As an Australian living in the US, I noticed that difference too, in addition to some others. The staff didn't seem nearly as miserable (I was one of them for

As an Australian living in the US, I noticed that difference too, in addition to some others. The staff didn't seem nearly as miserable (I was one of them for a while) or apathetic in Australian restaurants. I noticed when I went back that the food wasn't nearly as greasy in Australia (I've actually noticed that about meat in general, US meat tends to seem greasier for some reason) and it usually seemed prepared with a little more care (the burgers weren't falling apart for example). Also the restaurants were consistently cleaner, better maintained and more up-to-date than their US counterparts.