I love BBQ, but Phil Edwards recently made a whole really good video covering BBQ across America. I wanted to keep this video brief and BBQ has so much variety depending where you are, it really needs its own video instead.
@@offthemenuytindeed, BBQ is a wide ranging spectrum of styles and main meat types. To gloss over it in general would be a huge disservice to it's depth and complexity. 😅
Honestly I don't mind being looked down on there because yeah I've traveled and the food from here is pretty bland in general, but it would have been more interesting and fun to learn *why* it is the way it is. Looking into the attitudes and culture of post-war america that lead to food being seen as more of a logistical thing than a culinary thing.
Let them slander the Midwest, do you really want stuffy california types who watch these videos to swarm the good states left like they've done with Texas?
Midwest has the best food ever. The produce...especially tomatoes are the best in the world ! Here in Washington State our tomatoes suck big time...mostly imported from Mexico or Claifornia. Illinois grown tomatoes are the best. Green beans and corn is so much better than in the West. And, the chicken fried pork sandwhiches in the midwest are incredible...can't find that here in Washington State.
"A lot of people associate Tex-Mex as a bad American copy of Mexican food -- but that's Taco Bell" 🤣 Looks like my precious Chipotle was spared this time...
Bruh its like 20$ for a chipotle burrito which is still good for fast food but overall still a crap burrito lol And as someone who grew up on texmex we dont claim taco bell lol Edit: tacobell was founded in california
As a Midwesterner, I think that Midwestern cuisine is really underrated. It's not all fast food. The Midwest gave birth to Cincinnati Chili, Coney Island Hot Dogs (Detroit), Upper Peninsula Pasties, Wisconsin Fish Boils and many, many recipes that you will not find in restaurants let alone fast food places but were handed down from immigrant ancestors. Sometimes these make it into cookbooks but many were not. I think the Midwest is overdue to take its place on the culinary stage.
I think it’s weird that he lumped Pennsylvania into the Midwest. Pennsylvania being home to many hearty Amish meals and 2 major sandwich cities. Pittsburgh being the damn home of the Big Mac for christs sake
On god, this guy just glossed over Chicago which is where I’m from, which is home to some of the best Italian and Polish food in the world IMO. Made me salty bc the Midwest has great potential for dishes.
@@jaxodog01i lived in chicago for a brief period and he just skipped over illinois, deep dish pizza is a guilty pleasure not to mention everything else in that city
The Ice cream float was also invented in Detroit and personally I love a Boston cooler but that is a bit to regional for anyone not in Michigan to have tried. Pasties are for sure a thing but were brought over by Cornish miners. Clearly he has never been to Detroit since nothing has been mentioned of the whole Coney islands which are heavily influenced by Greek and Lebanese food since that's who owns them. For Chicago the Italian hot beef sandwich is pretty great.
Great video, but I kinda feel like you did the Midwest a little dirty (Midwestern "food"?). A lot of midwestern cities have great culinary stories that go beyond toasted ravioli, not to mention the immigrant populations that have made significant contributions. In my own area, we enjoy a lot of great Eastern European-inspired cuisine, such a pierogi, paczki, and paprikash. I would have appreciated this more if that could have been acknowledged more, rather than focusing on bad stereotypes.
@@uniquekeanuthe man's from New York. That explains his sad ignorance of midwestern pizza and so much else about the food. beyond the midwest, dude doesn't even touch on the varieties of barbecue - from the Carolinas to Kansas City.
A lot of people outside the Midwest are unaware of just how many Swedish (Nordic) immigrants settled in the area. There is a LOT of Swedish cuisine influence around Lindsborg, Kansas.
I was really disappointed that for an otherwise great video on the diversity and excellence of American cuisine, the "Midwest has bad food" was still perpetuated. There are so many unique and delicious dishes and foods you can only get in the Midwest and there is a very strong German/Scandinavian/Irish influence across much of the region in regards to food, as well as more recent Mexican, Hmong, Somali, and various other more recent immigrant cuisines coming in and influencing the food. In some fairness, a lot of the best parts of Midwestern cuisine is very seasonal, very local, and/or primarily homemade but it's still disappointing to see. Bratwursts, pasties, kugels, strawberry rhubarb pie, puppy chow, fish boil, fish fry, burnt ends, frozen custard, sauerkraut-based dishes, casserole (I'm sorry, but on a cold winter night, a properly seasoned and well constructed casserole with ingredients that meld together beautifully is perfect, I don't care that it is seen as low class), funeral potatoes, bannock, champ, soda bread, perch, walleye, cranberries, cherries, pickles, kohlrabi, piroshiki, sausages, local award winning cheeses (Wisconsin is one of the only US states who even has a chance of standing with the big boys across the pond in cheesemaking), artisanal wines and beers, pickled foods, venison, kuchen..... A lot of Midwest cuisine is pretty seasonal. You'll get more casseroles and preserved food during the winter and more fresh and grilled food during the summer. Midwest cuisine has its silly weird options, especially for those who didn't grow up with them, but there's real food here and really good food and it is only getting better the more it diversifies.
Don’t forget bluegill, one of the tastiest fish when caught fresh and pan fried in butter with a little lemon squeezed on it. Pike is nasty though - too bony. And I like Cincinnati chili. Other good dishes that are mainly made at home are Chili Mac and Sloppy Joes. Let’s not forget fresh Midwest corn on the cob and beefsteak tomatoes in the summer. Food for the gods!
The only real thing I want to say with regards to "Midwest food" is that the Midwest is a massive region and I wouldn't really say suggesting say, food from Michigan is especially similar to food from Nebraska compared to other parts of the country. That, and "midwestern food" absolutely has crossover in parts of the Northeast, it's not like it just disappears in New York or Pennsylvania.
the problem is thats true of everywhere. literally every part of the US has enclaves of immigant cultures that have unique foods of traditional origin mixed with modern day influences. I think the point of this video was to talk about the more traditionally american foods, such as those of natives or the first colonizers
Corn is one of the most American foods, the problem is fresh corn becomes sub-par really fast so the world knows us for caned corn... something we never really use. If you want America outside of the state get dried corn, or cornmeal and look up recipes from Texas. There is definitely also Cajun in that influence, and yes it is a strange mix of Native and old-world French food and it is the origin of our obsession with peppers even more so than Tex-Mex. It is what we exported to replace well pepper, as in black pepper. America was largely founded for spices and peppers are one of those.
@@liberalbias4462It definitely does when the style of cooking with corn is literally Mexican style and not something an anglo saxon American from the east coast would recognize. Like Elote, nixtamalized corn, corn dough for tamales, etc.
The Midwest definitely gets a bad wrap. It’s home to a lot of good food, some of the best cheeses you’ll ever taste are made in Wisconsin. I think the issue is there is a lot of good and bad in the Midwest and people just seem to only see the bad.
One thing not mentioned about the West Coast is that Uramaki(inside out) sushi rolls like california, spicy tuna, spider, etc was popularized in America & Canada there in multiple cities from LA to Vancouver/Victoria BC. Or that Chicken Teriyaki is a staple of Seattle fast food and takeaway culture, which while started by Toshi Kasahara with Toshi's Teriyaki also had influence from Korean Americans who opened up strip mall teriyaki joints all around the Seattle area.
@@nononope75 I figured it was from Central European ancestors who moved from the Midwest to the Northwest. But I was wrong the central figure a hundred years ago was a fellow from Canada named McIntosh. Irish cheddar is wonderful.
Lovely video! One precision...I would have added a reference to Caribbean around the 11:45 section. I can't think of NYC without thinking of Jamaican restaurants, West Indian food in Flatbush, Dominican eateries and more!
@@offthemenuyt Frank and Charles Menches were the inventers of the beef hamburger, in 1885, in Ohio, in the Midwest! The Meches Bros, Restaurants are awesome! Don't pretend to be an expert when you are not. There are different cuisines in different parts of the Midwest. Bet you never tried the Amish cuisine, which Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin are in the top four largest population of Amish. Plus, in the same states there are a lot of Polish, German, and Italian influence. You can't say Cincinati Chili, Chicago Pizza, and Chicago Dogs are the Midwest. IMO Cracker Barrel isn't that good. Then you talk about Indian corn bread, then say that it was brought over from Africa. Corn originated in Mexico, and expanded into the U.S. by the Indians. They didn't have corn in Africa, then. Do your research please.
@@randomstuff4997 White castle was the first burger restaurant and they still mostly make them the same way today. The typical gut bomb burgers were easy for factory workers to have as a meal without having to worry too much about getting their hands messy or take the time to sit down and eat. That's really what made them revolutionary.
