hut, and recently ate at a 'chipotle's' a couple of times.

I do remember on my trips abroad in the past that ice, of all things, was rather more hard to find than in the states. I drink iced tea, and that was next to impossible to get in some places. Even places they tried to accommodate me, they were making hot tea and dropping ice cubes into it, so that they basically melted instantly.

[cbayer]

5. Yes! I look forward to lots of ice.

We can make a little bit of it at a time, but there is never enough to suit me.

[Kali]

7. Mexican!

[cbayer]

8. You are hilarious!

I was just thinking that I will look at Mexican food in the US in an entirely new way.

I have eaten some of the most delicious food of my life down here, and I am interested in how I will experience US Mexican when I get back.

[Kali]

10. yeah you can rarely get real Mexican up here

we think of northern Mexican antojitos as main dishes - and that is OK, (and what I tend to crave when I can't get it)

regular everyday food in Mexico is so good too.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

32. I remember the first time I went to Italy

And discovering that Italian cuisine was quite different from Italian-American cuisine.

Moreover, there are multiple Italian cuisines -- Roman differs from Tuscan which differs from Neopolitan which differs from ...

[cbayer]

35. I have discovered the same thing in Mexico.

I had grown to believe that all Mexican food was was a combination of a tortilla, some meat, cheese, rice and beans put together in one way or another.

But the regional differences in the food here are amazing and the variety of ingredients and how they are used inspiring.

[greatauntoftriplets]

9. Whenever I came back from the Caribbean, I always wanted...

milk.

[cbayer]

11. Shelf stable boxed milk is widely available and super-delicious.

They have also come a long way with some powered milks.

But if I couldn't get it, I would crave that also.

[greatauntoftriplets]

12. I wanted the regular stuff.

Rarely drank any down there.

[cbayer]

13. It took me a while to wrap my head around it, but it is the regular stuff.

It's just irradiated and packaged differently.

For whatever reason, I find it even more delicious than the cold milk in plastic jugs.

[greatauntoftriplets]

22. Well, I never had much call to go to grocery stores down there...

and lacked access to refrigeration. Plus, I tended to visit pretty undeveloped islands where the grocery stores I saw were not particularly enticing. Of course, most everything had to be imported. Mostly, they used goat milk because there were goats all over the place. I won't go into gory detail, but goat milk doesn't agree with me. Also keep in mind that this was between 25 and 35 years ago.

[cbayer]

27. It is the issue of refrigeration that has led to the wide availability of shelf stable milk.

It's a really good thing, as kids need their milk.

And I need my Ovaltine!

[greatauntoftriplets]

28. I think the kids down there mostly drank goat's milk.

Depends on what you're used to.

[Granny M]

14. I've been in Ireland for 20 years now.

When I'm back in the States, I eat a lot of Mexican food, real corn tortillas, and drink lots of ice tea. I always bring corn tortillas back for my freezer, and dole them out very slowly. Word is that somebody is opening a corn tortilla factory in Dublin. Can't wait to try them.

[cbayer]

18. Tortillas are exceedingly easy to make.

Unless there is a problem getting the corn flour you need, you might want to try making them at home.

The you will have them fresh and can have them everyday.

It is often the routine of Mexican women to make their tortillas first thing in the morning every morning.

[Granny M]

33. The masa harina has been impossible to find.

Maybe that will change. The people who are starting the factory plan on using local corn for their masa harina. It will be interesting to see how they do with it.

[cbayer]

34. Ah, that's a problem.

I wish I could send you some!

[japple]

15. If summertime, it would have to be my home grown tomatoes and other fresh

veggies. If winter, probably comfort food: homemade veg. soup, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes.

I went to Hawaii (Oahu) several years ago with 2 cousins. The only really decent meal I had was at a Jackie Chan's restaurant. Everything else was just 2 scoops of white rice, which I LOVE, but you have to admit it's not very inspiring. I know that Oahu is a very "touristy" area, but even in the grocery stores we went to, there wasn't much that looked appetizing or out of the (mainland) ordinary.

[cbayer]

19. I spent some time in Oahu as well and the only food I had that I really liked

were the noodle bowls at small Japanese restaurants.

They were outstanding.

[pinto]

16. Cheeseburger.

[cbayer]

20. Most definitely.

The hamburgers in Mexico are weird to me.

They tend to be mushy and I think they mix the meat with a lot of breadcrumbs or something.

They have great beef here, but their idea of a hamburger is just not the same.

And I am really wanting some New Orleans poboys, which I will have very, very soon.

[Texasgal]

24. Good chinese food or Dim Sum.

I would really miss that if there wasn't a place near where you are.

Are there chinese food places in Mexico?

[cbayer]

30. There are some fast food type Chinese restaurants, but

I haven't seen anything that appealed to me at all.

So that's going on my list, too!

I've been missing Dim Sum since I moved away from NYC 30 years ago, lol.

[locks]

29. I'm with greataunt

I tried to get a glass of cold milk in Paris; they thought I was fou, was sure I wanted some lait in my cafe', finally poured some from the shelf package into a teacup but couldn't figure out what to charge me. Same in Nairobi, Cuzco, Provence, London, Bruges, Amsterdam, Costa Rica, Chihuahua, Munich. Why would anyone want milk or water when you can have wine, beer or tequila for the same price?
Well, I did, but it sure wasn't a reason to stay home!

