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American Food Quotes

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"A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually waste away, and eventually die."
'A Tramp Abroad', Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) (1835-1910)

“....the egg creams of Avenue A in New York and the root beer float....are among the high points of American gastronomic inventiveness.”
Mark Kurlansky, 'Choice Cuts' (2002)

"Another peculiarity of this country is the absence of napkins, even in the homes of the wealthy. Napkins, as a rule, are never used and one has to wipe one's mouth on the tablecloth, which in consequence suffers in appearance."
Baron Louis de Closen
(on American eating habits) (1780)

“Foreigners cannot enjoy our food, I suppose, any more than we can enjoy theirs. It is not strange; for tastes are made, not born. I might glorify my bill of fare until I was tired; but after all, the Scotchman would shake his head and say, 'Where's your haggis?' and the Fijan would sigh and say, 'Where's your missionary?'”
Roughing It, Mark Twain (1835-1910)

"Americans can eat garbage, provided you sprinkle it liberally with ketchup, mustard, chili sauce, Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper, or any other condiment which destroys the original flavor of the dish."
Henry Miller, American writer (1891-1980)

"You can travel fifty thousand miles in America without once tasting a piece of good bread."
Henry Miller, American writer (1891-1980)

"I would rather live in Russia on black bread and vodka than in the United States at the best hotels. America knows nothing of food, love or art."
Isadora Duncan, America dancer (1878-1927)

“America knows nothing of food, love, or art.”
Isadora Duncan, America dancer (1878-1927)

"The Americans are the grossest feeders of any civilized nation known. As a nation, their food is heavy, coarse, and indigestible, while it is taken in the least artificial forms that cookery will allow. The predominance of grease in the American kitchen, coupled with the habits of hearty eating, and the constant expectoration, are the causes of the diseases of the stomach which are so common in America."

James Fenimore Cooper American novelist
[The Last of the Mohicans, etc.] (1789-1851)

"If you're going to America, bring your own food."
Fran Lebowitz, journalist

"Public and private food in America has become eatable, here and there extremely good. Only the fried potatoes go unchanged, as deadly as before."
Luigi Barzini, 'O America' (1977)


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