I honestly think so many people talk shit about American food because even at its worst, its more globally relevant than most countries' cuisines. Imagine being French and realizing the crepe galete will never have the global presence of the cheeseburger or hot dog lol
One more regional cuisine to add to the list: Vietnamese Cajun. A lot of Vietnamese-Americans live in Louisiana and Texas, and as a community they really took to Cajun cuisine. There was a lot of overlap to begin with, but they really made it their own too. While we're at it, the experiences of the diaspora are just as valid as the experiences of those who stayed in the homeland (whatever the homeland). This is how I see the cuisine of the Chinese diaspora, the Italian diaspora, etc, also. There might be differences between the cuisine in the diaspora and in the ancestral homeland, but it's still worthy of appreciation for what it is and what it says about the community and their history. I don't know how many times I've heard people looking down on Chinese-American food or Italian-American food for not being something else, but maybe it doesn't have to be.
or even just looking down on it for the inverse. People will say something like "spaghetti and meatballs is not an authentic Italian dish" and... they are technically correct, but that doesn't mean it is of lesser value. It is a real dish, developed by a very real community on the American East coast.
I've been to some restaurants on the west coast that are Vietnamese but prominently incorporate Cajun dishes into their menu, so I'm not too surprised to hear this
@@wezzuh2482 It also happens to be cheap, filling and fucking delicious. People who seek for 'authenticity' in food without understanding it's evolution almost never understand how food actually evolves.
You did the Midwest so dirty. We have so much fantastic food stretching from a good ol fish fry, cheese curds, and tatertot casserole (or hotdish, depends on how you were raised) to giant breaded pork tenderloins, Beer Brats, Shepard's Pie, Sloppy Joe's (or loose meat sandwich, again depending on how you were raised) and so very much more. And dont even get me started on the desserts. This is not to mention the thousands of local and family dishes with even deeper roots to the immigrant and religious groups of the Midwest, both new and old. We have entire festivals dedicated to our immigrant roots all across the Midwest. Just because you have never tried them, does not mean you need to dismiss them. Open your mind and try and experience what we have to offer.
Pretty informative video but I was wondering about your gratuitous need for dumping on the Midwest until I saw you were from New York. I mean, you may not necessarily like it, but the Midwest has an array of foods that were introduced by Germanic and Slavic migrants- such as the tenderloin sandwich, chislic or runza- plus traditions like the Friday night fish fry. You also overlooked Florida's contributions such as the Cubano sandwich and key lime pie. And maybe it's just because I had banh mi for lunch, but the Vietnamese contributions to food in America seems overlooked. The food that I associate the most with New York are Buffalo Wings...Connecticut seems to have a pretty outsized influence on American cuisine for being such a small state- the first cafes that sold hamburgers and pizza to the public are in the New Haven area- although that's broaching on some of the foods that have negative stereotypes when ine mentions 'American Cuisine'
Not to mention most of the food he eats in New York was grown in the Midwest. He's obviously not familiar with the phrase "don't bite the hand that feeds you". Typical New Yorker. If you ask them where food comes from they say the grocery store. Dumb as a bunch of rocks.
Man just insulted cheese curds...and this will not stand. THe midwest makes comfort food, nothing more too it. Large populations of German, Scandinavian, and Polish immigrants shaped the midwest cuisine to enjoy hearty stews, savory chillies, and food items utterly drenched in cheese. Midwest also has some of the best soil in the world. Not as great as ukraine, but the topsoil leads to amazing dishes around one of the most unique tastes in the world. Midwest sweet corn, which does taste utterly different than anywhere else in the world and reflects in our dishes. Our food is likely to kill someone with the amount of calories and cholesterol it has. But, none the less it is good...albiet uninspired at times. But midwesterners are a simple people and like simple delicious foods. Wether it be our legendary beer battered fried food, or bratwursts, the amount of gravy drenched country fried food. Or well, just anything you can fry. Especially the cheesecurds of Wisconsin.
Could tell he was an east coast elitists as soon as he glossed over and dismissed the entire Midwest. New York cities food is overrated especially their pizza. Give me KC BBQ or Chicago deep dish over anything New York style everyday of the week.
Not to mention he said absolutely zero about the mountain region of the country. It's like he has no idea that Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico even exist other than saying something about frybread. The least he could have done was say something about Navajo tacos or Hatch Chiles. That was a layup. He could have mentioned so much more . Just lazy research.
Bruh you forgot About us Floridian's. We got fried fish sandwiches, stone crab, pink shrimp, mahi tacos, ceviche, gator bites, and tarpon salads. For desert we got rum cake, Amos cookies, orange cream pies, and the world famous key lime pie.
They forgot us upstate New Yorkers, sponge candy, tomato pie, chicken speediez, white hots, beef on weck, and the world famous buffalo wings See? It’s literally impossible to cover every region of American cuisine in one video
I mean Florida was not in any of the regions, not even mentioned in the video. The only fried things were the gator bites. You could grill, fry, or blacken the grouper sandwich, so that varies.
@@greenmachine5600 Half of those things are eaten all over the world at this point and turkey is native to North America, but served in many different ways particularly in the southwest with the Mexican influence. I have traveled extensively throughout the US and Canada the differences are subtle yet they are there. The whole fast food thing is everywhere, but I will shoutout the Midwest since it was dissed. Indiana and Ohio created the smash burger and everyone thinks that's like something new...also Detroit style Pizza! As far as Thanksgiving dinner goes that is kind of a monolith, since that is kind of what you were referring to. Also BBQ was not even mentioned in this vid so much to cover, love the channel!
@@greenmachine5600 You're describing the overlapping of cuisine's as people have moved and settled. It wasn't always like this at one point in history, hence, why we are able to trace the movement and overlapping of said cuisines. American cuisine is not a monolith.
We Pennsylvania Dutch were left out, despite being one of the most influential cuisines in what has become American culture and maintaining a distinct identity since the very beginning of the colonization of what became the USA. But then again, we are always forgotten about, so it isn’t too surprising to me.
I was trying to think of something to defend Indiana from the Midwest…um lack of understanding, but thought of Apple Butter and then saw this and yeah Penn Dutch definitely made that first lol
There is a wealth of info on the Pennsylvania Dutch and their culinary contributions, starting in JHS (at least in my time) and in more scholary texts, like the wonderful cookbooks that exist. You'll have to look for more info in other places, but it does exist. ❤️
@@TheRealJBMcMunn Pennsylvania Dutch is an ethnicity. Not all of us, or even most of us, are Amish or mennonite. Those groups historically make up a very small percentage of our people. The majority are Reformed, Lutheran, or Moravian. And within the anabaptists, there are many many different groups, only some of which ban the internet. Part of the issue is that people have no idea who we are as a people and they just equate PA Dutch and Amish with no understanding of how it actually works.
Thank you for this video Matt! I actually find it funny but unsurprising when I tell people that 1 of my favorite cuisines in the world is American food and people usually respond with "gross" or "so unhealthy" because they think I'm thinking of fast or extremely processed food but I have to explain that I'm referring to Soul food and Cajun food and sometimes they don't even know what that is!
Bro how could you forgot Amish homestyle? Shits a damn comfort food and you just lumped us Pennsylvanians in with the Midwest!? Food wise we’ve got so much on offer, I swear go to Pittsburgh and Philly and see all the unique sandwiches, polish food, and Amish meals.
yesss!! i moved abroad and I LOVE the food in the country i live in now, but sometimes i miss the diversity of american and other cultural foods that was so easy to access in america.
Salmon is a staple in the Pacific Northwest. It's common to serve a salmon when people come to visit. On the Seattle waterfront at Ivar's Acres of Clams, you can get a sammich, a fish burger made from salmon.
So food in Midwest food is in quotes. Is that implying it isn’t real food? Guess Midwest is the stereotyped of the stereotyped. Also the south fries everything. Good but not exactly healthy.
American food is just a mix of all the food in the world…idk what some people gain by undermining americas culture of being a melting pot. My fam is from Italy, Levant, and Baltics…I don’t know where else I can get all of those foods but in America, Mexico, and Brazil…which have an insanely similar history all of em.
Great video! Texan here - the flour tortillas actually come to us from the norteños in the neighboring parts of Mexico. The explanation I always heard is that those parts of Mexico aren’t great for growing corn, so they grew more wheat, and as a result used flour tortillas.
The actual first thanksgiving in the USA happened in New Mexico April 3rd 1598. New Mexico at the time was not part of the USA. Although we are now. This moment in history isn't common knowledge. We ate things like our own versions of Tamales, Sopapillas and our unique green and red chiles here. You mentioned TexMex but left out New Mexican cuisine. Our state is the only state were our 22 native tribes still reside on their ancestral land. Plus the Spanish influence on our food here. Nothing like Mexican cuisine. New Mexicans consider Navajo(Diné) an entirely separate cuisine. Great video btw
Completely disagree, you guys are making Mexican food and calling it “new mexican” I genuinely did not see much difference from what we do in Mexico and what people were offering in New Mexico, your tamales are exactly how is done in central Mexico.
