"American food": burgers with fries and coke, onion rings, pepperoni or cheese pizza, anything on the McDonald's/Burger King/Wendy's menu, ribs, bbq, Taco Bell

"American food": burgers with fries and coke, onion rings, pepperoni or cheese pizza, anything on the McDonald's/Burger King/Wendy's menu, ribs, bbq, Taco Bell (yup, American food), cheesesteaks, milkshakes, donuts... all the stuff you can get at literally any city and town in America, which will taste exactly the same regardless of what state you're in. Po boys? Nope, that's New Orleans cuisine. ("but... New Orleans is part of America!"). Ditto for other regional specialties. Inventive culinary creation from top American restaurants? Good for them, but still not what people mean by "American food."