I Miss the Restaurants in the U.S.A.
One of the best things about traveling the world is having the opportunity to enjoy different cuisines. From Vietnamese Pho in Saigon to British Sunday Roast in London to Korean Barbecue in Seoul, I have had more than my share of delicacies during my time abroad. As much as I enjoy tasting new dishes in foreign countries, I still miss the food back home. In this post, I will write (quite painfully as I’m currently hungry) about the restaurants where I would gladly pay double-price just to taste their food once again.
Fast-food Restaurants
Although we do have Burger King, McDonald’s, and KFC here in Vietnam, it’s not quite the same as back home. The chicken here is very spicy and Burger King loves to drench their burgers in barbecue sauce. Even the consistency of the meat and cheese is slightly different. In Korea, chicken tastes like fish because they feed them fish scraps instead of grain.
Here is a shortlist of some of the fast-food restaurants I really miss and often crave:
Taco Bell
Wendy’s
What-a-burger
Carl’s Jr.
Subway
Jimmy John’s
White Castle
Chick-fil-A
Arby’s
Traditional Restaurants
Although I enjoy all different types of food, I am a steak and potatoes man at heart. There is nothing like a tender, juicy, mid-rare New York Strip with grilled asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes. There are steak restaurants here in Vietnam, but, at least so far, I haven’t found any that I enjoy. Typically, the steaks here are thin, tough, and almost always overcooked. I even find the more expensive imported Australian beef lacking.
Here is a shortlist of traditional restaurants I really miss and often crave:
Outback Steakhouse
Olive Garden
Red Lobster
TGI Friday’s
Texas Roadhouse
P.F. Chang’s
Cracker Barrel
Chili’s
Longhorn Steakhouse
Cheesecake Factory
On The Border
Ruby Tuesday’s
Golden Corral
Applebee’s
Panera Bread
What I wouldn’t give for another meal at any one of those establishments! If you dine at any of them soon, please comment with a photo of your meal so that I can live vicariously.
Did you know that you can buy restaurant gift cards on Amazon? I will provide a few links below for popular restaurant gift cards.
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One Comment
John Hazen
One of the great things about living in the NYC region for over 30 years was that you had a wide choice of different cuisines — Thai, French, Italian, Indian, Vietnamese, you name it — all readily accessible.