Hold on dude, I being a native Texan am extremely offended by your statement "America basically took Texas from Mexico." You're very poorly educated on the subject. Texas was a former colony of Mexico, Mexicans did not want to be in Texas, so Mexico invited Gringos to immigrate to Texas to settle the great state, Mexico abused the Texicans and thus the Texicans revolted against a tyrannical Mexico City government and a few thousand Texicans & Tejanos and volunteers from other US states like Tennessee defeated the Mexican Army of 20,000 soldiers. Texas won it's independence by spilling blood and overcoming immense numerical and technological inferiority of military grade. For ten years the Republic of Texas, a new nation, would defend themselves against the Mexican government violating the treaty signed by the Mexican leader Santa Ana and would eventually join the USA, the ONLY US state to ever be it's own country before joining the USA by a special treaty. The USA did not 'take' Texas from Mexico. Texans fought for and won their own freedom. Get your facts straight if your are going to talk about Texas.
Considering how he just ignored the [european] history of the mid-west and basically just insulted the food & history, his take on Texas, etc. ...kinda seems like he had a certain direction he wanted to go with this one...
this is extremely ironic how you are spouting propaganda while trying to lecture him. Mexico abolished slavery in the late 1820s which lead to fighting in Texas where both the American settlers and the tejanos who owned slaves revolted. Texas was already in open rebellion years before Santa Anna took power, the letter gave by Texas to Mexico City explicitly called out how Mexico city had promised them that slavery wouldn’t be abolished and yet they went ahead and did it anyways. You are the ones who are constantly in denial about your past.
America is an immigrant country, the world comes to America, bringing their food with them. This is why you'll find Gujarati indian dishes in the middle of Wyoming, the best Pho in the Western Hemisphere in Minneapolis, and why KimchiTacos and Tikka Masala Pizza now exist. America might not have the best cuisine in the world, but it does have BY FAR the most diverse.
Ya know the rest of the world likes to dig into the midwests cuisine yet they've never tried most of it. However I think we can all collectively agree though, at least we didn't put beans on toast.
No matter what, everyone in the US can rest easy: our food isn't British. Though dude's just straight up wrong about the Midwest (I have an inkling he feels how he does because it's vastly majority European food, and well... he doesn't seem too fond of Whites).
Kansas City barbecue-and more specifically: the sauce-is one of the most influential foods in history…it has one of the most copied sauces in the world; it influenced multiple other regional cuisines that were already well-established; foreigners from countries with ancient meat grilling traditions are enamored with it; and it has been so ingrained into North American society that it’s the central cuisine of choice for at least three major holidays. This is where Texans will claim they created bbq…but any historian worth their salt will remind them that standard “barbecue sauce” didn’t exist before the widespread adoption and marketing success of KC Masterpiece brand (the third in the line of chefs after Arthur Bryant’s and Gates). Sure, people smoked meats before them, but that pre-dated the very existence of Texas. Kansas City perfected barbecue as a cuisine.
something people don't really talk about Cincinnati chill is it made form a Greek immigrants I remember reading that the founder of Skyline was born in Greece in the 1920's but can't remember more than that.
Screw this guy. Midwestern food is genuine culinary Americana. It isn't called America's Breadbasket for nothing. We have the best farms producing the best ingredients, which developed into wholesome, filling foods for hardworking people. I don't think you know a darned thing about the Midwest.
For some people whom suffered under cosmism rule, 100 % of Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary & Yugoslavia corn bread was a lifesaver, that being said, I don't recommend experimentation unless you know what you are doing and pls don't use a beadmaker for it, it wont taste good,
@@Scott_Silver He already said burgers are bland in the intro too lol. I don't exactly know what he eats or where he gets it from(I guess NYC pizzas), but a burger being "bland" is comical. That would have to be one cheap, low effort burger, I guess a plain McDonalds value menu burger lol(hell, even that isn't bland; we can debate the flavor of course).
it's not really propaganda, just a misconception. it originally started because turkey was cheaper than chicken, but because of seasonal demand that's no longer the case
When it comes to the Midwest, you have shown how you do research, with is none at all. I’m so sick of the coastal U.S. thinking they are better then the rest of the country.
You had me until you decided to put cheese curds on your list of bad midwestern food. Cheese curds are what mozzarella sticks dream about. And while your comment of Chicago deep-dish *is* heresy, the real food to try in the city is the Italian beef sandwiches and bratwursts. Both foods from immigrants that influenced and were influenced by the culture of the great lakes.
Cincinnati chili originated from greek immigrants and the sauce is actually quite complex and delicious. I’m not from the Midwest and I’ve never heard of anyone saying it’s the laughing stock of American cuisine. Sounds kinda snobby to be honest.
I was on a road trip to New Mexico a few years ago and getting hungry by the time I got to Albuquerque. While driving along into the South Valley, I saw these giant signs for Enchiladas and I was thinking "Enchiladas sound great right now."- granted I was driving into the sun and could only make out part of the sign. So I get to this park and it looks like I'm the only one around. I get out for a closer look at the signs and they read "Bernalillo County Parks and Recreation Department presents: The History of the Enchilada" and it led to a building that was closed for the afternoon. You'd think the least they could do was have some tents or food trucks serving Enchiladas next to the exhibit.....
@socalsoxfan6912 green enchiladas are good, but if you are ever back in New Mexico, try something with pinions(pine nuts), coffee, candy, ect. Or anything with blue corn, there are even pancakes. Or try purely New Mexican food like Carne Adovada, Chili Colorado, Green chili stew, or Posole. The state cookie is a must try Biscochito.
@saber2802 where are you looking? I know a few places. Lol, my farm has hundreds of trees, but I know who I supply with nuts. Actually, almost all the businesses are in old town, though some have multiple locations. If you want raw nuts... go to flea markets.
You completely glossed over the west. Not surprising for someone based in New York. But no worries, we'll keep our food culture to ourselves if you don't want to cover it.
SoCal mexican food is its own beast worthy of (and arguably better than) its Texas Mex counterpart. Blending disparate traditions of carne asada and french fries to create one of the best dishes in the USA: Carne Asada Fries. Also worth mentioning are the style of burritos in SoCal, which are often quite large and consist of protein, guacamole, and pico de gallo with an optional sour cream. Also, I imagine you didn’t mention burgers and their many variants because you’re going to do a video all about America’s favorite sandwich
Oh, and that passing comment on Ohio for no reason. Very rude. Why do people who live on the coast hate everyone in between the coasts? Do we scare you?
hey! Love the video, but buster, you better take those quotes off of midwest "food" , The Bloody Mary is russian service in a pint glass, and i will not tolerate disrespect for brats and fried cheese curds thank you very much! nah but for real though, thank you so much for making this video! IT's important that we -as americans- should also resist the idea that our culinary culture has and always will be defined by corporations. Even if we acknowledge the logistical triumph of what mass marketed food did at the outset!
A lot of inaccuracies in this video. I understand how lumping states into regions makes sense but it doesn’t make it accurate. For instance, southern regions of the Midwest have more in common with the south culturally than the the northern regions. The panhandle in Florida has a lot of Cajun & Creole influence vs south Florida with more Cuban influence. I haven’t been to every state but I’m sure each state has these variations that divide them. You’ll even find pockets in small town America that had an influx of Italian/Mexican/Chinese immigrants & how that impacts the food culture. On your little map, you labeled it, ‘Midwestern “Food;”’ implying that it’s not real food. You made yourself look like a pretentious jerk & lost all credibility with that one. Unsubscribed.
America offers a broad variety of food, ranging from garbage to fresh meats. The fresh, unprocessed stuff is the good stuff. I don't waste my money on the stuff that is just junk One of the weaknesses of American cuisine is candy. Most American candy just tries to be as sweet as possible, and it becomes a boring one note flavor that just leaves an icky aftertaste that I have to wash down with water or something salty. There are exceptions but finding candy with a complex flavor profile in America is like finding a needle in a haystack. Now I have tried English candy and it was like night and day. The candy from England is not made with as much artificial crap, and the flavor is MUCH more complex, the gummies have sour notes and the chocolate is salty and savory on top of just sweet. None of the candy was boring to the palate. The only one I did not care for was a turkish delight bar, it just tasted like a chocolate covered cherry without the cherry and a hint of a floral aftertaste. Oh and the Smarties were stale as shit
I like how he made a video about dispelling ignorant stereotypes about American food culture and then half way through the video engages in ignorant stereotyping of American food culture.
