Are you going to the USA and you're already thinking about where you could fill your stomach? You remind me of me! When I was preparing my trip it was one of the first things I looked at. Now that I'm back I've decided to compile my five favourite restaurants from there.
Before that, let me mention a few facts about American cuisine.
Notes on American gastronomy
It's not all hamburgers, hot dogs and brownies. American cuisine is more about the fusion of cuisine from different countries. This mix has produced many delicious results, although I haven't tried them all.
A typical recipe is Mac n' cheese, which I'll talk about later in this post. Other well-known dishes are Buffalo wings, chili con carne and barbecued ribs. It's a pity, though, that it's not customary there to dip the sauces with bread.
As for desserts, some of the most typical ones are banana foster (banana flambé with vanilla ice cream), pumpkin pie, chocolate chip biscuits, doughnuts and cupcakes.
Photo: Pixabay
One thing that Americans are super fans of is peanut butter, so you'll find plenty of foodstuffs with this ingredient. And don't forget their signature cocktails: Manhattan, Long Island and Cosmopolitan.
Unlike in other countries, the main meal for Americans is dinner. Some eat dinner around six o'clock in the evening and eat around 12 noon. One of the things that struck me was that they use butter instead of oil in their cooking, and they have a garbage disposal built into the sink.
Here are cheap and tasty places to eat in the United States:
Eating cheap and tasty food in the United States
1. &Pizza
First of all is the pizzeria &Pizza. My goodness, how many toppings you can put on your dinner! You can choose a specific pizza or design your own (highly recommended). At &Pizza, for $9 you choose all the toppings you want to put on your pizza: mushrooms, chicken, egg, sausage, jalapenos, broccoli, onion, prawns... as well as sauces.
I even added spinach, even though I don't like spinach very much. It was all because of a misunderstanding with the waitress who asked me: "Spinach? To which I replied: "Yes!", as I thought she was asking me if I was Spanish. I have to watch more series in English to improve my hearing, but if I understood it perfectly I wouldn't have such funny anecdotes.
2. 2Bros Pizza
Another place where I also loved the pizza, this time in New York, was at the 2Bros Pizza For just $1 you get a pretty generous slice of Margarita pizza. The rest of the slices, which are also good-sized, are $2 and there's quite a variety. There are also jars of various spices on the premises so you can season your pizza to your taste. You can order whole pizzas and eat them on the premises or order them to take away. In other words, for just a few dollars you can have a great dinner and fill your belly.
3. Five Guys
Well, enough about pizza. Five Guys is another of my recommendations for cheap eats in the United States. The most popular thing about this place is the hamburgers, but I'll tell you that the hot dogs are not to be missed either. The hot dogs, hamburgers and sandwiches can be topped with any toppings you like, and it's all delicious.
Also, I recommend you try the Five Guys style fries, they really taste special. And don't forget to order a drink, you pay for one but you can refill it as many times as you want (water is free). To top it all off, Five Guys also offers free peanuts in case you are still hungry!
4. Taco Bell
You may already know this franchise because it is present in several countries. I, who had never had the chance to try it before, was very pleasantly surprised. At Taco Bell you can find burritos, quesadillas and tacos for $1. My favourite topping was the legendary Fritos de Matutano, I had never thought of putting that ingredient in a burrito and I loved the result.
And please, if you get the chance, try their nacho portions. They are delicious and big, you won't go hungry.
5. Supermarket Giant
Yes, as you read it. One of my favourite places to get food was the supermarket. This is because of the many things they have there that we don't have here. Well, some of these products are available in Spain but at very high prices.
We set aside one morning of the trip for a trip to the Giant Supermarket. I took it as a joke, but as I wandered the aisles my eyes lit up. There can be so many different flavours of Pringles and Lays, and they're all $1.50! I tried the Pringles Rancheras and I recommend you give them a try.
Although the truth is that I was in other supermarkets such as Safeway and Target, which also have aisles that are a pleasure to stroll through and make your eyes happy. At Safeway we bought a Wild Mike's 4 cheese pizza and a gallon of chocolate milkshake.
By the way, I've saved the best for last. I recommend that if you go to a supermarket you buy: Macaroni & Cheese from the Kraft brand. As I mentioned before, Mac n' cheese is a typical recipe there and I had the opportunity to try the ones in the photo, which are super easy to make:
Bonus tip: You can pick up a few things at the supermarket and have a picnic at one of the parks you'll find around the U.S. Under the sun, we got our fill at the Tidal Basin in Washington D.C. Here are more fun facts about the U.S.A..
What do you think of my recommendations? They're not the typical restaurant recommendations that many people expect, but if you're on a tight budget these places are great. I know, they're not the healthiest, but they're fine for a quick visit, and several of them have vegan options! And you, what's your favourite restaurant in the USA?
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