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The American art of sandwich making

BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
in The potting shed
I read on Quora this morning that when Americans make sandwiches they do not butter the bread. Is this true? Surely not, it flies in the face of nature.

What other culinary peccadilloes have folk encountered on their travels? I have never had it so cannot speak from experience but friends tell me the American dish called grits has a rare distinction of actually tasting worse than it sounds.
Rutland, England
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  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Green jelly(jello) on the help yourself salad bar, in California.
  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    The first time I went to the US was to New York to stay with a friend.  She made the most amazing sandwhich - layers, stacked high with cheese, salad, pastrami (can't remember if the bread was buttered but I think it must have been or I would have noticed that) and they would last us the whole day as we went out and about.
    But the next visit, to Colorado and then Boston, when I ate out more (work trips), I couldn't believe the size of the portions!
    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • SYinUSASYinUSA Posts: 243
    Sandwich bread is typically not buttered here, but we tend to use other condiments like mayonnaise and mustard. The only exception I can think of is that some hamburger places will toast the buns with garlic butter.

    Grits don't have much flavor on their own - it's just cornmeal porridge. Butter and salt are needed, and Southerners also add a little bacon fat for flavor (but we add bacon fat to everything). The texture is a little off-putting, I'll grant you that.

    I think portion sizes are probably going to steadily decrease simply because of inflation and the choice between smaller portions or higher menu price.
  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    Ah, thanks for that @SYinUSA - now I come to think of it, the sandwiches my friend made were more than likely to have had mayo rather than butter.  And as it was August when I went, butter would more quickly have gone off.  
    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • ErgatesErgates Posts: 2,953
    I do have a weakness for American food, never lost for choice when we have travelled there. I did find the ‘jello’ served with savoury foods very odd. Funny to see scones being called biscuits, and served with gravy. I did enjoy the German pancakes, which seemed to be identical to Yorkshire puddings, served with spiced apple sauce. The quantities were often alarming though. We never had more than one course at meals, although I did notice some families filling up with huge bowls from the salad bar, and then taking most of the main courses home in ‘doggy bags’.
    OH was often disappointed though, when he ordered a meal that came with chips and had forgotten that if he didn’t want crisps, he had to ask for french fries.
  • SYinUSASYinUSA Posts: 243
    America is quite large and has a lot of variety in the food traditions. San Francisco and NYC are about 3k miles apart. If you go that far from Cardiff, you end up somewhere along the Russia/Kazakhstan border. I'm guessing Welsh food is quite different from the food in Kazakhstan? 
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    What about all those street food vendors of bara brith and laverbread in Astana (or whatever it is called these days)? 😉
    Rutland, England
  • SYinUSASYinUSA Posts: 243
    @BenCotto I know you're speaking English but I had to look up what those are! Pretty sure I'd take a nice bowl of grits over either of those things. 

    Actually, I like trying weird regional foods. I figure even if it's gross, it's just one meal, I can eat something different later. Usually regional dishes become popular because they're fairly tasty, so it's not been an issue. Can't wait to get back to London for the fine English tradition of takeout curry! :D
  • Chris-P-BaconChris-P-Bacon Posts: 943
    When we lived in Gibraltar my wife used to like Calentita for either breakfast or a mid morning snack. She loved it but it wasn't for me.  :smile:

    https://www.tasteatlas.com/calentita
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