Bro, you did the Midwest wrong. Pot roast with potatoes, chicken and dumplings, cornbeef and cabbage, stuffed peppers…Those are just some American dishes I can think of but you have tons of people there from Germany and Italy and places like that so you’re also getting lasagna, German sausages and potatoes, meatloaf, etc Midwest has good Hardy food. Nothing fancy, but it will keep you warm and full.
Nah but for real you need to revisit the Midwest instead of glossing over it like you did. We have fish frys from the great lakes region with walleye and perch, Chicago style hot dogs, deep dish pizza, pub style pizza, tenderloin sandwiches the size of your face. Also have you tried a tatertot hot dish or fried ravioli, judging by your review I'm guessing no. Not to mention all the handmade baked goods from Amish country. Honestly this video did a disservice to the Midwest. I will admit though Cincinnati Chili is an abomination and should be thrown in the trash.
Big ups for you for picking the topic, thank you for bringing awareness to it. I don't think Europeans esp realize the scope of America--but man you did Alaska so dirty. We have such a rich history. The native culture absolutely influences the local culture--near everyone hunts or fishes their own food. Most everyone gathers and forages in the late summer. The things the natives have been through have absolutely affected their food history and it's trickled down to Alaska's food culture. There's so much to say there. The least you could do is say akutaq right "uh-goo-tuk" the last part of the word is said very short like a clicking sound. Appreciate you for making this video though, this has inspired me. Can't wait to see what else you make.
Most of the stuff that is legitimately Northern Mexican gets stolen by America and classified as “tex mex” even though is literally Mexican, like Burritos, Nachos, Margaritas, Cesar Salad is all northern Mexicans.
Tex-mex is like soul food but with Mexico instead of Africa. It was the vaqueros working getting the bad cuts and trying to do something with them. Barbacoa takes a day to cook in a dug out pit and fajitas (flank steak) has to marinated and trimmed right or it's not edible. Rice and beans kept you full on a long cattle drive from Northern Mexico or Southern Texas.
Yeah, TBH for a long time in my childhood, I thought Americans subsisted on a diet of hot dogs, burgers, cookies, donuts, and massive stacks of pancakes LOL, but watching various American food shows on TV and later TH-cam has shown me that there is SO MUCH MORE to American food than just that. I wonder why there is so little spotlight on all the other delicious-looking (non-fast food!) dishes America has to offer. There's so much I'd love to go and try...!
I’m an older Mexican American. Historically outside of Texas and the southwest, what as being called “Tex Mex” was bad versions of Mexican food. In the past decade or so, American Mexican food is finally trying improve on Mexican food rather than make it cheaper and more accessible to American palate. So 20 yrs ago the Mexican American food outside the southwest was often ground beef, lettuce, American sour cream, cheap harshell taco shells etc. in the past 10yrs it’s now going higher end and more tasty. This is a huge shift in American Mexican food. I’ve seen the same shift in Chinese American and Chinese food in the US
A lot of foods we enjoy are minimally-processed. Steak, slow-cooked ribs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, green beans with onion and bacon, collard greens. While many of the countries I've visited pride themselves, and rightly so, on their own cuisine, but lean just as heavily (or more so) on highly-processed foods. Which are not necessarily any less healthy, or more healthy. Or lower or better quality. See the nixtimalization of corn, the boiling of vegetables to make soup, the soaking and cooking of dry beans. In each case, moving these foods further toward the processed end of the spectrum AND greatly increasing their nutritional value.
Creole and Cajun my guy lol.. Creole food is older and most of what Louisiana is known for as far as food is Creole. A combination of local French, Spanish, African, Native american and Carribean. U totally missed that! Cajuns and Creoles are similar, but not exactly the same. The biggest difference is Creoles are ethically more mixed than Cajuns (Acadians from Canada). Just wanted to correct that mistake my friend.
Not to mention there are various types of cajun influences. There are gulf Cajuns that are seafood based, swap Cajuns that are wild game based, and prairie Cajuns that take a strong influence from German culture.
I love midwestern food, it's so creative! You can really feel the spirit of "why the hell not?" This whole genre is what I call "potluck food" and it is full of homegrown bangers
I'm surprised there was no mention of American barbecue, which is a whole cuisine in itself, arguably several
I love BBQ, but Phil Edwards recently made a whole really good video covering BBQ across America. I wanted to keep this video brief and BBQ has so much variety depending where you are, it really needs its own video instead.
@@offthemenuytindeed, BBQ is a wide ranging spectrum of styles and main meat types. To gloss over it in general would be a huge disservice to it's depth and complexity. 😅
Townsend's cooking channel does a great video on the origins of BBQ being in slavery.
In the south barbecue isn't just a cuisine, it's a religion.
@@DanielDavis1973 very true, practice the wrong kind at the wrong cookout and you may be stoned lol
As someone from the Midwest this slander will not be tolerated. Consider yourself uninvited from the tatertot hot dish potluck.
Even though you might be upset, you still sound really nice lol.
That's why we like you guys.
Honestly I don't mind being looked down on there because yeah I've traveled and the food from here is pretty bland in general, but it would have been more interesting and fun to learn *why* it is the way it is. Looking into the attitudes and culture of post-war america that lead to food being seen as more of a logistical thing than a culinary thing.
Let them slander the Midwest, do you really want stuffy california types who watch these videos to swarm the good states left like they've done with Texas?
Midwest has the best food ever. The produce...especially tomatoes are the best in the world ! Here in Washington State our tomatoes suck big time...mostly imported from Mexico or Claifornia. Illinois grown tomatoes are the best. Green beans and corn is so much better than in the West. And, the chicken fried pork sandwhiches in the midwest are incredible...can't find that here in Washington State.
Super Rude and uncalled for
"A lot of people associate Tex-Mex as a bad American copy of Mexican food -- but that's Taco Bell" 🤣 Looks like my precious Chipotle was spared this time...
No cap, my first time trying Chipotle 9 years ago gave a pretty good impression. I can't say the same for Taco Bell...
Mexican is far superior to Tex Mex.
Chipotle is good but those are californian mission style burritos....not Tex Mex. As much as I wish we could claim them lol.
Bruh its like 20$ for a chipotle burrito which is still good for fast food but overall still a crap burrito lol
And as someone who grew up on texmex we dont claim taco bell lol
Edit: tacobell was founded in california
Tex-Mex food is also very popular in northern Mexico
The fact that you said "Fried cheese curds?!" tells me you've never enjoyed a cheese curd in your life
As a Midwesterner, I think that Midwestern cuisine is really underrated. It's not all fast food. The Midwest gave birth to Cincinnati Chili, Coney Island Hot Dogs (Detroit), Upper Peninsula Pasties, Wisconsin Fish Boils and many, many recipes that you will not find in restaurants let alone fast food places but were handed down from immigrant ancestors. Sometimes these make it into cookbooks but many were not. I think the Midwest is overdue to take its place on the culinary stage.
I think it’s weird that he lumped Pennsylvania into the Midwest. Pennsylvania being home to many hearty Amish meals and 2 major sandwich cities. Pittsburgh being the damn home of the Big Mac for christs sake
Thank you for funeral potatoes
On god, this guy just glossed over Chicago which is where I’m from, which is home to some of the best Italian and Polish food in the world IMO. Made me salty bc the Midwest has great potential for dishes.
@@jaxodog01i lived in chicago for a brief period and he just skipped over illinois, deep dish pizza is a guilty pleasure not to mention everything else in that city
The Ice cream float was also invented in Detroit and personally I love a Boston cooler but that is a bit to regional for anyone not in Michigan to have tried. Pasties are for sure a thing but were brought over by Cornish miners. Clearly he has never been to Detroit since nothing has been mentioned of the whole Coney islands which are heavily influenced by Greek and Lebanese food since that's who owns them. For Chicago the Italian hot beef sandwich is pretty great.
Wow, you've done the Midwest dirty my guy. In Wisconsin we got mixtures of French and German cuisine to die for.
This guy clearly hasn't actually traveled.
@@ogradymphe made a whole video on midwest food but ok
@@gavinrolls1054 You mean he googled Midwest food and cherry-picked the worst of it.
As a person in the midwest I felt very insulted
Great video, but I kinda feel like you did the Midwest a little dirty (Midwestern "food"?). A lot of midwestern cities have great culinary stories that go beyond toasted ravioli, not to mention the immigrant populations that have made significant contributions. In my own area, we enjoy a lot of great Eastern European-inspired cuisine, such a pierogi, paczki, and paprikash. I would have appreciated this more if that could have been acknowledged more, rather than focusing on bad stereotypes.
