8 ms·

What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

168 points by synacksynack 14y ago

jisaacstone 14y ago
"food, which they praise for its quality and variety (and portion size) in a tone of near-disbelief" huh, really? Whenever I get back from traveling I feel the opposite. Sure in places like NY you can get any kind of food. But in my mono-cultural hometown there is little besides hamburgers or pizza.
- rsl7 14y ago
  And "Chinese".
- simonsarris 14y ago
  Yes, but visitors that buy guidebooks do not go to your mono-cultural hometown. They go to New York! Even in my (relatively) small-medium town in New Hampshire[1] there's an amazing variety of high quality restaurants. A lot of people abroad in their own similiar-sized towns don't get to ever try authentic Mexican, or Cajun, or American comfort, or sushi, or Greek, etc, all of which are available here. For most tourists, especially tourists from small towns going to NYC or Boston or SF, America is a cultural delight of food. [1] http://www.yelp.com/c/nashua-nh/restaurants http://www.yelp.com/c/nashua-nh/restaurants
  - jtchang 14y ago
    Exactly. I like to think about all the cuisines I've had here in the bay area this week. Must be like 3 or 4 different cuisines from all countries. And they were all good.
  - StavrosK 14y ago
    An aside: As a Greek, I tend to stay away from "Greek" restaurants abroad, because it's almost never Greek food. For example, people here generally eat lamb only once or twice a year, and I didn't know what hummus is until I had it in London (in one such "Greek" restaurant, no less). I think it's more about the stereotype that is expected of the restaurant rather than actually being authentic. For example, Greek gyros is almost always pork, never lamb. If you get lamb gyros, it's middle-eastern.
    - jeltz 14y ago
      Lamb gyros is usually called döner kebab (the turkish name for gyros) in Europe, while pork gyros usually is called gyros.
    - potatolicious 14y ago
      No cuisine survives importation to another country, really, but authenticity can be overrated. I remember growing in Taiwan and having "pizza" there - it doesn't really resemble the pizza you might find in Italy, nor the Americanized version. For one thing, pizza was high-class, eaten at a sit-down place with cloth napkins, forks, and knives... and toppings featured things like lobster and crab. The reverse is true too - there is no such thing as "chicken balls", that crazy east-coast invention that claims to be Chinese, nor General Tso's chicken either. In fact, mostly everything you find in an American Chinese restaurant would never be found at the dinner table in China. But if you think that's crazy, wait till you try Chinese-Indian food. Hoo boy. But that's the great thing about the new global society - we can remix, borrow, replace to our heart's content. I had Peking duck tacos a couple of weeks ago, it was delicious. And there's this food truck near here that has an amazing (Korean-style) roast pork Chinese bao that's garnished with Japanese pickled radishes with some Mexican flavor thrown in to boot. Sublime. Food is, in the future, extremely unlikely to stick to its geographic and ethnic roots, and what an amazing change that is.
      - cbr 14y ago
        > pizza was high-class, eaten at a sit-down place with cloth napkins, forks, and knives There are many nice restaurants in Italy that are just like this.
    - batista 14y ago
      >For example, people here generally eat lamb only once or twice a year Well, as a Greek, I beg to differ. We eat lamb more than "once a year" (you probably refer to easter, but forget the mighty paidakia). Plus, this cow meat we mostly eat now is a recent development. The traditional meat until 4-5 decades ago was lamb and goat (mostly because Greek domestic cows where too skinny and the grass unfit to support them. Post 1981 they were replaced with foreign cow breeds plus tons of imports). As for hummus: "Greek" restaurants abroad are often mixed Greek/Middle-Eastern, and some are run by Lebanese and use the "Greek" just to attract some additional customers. A funny aside: the traditional american "diner" (the chrome plated, hamburger joint etc) was more often than not, a Greek business. Greeks pwned the diner business in the US in the '40 to '80s. If you check a series like "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives", a disproportionate percentage of iconic food joints are still in Greek hands, including the majority of NY hot dog stands. I have travelled extensively in the US (only missed Vermont), and I chanced upon several, such as: • Lou Mitchels, the Chicago diner at the start point of Route 66. • Nick's, in Albq., NM at the crossing of Route 66 (old route) and Route 66 (later bypass) (!), • Leopold's, considered the best ice cream in Savannah, GA (and featured in top-10 US lists)• Ariston, on Route 66, IL, suggested by every guide, • Mike's Chilly Parlor, in Seattle, etc. nom nom nom nom...
- adrianhoward 14y ago
  It also depends on what food you're used to. I'm from the UK and did the whole cross-country US road trip thang when I was in my twenties. I remember it was the little odd differences in supermarkets and restaurants that freaked me out. For example - at the time (early nineties) almost no Indian food anywhere. In the UK even small villages often have an Indian take out. On the flip side - in the US you have texmex everywhere. It's still fairly rare over here (and of a.... erm.... different level of quality :-) Bread was another one. At even small rural shops you had soughdough, rye, bagels, etc. In the UK you get white bread and brown bread ;-) And the portion sizes... wow... so different. I remember going out with a family chatting away snacking away and suddenly realising that I was now "full" on the "free stuff you eat before your meal"...
  - wazoox 14y ago
    > And the portion sizes... wow... Yes, Umberto Eco wrote an interesting article on the cultural significance of "more" to Americans. This is quite obvious in restaurant portion sizes among other.
    - bdunn 14y ago
      I love Eco's fiction but am now just getting into reading his essays. Which is the one you're referencing?
      - wazoox 14y ago
