UNCLE Sam has his menu all over town. For us here, at least we need not step inside a restaurant that bears the “US label” on it just to taste American food. The west has greatly influenced our dishes, so that it’s just right under our noses more than we know it.
As we celebrate Filipino-American Friendship Day, the food page gives tribute to what the United States of America has placed on our plates.
Hamburgers. You don’t need to go far. Chances are, burger stalls are set up in almost every part of the town. These sandwiches are such a hit; even two burgers are sold in the streets for the price of one. Yes, you can probably say that they’re “selling like pancakes.”
Although technically, “vice versa” would also be applicable here as a fast food chain once sold pancakes like burgers before—with the sausage patty between two pancakes! But anyway, let’s go on to the next item.
Hotdogs. Here’s one of America’s favorite foods. They all come in different shapes, sizes and varieties. In fact, according to whatscookingamerica.net, “hotdog (sandwiches) are among America’s favorite foods. Every year, Americans consume on average 60 hotdogs.”
In the west, generally nobody eats hotdogs with rice. But here, in a country where even rice can be made into cakes and sun-dried desserts, it usually common to see hotdogs served for breakfast—with garlic rice and fried eggs.
Southern fried chicken. A little history lesson: It is said that Americans learned the trick of frying their chicken from the Scots who migrated to south of the United States around the 18th and 19th century. The Scots preferred to fry their chicken in fat, rather than boil or bake their chicken the way the English did it.
By definition, these are simply floured or battered chicken cuts that are then fried. You may add your desired seasoning in the chicken, or salt and pepper to taste. One trademark for great fried chicken is the crispy, tasty skin.
Fresh and hot out of the deep fryer, these treats are also common in family meals and celebrations. We find this dish in almost every occasion the average Filipino family celebrates. Fried chicken will most likely be in any restaurant’s menu. Well, except maybe Japanese.
Sundaes. Now let’s end this story with dessert. Rich ice cream dressed with toppings like nuts, berries, brownies, and then doused with rich chocolate syrup—just one of the many ways to serve this mouth-watering sweet treat.
According to a popular claim in American history, selling ice cream soda was once prohibited. The city of Evanston, Illinois, was one of the first cities to pass the anti-soda water legislation in 1890. To continue sales, storeowners had a plan.
Instead of serving ice cream with soda, they simply substituted it with syrup and sold it every Sunday and, voila! The “sundae” was created. The change in spelling was due to objections then on naming a dish after the Sabbath.
So there you have it. Here are just some of the numerous gastronomic treats the average “Joe” and “Juan” can share without—most probably—conflict of preference.