Fr, Also the attack on cheese curds was unwarranted, why wouldn't fried cheese be tasty? T-T
@@uniquekeanuthe man's from New York. That explains his sad ignorance of midwestern pizza and so much else about the food. beyond the midwest, dude doesn't even touch on the varieties of barbecue - from the Carolinas to Kansas City.
IDK why you would insult Toasted Ravioli either. That is some top tier food!
I said the same thing there’s dozens of these comments up now lol ain’t no way he’s getting away with that
A lot of people outside the Midwest are unaware of just how many Swedish (Nordic) immigrants settled in the area. There is a LOT of Swedish cuisine influence around Lindsborg, Kansas.
Bro has never had a good Great Lakes fish fry. Also it is apparent you have never had good cheese curds
I doubt he's ever had a fried cheese curd.
I was really disappointed that for an otherwise great video on the diversity and excellence of American cuisine, the "Midwest has bad food" was still perpetuated. There are so many unique and delicious dishes and foods you can only get in the Midwest and there is a very strong German/Scandinavian/Irish influence across much of the region in regards to food, as well as more recent Mexican, Hmong, Somali, and various other more recent immigrant cuisines coming in and influencing the food.
In some fairness, a lot of the best parts of Midwestern cuisine is very seasonal, very local, and/or primarily homemade but it's still disappointing to see. Bratwursts, pasties, kugels, strawberry rhubarb pie, puppy chow, fish boil, fish fry, burnt ends, frozen custard, sauerkraut-based dishes, casserole (I'm sorry, but on a cold winter night, a properly seasoned and well constructed casserole with ingredients that meld together beautifully is perfect, I don't care that it is seen as low class), funeral potatoes, bannock, champ, soda bread, perch, walleye, cranberries, cherries, pickles, kohlrabi, piroshiki, sausages, local award winning cheeses (Wisconsin is one of the only US states who even has a chance of standing with the big boys across the pond in cheesemaking), artisanal wines and beers, pickled foods, venison, kuchen.....
A lot of Midwest cuisine is pretty seasonal. You'll get more casseroles and preserved food during the winter and more fresh and grilled food during the summer.
Midwest cuisine has its silly weird options, especially for those who didn't grow up with them, but there's real food here and really good food and it is only getting better the more it diversifies.
Don’t forget bluegill, one of the tastiest fish when caught fresh and pan fried in butter with a little lemon squeezed on it. Pike is nasty though - too bony. And I like Cincinnati chili. Other good dishes that are mainly made at home are Chili Mac and Sloppy Joes. Let’s not forget fresh Midwest corn on the cob and beefsteak tomatoes in the summer. Food for the gods!
Pasties! I love those- I've seen bakeries in Montana and California specializing in those.
Man's just another east coast snob that's probably never been to the Midwest outside Chicago a couple of times but think he knows all about it 😅
The only real thing I want to say with regards to "Midwest food" is that the Midwest is a massive region and I wouldn't really say suggesting say, food from Michigan is especially similar to food from Nebraska compared to other parts of the country. That, and "midwestern food" absolutely has crossover in parts of the Northeast, it's not like it just disappears in New York or Pennsylvania.
the problem is thats true of everywhere. literally every part of the US has enclaves of immigant cultures that have unique foods of traditional origin mixed with modern day influences. I think the point of this video was to talk about the more traditionally american foods, such as those of natives or the first colonizers
Insulting toasted ravioli and fried cheese curds is atrocious
Toasted ravioli isn't even that weird. It was literally invented by an Italian guy in st. Louis. Tastes good.
Corn is one of the most American foods, the problem is fresh corn becomes sub-par really fast so the world knows us for caned corn... something we never really use. If you want America outside of the state get dried corn, or cornmeal and look up recipes from Texas.
There is definitely also Cajun in that influence, and yes it is a strange mix of Native and old-world French food and it is the origin of our obsession with peppers even more so than Tex-Mex. It is what we exported to replace well pepper, as in black pepper. America was largely founded for spices and peppers are one of those.
You're forgetting the southwest in the pepper discussion, hatch chilli peppers are amazing and many chilli peppers are native to the southwest US
The origin of corn and peppers is from central Mexico.
@@armandovera2304It doesn't matter.
@@liberalbias4462It definitely does when the style of cooking with corn is literally Mexican style and not something an anglo saxon American from the east coast would recognize. Like Elote, nixtamalized corn, corn dough for tamales, etc.
The Midwest definitely gets a bad wrap. It’s home to a lot of good food, some of the best cheeses you’ll ever taste are made in Wisconsin. I think the issue is there is a lot of good and bad in the Midwest and people just seem to only see the bad.
One thing not mentioned about the West Coast is that Uramaki(inside out) sushi rolls like california, spicy tuna, spider, etc was popularized in America & Canada there in multiple cities from LA to Vancouver/Victoria BC. Or that Chicken Teriyaki is a staple of Seattle fast food and takeaway culture, which while started by Toshi Kasahara with Toshi's Teriyaki also had influence from Korean Americans who opened up strip mall teriyaki joints all around the Seattle area.
Or the Pacific Northwest salmon and fish culture that started with native Americans
@@greenmachine5600 We also really love cream cheese over here, from what I know it's likely due to Tillamook
@@nononope75 I figured it was from Central European ancestors who moved from the Midwest to the Northwest. But I was wrong the central figure a hundred years ago was a fellow from Canada named McIntosh. Irish cheddar is wonderful.
There are more Teriyaki places in the Puget Sound area then there are Starbuck's and McDonalds.
Lovely video! One precision...I would have added a reference to Caribbean around the 11:45 section. I can't think of NYC without thinking of Jamaican restaurants, West Indian food in Flatbush, Dominican eateries and more!
That's ethnic food from other countries.
American food originates in the U.S.
Don't underestimate the cheeseburger, the greatest food ever invented by man.
I never would, it's legit my favorite food.
whitecastle was one of the first no?
@@offthemenuyt Frank and Charles Menches were the inventers of the beef hamburger, in 1885, in Ohio, in the Midwest! The Meches Bros, Restaurants are awesome! Don't pretend to be an expert when you are not. There are different cuisines in different parts of the Midwest. Bet you never tried the Amish cuisine, which Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin are in the top four largest population of Amish. Plus, in the same states there are a lot of Polish, German, and Italian influence. You can't say Cincinati Chili, Chicago Pizza, and Chicago Dogs are the Midwest. IMO Cracker Barrel isn't that good.
Then you talk about Indian corn bread, then say that it was brought over from Africa. Corn originated in Mexico, and expanded into the U.S. by the Indians. They didn't have corn in Africa, then. Do your research please.
@@randomstuff4997 White castle was the first burger restaurant and they still mostly make them the same way today. The typical gut bomb burgers were easy for factory workers to have as a meal without having to worry too much about getting their hands messy or take the time to sit down and eat. That's really what made them revolutionary.
@@Saltpork305 mm, good to know
Came here to say he didn’t have one nice thing to say about Midwest food but it seems I’m not alone.
I honestly think so many people talk shit about American food because even at its worst, its more globally relevant than most countries' cuisines. Imagine being French and realizing the crepe galete will never have the global presence of the cheeseburger or hot dog lol
Both are German foods. America has no food of it's own. It sucks.
@@equalityforever302 Lobster rolls and cajun food.
@@đœwæþ Lobster rolls are Japanese and Cajun food is French.
@@equalityforever302 Lobster rolls aren't Japanese and Cajuns don't identify as frenchmen Cajun cuisine is very different from French cuisine.
I didn't realize how good American food was until I moved to Europe. I miss it so much.
Yes, I believe every country in europe has the same food
One more regional cuisine to add to the list: Vietnamese Cajun.
A lot of Vietnamese-Americans live in Louisiana and Texas, and as a community they really took to Cajun cuisine. There was a lot of overlap to begin with, but they really made it their own too.
While we're at it, the experiences of the diaspora are just as valid as the experiences of those who stayed in the homeland (whatever the homeland). This is how I see the cuisine of the Chinese diaspora, the Italian diaspora, etc, also. There might be differences between the cuisine in the diaspora and in the ancestral homeland, but it's still worthy of appreciation for what it is and what it says about the community and their history. I don't know how many times I've heard people looking down on Chinese-American food or Italian-American food for not being something else, but maybe it doesn't have to be.
or even just looking down on it for the inverse. People will say something like "spaghetti and meatballs is not an authentic Italian dish" and... they are technically correct, but that doesn't mean it is of lesser value. It is a real dish, developed by a very real community on the American East coast.
I've been to some restaurants on the west coast that are Vietnamese but prominently incorporate Cajun dishes into their menu, so I'm not too surprised to hear this
Vietnamese Crawfish is amazing!
@@wezzuh2482 It also happens to be cheap, filling and fucking delicious. People who seek for 'authenticity' in food without understanding it's evolution almost never understand how food actually evolves.