        I'll have to dig the book out to find. It must me in one of the article compilations such as "How to travel with a salmon" or "Travels in Hyperreality".
  - tjic 14y ago
    > In the UK even small villages often have an Indian take out. Amazing how a minor thing like running India as a colony for 400+ years can have that effect! Similarly, I imagine that Tex-Mex is a bit more common here than in Wales...
- potatolicious 14y ago
  Not only large cities - but rural areas too. The reputation for shitty food really happens in the vast stretches of suburbia that straddle the awkward territory between city and country. The US has, overall, amazing food. In large cities there is not only immense diversity (after all, the US is more diverse than most Western nations), but also a culture of experimentation at all price ranges. It's possible to eat amazingly in most major cities for anywhere between $5 and $500. In the country and small towns there is a tremendous variation across the nation. The food of the Northwest vs. the food of the Southwest vs. the food of the South vs. the Northeast. It's only when you get into strip-mall-landia where things start appearing incredibly boring and monocultural, and just plain not good.
  - tjic 14y ago
    > It's only when you get into strip-mall-landia where things start appearing incredibly boring and monocultural A famous economist / foodie has written an entire book about how you've got it EXACTLY backwards: http://www.amazon.com/An-Economist-Gets-Lunch-Everyday/dp/0525952667 http://www.amazon.com/An-Economist-Gets-Lunch-Everyday/dp/05... The best food, he asserts, is in strip malls. You just have to know a few tricks to find it. Great book. Go read it.
    - tptacek 14y ago
      No, Cowen says the best ethnic food is in strip malls, and they're in strip malls ringing large cities. It by no means follows that the best food overall resides in strip malls. The comparison is to other ethnic restaurants, particularly Asian, and not to restaurants in general. And of course, Cowen includes a section on exactly how hard it is, and how creative he had to be, to get decent Chinese food in rural Virginia. It is obviously not true that the best food overall can be found in exurban and rural strip malls.
    - batista 14y ago
      I've eaten in 48 states, including tons of malls. If that is what the book is saying, it is bullshit. Not to mention that in most malls you only find the same generic franchised BS.
- dsrguru 14y ago
  In addition to the wide variety of foreign cuisine available in many parts of the U.S., there are many different "native" cuisines in different regions of the country. I'm inevitably going to leave out a lot, especially from the places I haven't been to, but here are some exampes. New York has got its pizza (both the Neapolitan and Sicilian styles, neither of which is very similar to the pizza found in Naples or Siciliy), bagels, half sour pickles, and certain cold cuts. Chicago has Italian beef and deep dish pizza. Wisconsin has its cheeses and bratwurst ("brats"). Philadelphia has cheese steak and hot pretzels like no others. Lousisiana has the Creole and Cajun cuisines. There's Tex-Mex and other southwestern cuisine. Lots of places along the east coast have their own very distinct variety of clam chowder, etc. I never realized how much I would miss food from various American cuisines until I lived in China for five months.
refurb 14y ago
This article reminds me of when I landed a job in the US (at the time I was living in Canada). As a part of the relocation package I was sent a book "Culture Shock: USA". Quite an entertaining read. The most memorable quote was "In the US, it is usually typical for a husband to accompany his wife to the hospital when she gives birth".
- joshAg 14y ago
  I take it that's not the case in Canada?
  - a-priori 14y ago
    It is normal here in Canada for a husband to accompany his wife to the hospital, and has been at least since I was born in the 80s. I think refurb's point is that it's strange to include that in something you give a Canadian moving to the US.
    - nandemo 14y ago
      Well, in that case refurb's comment is as confusing as the statement in the guide book...
    - refurb 14y ago
      That was my point exactly. Canada and the US share 90%+ of their culture, so it was interesting for two reasons: 1. Why send that kind of a book to a Canadian? 2. It's interesting to read what other cultures might find shocking about US culture.
      - dalke 14y ago
        I'm going to guess that was part of their standard "foreigner moving to the US" package? One of the parts of that book I remember is that you do not talk to other people while at the urinal.
      - Cyranix 14y ago
derleth 14y ago
"Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air."
- ktizo 14y ago
  And if you must put on sunglasses you found on the street, do not stare at the skull headed people, point at the signs saying 'breed', or shut down the big weird radio transmitter thingy.
  - noonespecial 14y ago
    I suspect you know what to do when you run out of bubblegum then?
- doktrin 14y ago
  In case anyone missed it, this is a reference to the oft-brilliant Tom Lehrer : "Pollution" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mvYec6AnCU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mvYec6AnCU
- jerf 14y ago
  If you're talking about water just lying around, maybe so, but US water standards are if anything ridiculously stringent compared to much of the rest of the world [1]. Read that page carefully, and observe that while the US standards may appear at times to permit things somewhat higher than other standards, the US (along with Europe) strongly enforce them, so it's not that comparable. As for the air, it is generally clean in the US. Sort this chart by "above or below world average": [2] Also note the line about the US being very well sampled, so if there's an error it's not there. It isn't 1965 anymore. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_water_quality_standards#Comparison_of_parametric_values http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_water_quality_standard... [2]: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/datablog/2011/sep/26/global-air-pollution-who http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/datablog/2011/sep/26/g...