[cbayer]

31. Lol! I know how you love your milk.

[Retrograde]

37. vegetables

Every time I've spent time in Europe I always come home with a craving for vegetables. Any kind, simply prepared. When I used to go to Japan for business I always craved Indian food when I was there.

[cbayer]

38. Is there difficulty getting fresh produce in Europe?

I am probably going to spend 3 - 4 months there this summer.

There is an abundance of fresh produce in Mexico and I have been loving it.

[greatauntoftriplets]

39. Not in my experience...

and that's both in restaurants and the homes of my cousins. Forty-odd years ago, vegetables were often extremely overcooked (especially in England, Ireland and Scotland) though that is rarely a problem any more. I was introduced to eggplant (as aubergine, a much nicer name) by cousins in Luxembourg. During growing season and in markets, I've seen lots of vegetables. Of course, the growing season is limited as it is in the Midwest.

[cbayer]

40. How they are prepared in certain areas is certainly true.

I found the further south I went, the better it got.

I agree that growing seasons are more limited, particularly in the north.

[greatauntoftriplets]

41. That's very true.

I've mostly been in Northern Europe and primarily in the off season. Vegetables I've been served and seen were all familiar to me, too.



Many years ago, I was in Portugal during the tomato harvest season. Loved seeing the trucks filled with tomatoes, but eating them was even better!

[A HERETIC I AM]

42. My famliy lived in Australia in the '70's.....

And we stopped in Hawaii on the way back to the mainland. I remember specifically.

A McDonalds hamburger and fries!

[cbayer]

43. Yep!

Even if the country you are in has McD's, it is often just not the same.

I love those 99 cent cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches, and they are on the list.

I was not at all impressed with the food in Oz, in general.

[A HERETIC I AM]

44. "Go for GIBBS! Pies, Pasties and Sausage rolls!"

In order to get the full effect, you have to imagine hearing that in a male Aussie voice, over the speaker at the drive-in!

Gibbs was a purveyor of those comestibles, staples really, of the genre one would find at the hot section of a 7-11! We lived in Alice Springs, so I don't know if they were exclusive to the NT or nationwide. As far as I can find, they're out of business, but I am sure another firm has taken their place. Back then, if they were only in the Northern Territory, that would have meant that their entire customer base was a little over 350,000 people spread over an area basically the size of the entire upper midwest!

It was always a "Pastie with sauce" or a "Pie with Sauce". Basically, take the pastry thing, jam a squeeze bottle of ketchup in a let loose! They served them at the lunch counter at school and ......"where all fine, pre-packaged food products are sold!"

[cbayer]

45. Yikes! Alice Springs.

Now that is truly in the middle of nowhere.

I stayed on a ranch there when I went and got lost in the Outback. They had nailed coffee can bottoms to various things to mark the way, but hadn't been so good at upkeep.

Never saw a Gibbs. The only food I remember liking was some kind of meat pie I got off a cart somewhere.

Would still love to go back someday, though.

[A HERETIC I AM]

46. "Ranch"?!?! No such thing!

Station?

lol


I was on "Jinka Station" over Christmas, 1973 or so. Jinka was operated by John Turner who was actually the subject of a National Geographic special in the early 1970's.

A small place of a mere 789 square miles!

My research has found it was purchased/merged with two neighboring stations and is now Jervois Station, probably well over 2000 square miles.

As best I can find, this is likely their old homestead. About a 4 or 5 hour drive from The Alice;

http://goo.gl/maps/dQTDp

There are 2 others within about 20 miles or so, one further downstream on the Plenty River and the other further East on the Marshall River, just where the Plenty Highway crosses it. One of those 3, anyway!

The river beds, BTW glinted pinkish in the sun because of the billions of shards of Garnet found. A land of unbelievable stark beauty and remoteness.

[cbayer]

47. Oops! Yeah, station.

I don't remember the name, but it was also several hours outside Alice.

I remember that all the hands from around the area came in on Saturday night to whoop it up. What a party.

Rivers you say? All I saw were massive, dry beds.

But it was, indeed, very, very beautiful in a mysterious kind of way.

[A HERETIC I AM]

48. Riverbeds, to be sure.

And when they flowed, boy howdy!

While I was there they had some of the heaviest rain they had had in years! In fact, the week after Mr. Turner brought me home, the Station was cut off for over a week waiting for the rivers to go down.

I used to have a map of all the stations in the NT. I have no idea what became of it. The sizes of some of them were mindboggling. Imagine saying you were just going to nip down to the back fence in the jeep and have that be a 3 day expedition!

It is difficult for most Americans to understand the remoteness of much of the central part of Australia, including the center/Eastern portion of Western Australia. In this country you would be hard pressed to walk for more than a few hours before seeing some evidence a human was there before you - a fence line, a power line, tire tracks, etc.

Out there, you could walk for days.

I hope your sailing ventures have been safe and trouble free.

[cbayer]

49. I have always hoped to see them when they flooded. It must be an amazing sight.

The remoteness is what made my getting lost a bit frightening. I never saw anyone the entire day and as night approached, I realized it was going to get really cold, really fast.

Just as the light was receding, I caught a glance of some smoke and knew all would be fine. It was still several miles off, but I knew which direction to head.

This was, of course, before gps.

Things have been fine down here, but it's bloody hot. We are putting the boat away for the season, primarily because of the heat and because of the risk of hurricanes.

It will be interesting to live on land for a few months, something I haven't really done in about 8 years.

Hope you have some great summer plans!