No American food!

[protege]

Oh, this one is great...

Some of you know that my grandmother lives in an assisted-living residence. Even though she has her own apartment, there's always someone nearby if she needs something. That's not so say that family doesn't see her for various meals--usually one of us is there for lunch or dinner each night so she has some familiar company...

I usually go over there for dinner on Sunday, which is usually in the dining hall. Even so it's like a cafeteria, the food is usually awesome. Anyway, as we're eating one night, the place is slowly filling up with people. There is, however, an older lady (and I'm using that term nicely!), who is just a bitch. Most times, she's just a nasty old bitch, but that night took the cake.

Not even 5 minutes after hearing what was on the menu...she started going on about how there weren't any "American" food choices. (Don't even get me started about how stupid that sounds...nearly *all* of our cuisine came from somewhere else...but I digress) She was upset about how there was kielbasa and sauerkraut on the menu, and that we shouldn't be eating "that damn Nazi food." , especially since kielbasa is a *Polish* item!

[donruss]

I know we do not advocate violence but seriously someone needs to roll up a world map and smack her with it to give her a geography lesson.

[edible_hat]

Polish saurkraut is far superior to the German version.

[protege]

My family never really got into 'ethnic' foods. Dad's side is Norwegian, my mother's is German...yet I don't recall any of those dishes ever being prepared. A shame, really

[XCashier]

Not even 5 minutes after hearing what was on the menu...she started going on about how there weren't any "American" food choices. (Don't even get me started about how stupid that sounds...nearly *all* of our cuisine came from somewhere else...but I digress)

Well, I suppose you could offer her some pemmican, succotash and fry bread...

[Toujin]

I love ethnic foods, bought some taquitos and pierogis today. Actually, I'm not sure if taquitos count as ethnic foods, but...

[marasbaras]

Taquitos are industrial food, not ethnic. However, if served with a nice Cheddar cheese sauce and some sour cream, who cares.

There's very little food that's truly American. And, just about all of it can be traced back to the slaves. They were given the very worst of the food available and expected to make do. They did better ... slave cuisine marks the origins of soul food and American-style BBQ (barbecue, not grilling). (drool)

[tropicsgoddess]

Not even 5 minutes after hearing what was on the menu...she started going on about how there weren't any "American" food choices. (Don't even get me started about how stupid that sounds...nearly *all* of our cuisine came from somewhere else...but I digress)

This might be a little OT, but this reminded me of a certain embarrassing situation: This was back in the summer of 2003, this was a little before Mr. tropicsgod and I started dating and when I was still living with my folks. (a note: my family and I are from the northern region of South America). Mr. TG met my mom and dad I made some spaghetti for us and fish for my parents. While we're eating, my father goes on about how American food is bland,etc. in front of Mr.TG who is American (born and raised) while my mom and I are sitting there thinking "OMG he did NOT just say that".

[digilight]

Hmmm American food, would that be twinkies, pringles, and pepsi one. with maybe some BBQ. Don't get me wrong I love me some steak and potatoes. But damn you all, now I want some Sausage and Kraut. and maybe some Spatzle (did I speal it right?) cause that shits hella good. And yeah I know polish on the first 2 and german on the second one.

[DesignFox]

My Dad's 100% Lithuanian. He makes hand stuffed kielbasa from his own recipe. Back when my Mom was still alive, he used to spend an entire day making kielbasa and potato pancakes. Then, we'd have a huge party with everyone over the house for food. His is the only kielbasa I'll eat. I don't care for sausage as a general rule, and most of what the supermarket sells as kielbasa isn't- it's just an oversized hotdog (at least, that's what it tastes like to me...) mmm I miss those days...

I'd want to smack that lady in the foodcourt. What's really "American," anyway?

[Spiffy McMoron]

Heh--remembering back to when my grandma was in the nursing home, 3/4 of the residents were born in Europe anyways, and came over when they were 4 or 5 with their parents.

And is I remember right, most of them didn't care what the food was, as long as it tasted good. (I never ate there, but Dad ate there with Grandma a couple of times. It sounds somewhat similar to where Protege was--it wasn't a resturant per se, but visitors were welcome to come and eat there for a nominal fee. Five bucks, I think.)

[Stormraven]

Offer her some Chocolatl, tortillas and the like. Basically anything made by the Amerindians or the Meso-American empires should suffice for 'American food'.

[chops]

I don't care for sausage as a general rule, and most of what the supermarket sells as kielbasa isn't- it's just an oversized hotdog (at least, that's what it tastes like to me...)

Agreed. I remember hearing from my dad's late Hungarian friend that real kielbasa is made with one type of meat only: pork. While I don't mind what Hillshire Farm et al. pass off as kielbasa, there's nothing like the fresh stuff that they put with the rest of the sausage in the meat case. Unfortunately, the only time we tend to see that is during Easter, unless the town has a significant Polish population. For the record, I'm of Polish descent myself.

It's also rare to see prepackaged kielbasa that doesn't contain beef, chicken, or turkey. I did find a semi-local store that makes their prepackaged house brand with pork only. XD

[Peppergirl]

Hmm...you guys are making me hungry.

I don't remember the food at my grandpa's nursing home. He was much too busy working on picking up one of the ladies there and making her wife #8 to be bothered with eating dinner with his family.

[Gurndigarn]

Hamburgers! Lotsa argument about where and when they were developed, but the arguees are all in the USofA.