Unless you stumble into a raw food restaurant in LA you’re unlikely to go hungry in America. Portions are massive and you’re never far from a fast-food joint. If you’re going to indulge, do it on the local specialities. Maybe make your own documentary while you’re at it.
Food
Meat
Vegetarians are alien in Texas where steak houses are 10 to the dozen, no one needs an excuse to fire up the barbie and mountain oysters (calf testicles) are a delicacy.
Pancakes
Have them for breakfast, with bacon and maple syrup.
Cajun
In Louisiana the mixture of French, African and American cultures has simmered into a hearty, distinctive cuisine with gumbo and jambalaya the signature dishes.
Tex-Mex
Think Mexican with more melted cheese.
Seafood
The north-east coast is a haven for shellfish fans, try lobster, clam chowder, oysters and crabs.
Snacks
In a city that never sleeps it goes without saying that New Yorkers relish their snacks. Try hotdogs with fried onions, pillow-sized pretzels and bagels smothered in cream cheese.
Dessert
Where to start? Apple pie, fruit cobbler, New York cheesecake, Mississippi mud pie, Key lime pie, Ben&Jerrys ice cream. That’s where.
Candy
America is a giant sweet shop so be a big kid and try peanut butter M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, Oreos and Hershey’s Kisses.
Drink
Coffee
In New York pronounce it coiffee. In LA order it with 50 adjectives.
Cocktails
Sip a Cosmo a la Carrie or slurp a White Russia like the Dude. The list of cocktails invented in the US is as long as the Prohibition probably felt.
Whiskey
Jack Daniels in Tennessee. Bourbon in Kentucky.
Wine
The amount of wine produced in California alone is double that made in Australia.
Coca-cola
See how many teaspoons of sugar are really in a can at Atlanta’s World of Coca-cola.
Milkshake
Best drunk in a diner, sitting on a tall stool at a chrome bar. In 1950.