  - Camillo 14y ago
    Well, it depends on where you're from. Your link shows that US water standards are lax compared to European standards. But more than water, I'd be concerned about the amount of hormones and antibiotics in meat.
ericb 14y ago
No mention of our odd restaurant tipping practices? I thought they are unusual compared to the rest of the world...
- AYBABTME 14y ago
  What are those odd tipping practices? I'm from Canada (Ontario/Quebec), and the standard is to leave 15% of the bill as tip. Less is considered being extremely rude. In other countries, the tip is included in the bill. In other countries, tipping is rare and made in very specific circumstances.
  - xelfer 14y ago
    As an Australian any kind of expected tip is odd.
    - AYBABTME 14y ago
      The justification for this 15% is that government assumes that customers give tip to waitress/er, and thus take taxes off the waitress/er pay-check according to this 15% supposition. So basically, when you don't pay the 15% tip, the waitress/er is paying extra taxes because of you. Unless the service is bad, the normal would thus be to pay the 15% tip, unless its a tip-less kind of job. Some jobs are identified by governments as being tip-supported. Thus, the minimal wage for these jobs is lower than the normal minimum-wage, assumed that the real revenue comes from tip (which is actually true). To get their taxes share, they use the waitress/er sales to compute how much is due in taxes. Basically, governments have destroyed the whole purpose of tipping, which is to recognize good service. However, they make it cheaper for restaurant owner to hire new employees (the minimum wages is lower).
      - Natsu 14y ago
        Not quite. Servers report tip amounts to their employer and that information goes to their W-2. Because they get tips, servers can be paid less than minimum wage. But even so, if their tips and wages combined aren't enough to get them up to minimum wage, the employer must pay them the difference.
bufordtwain 14y ago
Before coming to the USA for the first time I read the following in a guide: "Americans often communicate via inflected grunts and groans, such as "uh-huh" for yes and "uh-uh" for no.
- ericras 14y ago
  As an American who does this in pretty much every conversation I have, this is a difference I would never have thought of. Semi-related: Do other countries have fragments of speech used as filler such as "like" and "you know"?
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - pranjalv123 14y ago
    Yes! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_%28linguistics%29#Filler_words_in_different_languages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_%28linguistics%29#Filler...
  - Hemospectrum 14y ago
    Absolutely. In Japanese, for example, you'll sometimes hear conversations littered with なんか (nanka) and かしら (kashira).
    - christiangenco 14y ago
      Do the Japanese really say "desu"?
      - Hemospectrum 14y ago
        Yes. For example, if you wanted to tell a stranger "that person is a police officer," the most natural translation is probably "ano hito wa keikan desu." In other contexts, you might replace "desu" with the informal "da" or the ultra-polite "de gozaimasu" (or "de gozaru" if you're a samurai). In practice you wouldn't say it too often. Other grammatical structures (like "-te iru") are more appropriate counterparts to maybe 75% of English sentences involving "to be." It is nonetheless grammatically possible to contrive every sentence to end in "desu." This is an unusual habit, though. It's a little like beginning every utterance in English with "it seems" or "Simon says."
guruparan18 14y ago
The article mentions fact.check.org, however, it looks like the correct site is factcheck.org.
- martythemaniak 14y ago
  Article also fails to mention that using something like factcheck.org will typically get you branded a liberal.
  - nextstep 14y ago
    Reality has a well-known liberal bias.
    - javajones 14y ago
      Well according to TV viewing habits conservatives tip the scales for reality. http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/related_news/2011_Dec_07_republican-democrat-likes-dislikes http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/related_new...
  - gnaritas 14y ago
    Liberal isn't a dirty word, it's not something you're branded with.
    - HazzyPls 14y ago
      It is in some circles.
      - gnaritas 14y ago
        Not intelligent ones.
    - eropple 14y ago
      In a large (but shrinking, year by year) part of the country, it most definitely is. Those aren't places most people want to go, though.
jakejake 14y ago
It's interesting to read about things that are just ingrained from birth and you don't really think about them. When you see them written down they sound kinda bizarre!
pajju 14y ago
Interesting read. Are there any good wikis or Internet Communities - guiding Visitors to learn new cultures, behaviors, ethics in different places? It's nice to see a comparison chart on - cost of living, labor costs, a basic meal, hotel rooms(Comparison charts should be - City vs Another-city and Country Level comparisons) And I would definitely pay $$ for such a service.
- PidGin128 14y ago
  Wiki-Travel? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikitravel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikitravel
adrianhoward 14y ago
One thing I remember from a long road trip I took in the nineties across the US was, on multiple occasions, being told that I was "brave" or "courageous" when it came up in conversation that I was an atheist (okay - technical agnostic, working atheist if you want to be picky :-) Everybody was nice. Nobody was mean about it (I got a lot of hassle over being a vegetarian though) but it was felt odd for two reasons. First that it came up. I'm from the UK and we just don't get onto the topic of religion that much. Especially with complete strangers from other countries that you've just met. Second the "brave" thing obviously... I've occasionally found some of the more extreme ends of the religious community over here annoying... but never anywhere close to the extent that I would feel stating my (non)religious views would be any kind of brave or courageous thing... An odd difference.
