Many people think that the most typical American meal is the following: a big, tender steak, a hot baked potato, a fresh green salad, rolls and butter. For dessert, apple pie with ice cream, and coffee.

Americans do eat the meal described above, and they eat it often. Steak house restaurants are very popular places. In the warm summer months many families have backyard barbecues, and cook steak over charcoal grills. But it's really not possible to describe one meal as typically American.

The United States is a large country with a population that comes from  almost every corner of the world. Like its people, American food comes from around the world, too. So American food is impossible to define. Typical American food is nearly always food that come to America from another country. Many of these foods are so popular that they are found everywhere.

Almost every town across the country has a Chinese restaurant. It may not serve food that anyone in China would recognize, but Americans love their chow mein and chop suey. You can also buy these Chinese foods in the supermarket. Many Americans (like people everywhere) are not eager to try strange foods, but they never think of Chinese food as strange.

     One of the newest kinds of adopted American food is Mexican food. Tacos have become popular very fast. They can be found in airport lunchrooms and school cafeterias. Of course Mexican food in the United States is different from that made in Mexico. But millions of Americans are crazy about it, and supermarkets offer all kinds of spicy Mexican food, including tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. Mexican food has even entered that fast food market.

      Fast food is almost a symbol of America. At a fast food place you get your food quickly and you don't pay very much for it. Each fast food restaurant has a specialty. Some of them server mainly hamburgers, french fries, and hot dogs, pretty ordinary American food. Another very popular fast food, one which comes from the South, is fried chicken served with coleslaw and baking powder biscuits. Along the New England coast all kinds of seafood are offered at little stands. Most of the food is deep-fried. You can get clams, shrimp, or pieces of fish, all served with french fried potatoes.

      Maybe Italian food is the foreign food that has become most typical in America. Spaghetti, noodles, macaroni, and pizza are all eaten everywhere in the United States. When Americans go abroad they find eating in Italy almost like being home because the food is so familiar. Of course, there are peculiar American dishes such as "American chop suey" which, believe it or not, is macaroni, ground beef, and tomato sauce!

      Whenever immigrants enter the United States they bring their foods with them. With time, many of these foods are added to American menus in restaurants, schools, and at home. An American menu is truly an international menu.