You did the Midwest so dirty. We have so much fantastic food stretching from a good ol fish fry, cheese curds, and tatertot casserole (or hotdish, depends on how you were raised) to giant breaded pork tenderloins, Beer Brats, Shepard's Pie, Sloppy Joe's (or loose meat sandwich, again depending on how you were raised) and so very much more. And dont even get me started on the desserts. This is not to mention the thousands of local and family dishes with even deeper roots to the immigrant and religious groups of the Midwest, both new and old. We have entire festivals dedicated to our immigrant roots all across the Midwest. Just because you have never tried them, does not mean you need to dismiss them. Open your mind and try and experience what we have to offer.
Pretty informative video but I was wondering about your gratuitous need for dumping on the Midwest until I saw you were from New York. I mean, you may not necessarily like it, but the Midwest has an array of foods that were introduced by Germanic and Slavic migrants- such as the tenderloin sandwich, chislic or runza- plus traditions like the Friday night fish fry. You also overlooked Florida's contributions such as the Cubano sandwich and key lime pie. And maybe it's just because I had banh mi for lunch, but the Vietnamese contributions to food in America seems overlooked. The food that I associate the most with New York are Buffalo Wings...Connecticut seems to have a pretty outsized influence on American cuisine for being such a small state- the first cafes that sold hamburgers and pizza to the public are in the New Haven area- although that's broaching on some of the foods that have negative stereotypes when ine mentions 'American Cuisine'
Not to mention most of the food he eats in New York was grown in the Midwest. He's obviously not familiar with the phrase "don't bite the hand that feeds you". Typical New Yorker. If you ask them where food comes from they say the grocery store. Dumb as a bunch of rocks.
Man just insulted cheese curds...and this will not stand. THe midwest makes comfort food, nothing more too it. Large populations of German, Scandinavian, and Polish immigrants shaped the midwest cuisine to enjoy hearty stews, savory chillies, and food items utterly drenched in cheese.
Midwest also has some of the best soil in the world. Not as great as ukraine, but the topsoil leads to amazing dishes around one of the most unique tastes in the world. Midwest sweet corn, which does taste utterly different than anywhere else in the world and reflects in our dishes.
Our food is likely to kill someone with the amount of calories and cholesterol it has. But, none the less it is good...albiet uninspired at times. But midwesterners are a simple people and like simple delicious foods. Wether it be our legendary beer battered fried food, or bratwursts, the amount of gravy drenched country fried food. Or well, just anything you can fry. Especially the cheesecurds of Wisconsin.
If you had bad food in Ohio; you were in the wrong part of Ohio, or, went to the wrong restaurant...
Bruh that fool probably never even been to the Midwest that nasty shit he put on the screen
Could tell he was an east coast elitists as soon as he glossed over and dismissed the entire Midwest. New York cities food is overrated especially their pizza. Give me KC BBQ or Chicago deep dish over anything New York style everyday of the week.
Not to mention he said absolutely zero about the mountain region of the country. It's like he has no idea that Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico even exist other than saying something about frybread.
The least he could have done was say something about Navajo tacos or Hatch Chiles. That was a layup. He could have mentioned so much more . Just lazy research.
@@ringo-lf3cd why research the only food worth eating is in NYC bro. The floppy greasy pizza is good bro trust me
@@huebeyduebey3493 liked for excellent sarcasm!!
New York pizza is fantastic, y'all are coping SO hard 😂
@@huebeyduebey3493Yeah, it's great. ALL pizza is intrinsically floppy & greasy; that means NOTHING. Keep coping 😂
The Midwest slander 🙄 our food has deep history too 😂
Bruh you forgot About us Floridian's. We got fried fish sandwiches, stone crab, pink shrimp, mahi tacos, ceviche, gator bites, and tarpon salads. For desert we got rum cake, Amos cookies, orange cream pies, and the world famous key lime pie.
I loved key lime pie 😊 thank you Florida
It’s definitely an acquired taste, like Turkish delight
They forgot us upstate New Yorkers, sponge candy, tomato pie, chicken speediez, white hots, beef on weck, and the world famous buffalo wings
See? It’s literally impossible to cover every region of American cuisine in one video
Nothing special about them. They're all fried foods
I mean Florida was not in any of the regions, not even mentioned in the video. The only fried things were the gator bites. You could grill, fry, or blacken the grouper sandwich, so that varies.
Skipped Floridian food with its latin, native, black, asian and swamp influences. Gator Bites, Cuban Sandwich and Key Lime Pie is a 3 course meal...
Yea Florida food slaps. America has a lot of different cuisines tho so I can see how he skipped it.
"swamp influences" I'm dying to know what that means
You're wrong about the Midwest. We have amazing food here. It was super uncalled for talking bad about us and rude.
American food is not a monolith and can hardly be called one cuisine at this point if ever.
You'd be wrong with examples like Turkey, fried chicken, coca cola, pumpkin pie and many other dishes eaten all over the country
@@greenmachine5600 Half of those things are eaten all over the world at this point and turkey is native to North America, but served in many different ways particularly in the southwest with the Mexican influence. I have traveled extensively throughout the US and Canada the differences are subtle yet they are there.
The whole fast food thing is everywhere, but I will shoutout the Midwest since it was dissed. Indiana and Ohio created the smash burger and everyone thinks that's like something new...also Detroit style Pizza!
As far as Thanksgiving dinner goes that is kind of a monolith, since that is kind of what you were referring to. Also BBQ was not even mentioned in this vid so much to cover, love the channel!
@@greenmachine5600 You're describing the overlapping of cuisine's as people have moved and settled. It wasn't always like this at one point in history, hence, why we are able to trace the movement and overlapping of said cuisines. American cuisine is not a monolith.
Look into the history of the pizza boom in Italy….
@@RichardColwell1it's a Italian and American food.
(Some) Europeans watching this video: “rahhh all American food is just fast food and cheap fatty stuff, this video is false!”
Yep....100% because the people in their "idiot box" said so.
We Pennsylvania Dutch were left out, despite being one of the most influential cuisines in what has become American culture and maintaining a distinct identity since the very beginning of the colonization of what became the USA. But then again, we are always forgotten about, so it isn’t too surprising to me.
I was trying to think of something to defend Indiana from the Midwest…um lack of understanding, but thought of Apple Butter and then saw this and yeah Penn Dutch definitely made that first lol
There is a wealth of info on the Pennsylvania Dutch and their culinary contributions, starting in JHS (at least in my time) and in more scholary texts, like the wonderful cookbooks that exist. You'll have to look for more info in other places, but it does exist. ❤️
Just another west coast/east coast elite glossing over our food like always.
If you're "Pennsylvania Dutch " what are you doing on the internet?
@@TheRealJBMcMunn Pennsylvania Dutch is an ethnicity. Not all of us, or even most of us, are Amish or mennonite. Those groups historically make up a very small percentage of our people. The majority are Reformed, Lutheran, or Moravian. And within the anabaptists, there are many many different groups, only some of which ban the internet. Part of the issue is that people have no idea who we are as a people and they just equate PA Dutch and Amish with no understanding of how it actually works.
Thank you for this video Matt! I actually find it funny but unsurprising when I tell people that 1 of my favorite cuisines in the world is American food and people usually respond with "gross" or "so unhealthy" because they think I'm thinking of fast or extremely processed food but I have to explain that I'm referring to Soul food and Cajun food and sometimes they don't even know what that is!
Bro how could you forgot Amish homestyle? Shits a damn comfort food and you just lumped us Pennsylvanians in with the Midwest!? Food wise we’ve got so much on offer, I swear go to Pittsburgh and Philly and see all the unique sandwiches, polish food, and Amish meals.
yesss!! i moved abroad and I LOVE the food in the country i live in now, but sometimes i miss the diversity of american and other cultural foods that was so easy to access in america.
The Native Americans made the best use of corn and potatoes 😋
@@eryalmario5299Indigenous food is amazing!
Salmon is a staple in the Pacific Northwest. It's common to serve a salmon when people come to visit. On the Seattle waterfront at Ivar's Acres of Clams, you can get a sammich, a fish burger made from salmon.
So food in Midwest food is in quotes. Is that implying it isn’t real food?
Guess Midwest is the stereotyped of the stereotyped.
Also the south fries everything. Good but not exactly healthy.
American food is just a mix of all the food in the world…idk what some people gain by undermining americas culture of being a melting pot.
My fam is from Italy, Levant, and Baltics…I don’t know where else I can get all of those foods but in America, Mexico, and Brazil…which have an insanely similar history all of em.
This!!!