- arethuza 14y ago
  Actually, I suspect there is a chance that those people were concerned for your immortal soul and therefore regarded your position in the face of impending endless torment as "brave". But I'm also an atheist and British... and despite growing up in an oppresively religious community I don't really understand these things.
  - adrianhoward 14y ago
    Nah. It was definitely just being open about being non-religious. The reaction came from the religious and the non-religious. It also wasn't a north/south thing (I know you didn't mention that - but it's something that's come up when I've commented on this before).
  - glhaynes 14y ago
    That sort of usage of "brave" (to compliment while sending mild sarcasm/bemusement/disapproval) sounds distinctly British to me. :)
- Cieplak 14y ago
  This reminds me of the episode of top gear where they paint offensive remarks on each others cars and drive across the southern US.
_pferreir_ 14y ago
I don't mean to generalize, but this is my own experience. Sincerely, I don't know how the US manages to be the second most touristic country in the world. Travelling to the US can be a nightmare - customs, TSA, metal detectors, body scanners, etc. As a tourist, I've never felt as unwelcomed as when travelling there. Maybe it's just a cultural thing, but I seriously got the feeling that people who work at airports, subway, or any other place that is by definition essential to tourists are unable to communicate without shouting. The fact that in spite of working at such a place most of them don't even speak a second language may contribute to that - it's like people will understand better what you say if you just say it louder. Not to mention that you are expected to know exactly how everything works, from the local language (which sometimes becomes Spanish) to how much you have to tip, otherwise people will look at you with that "oh, you must be new here" look. Strangely enough, the common american that you find in the street tends to be relaxed, friendly and always willing to help. People will sometimes start talking to you in a pretty natural and informal way (this wouldn't happen in Europe). So, tl;dr: services suck but once you are through the trial of idiocy that is getting into the country, you'll most likely have a good time.
- StavrosK 14y ago
  This echoes my own experience too, down to the letter. Screw air travel in the US, but people are very friendly, at least in cities I've been. Hell, the TSA even gave me a free massage!
- colkassad 14y ago
  I moved to eastern Europe for a while and was struck by how cold and aloof people were to each other in day to day life. It took me some time to adjust; I had to tone down how I spoke with people I didn't know. No compliments or talking about the weather or coming weekend. This was easier as I started learning the language as I was naturally more self-conscious and reserved. Paradoxically (or not?) I started to make friends much faster once I started becoming more aloof myself. I have to say, it was a bit of relief not having to worry about small talk on the elevator. I also noticed that I valued my friendships much more. On that note, the personal space thing is spot on. When speaking to friends and colleagues, they enjoyed getting a foot or so away from my face...when drinking this distance would dramatically decrease.
kazuya 14y ago
Surprisingly, most of the descriptions apply also to Japan. Except you need to replace forks with chopsticks, cowboys with ninjas.
- drucken 14y ago
  It's funny you should mention Japan. If you have ever actually visited it, I cannot think of any large culture that could be more different from Anglo and especially North American culture...
Kudos 14y ago
> Of the many pieces of advice proffered, four of the most common are: [...] don't drink and drive (they take it seriously here!) That is absolutely not my impression of America. Americans I have met have a shockingly casual attitude to drink driving. I've also seen it been portrayed in a positive light on American TV (e.g. fictional protagonist regaling a tale). In Ireland drink driving is still fairly pervasive amongst my parent's generation and in rural areas. But with younger people drink driving is totally taboo thanks to strict laws and a lot of education. Our media would never broadcast anything that was positive of drink driving in any way.
- nfg 14y ago
  Irish also and absolutely agree, none of my peer group would even consider driving after drinking in Ireland, but in my experience it's much more common and accepted in the US - you can even see thi in action in US television / films.
  - Turing_Machine 14y ago
    "you can even see thi in action in US television / films." So Ireland is just like "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", then? :-) In virtually all U.S. states, driving while intoxicated will result in a stiff fine, the loss of driving privileges for a very long time, and quite likely some jail time to boot. This has changed dramatically over the last 20-30 years.
    - simonjw 14y ago
      I'm also Irish and I think the original comment is pretty valid - The point is you would never see a "normal" character in an irish/uk made production drink-driving, it is just a complete taboo. However, a massive amount of American produced shows have the protagonists driving home from the bar, and it is just accepted, which I always find quite jarring. If it was part of the character's image to be a law breaker/troubled/etc, that would be one thing, but "Sideways", the newest American Pie movie and "Dan in Real Life" spring to mind as 3 films I have seen lately which have examples of this casual drink driving. Clearly they aren't documentaries :-) but the American Pie movie in particular is pretty mainstream, so it was really surprising. I think it is reasonable to assume that the US attitude to drink-driving is quite a way behind Ireland. And on your point on Darby O'Gill - That was an American film depicting Ireland, which was obviously full of stereotypes. The films and tv shows we are talking about are an American view of America, which you would assume should be a little more accurate in terms of attitudes/culture...

