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USA - "Biscuits & Gravy"- A Dubious Dish

July 2009

America was an amazing place to visit - particularly for a food lover. You can indulge in virtually ANY culture's food on the planet or investigate American Traditional cuisine. I was quite intriged with what they call "Biscuits & Gravy".
My American friend ordered them for breakfast one day & tried to convince me that I should try them too (so I did). I must say, when the plate arrived I was disappointed - to say the least. The so called biscuits are actually Scones - or a Scone looking cake type of thingy & the gravy ....well, let's just say, I have never seen a paler more insipid looking gravy in all my born days! My companion laughed when I said(in a VERY Aussie Ocker accent): "Mate, these aren't biscuits! A bikkie in our lingo is a cookie. We call these things Scones." He thought that was hysteical!
Ah well, it was a dubious breakfast that I'll chalk up to experience.
I have to admit though, that the VERY BEST steak I have EVER eaten was in the USA. Same goes for their Hot Dogs - just wonderful!!!!

USA -

July 2009

Hi Wendy, I had to laugh at your post! I too had some great and not so great food experiences in the States. Were you down South when you had the biscuits and gravy? I've been interested in American cooking for years and was quite aware that biscuits were really scones but when I ate my first biscuits and gravy at a Popeye's restaurant (of all places!) I was surprised at the lack of flavour in the gravy - but the biscuits were GOOD!The gravies down South are usually milk based which is why they look and taste like that. Tell you what though - the worst breakfast EVER!! was at Huddle House where they served me a bowl of grits that had 1/2 cup of melted butter swimming ontop.... Even after I tipped the butter off it tasted weird so I poured some maple syrup into the grits in the hopes it would improve the taste but it made it worse. Put that one in the tried and failed category : )

USA -

July 2009

Yes, I was in Tampa - Florida for a few weeks. Oh & you are right about Grits swimming in butter - bleh!
Mind you, Americans can't understand our facination with Vegemite on toast for breakfast, so the score kind of evens out, I suppose.

USA -

June 2011

America has some pretty questionable dishes and if you go to a local amusement park the fare can be downright scary (deepfried twinkies), but there are some top-notch Mexican restaurants to be found too. If you ever make it to San Francisco, sign up for a san francisco tours walk and check out the Italian food in Little Italy. Great fun.

USA -

June 2011

I disagree about US beef, it's all grain fed and tasteless but they really do know how to cook it properly. on my fifty or more visits to the US I only ever had a decent piece of beef once and that was in Hawaii at a Japanese restaurant. I think our beef, is vastly superior but I'm lucky enough to have access to a fabulous wholesale butcher, who frequently offers Wagyu marble score 7 rump at less than $20 a kilo and MS 6 Porterhouse at less than $30, the same thing in the US would cost 5 times as much, if it were even available.
Breakfast is quite odd, as you point out, many menu items are what we would consider to be dessert, waffles for example but it's funny how you develop a liking for waffles with crispy bacon and maple syrup! One diner in San Francisco (only a couple of minutes walk from the Hilton), did the best Corn Beef Hash too, something we never see on menus in Oz and it's a great breakfast but probably not if you're on a diet!