Great video! Texan here - the flour tortillas actually come to us from the norteños in the neighboring parts of Mexico. The explanation I always heard is that those parts of Mexico aren’t great for growing corn, so they grew more wheat, and as a result used flour tortillas.
Same in California, starting in the Mission period. Much more wheat.
Correct
The actual first thanksgiving in the USA happened in New Mexico April 3rd 1598. New Mexico at the time was not part of the USA. Although we are now. This moment in history isn't common knowledge. We ate things like our own versions of Tamales, Sopapillas and our unique green and red chiles here. You mentioned TexMex but left out New Mexican cuisine. Our state is the only state were our 22 native tribes still reside on their ancestral land. Plus the Spanish influence on our food here. Nothing like Mexican cuisine. New Mexicans consider Navajo(Diné) an entirely separate cuisine.
Great video btw
They always forget about New Mexico. Probably never even been here.
Completely disagree, you guys are making Mexican food and calling it “new mexican” I genuinely did not see much difference from what we do in Mexico and what people were offering in New Mexico, your tamales are exactly how is done in central Mexico.
Hold on dude, I being a native Texan am extremely offended by your statement "America basically took Texas from Mexico." You're very poorly educated on the subject. Texas was a former colony of Mexico, Mexicans did not want to be in Texas, so Mexico invited Gringos to immigrate to Texas to settle the great state, Mexico abused the Texicans and thus the Texicans revolted against a tyrannical Mexico City government and a few thousand Texicans & Tejanos and volunteers from other US states like Tennessee defeated the Mexican Army of 20,000 soldiers. Texas won it's independence by spilling blood and overcoming immense numerical and technological inferiority of military grade. For ten years the Republic of Texas, a new nation, would defend themselves against the Mexican government violating the treaty signed by the Mexican leader Santa Ana and would eventually join the USA, the ONLY US state to ever be it's own country before joining the USA by a special treaty. The USA did not 'take' Texas from Mexico. Texans fought for and won their own freedom. Get your facts straight if your are going to talk about Texas.
Considering how he just ignored the [european] history of the mid-west and basically just insulted the food & history, his take on Texas, etc. ...kinda seems like he had a certain direction he wanted to go with this one...
The guy who made this video doesn't know nothing about nothing except big cities. He couldn't find his nose after dark without a dozen streetlights.
this is extremely ironic how you are spouting propaganda while trying to lecture him. Mexico abolished slavery in the late 1820s which lead to fighting in Texas where both the American settlers and the tejanos who owned slaves revolted. Texas was already in open rebellion years before Santa Anna took power, the letter gave by Texas to Mexico City explicitly called out how Mexico city had promised them that slavery wouldn’t be abolished and yet they went ahead and did it anyways. You are the ones who are constantly in denial about your past.
@@RyTrapp0 probably because european inspired food from pretty much everywhere else in the US is better than that of the midwest
America is an immigrant country, the world comes to America, bringing their food with them. This is why you'll find Gujarati indian dishes in the middle of Wyoming, the best Pho in the Western Hemisphere in Minneapolis, and why KimchiTacos and Tikka Masala Pizza now exist.
America might not have the best cuisine in the world, but it does have BY FAR the most diverse.
American food was developed in the U.S. It does not come from other countries.
Like Teriyaki, American Chinese, California rolls and Hawaiian Japanese American food.
Ya know the rest of the world likes to dig into the midwests cuisine yet they've never tried most of it.
However I think we can all collectively agree though, at least we didn't put beans on toast.
No matter what, everyone in the US can rest easy: our food isn't British.
Though dude's just straight up wrong about the Midwest (I have an inkling he feels how he does because it's vastly majority European food, and well... he doesn't seem too fond of Whites).
I’m not from the Midwest, but Cincinnati Chili is delicious
Kansas City barbecue-and more specifically: the sauce-is one of the most influential foods in history…it has one of the most copied sauces in the world; it influenced multiple other regional cuisines that were already well-established; foreigners from countries with ancient meat grilling traditions are enamored with it; and it has been so ingrained into North American society that it’s the central cuisine of choice for at least three major holidays.
This is where Texans will claim they created bbq…but any historian worth their salt will remind them that standard “barbecue sauce” didn’t exist before the widespread adoption and marketing success of KC Masterpiece brand (the third in the line of chefs after Arthur Bryant’s and Gates). Sure, people smoked meats before them, but that pre-dated the very existence of Texas. Kansas City perfected barbecue as a cuisine.
something people don't really talk about Cincinnati chill is it made form a Greek immigrants I remember reading that the founder of Skyline was born in Greece in the 1920's but can't remember more than that.
Corn versus flour is also a regional Mexican thing.
Taco bell isn't even a bad copy of Mexican food...it's just Taco Bell. And I love it. 🤣
@AlWorth9738I know, right? How do people eat food that they enjoy that I don't like?
7:29 - Crab cakes are not really a big New England thing. That is more of a Chesapeake Bay thing.
Screw this guy. Midwestern food is genuine culinary Americana. It isn't called America's Breadbasket for nothing. We have the best farms producing the best ingredients, which developed into wholesome, filling foods for hardworking people. I don't think you know a darned thing about the Midwest.
It’s not Americana. It’s just German/Dutch cuisine with Native American influence.
Native American influence is what makes it good food.
Great video and fantastic production. Love the Johnny Harris vibe.
For some people whom suffered under cosmism rule, 100 % of Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary & Yugoslavia corn bread was a lifesaver, that being said, I don't recommend experimentation unless you know what you are doing and pls don't use a beadmaker for it, it wont taste good,
Umm, Detroit style pizza originated in the Midwest
And smash burgers!
He's from NYC, he's never going to say anything good about pizza from anywhere else
@@Scott_Silver He already said burgers are bland in the intro too lol. I don't exactly know what he eats or where he gets it from(I guess NYC pizzas), but a burger being "bland" is comical. That would have to be one cheap, low effort burger, I guess a plain McDonalds value menu burger lol(hell, even that isn't bland; we can debate the flavor of course).
You missed Floridian food, a delicious blend of various Caribbean flavors, and fresh Floridian ingredients.
erhm, actually, they didn't have turkey at "the first thanksgiving." that tradition wasn't started until several centuries later
yeah this was old school propaganda.
it's not really propaganda, just a misconception. it originally started because turkey was cheaper than chicken, but because of seasonal demand that's no longer the case
ERM 🤓
Add it to the list of other things he was talking out his ass about.
When it comes to the Midwest, you have shown how you do research, with is none at all. I’m so sick of the coastal U.S. thinking they are better then the rest of the country.
You had me until you decided to put cheese curds on your list of bad midwestern food. Cheese curds are what mozzarella sticks dream about. And while your comment of Chicago deep-dish *is* heresy, the real food to try in the city is the Italian beef sandwiches and bratwursts. Both foods from immigrants that influenced and were influenced by the culture of the great lakes.
You forgot about Appalachian food 😢
Pepperoni rolls for the win!
Bro skipped the entire northeastern seaboard
He talked about New England and New York, what's left? You wanted a section for Pennsylvania alone?
At least he didn't insult your region
Cincinnati chili originated from greek immigrants and the sauce is actually quite complex and delicious. I’m not from the Midwest and I’ve never heard of anyone saying it’s the laughing stock of American cuisine. Sounds kinda snobby to be honest.
A New York elitist. How refreshing! As a favor, please continue to avoid the Midwest.
Gotta say toasted ravioli and fried cheese curds sound delicious but Lutheran sushi should be a class A war crime
No BS.
No sarcasm.
Just genuine analysis.
This is the kind of video on America I wish we'd see more.
Considering his comments about the midwest I'd say there was a lot of BS in this video.
@@Dragoncurse4he made a whole video dedicated to the Midwest
yet again New Mexico get's left out.-
Yep, I was thinking the same thing.
I was on a road trip to New Mexico a few years ago and getting hungry by the time I got to Albuquerque. While driving along into the South Valley, I saw these giant signs for Enchiladas and I was thinking "Enchiladas sound great right now."- granted I was driving into the sun and could only make out part of the sign. So I get to this park and it looks like I'm the only one around. I get out for a closer look at the signs and they read "Bernalillo County Parks and Recreation Department presents: The History of the Enchilada" and it led to a building that was closed for the afternoon. You'd think the least they could do was have some tents or food trucks serving Enchiladas next to the exhibit.....
@socalsoxfan6912 green enchiladas are good, but if you are ever back in New Mexico, try something with pinions(pine nuts), coffee, candy, ect. Or anything with blue corn, there are even pancakes. Or try purely New Mexican food like Carne Adovada, Chili Colorado, Green chili stew, or Posole. The state cookie is a must try Biscochito.