168 points by synacksynack 14y ago

"food, which they praise for its quality and variety (and portion size) in a tone of near-disbelief" huh, really? Whenever I get back from traveling I feel the opposite. Sure in places like NY you can get any kind of food. But in my mono-cultural hometown there is little besides hamburgers or pizza.

rsl7 14y ago
And "Chinese".
simonsarris 14y ago
Yes, but visitors that buy guidebooks do not go to your mono-cultural hometown. They go to New York! Even in my (relatively) small-medium town in New Hampshire[1] there's an amazing variety of high quality restaurants. A lot of people abroad in their own similiar-sized towns don't get to ever try authentic Mexican, or Cajun, or American comfort, or sushi, or Greek, etc, all of which are available here. For most tourists, especially tourists from small towns going to NYC or Boston or SF, America is a cultural delight of food. [1] http://www.yelp.com/c/nashua-nh/restaurants http://www.yelp.com/c/nashua-nh/restaurants
- jtchang 14y ago
  Exactly. I like to think about all the cuisines I've had here in the bay area this week. Must be like 3 or 4 different cuisines from all countries. And they were all good.
- StavrosK 14y ago
  An aside: As a Greek, I tend to stay away from "Greek" restaurants abroad, because it's almost never Greek food. For example, people here generally eat lamb only once or twice a year, and I didn't know what hummus is until I had it in London (in one such "Greek" restaurant, no less). I think it's more about the stereotype that is expected of the restaurant rather than actually being authentic. For example, Greek gyros is almost always pork, never lamb. If you get lamb gyros, it's middle-eastern.
  - jeltz 14y ago
    Lamb gyros is usually called döner kebab (the turkish name for gyros) in Europe, while pork gyros usually is called gyros.
  - potatolicious 14y ago
    No cuisine survives importation to another country, really, but authenticity can be overrated. I remember growing in Taiwan and having "pizza" there - it doesn't really resemble the pizza you might find in Italy, nor the Americanized version. For one thing, pizza was high-class, eaten at a sit-down place with cloth napkins, forks, and knives... and toppings featured things like lobster and crab. The reverse is true too - there is no such thing as "chicken balls", that crazy east-coast invention that claims to be Chinese, nor General Tso's chicken either. In fact, mostly everything you find in an American Chinese restaurant would never be found at the dinner table in China. But if you think that's crazy, wait till you try Chinese-Indian food. Hoo boy. But that's the great thing about the new global society - we can remix, borrow, replace to our heart's content. I had Peking duck tacos a couple of weeks ago, it was delicious. And there's this food truck near here that has an amazing (Korean-style) roast pork Chinese bao that's garnished with Japanese pickled radishes with some Mexican flavor thrown in to boot. Sublime. Food is, in the future, extremely unlikely to stick to its geographic and ethnic roots, and what an amazing change that is.
    - cbr 14y ago
      > pizza was high-class, eaten at a sit-down place with cloth napkins, forks, and knives There are many nice restaurants in Italy that are just like this.
  - batista 14y ago
    >For example, people here generally eat lamb only once or twice a year Well, as a Greek, I beg to differ. We eat lamb more than "once a year" (you probably refer to easter, but forget the mighty paidakia). Plus, this cow meat we mostly eat now is a recent development. The traditional meat until 4-5 decades ago was lamb and goat (mostly because Greek domestic cows where too skinny and the grass unfit to support them. Post 1981 they were replaced with foreign cow breeds plus tons of imports). As for hummus: "Greek" restaurants abroad are often mixed Greek/Middle-Eastern, and some are run by Lebanese and use the "Greek" just to attract some additional customers. A funny aside: the traditional american "diner" (the chrome plated, hamburger joint etc) was more often than not, a Greek business. Greeks pwned the diner business in the US in the '40 to '80s. If you check a series like "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives", a disproportionate percentage of iconic food joints are still in Greek hands, including the majority of NY hot dog stands. I have travelled extensively in the US (only missed Vermont), and I chanced upon several, such as: • Lou Mitchels, the Chicago diner at the start point of Route 66. • Nick's, in Albq., NM at the crossing of Route 66 (old route) and Route 66 (later bypass) (!), • Leopold's, considered the best ice cream in Savannah, GA (and featured in top-10 US lists)• Ariston, on Route 66, IL, suggested by every guide, • Mike's Chilly Parlor, in Seattle, etc. nom nom nom nom...
adrianhoward 14y ago
It also depends on what food you're used to. I'm from the UK and did the whole cross-country US road trip thang when I was in my twenties. I remember it was the little odd differences in supermarkets and restaurants that freaked me out. For example - at the time (early nineties) almost no Indian food anywhere. In the UK even small villages often have an Indian take out. On the flip side - in the US you have texmex everywhere. It's still fairly rare over here (and of a.... erm.... different level of quality :-) Bread was another one. At even small rural shops you had soughdough, rye, bagels, etc. In the UK you get white bread and brown bread ;-) And the portion sizes... wow... so different. I remember going out with a family chatting away snacking away and suddenly realising that I was now "full" on the "free stuff you eat before your meal"...
- wazoox 14y ago
  > And the portion sizes... wow... Yes, Umberto Eco wrote an interesting article on the cultural significance of "more" to Americans. This is quite obvious in restaurant portion sizes among other.
  - bdunn 14y ago
    I love Eco's fiction but am now just getting into reading his essays. Which is the one you're referencing?
    - wazoox 14y ago
      I'll have to dig the book out to find. It must me in one of the article compilations such as "How to travel with a salmon" or "Travels in Hyperreality".
- tjic 14y ago
  > In the UK even small villages often have an Indian take out. Amazing how a minor thing like running India as a colony for 400+ years can have that effect! Similarly, I imagine that Tex-Mex is a bit more common here than in Wales...
potatolicious 14y ago
Not only large cities - but rural areas too. The reputation for shitty food really happens in the vast stretches of suburbia that straddle the awkward territory between city and country. The US has, overall, amazing food. In large cities there is not only immense diversity (after all, the US is more diverse than most Western nations), but also a culture of experimentation at all price ranges. It's possible to eat amazingly in most major cities for anywhere between $5 and $500. In the country and small towns there is a tremendous variation across the nation. The food of the Northwest vs. the food of the Southwest vs. the food of the South vs. the Northeast. It's only when you get into strip-mall-landia where things start appearing incredibly boring and monocultural, and just plain not good.
- tjic 14y ago
  > It's only when you get into strip-mall-landia where things start appearing incredibly boring and monocultural A famous economist / foodie has written an entire book about how you've got it EXACTLY backwards: http://www.amazon.com/An-Economist-Gets-Lunch-Everyday/dp/0525952667 http://www.amazon.com/An-Economist-Gets-Lunch-Everyday/dp/05... The best food, he asserts, is in strip malls. You just have to know a few tricks to find it. Great book. Go read it.
  - tptacek 14y ago
    No, Cowen says the best ethnic food is in strip malls, and they're in strip malls ringing large cities. It by no means follows that the best food overall resides in strip malls. The comparison is to other ethnic restaurants, particularly Asian, and not to restaurants in general. And of course, Cowen includes a section on exactly how hard it is, and how creative he had to be, to get decent Chinese food in rural Virginia. It is obviously not true that the best food overall can be found in exurban and rural strip malls.
  - batista 14y ago
    I've eaten in 48 states, including tons of malls. If that is what the book is saying, it is bullshit. Not to mention that in most malls you only find the same generic franchised BS.
dsrguru 14y ago
In addition to the wide variety of foreign cuisine available in many parts of the U.S., there are many different "native" cuisines in different regions of the country. I'm inevitably going to leave out a lot, especially from the places I haven't been to, but here are some exampes. New York has got its pizza (both the Neapolitan and Sicilian styles, neither of which is very similar to the pizza found in Naples or Siciliy), bagels, half sour pickles, and certain cold cuts. Chicago has Italian beef and deep dish pizza. Wisconsin has its cheeses and bratwurst ("brats"). Philadelphia has cheese steak and hot pretzels like no others. Lousisiana has the Creole and Cajun cuisines. There's Tex-Mex and other southwestern cuisine. Lots of places along the east coast have their own very distinct variety of clam chowder, etc. I never realized how much I would miss food from various American cuisines until I lived in China for five months.

refurb 14y ago

This article reminds me of when I landed a job in the US (at the time I was living in Canada). As a part of the relocation package I was sent a book "Culture Shock: USA". Quite an entertaining read. The most memorable quote was "In the US, it is usually typical for a husband to accompany his wife to the hospital when she gives birth".

joshAg 14y ago
I take it that's not the case in Canada?
- a-priori 14y ago
  It is normal here in Canada for a husband to accompany his wife to the hospital, and has been at least since I was born in the 80s. I think refurb's point is that it's strange to include that in something you give a Canadian moving to the US.
  - nandemo 14y ago
    Well, in that case refurb's comment is as confusing as the statement in the guide book...
  - refurb 14y ago
    That was my point exactly. Canada and the US share 90%+ of their culture, so it was interesting for two reasons: 1. Why send that kind of a book to a Canadian? 2. It's interesting to read what other cultures might find shocking about US culture.
    - dalke 14y ago
      I'm going to guess that was part of their standard "foreigner moving to the US" package? One of the parts of that book I remember is that you do not talk to other people while at the urinal.
    - Cyranix 14y ago

derleth 14y ago

"Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air."

ktizo 14y ago
And if you must put on sunglasses you found on the street, do not stare at the skull headed people, point at the signs saying 'breed', or shut down the big weird radio transmitter thingy.
- noonespecial 14y ago
  I suspect you know what to do when you run out of bubblegum then?
doktrin 14y ago
In case anyone missed it, this is a reference to the oft-brilliant Tom Lehrer : "Pollution" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mvYec6AnCU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mvYec6AnCU
jerf 14y ago
If you're talking about water just lying around, maybe so, but US water standards are if anything ridiculously stringent compared to much of the rest of the world [1]. Read that page carefully, and observe that while the US standards may appear at times to permit things somewhat higher than other standards, the US (along with Europe) strongly enforce them, so it's not that comparable. As for the air, it is generally clean in the US. Sort this chart by "above or below world average": [2] Also note the line about the US being very well sampled, so if there's an error it's not there. It isn't 1965 anymore. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_water_quality_standards#Comparison_of_parametric_values http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_water_quality_standard... [2]: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/datablog/2011/sep/26/global-air-pollution-who http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/datablog/2011/sep/26/g...
- Camillo 14y ago
  Well, it depends on where you're from. Your link shows that US water standards are lax compared to European standards. But more than water, I'd be concerned about the amount of hormones and antibiotics in meat.

ericb 14y ago

No mention of our odd restaurant tipping practices? I thought they are unusual compared to the rest of the world...