@@rachelnelson8694 dude trying to find pinion is hard
@saber2802 where are you looking? I know a few places. Lol, my farm has hundreds of trees, but I know who I supply with nuts. Actually, almost all the businesses are in old town, though some have multiple locations. If you want raw nuts... go to flea markets.
What’s wrong with fried cheese curds 😭?
nothing. They are amazing!
Ain't no way he just did the Midwest like that 😂😂
Indonesian cuisine is extremely diverse but massively underrated because the popular ones are handful - Rendang, Gado-gado, Bakso, Nasi Goreng etc
There are multiple cuisines in Indonesia
Bahmi
I am a big fan of satay.
So why does the Rocky Mountain region doesn’t get meintioned outside of the Navajo region?
You completely glossed over the west. Not surprising for someone based in New York. But no worries, we'll keep our food culture to ourselves if you don't want to cover it.
Another sick video! 🤘
Aye love your channel
Really? It was total stinker and the guy is clueless.
SoCal mexican food is its own beast worthy of (and arguably better than) its Texas Mex counterpart. Blending disparate traditions of carne asada and french fries to create one of the best dishes in the USA: Carne Asada Fries. Also worth mentioning are the style of burritos in SoCal, which are often quite large and consist of protein, guacamole, and pico de gallo with an optional sour cream.
Also, I imagine you didn’t mention burgers and their many variants because you’re going to do a video all about America’s favorite sandwich
Hes obviously not been to midwest
Definitely. We need series about it. Not just one video
Some Germans came to Albany to trade succotash for wampum.
Succotash has two of the three sisters: corn and beans.
Burgers are not flavorful? I dunno what kind of burgers your eating.
Oh, and that passing comment on Ohio for no reason. Very rude. Why do people who live on the coast hate everyone in between the coasts? Do we scare you?
@asmallphd9648 I live on one of the coasts and I thought it was pretty gratuitous.
@@asmallphd9648Cause people on the coasts are rude and fake that's why we ain't the same
got to have a good cocked burger then and have condiments on it
This a very well put together video 😊 great job!
hey! Love the video, but buster, you better take those quotes off of midwest "food" , The Bloody Mary is russian service in a pint glass, and i will not tolerate disrespect for brats and fried cheese curds thank you very much!
nah but for real though, thank you so much for making this video! IT's important that we -as americans- should also resist the idea that our culinary culture has and always will be defined by corporations. Even if we acknowledge the logistical triumph of what mass marketed food did at the outset!
A lot of inaccuracies in this video. I understand how lumping states into regions makes sense but it doesn’t make it accurate. For instance, southern regions of the Midwest have more in common with the south culturally than the the northern regions. The panhandle in Florida has a lot of Cajun & Creole influence vs south Florida with more Cuban influence. I haven’t been to every state but I’m sure each state has these variations that divide them. You’ll even find pockets in small town America that had an influx of Italian/Mexican/Chinese immigrants & how that impacts the food culture. On your little map, you labeled it, ‘Midwestern “Food;”’ implying that it’s not real food. You made yourself look like a pretentious jerk & lost all credibility with that one. Unsubscribed.
You can’t hate a pulled pork sandwich 🤤
This dude is so far off on the Midwest.
America offers a broad variety of food, ranging from garbage to fresh meats. The fresh, unprocessed stuff is the good stuff. I don't waste my money on the stuff that is just junk
One of the weaknesses of American cuisine is candy. Most American candy just tries to be as sweet as possible, and it becomes a boring one note flavor that just leaves an icky aftertaste that I have to wash down with water or something salty. There are exceptions but finding candy with a complex flavor profile in America is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Now I have tried English candy and it was like night and day. The candy from England is not made with as much artificial crap, and the flavor is MUCH more complex, the gummies have sour notes and the chocolate is salty and savory on top of just sweet. None of the candy was boring to the palate. The only one I did not care for was a turkish delight bar, it just tasted like a chocolate covered cherry without the cherry and a hint of a floral aftertaste. Oh and the Smarties were stale as shit
I like how he made a video about dispelling ignorant stereotypes about American food culture and then half way through the video engages in ignorant stereotyping of American food culture.
Chicago & Detroit style pizza is better than NY. Sorry not sorry
Bro, you did the Midwest wrong. Pot roast with potatoes, chicken and dumplings, cornbeef and cabbage, stuffed peppers…Those are just some American dishes I can think of but you have tons of people there from Germany and Italy and places like that so you’re also getting lasagna, German sausages and potatoes, meatloaf, etc Midwest has good Hardy food. Nothing fancy, but it will keep you warm and full.
Midwest food > anything Matthew eats
Fried cheese curds are incredible.
Nah but for real you need to revisit the Midwest instead of glossing over it like you did. We have fish frys from the great lakes region with walleye and perch, Chicago style hot dogs, deep dish pizza, pub style pizza, tenderloin sandwiches the size of your face. Also have you tried a tatertot hot dish or fried ravioli, judging by your review I'm guessing no. Not to mention all the handmade baked goods from Amish country.
Honestly this video did a disservice to the Midwest.
I will admit though Cincinnati Chili is an abomination and should be thrown in the trash.
Come on at least give Detroit a shoutout for being the birthplace of the Ice Cream Float.
OH! I didn't know this. I'm from Michigan too. Cool new info
Big ups for you for picking the topic, thank you for bringing awareness to it. I don't think Europeans esp realize the scope of America--but man you did Alaska so dirty. We have such a rich history. The native culture absolutely influences the local culture--near everyone hunts or fishes their own food. Most everyone gathers and forages in the late summer. The things the natives have been through have absolutely affected their food history and it's trickled down to Alaska's food culture. There's so much to say there. The least you could do is say akutaq right "uh-goo-tuk" the last part of the word is said very short like a clicking sound. Appreciate you for making this video though, this has inspired me. Can't wait to see what else you make.
Nacho were invented in a border town on the mexican side. Not that hard to google the right information
Most of the stuff that is legitimately Northern Mexican gets stolen by America and classified as “tex mex” even though is literally Mexican, like Burritos, Nachos, Margaritas, Cesar Salad is all northern Mexicans.
Tex-mex is like soul food but with Mexico instead of Africa. It was the vaqueros working getting the bad cuts and trying to do something with them. Barbacoa takes a day to cook in a dug out pit and fajitas (flank steak) has to marinated and trimmed right or it's not edible. Rice and beans kept you full on a long cattle drive from Northern Mexico or Southern Texas.
Japanese hot dogs come from Vancouver BC
Midwest "food" ... why the f- is food in quotes!? Not gonna mention how Scandinavia influenced the region? I feel un represented.
Yeah, TBH for a long time in my childhood, I thought Americans subsisted on a diet of hot dogs, burgers, cookies, donuts, and massive stacks of pancakes LOL, but watching various American food shows on TV and later TH-cam has shown me that there is SO MUCH MORE to American food than just that. I wonder why there is so little spotlight on all the other delicious-looking (non-fast food!) dishes America has to offer. There's so much I'd love to go and try...!
I’m an older Mexican American. Historically outside of Texas and the southwest, what as being called “Tex Mex” was bad versions of Mexican food. In the past decade or so, American Mexican food is finally trying improve on Mexican food rather than make it cheaper and more accessible to American palate.
So 20 yrs ago the Mexican American food outside the southwest was often ground beef, lettuce, American sour cream, cheap harshell taco shells etc. in the past 10yrs it’s now going higher end and more tasty. This is a huge shift in American Mexican food. I’ve seen the same shift in Chinese American and Chinese food in the US
A lot of foods we enjoy are minimally-processed. Steak, slow-cooked ribs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, green beans with onion and bacon, collard greens. While many of the countries I've visited pride themselves, and rightly so, on their own cuisine, but lean just as heavily (or more so) on highly-processed foods. Which are not necessarily any less healthy, or more healthy. Or lower or better quality. See the nixtimalization of corn, the boiling of vegetables to make soup, the soaking and cooking of dry beans. In each case, moving these foods further toward the processed end of the spectrum AND greatly increasing their nutritional value.
I think from all American food genre , I think i like New England and Cajun genre also Tex Mex
Creole and Cajun my guy lol.. Creole food is older and most of what Louisiana is known for as far as food is Creole. A combination of local French, Spanish, African, Native american and Carribean. U totally missed that! Cajuns and Creoles are similar, but not exactly the same. The biggest difference is Creoles are ethically more mixed than Cajuns (Acadians from Canada). Just wanted to correct that mistake my friend.
Not to mention there are various types of cajun influences. There are gulf Cajuns that are seafood based, swap Cajuns that are wild game based, and prairie Cajuns that take a strong influence from German culture.
I love midwestern food, it's so creative! You can really feel the spirit of "why the hell not?" This whole genre is what I call "potluck food" and it is full of homegrown bangers