AYBABTME 14y ago
What are those odd tipping practices? I'm from Canada (Ontario/Quebec), and the standard is to leave 15% of the bill as tip. Less is considered being extremely rude. In other countries, the tip is included in the bill. In other countries, tipping is rare and made in very specific circumstances.
- xelfer 14y ago
  As an Australian any kind of expected tip is odd.
  - AYBABTME 14y ago
    The justification for this 15% is that government assumes that customers give tip to waitress/er, and thus take taxes off the waitress/er pay-check according to this 15% supposition. So basically, when you don't pay the 15% tip, the waitress/er is paying extra taxes because of you. Unless the service is bad, the normal would thus be to pay the 15% tip, unless its a tip-less kind of job. Some jobs are identified by governments as being tip-supported. Thus, the minimal wage for these jobs is lower than the normal minimum-wage, assumed that the real revenue comes from tip (which is actually true). To get their taxes share, they use the waitress/er sales to compute how much is due in taxes. Basically, governments have destroyed the whole purpose of tipping, which is to recognize good service. However, they make it cheaper for restaurant owner to hire new employees (the minimum wages is lower).
    - Natsu 14y ago
      Not quite. Servers report tip amounts to their employer and that information goes to their W-2. Because they get tips, servers can be paid less than minimum wage. But even so, if their tips and wages combined aren't enough to get them up to minimum wage, the employer must pay them the difference.

bufordtwain 14y ago

Before coming to the USA for the first time I read the following in a guide: "Americans often communicate via inflected grunts and groans, such as "uh-huh" for yes and "uh-uh" for no.

ericras 14y ago
As an American who does this in pretty much every conversation I have, this is a difference I would never have thought of. Semi-related: Do other countries have fragments of speech used as filler such as "like" and "you know"?
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- pranjalv123 14y ago
  Yes! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_%28linguistics%29#Filler_words_in_different_languages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_%28linguistics%29#Filler...
- Hemospectrum 14y ago
  Absolutely. In Japanese, for example, you'll sometimes hear conversations littered with なんか (nanka) and かしら (kashira).
  - christiangenco 14y ago
    Do the Japanese really say "desu"?
    - Hemospectrum 14y ago
      Yes. For example, if you wanted to tell a stranger "that person is a police officer," the most natural translation is probably "ano hito wa keikan desu." In other contexts, you might replace "desu" with the informal "da" or the ultra-polite "de gozaimasu" (or "de gozaru" if you're a samurai). In practice you wouldn't say it too often. Other grammatical structures (like "-te iru") are more appropriate counterparts to maybe 75% of English sentences involving "to be." It is nonetheless grammatically possible to contrive every sentence to end in "desu." This is an unusual habit, though. It's a little like beginning every utterance in English with "it seems" or "Simon says."

guruparan18 14y ago

The article mentions fact.check.org, however, it looks like the correct site is factcheck.org.

martythemaniak 14y ago
Article also fails to mention that using something like factcheck.org will typically get you branded a liberal.
- nextstep 14y ago
  Reality has a well-known liberal bias.
  - javajones 14y ago
    Well according to TV viewing habits conservatives tip the scales for reality. http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/related_news/2011_Dec_07_republican-democrat-likes-dislikes http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/related_new...
- gnaritas 14y ago
  Liberal isn't a dirty word, it's not something you're branded with.
  - HazzyPls 14y ago
    It is in some circles.
    - gnaritas 14y ago
      Not intelligent ones.
  - eropple 14y ago
    In a large (but shrinking, year by year) part of the country, it most definitely is. Those aren't places most people want to go, though.

jakejake 14y ago

It's interesting to read about things that are just ingrained from birth and you don't really think about them. When you see them written down they sound kinda bizarre!

pajju 14y ago

Interesting read. Are there any good wikis or Internet Communities - guiding Visitors to learn new cultures, behaviors, ethics in different places? It's nice to see a comparison chart on - cost of living, labor costs, a basic meal, hotel rooms(Comparison charts should be - City vs Another-city and Country Level comparisons) And I would definitely pay $$ for such a service.

PidGin128 14y ago
Wiki-Travel? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikitravel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikitravel

adrianhoward 14y ago

One thing I remember from a long road trip I took in the nineties across the US was, on multiple occasions, being told that I was "brave" or "courageous" when it came up in conversation that I was an atheist (okay - technical agnostic, working atheist if you want to be picky :-) Everybody was nice. Nobody was mean about it (I got a lot of hassle over being a vegetarian though) but it was felt odd for two reasons. First that it came up. I'm from the UK and we just don't get onto the topic of religion that much. Especially with complete strangers from other countries that you've just met. Second the "brave" thing obviously... I've occasionally found some of the more extreme ends of the religious community over here annoying... but never anywhere close to the extent that I would feel stating my (non)religious views would be any kind of brave or courageous thing... An odd difference.

arethuza 14y ago
Actually, I suspect there is a chance that those people were concerned for your immortal soul and therefore regarded your position in the face of impending endless torment as "brave". But I'm also an atheist and British... and despite growing up in an oppresively religious community I don't really understand these things.
- adrianhoward 14y ago
  Nah. It was definitely just being open about being non-religious. The reaction came from the religious and the non-religious. It also wasn't a north/south thing (I know you didn't mention that - but it's something that's come up when I've commented on this before).
- glhaynes 14y ago
  That sort of usage of "brave" (to compliment while sending mild sarcasm/bemusement/disapproval) sounds distinctly British to me. :)
Cieplak 14y ago
This reminds me of the episode of top gear where they paint offensive remarks on each others cars and drive across the southern US.

_pferreir_ 14y ago

I don't mean to generalize, but this is my own experience. Sincerely, I don't know how the US manages to be the second most touristic country in the world. Travelling to the US can be a nightmare - customs, TSA, metal detectors, body scanners, etc. As a tourist, I've never felt as unwelcomed as when travelling there. Maybe it's just a cultural thing, but I seriously got the feeling that people who work at airports, subway, or any other place that is by definition essential to tourists are unable to communicate without shouting. The fact that in spite of working at such a place most of them don't even speak a second language may contribute to that - it's like people will understand better what you say if you just say it louder. Not to mention that you are expected to know exactly how everything works, from the local language (which sometimes becomes Spanish) to how much you have to tip, otherwise people will look at you with that "oh, you must be new here" look. Strangely enough, the common american that you find in the street tends to be relaxed, friendly and always willing to help. People will sometimes start talking to you in a pretty natural and informal way (this wouldn't happen in Europe). So, tl;dr: services suck but once you are through the trial of idiocy that is getting into the country, you'll most likely have a good time.

StavrosK 14y ago
This echoes my own experience too, down to the letter. Screw air travel in the US, but people are very friendly, at least in cities I've been. Hell, the TSA even gave me a free massage!
colkassad 14y ago
I moved to eastern Europe for a while and was struck by how cold and aloof people were to each other in day to day life. It took me some time to adjust; I had to tone down how I spoke with people I didn't know. No compliments or talking about the weather or coming weekend. This was easier as I started learning the language as I was naturally more self-conscious and reserved. Paradoxically (or not?) I started to make friends much faster once I started becoming more aloof myself. I have to say, it was a bit of relief not having to worry about small talk on the elevator. I also noticed that I valued my friendships much more. On that note, the personal space thing is spot on. When speaking to friends and colleagues, they enjoyed getting a foot or so away from my face...when drinking this distance would dramatically decrease.

kazuya 14y ago

Surprisingly, most of the descriptions apply also to Japan. Except you need to replace forks with chopsticks, cowboys with ninjas.

drucken 14y ago
It's funny you should mention Japan. If you have ever actually visited it, I cannot think of any large culture that could be more different from Anglo and especially North American culture...

Kudos 14y ago

> Of the many pieces of advice proffered, four of the most common are: [...] don't drink and drive (they take it seriously here!) That is absolutely not my impression of America. Americans I have met have a shockingly casual attitude to drink driving. I've also seen it been portrayed in a positive light on American TV (e.g. fictional protagonist regaling a tale). In Ireland drink driving is still fairly pervasive amongst my parent's generation and in rural areas. But with younger people drink driving is totally taboo thanks to strict laws and a lot of education. Our media would never broadcast anything that was positive of drink driving in any way.

nfg 14y ago
Irish also and absolutely agree, none of my peer group would even consider driving after drinking in Ireland, but in my experience it's much more common and accepted in the US - you can even see thi in action in US television / films.
- Turing_Machine 14y ago
  "you can even see thi in action in US television / films." So Ireland is just like "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", then? :-) In virtually all U.S. states, driving while intoxicated will result in a stiff fine, the loss of driving privileges for a very long time, and quite likely some jail time to boot. This has changed dramatically over the last 20-30 years.
  - simonjw 14y ago
    I'm also Irish and I think the original comment is pretty valid - The point is you would never see a "normal" character in an irish/uk made production drink-driving, it is just a complete taboo. However, a massive amount of American produced shows have the protagonists driving home from the bar, and it is just accepted, which I always find quite jarring. If it was part of the character's image to be a law breaker/troubled/etc, that would be one thing, but "Sideways", the newest American Pie movie and "Dan in Real Life" spring to mind as 3 films I have seen lately which have examples of this casual drink driving. Clearly they aren't documentaries :-) but the American Pie movie in particular is pretty mainstream, so it was really surprising. I think it is reasonable to assume that the US attitude to drink-driving is quite a way behind Ireland. And on your point on Darby O'Gill - That was an American film depicting Ireland, which was obviously full of stereotypes. The films and tv shows we are talking about are an American view of America, which you would assume should be a little more accurate in terms of attitudes/culture...